elastico

Play Video

description

The elastico is a skill move that, when done right, can help you get past the defender and also absolutely embarrass them in the process. It’s another move where the defender thinks you’re going one way, but then you’ve already gone another before they can react. Made famous by footballing greats like Romario, Ronaldinho & Cristiano Ronaldo to name a few.

 

This skill can be performed whilst the ball is still or rolling, let’s start with still to get used to the technique.

Step 1

  • Plant your standing leg to the side of the ball, leaving a gap between your foot and the ball, this gap will allow you to carry out the technique.
  • Keep your eyes on the ball
  • Bring the outside front area of your elastico foot to the inside of the ball and push the ball to the outer side (away from yourself) as if you’re pushing out in that direction.
  • Your foot needs to go across the ball from inside to outside. Almost as if you’re skimming across the ball.
  • As your foot gets to the outside of the ball, flick it back inside using the inside front area of your foot.
  • You will need to be quick when doing the first push or skim across the ball to get that second movement in.
  • Your elastico foot should now be your plant foot to help you push away after the move.

Step 2

  • When bringing your elastico foot to the inside of the ball, you should shape up as if all of your body momentum is going towards your elastico foot side, to make it look as if you’re going to push away in that direction.
  • Your upper body movement is key and needs to be following the first push out to really sell it to the defender.
  • Now try the elastico whilst dribbling. We recommend reducing your dribbling speed before attempting.
  • If you don’t have a defender to practice against, use some cones or anything which can represent the width of a defender.

Step 3

  • Try to do the elastico in a 1v1 situation where the defender is still or backpedaling whilst jockeying you.
  • It’s also important to perform the elastico with approximately one step between you and the defender. You have to get the right separation, so not too far away as they’ll be able to recover quicker and not too close as you risk being intercepted.
  • It’s very important that you carry out the move with confidence and belief. The more times you practice, the more confidence you’ll gain.

extra

Skills should be done at speed to really throw the defender off and get past them. Remember, by doing to move quick and exiting quick, you’re giving the defender less time to react to your move. You should slow things down if it’s not quite working for you, remember repetition is key when learning something new.

You should also keep in mind that the end goal after a skill move is for it to lead to something that benefits your team.