Why is Messi the best?

[N]

I would argue that Messi is currently the best dribbler in the world for mainly two things: ball control and acceleration.

Actually I'd quite happily argue that these are the only two things which make him so potent.

However, could somebody explain to me theoretically why ball control is so important in dribbling? I mean obviously we know it works in practice e.g. Messi, Robben have excellent ball control and they happen to be excellent dribblers.

But what is it specifically about ball control which is so important for dribbling?

Why does keeping the ball close to your feet reap such disproportionate rewards?

Please be as detailed as you can!

[klc123]

Well how can you expect to dribble past a player with the ball if you can't even keep the ball going in the direction you want it to, nevermind keep it close enough to you so that the defender cannot tackle you.

[N]

I didn't understand your answer [it seems very vague] and I don't think you understood my question. Compare say, Ricardo Kaka and Lionel Messi. Both are world class players, but the latter is clearly the better dribbler. Kaka is faster than Messi, however Messi has better ball control. If you went to a football neophyte and told him that keeping the ball a little bit closer to your foot would make you a much much better dribbler, I'm sure he would be quite surprised.

Could you explain the mechanics or the missing nexus between having excellent ball control and being a good dribbler. In other words, why is it that keeping the ball close to your feet makes you so much better?

I know a few aspects to why this could be, but the main reason why I'm starting a whole thread on this, is that the reasons I can think of don't seem to be sufficient to reap such excellent results. I mean I have close ball control and I have witnessed the rewards on the pitch, but I can't explain why ball control is so powerful.

Hence the thread.

[FCBarca364]

Could you explain the mechanics or the missing nexus between having excellent ball control and being a good dribbler. In other words, why is it that keeping the ball close to your feet makes you so much better?

Having exellent ball control helps you dribble better because of the loation on the ball in relation to your center of gravity. When a mediocre dribbled is dribbling, his/ her body is sprinting while the brain is pushing the ball a certain distance in front of him/her in order to reach it precisely before the next stride.

Players like Messi seen to have the relation between their center of gravity and the ball so perfect, that their brain no longer thinks , "Now I kick the ball, Now I step with my left foot, etc..." , but rather ,"I will run and the ball will alway be in my control, I won't have to look at it to know where it is".

The center of gravity plays a role because Messi is shorter thereby making his steps more frequent. Also , Messi is always balanced even when getting challenged or tackled.

Furthermore, when you keep the ball near you, it becomes an "extension" of you. It sounds corny but if you watch Ronaldinho or Messi, they don't seem to concern themselves with the location of the ball but rather have time to focus on the next pass or a move to beat the next defender

Some smaller roles that excellent ball control provide are confidence and even a little arrogance. When you are that good at ball control, you can show off a bit and also have the mental strength to screw up completely.

I hope this helped.

[Rome_Leader]

I can sum this up for you quite simply.

The closer the ball is to you, the safer it is.

The closer to you the ball is, the easier it is to manipulate.

Obviously, the goal is to maintain possession until such time when you need to take a shot or make a pass, and keep the ball out of the grasp of the opposing team. Well, the tighter the ball is to you... The easier it becomes to shield it, to make decisions and to execute these decisions with much more fluid and controlled movements than if the ball were two feet away and you had to lunge at it to make a play when an opposing player is much closer.

[klc123]

Yeah thats what i was trying to say except my grammar is terrible lol.