Many people start to play footballer at a very young age but the competition to get into an academy is extremely difficult. Even those that make it to an academy, go on to play at the professional level.
Irrespective of age and ability, every player's dream is to perform as a professional footballer. Football is a game that requires endurance, and improvement is the key to success in many sports.
So how can you be a good football player? Pre season is an important time to train yourself and prepare for the upcoming season by making the most of it, leading you to become a good football player.
Things you need to make it as a professional Footballer
The following attributes are crucial parts of the game that can help you become a good footballer:
Practice as Much as You Can
The first thing you need to do or keep in mind is practice, practice, and practice, but the question arises: what and how to practice? Let’s have a look:
A Great First touch
The first thing you need to do as a footballer is learn how to control the ball. That is very important. Make sure you have stability and keep the ball close to your body. Using both feet will make quite a difference, and your first touch predicts and tells what the next move you will take is.
Good ball control
If you wish to become an excellent football player, practice using your weak foot. A player that is strong with both feet is an asset to teams no matter what position they play in. Many footballers don't practice with their weak foot from an early stage which makes it difficult to learn later on. If you can transform your weaker foot into a stronger one at an early age, your chances of becoming a professional star start off pretty well.
Some ways to improve your weaker foot include kicking the ball to the wall. It is quite natural for the player as many rely on the stronger foot, so changing to the weaker side may be a disadvantage, but it is worth it in the long run; continuing practice and determination will lead to success.
Moreover, communicate with your coaches and ask to set up drills; shooting and passing drills will perform the functionality of the weaker foot and give you more confidence.
Try to Retain and Dribble in Tight Spaces
Learning about dribbling and how to control the ball is imperative, especially in tight spaces. You must be able to pass the ball to your team, irrespective of your position. The game has changed and all players should be good with the ball at their feet now. For example, in the current era ball, playing centre backs are an important part of the game, whereas historically they have just been there to head and kick the ball away!
If you want to improve your drill, try to set some cones or flags on the pitch and practice around the obstacles. Don't go too far from the cones; this will help you practice the drills.
A Good Mindset
Having an optimistic and great mindset is very important part of being a player, both in training and on match day. This is relatively broad and further breaks down into different portions or parts. Having a strong mindset is the key to success, especially in football; the higher the level of mind, the more chances of winning. We all know a mentally strong player that pulls teams through tough games. Let's look at how your mindset can become strong:
Sense of Devotion and Drive
Many players have the hunger to win and defeat their opponents. If you don't have that, then you probably look devotional. The fire burning inside must stay strong, don't let it go.
Mental toughness
If you're an athlete, you must be familiar with the ups and downs of the game. You don't always need to win, and you can lose sometimes. The person who can handle such pressure is the one who can succeed at a later stage.
Excellent Leadership
Having a leader around you is excellent, and the senior players can always guide you in your ups and downs. If the team has some internal issue or demotivation, the leader should pull himself out and try to resolve the problem; otherwise, the game will be affected.
Self-inspiration
Self-motivation or inspiration is essential, and there must be a role model in your eyes who inspires you and motivates you to work hard. Many players spend hours training, and the continuous uniformity leads them to be successful people like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Commitment
Each player is responsible for his commitment, and he must be responsible for it on and off the pitch. If anyone fails to make his commitment, it means the loss is on your side unless your team member covers it for you.
Game Intelligence
You must have heard words like great vision, tactical awareness, and much more. This leads to game intelligence and is one of the most challenging things to coach, as football is entirely random. You can't predict what will happen when you face different scenarios and situations on the pitch. In summary, game intelligence is based on speed and the player's decisions on the field.
Spatial Awareness
The team member needs to be quick to visualize things happening on the ground, the distance from their opponent and team player, the speed of another player, the speed of the ball coming to them, how to dodge the opponent, and much more.
Able to Sense Danger
Suppose you ever encounter a situation where you feel it is difficult to pass the ball and may encounter some danger. In that case, using self-adhesive sock wraps is recommended, which helps you minimise the risk and escape from the situation. You will get familiar with the passage of time and experience. Training is essential because it helps you learn how to tackle any situation, irrespective of how difficult it is.
Try to Learn and Observe the Senior Players
It is imperative to learn and observe the senior players around you. Take a very brief look and examine who is best at what, so you must try to adapt and learn from them to become a better footballer.
Adopt the things, routines, and training sessions they consider for themselves and slowly and gradually incorporate them into your training sessions. But don't be too harsh. You will require some time. Don’t stretch too much, and make it a burden for yourself. Try to watch videos of your profession, this will be helpful for you and help you achieve your goal quickly.
Be a Good Team Player
Football is not a solo game but a game of 11 players. You can only win with combined efforts. If you lose, it is not the responsibility of one player, and you cannot blame him alone. It is their fault of everybody.
Suppose the team is in proper sync and harmony, the chance of defeating your opponent increases. It will just work naturally like a team that has so many internal conflicts and keep blaming others, often leading to defeat.
Your goal, strategy, speed, and stamina should all be equal and work together. Anything below average is a loss for the whole team, and make sure each member supports one other.
Healing and Trying to Prevent Wounds
Feeling pain in your muscles is prevalent after a heavy training session and an exhausting 90-minute match. During the pre-season, the coaches and professionals will push you very hard beyond your limits so that everything goes well during the match, increasing your ability to recover more quickly.
It is essential to perform some stretching before any training sessions and take some rest after your portion of the workout. You must stretch your muscles for more than 30 seconds which will help to delay muscle soreness (DOMS).
However, besides intense workouts, you must consume a balanced diet and stay hydrated because intense training removes fluids from your body besides intense workouts. Drink some sports drinks using a sports water bottle and a lot of carbohydrates, regain your energy, and eat protein as much as possible to restore your muscles.
To be a good footballer, you must follow the above steps. These steps will benefit a lot. Everyone is looking forward to working in different modes/parts of their game, so if you face some problem, you must communicate with your coach or team leader so that things can sort out before it's too late. No one knows what your future might be. Maybe you will become the world's next professional soccer player and might win the world cup for the nation and make yourself and your people proud.