Football skills can be useful for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is the ability to turn away from your marker and win yourself some space. On a football pitch, space is everything, giving you time and room to decide what to do next before then doing what you can to execute the move. In terms of the directional first touch, it is something that is worth spending a decent amount of time practising because it can help you to not only win yourself said space, but it is also about ensuring that your teammates can benefit.
This isn’t just a skill that looks good, although it is that, it is also one that can lead to a goal if you get your next move right.
Controlling The Ball While Moving Into Space
Simply put, a directional first touch is one of the most fundamental things that you can learn as a footballer. It is when the ball comes into you and rather than just controlling it before then deciding what to do next, this skill allows you to do both in one move.
You are controlling the ball, but you are also moving it into a specific space of your choosing. This might be into space, which will then allow you to try to find a pass or get a shot off, but it could also be an immediate pass to a teammate that catches your opponent off guard on account of the fact that they will have been expecting you to have to control the ball before making your next move.
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One of the key elements to the directional first touch is to have an open body, specifically your hips. This means that you will be able to touch the ball in either direction, giving you the time and space to decide which direction is the best to head in. If you choose to use the inside of your foot to control the ball, it means that you will have a greater surface area with which to ensure the control is carried out effectively. You also need to make sure that you have some intent in the movement of your foot, pushing the ball where you want it to go rather than just allowing it to hit you and bounce off in a direction outside of your control.
Although controlling the ball with the foot is the most obvious example of a directional first touch, you can use any part of your body that is legal to send the ball where you want it to go. That is to say, you could control it with your knee or your thigh and send the ball off to a particular space, or even twist your body as you chest the ball to ensure that it heads off to a certain spot on the pitch. Provided you aren’t using your hand to control the ball, which would obviously result in a free-kick being given against you, you should be able to use any part of your body to put yourself in as good a position as possible to do whatever you want.