Football is a sport that is constantly reinventing itself, seeing new tricks and turns added into the vernacular of players on a seemingly weekly basis. Many of them are little more than alterations on something that was already done many years before, which is perhaps best demonstrated by the Cruyff Turn.
What is It?
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff is better-known to most people simply as Johann Cruyff and is considered to be one of the most skilful players ever to run onto a football pitch. There were times when it seemed as though he was manipulating the very fabric of the planet, such was the extent to which he could get the ball to do whatever he wanted when he had it at his feet. It was during the World Cup in 1974 that Cruyff performed the move to which his name has been attached ever since, leaving not only the opposition player he was up against but the footballing world in general flabbergasted.
In order to pull this move off, you need to be in a position where you are being closely monitored by an opposition player. That is where the Dutch maestro found himself during a group game against Sweden back in 1974. You feign that you are going to make a pass, then move to drag the ball back behind your standing leg, spinning 180 degrees in the process. At that point, you will have sent the opposition player in entirely the wrong direction, so you can run into the space that has opened up in front of you and decide what the best move is to carry out from that point.
@completestrikertraining Master THIS Effective Turn 🌪️ Here’s The CRUYFF Turn ⬇️ Positioning- Start by dribbling on angle to create deception looking to make a fake pass Movement- As you go to fake, drop your hips, standing foot slightly ahead of the ball, and use passing foot to scoop the ball behind you Speed- When performing the move, make sure that you accelerate out into the opposite direction #MaximizeYourPotential @CompleteStrikerTraining _____________________________ #completestrikertraining #thiago #finishing #technique #soccer #futbol #soccertraining #bellingham #soccershootingdrills #striker #tutorial #baller #nike #nikesoccer #coach #coaching #puma #433 #training #beavisionary #footballer #goals #goal #topbins #viral ♬ Still Hot – Nic D & Connor Price
One of of the key aspects of the move is the dropping of your shoulder, which gives your opponent the sense that you are going to do one thing before you actually move to do something else entirely. If you want proof that you might well end up getting the move named after you at some point in the future if you become famous enough, it is worth bearing in mind that Pelé, the Brazilian player, actually performed it more than a decade earlier than Cruyff did. Sadly for him, that was during a match that far fewer people were watching than the World Cup, so his move was lost to the sands of time.