This fundamental football skill sees a player put the sole of their boot onto the ball and then pull their leg back towards them, bringing the ball with it. You can use this in countless different scenarios, each of which will put you in a better position than you were in before you chose to do it. The simplicity of the skill is what makes it such a key one to be able to perform, given the fact that it will allow you to perform it any time that you feel you need to. Imagine a situation, for example, where you have the ball and an opponent is coming in to tackle you from the side and take it off you.
If you know how to perform the drag back instinctively, then you can do precisely that, moving the ball out of your opponent’s path before then doing whatever you want with it. You could look to pass it to a teammate in space, say, or run with the ball into the space vacated by the player who tried to tackle you. If you’re close to the box, you can attempt to get a shot off. Whatever you want to do next, the key to making this skill look a lot more complex than it actually is is to have something lined up before you drag the ball back, so you can perform it immediately.
In order to make the drag back work the best, the ball should be in front of you to begin with. From there, you can use your stronger foot to bring it back closer to your body and shield the ball from the opposition player trying to take it off you. It is all about setting up your next move, as well as ensuring that you are able to keep possession of the ball rather than losing it entirely. It is best used when you’re one-on-one with someone, but there’s no reason why you can’t use it when you’ve got a number of players around you, providing you have some space to move into.