Football is a simple game in its essence, but there are countless ways in which you can push things even further if you want to. Elsewhere on this site, you will be able to learn about the likes of the Cruyff Turn and the Stepover, both of which will not only make you look really impressive but also give you more space on the football pitch in which to do what you want with the ball.
The same is true of the elástico, which is also known as the flip flap, the akka, the snakebite and la culebrita, depending on where in the world you are based and who it is that taught it to you.
What is It?
Sérgio Echigo – バンダイ公式チャンネル, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There is actually some history to the move that we’re going to refer to as the elástico, first performed by the Brazilian-Japanese player Sérgio Echigo. He then taught it to Rivellino, the Brazilian playmaker, who took it to the global stage when he performed it during the World Cup in 1970. It might not look like much when you see it happen, given that it has the ability to look as though it is an overhit dribble, but in reality there is a huge amount of control involved in its performance. In fact, it is such a difficult skill to perfect that even Pelé never managed to learn it.
The performance of the skill involves the player using the outside of the foot that they consider to be their most dominant, pushing the ball towards their dominant side. They then quickly move their foot around the ball, using the inside of it in order to push the ball over to the side that they consider to be non-dominant. Obviously this will differ from person to person, depending on which foot is their strongest or even whether or not they consider themselves to be able to use both feet equally. Obviously the footwork is the key aspect of the move, but you must also have good acceleration.
That is because you are looking to use the move in order to get away from a defensive player, tricking them into thinking that you’re going to go one way whilst actually going in the other direction. The dribbling move has been used by numerous different players over the years, each offering their own version of how to perform it. That is the reason why it has so many different names attached to it, but the Spanish term ‘elástico’ is arguably the most accurate as it looks as though the ball is attached to the foot by some elastic before being shifted away into the space created.