In the world of football, opposition players become so finely tuned that even the most subtle of movements from someone can give them a sense of what the other person is going to do. Whilst this does mean that it is extremely difficult to take people by surprise if you’re playing at a decent level, it also means that it can be used to your advantage from time to time.
A good example of this can be seen in the fake shot, which can also be referred to as a body feint. It is useful for a whole host of reasons, but the main one is the idea that you might be able to win yourself some space on the pitch.
About the Fake Shot
In essence, the fake shot is an attempt to sell the idea to your opponent that you’re going to do one thing, only for you to do something else once they’ve bought into what you’re trying to tell them you’re doing. You will need to get your body to do one thing even whilst your mind is thinking about something else, thanks to the fact that your opponent can’t read your mind but can see your body. Similarly, your leg will seem as if it’s going to do something which it then doesn’t actually do, so this is one of those skills that you can practice all the time on account of the fact that you don’t need a ball to do so.
There is minimal risk involved with such a move, given that you don’t actually do anything, but the upside can be relatively huge. You are obviously trying to trick the defender, but do so whilst also reading their movement and doing what they least expect. Get your timing right and you will be able to get a shot in on goal in an unexpected situation, or else produce a body feint that will send the defender in the opposite direction to the one that you want to go in, either giving you space to run into or else giving you enough time to be able to pick a pass to someone on your team.
In order to learn it, you are best placed practising it in an exaggerated fashion to begin with. Over time, you will want to reduce the look and feel of the move to make it much more subtle, which will still cause the defender to buy into what you’re selling whilst also not causing your body to be too far out of position. If you combine it with a quick touch of the ball or a shifting of the ball to the side before accelerating away, you will be closer to having it perfected. On the pitch, you’ll want to pull it out when you’re running towards a defender, getting them out of the way to give yourself a clear shot.