If you have read some of the other skills on this site, you will likely have come across the Rainbow Flick. There are some similarities between that skill and the Sombrero Flick, with the differences between the pair being subtle. Lovers of the Brazilian players Neymar will doubtless know all about it, given the fact that he would often perform it when he was on his feet long enough to do so.
It is a skill that is all about taking your opponent by surprise, which can be key to giving yourself an advantage on the football pitch when you’re looking to help your team win the match they’re playing in.
About the Skill
The main difference between the Sombrero Flick and the Rainbow Flick is that you have to lift the ball up with the tip of your football boot, then kick it up and backwards over yourself. It is a very Brazilian trick in nature, performed by the likes of Pelé, Garrincha and Ronaldinho long before Neymar made it his own. Every movement of the skill is crucial to its execution, starting with the notion of putting the tip of your boot under the ball, before stepping forward with your other foot and putting your weight onto it, allowing you to flick the ball up with your original foot.
The first two steps of the skill are best performed from a running position, allowing you to move the football with the ball balanced on it forward, lifting it up so as to be able to reach it with your foot. From there, you need to kick the ball up and backwards over yourself. It is whilst the ball is in the air that you need to turn around, doing so as quickly as possible in order to then take control of it. If you have flicked the ball over your head with your left foot, you should turn to the right, whereas if it was your right foot that you flicked it over yourself with then you need to turn to your left.
How much force you will need to use in order to lift the ball over your head will depend on how close the opposition players are to you. Once you’ve turned around, you will then need to look out for the ball and do what you can in order to bring it back under control. Whilst you’re waiting for it to drop, you should be looking around and seeing where your teammates are as well as those on the opposite team. Depending on that information, you will then know what to do next. You need to take control of the ball, then make a decision about whether to pass it or to run with it yourself.