How to Master Messi's Stop & GO Dribble: Easy Football Skills Tutorial to Level Up Your Game!

Hi and welcome back at Pelota Football Academy. Have you seen Lionel Messi stop and go dribble on the pitch? And how easily he beats defenders with it? Now it's time to find out why this rather easy dribbling skill move is so effective in real game situations. Make sure you watch the entire video because we also have an extra bonus tip at the end. Let's get started with level one, the basic technique. Essentially, this move involves attracting your opponent by slowing down and faking a stop and then quickly accelerating in the same direction. It's all about timing and technique and the little practice. You can own this move and leave defenders in the dust. Step one, dribble at moderate speed alongside or towards your opponent. Two, as you approach him, plant your foot firmly on the ground and slow down by taking smaller sprint steps. Three, while slowing down, just focus on your footwork and pretend to slow down. Four, meanwhile, you keep the ball very close to your body. Five, as the defender is about to bite, get ready. Six, play the ball into space with the outside of your foot. Playing the ball with the outside of your foot is important to maintain your natural running body posture as we also explain in our in-depth how to dribble like Messi video. Now let's move on with step seven. At the same time you play the ball into space, accelerate by pushing off with your other foot. Eight, keep accelerating with larger sprint steps, scan the pitch and get ready for your next move. Let's continue with level two, timing. Timing is everything with the skills stop and go, so pay close attention to these steps. One, the first step of the perfect timing, know your own location on the field and locate the space behind your defender. Two, to exploit the space, you want the defender to slow down and get a head start. Three, so the timing should be as early as possible to keep the space as large as possible. Four, when the defender is at about one step, you start to slow down by planning your foot besides the ball to protect it. Five, the defender will slow down. Six, keep your head up and watch the defender's action closely. Seven, now let him think he can conquer the ball. Eight, as soon as he steps in, play the ball six or seven steps in front of you depending on how much space you have and accelerate immediately to get the head start. Nine, scan the pitch and get ready for your next move. The key is to make the move look as convincing as possible, so take your time and practice until it feels natural. Level three, how to train. Start by training the details of the basic technique and focus to get familiar with the movements. To train the timing, you can use several cones and mark the point where you want to slow down until you reach the final cone that is when you time to play the ball into space and push off for an explosive acceleration. Also train this amazing skill with some friends in real 1v1s. Now get ready for the bonus tip. This bonus tip will take your stop and go skills to the next level. Instead of slowing down a couple of steps like Messi does in this example, you can also choose to accelerate immediately after the first slowing down step like Frankie de Jong. This will not only surprise your direct opponent, it will also give his other teammates less time to organize because of the increased speed of play and leaves them more vulnerable. Now that you know all about the stop and go Messi skill, you also have to watch this video and learn Messi's number one body feint, the amazing shoulder drop.