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Step-Overs

Soccer (Individual Skills) / Popular

Execute step-over feints to unbalance defenders.

What coaches agree on

  • A step-over works by faking a touch to one side so the defender commits their weight that way, then you push the ball off in the opposite direction while they're off balance.
  • Stay on the balls of your feet with your knees bent through the move, keeping a low center of gravity so you're ready to explode away the instant the defender is off balance.
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  • Build the step-over up in stages: stationary first, then with the ball rolling, then around a cone, then against a passive defender, before you try it live in a match.

Common mistakes

  • Moving only the foot around the ball while the shoulders, eyes, and upper body stay still, so the defender has nothing to react to and the fake never really sells.
  • Letting the foot swing wide over the top of the ball instead of stepping in tight around it, which leaves the ball exposed for the defender to poke away.
  • Selling the step-over well and then jogging away afterward instead of accelerating hard, which lets the defender recover and forces you to beat them all over again.