The breakdown of Ramsey’s turn against Napoli

As a coach you always have to look for techniques that are specific to your team’s playing style. Technique and tactics can not be thought of in isolation, as technique is the sum of actions through which the tactics come alive on the field.

I was rewatching Arsenal vs. Napoli and I saw Ramsey perform this beautiful turn to get away from the player about to close him down.

This is a great skill for turning to face the goal when the opponent is late to close you down and you are in a large free space, so you have plenty of time on the ball, and you have enough space to turn into.

The skill can be seen at 1:11 in the video:

The pass which Ramsey receives is immaculate. It is perfectly weighted, into the correct place, with the correct speed and with the correct rhythm. This requires a very high ability to control possession and space, so this technique is only useful for players in teams which can play this kind of possession game. Alright, it can be useful for anybody, but if you are not getting into these kinds of situations enough, than the effort of learning this technique could be more beneficial if concentrated on other aspects of your game.

Let’s look at the exact components from this technique, how Ramsey carries it out, and what are the points to look for when teaching it to the player.

When teaching a player a new technique you have a vision in your head about how it should look when carried out correctly. Here are a number of points to look for, things that as a coach you can teach the player and correct.

First moment: Receiving the ball

1. He brings his leg towards the ball first, and lets it come back as the ball hits it.
2. The arms are out in the air
3. His knees are bent.
4. He is standing on the front of his feet.
5. His knee is over the ball. The ball and his right knee are in one line. His right shoulder is a little bit behind the ball, not completely over it.
6. His upper body is slightly bent.

On the right the same moment can be seen, but from a sideways angle.

1. He touches the ball slightly over the halfway line of the ball.
2. His feet is not parallel to the ground, it is slightly pointed upward.

   Second moment: stepover with the left leg
   
   

1. The ball, his right knee and his right shoulder are in one line when he starts bringing his left leg over the ball.
2. His hands are still out in the air for balance.
3. His knees are bent, his upper body is slightly bent over the ball as well.

Third moment: Touch on the ball with the right leg

1. The touch with his right leg is away from the defender. This is needed because at this moment his body is not protecting the ball.
2.  Important not to take a too heavy touch, otherwise it would be impossible to guide the ball back on the turn later.

Fourth moment: Turn and get away from the opponent

1. When he gets the touch on the ball on the turn his hands are at their highest point so far.
2. The ball, his right knee and his left shoulder are in one line.

Advertisement