If you are a soccer fan, it is safe to assume you are impressed by the dribbling skills, passing ability, dead ball expertise and other special skills displayed by your favorite soccer stars. Now, football is a physical sport so you expect players to have strong physical abilities. However, a great player needs soccer intelligence to excel and this quality should be developed by smart soccer coaches.

Understanding Soccer Intelligence

First off, soccer intelligence simply means using your mind to read the game. This also involves an ability to make the right decisions and generally apply smart solutions to problems on the football pitch. Below are some aspects of soccer intelligence every player should have.

Position

A smart soccer player should always be prepared to receive the ball. Now, positional awareness is vital here because you need to be in the right position before the balls comes to you. Do not back the ball and do not run ahead of the ball. Stand sideways always and look at the positions of the players on the opposing team. This way, you know what to do with the ball before you even get it.

The Early Ball

This is one of the best indicators of soccer intelligence. If you want to achieve great results with our pass, you should give the early ball to your team mates. This way, you take the opposition by surprise and get into dangerous positions before the defenders on the other team can plan a robust defense.

The selfless Pass

This is the ultimate mark of intelligence for strikers and attacking midfielders. You are in a good scoring position and the opposing keeper expects you to go for goal. Do not take that shot because the keeper is waiting for you to shoot. Just look for another player in your team in a good position and pass the ball to him. This is the selfless pass and it is guaranteed to yield positive results most of the time.

The Stop and Start

This move gives wingers the edge over defenders in attack situations. You are running with the ball with a defender hot on your heels. Do not try to outrun the defender. Just stop running for a few seconds and pretend you want to pass the ball. Now take off again at a very fast past and you will leave he opposing defender wondering what happened.

Final Word

To succeed as a soccer player, you need physical strength, stamina and endurance. You also need soccer intelligence because this quality will give you an edge over other players.