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Cruyff turn
Johan Cruyff debuted his turn at the 1974 World Cup against Sweden. The trick involves the player shaping to take a shot forward but instead using the instep to take the ball inwards in order to get away from his marker.
The Dutch legend is synonymous with his exquisite skill which has since become quite common, being part of the arsenal of most technically capable players. The move will always add to the alluring charm of the Ajax and Barcelona legend whose contributions to the beautiful game will be hard to surpass.
Panenka penalty
The 1976 European Championship final between West Germany and Czechoslovakia was tied at 2-2 after the final whistle and the destination of the title had to be decided by a penalty shootout. The first seven spot kicks all went in before Uli Hoeness missed a kick for the Germans, the match ultimately boiled down to the final spot kick whose taker was Antonin Panenka for Czechoslovakia.
The midfielder feigned a kick to Sepp Maier’s left, the German goalkeeper fell for it and as he dived to save kick that wasn’t, Panenka calmly slotted the ball right through the middle to crown Czechoslovakia the champions of Europe. It has been widely emulated since, most memorably by Andrea Pirlo against a hapless Joe Hart at the 2012 Euros.
Marseille turn
Also known as the Zidane turn after its inventor, Zinedine Zidane, the Marseille turn is a trick to evade a marker. The player in possession of the ball when he encounters an opponent right in front with seemingly no space to move forward, he puts his foot on top of the ball and drags it back, while the other foot takes the ball away in the direction he wants to take it.
Zidane is credited as the inventor of the ingenious move; however, it is primarily named after the region where the current Real Madrid manager honed the skill.
Elastico
Elastico is credited to be the invention of Japanese-Brazilian footballer Sergio Echigo, but it is synonymous with the 1970 World Cup-winning Brazilian midfielder Rivelino. The midfielder never shied away from acknowledging the inventor of the move and made it quite clear that he learnt it from Echigo when the two were playing together at Corinthians.
The move involves the player moving his foot in one direction but instead of actually moving the ball, he just caresses his foot over it and kicks the ball back inside fooling the marker. It has become very common among modern footballers.
La Croqueta
Michael Laudrup tormented defences with his extensive use of La Croqueta. Andres Iniesta, who idolised Laudrup as a kid, has made the move an integral part of his extensive arsenal.
The trick involves kicking the ball to one foot but precisely enough to move it to the other and doing all this while moving forward. No one does it better than Iniesta in the modern game.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.