I picked this up towards the end of last season, he changed his game to be more of an inside forward than a touchline hugging winger, as a result he didn't use his dribbling skills as much, now watching Blackburn and Aalborg, forgetting that he is still not match sharp he should be able to skin the odd defender regularly.
Can Ronaldo consistently beat his man?
- Thread starter krazyrobus
- Start date
Yes, he is nowhere near truly fit
He skinned his defender to set up the goal for Rooney, and then again for Tevez
The goal for Rooney was just tapping it forward at the right time. Not much dribbling prowess needed there, I can do that. Also the flip behind his legs for Tevez seems to be the only thing he does regularly.
Beat the men both times, I remember 3 and 4 years ago when people were complaining about him doing too many moves, you also have to take into account is that he isnt fully fit, when he is fast enough just to glide past most players
I think he gets past his defenders more often then most other players expect for Messi so i wouldnt worry much about it.
Compare him to 06/07 you can't say he is a better dribbler or takes on his man more. He does it far less now and when he does i'm not seeing the same pazzazz in skinning them. I also said its not only this year, I picked this up towards the end of last season.
If by skinning you mean toe poke the ball in front and outsprinting the defender in a let's see who gets there first situation then yes.
If by skinning you mean using skills to dribble past defenders gracefully ala Maradona, Best or even a young Giggs then no.
If by skinning you mean using skills to dribble past defenders gracefully ala Maradona, Best or even a young Giggs then no.
i think it has alot to do with his physique, he's bulked up so much in thelast few years it might have something to do with his agility.
True, he has "lost" or deliberately decided not to display that quality of his that used to define him as a player. Whilst he is still effective, it makes him more predictable,easier to mark and less exciting to my muppet eyes.
i would agree with this. i was haiving a conversation with a friend during the blackburn game about how Ronaldo is less entertaining now than in his younger days but far, far more effective.
it's ironic because when he was 19 or 20, entire defences would drift to the side of the field he was on to help out their fellow defenders and Ronaldo would do a step over and ghost right past them. now everytime he has the ball he carries a legit goal threat and he hardly tries to confuse his marker, he just knocks it past him and runs onto the ball. i just dont think he dominates entire games like he used to. he can pop up with 2 goals in a game and not do much else for 90 minutes.
I've noticed it as well. He's best at beating defenders when he's in full flow when he can use his pace and a small trick to leave them for dead. From a standing start, he seems less capable of beating defenders compared to his earlier days. No real complaints though. He's added so much to his game that the loss of his dribbling skills don't hinder his effectiveness for us.
He can't consistently beat his man using his dribbling skills like Giggs or Messi, but he uses trickery and acceleration to do that.
A lot of times when he used to beat his man, he would do down a blind alley, no when he beats his man it is to set up a genuine scoring chance. He cuts inside more which is to the defenders advantage as it is more dangerous thus the defender is going to play it more effectively usually, as if he just lets Ronaldo run down the wing all he can do to hurt them is put in a cross
Ronaldo has great skill but his close dribbling is nowhere near the likes of Messi and Iniesta.
What Ronaldo has is pace and power and uses the well tried and trusted push and run. Which works against most people because of how quick he is but put him up against a quick full back like Cashley Cole and Ronaldo rarely gets much out of them if anything.
What Ronaldo has is pace and power and uses the well tried and trusted push and run. Which works against most people because of how quick he is but put him up against a quick full back like Cashley Cole and Ronaldo rarely gets much out of them if anything.
What did I say in my Ronaldo thread...
He has great pace,determination and really quick feet and uses these to beat his markers,he does tricks more often to taunt defenders than beat them,a quick defender or midfielder can keep him quiet for majority periods,but by god don't compare his dribbling skills to messi or maradona its more i'll kick the ball 10 yards out and beat you for pace dribbling.
I think he's still capable of doing close-control dribbling but it's not going to be his best asset as he's so fast and tall. If Crouch could dribble, it would be difficult to see him dribbling through defenses as he's so big - same sort of reasoning for Ronaldo. He's less stable on the ground than Messi due to size. For that reason, he's ironically easier to bump off the ball as his balance is less good than Messi's.
Ronaldo turning into a goalscorer has meant he has had to sacrifice his winger attributes somewhat. While kick-and-run is a trait we typically attribute to Wright-Phillips, Ronaldo can still put the ball where he wants ahead of him.
Messi's greatest asset besides his dribbling is probably his acceleration - Ronaldo's is probably his speed and jerk. While Messi gets up to speed very quickly and then becomes impossible to stop, Ronaldo can do a single dart and skin his marker before his speed gets him away. However, Messi's not really a fast player - if he were any faster, it would be much more difficult for him to control the ball. It's in Messi's interests not to dribble too fast as control is his forte.
Ronaldo turning into a goalscorer has meant he has had to sacrifice his winger attributes somewhat. While kick-and-run is a trait we typically attribute to Wright-Phillips, Ronaldo can still put the ball where he wants ahead of him.
Messi's greatest asset besides his dribbling is probably his acceleration - Ronaldo's is probably his speed and jerk. While Messi gets up to speed very quickly and then becomes impossible to stop, Ronaldo can do a single dart and skin his marker before his speed gets him away. However, Messi's not really a fast player - if he were any faster, it would be much more difficult for him to control the ball. It's in Messi's interests not to dribble too fast as control is his forte.
Messi runs as fast as he can with the ball at his feet under rediculously good control. His dribbling is frightening, he should have scored a cracker against Atletico when he turned their defence inside out at full speed before chipping just wide.
Messi isn't that fast at full speed, he is quick no doubt but Kaka and Ronaldo are much faster at full speed.
As for Ronaldos balance. He has fantastic balance, athletically he is magnificent but he doesn't always use it to it's full potential. He goes to ground far too easy which you never see Messi do.
Messi got a pretty horrible tackle above his knee which drew blood against Atletico and still got up and got on with it.
Ronaldo goes down under a shoulder tackle and waves his hands about. He has the strengh and balance to ride these tackles and i would love to see him learn a little from Messi in that regard. Which is suprising when La Liga is much more known for it's play acting and going to ground than the Premiership.
Please let's not turn this into Messi Vs Ronaldo 
It's very hard to expect Ronaldo to consistently beat his man but yes I believe he can do it without relying too much on his pace.
The most important thing is the result it produces however he does
It's very hard to expect Ronaldo to consistently beat his man but yes I believe he can do it without relying too much on his pace.
The most important thing is the result it produces however he does
It's probably to do with defenders learning his game more and more.
Ronaldo is a great dribbler but a good defender will do his homework making it alot easier to combat his attacking moves. He has enough skill to still beat his men but his dribbling style can be countered.
A lesser example would be Aiden McGeady who is another player with no shortage of skill but has struggled more this season with defenders doing a much better job of containing him.
Anyway as people pointed out, Ronaldo isn't fit yet and will get back to his best shortly.
Ronaldo is a great dribbler but a good defender will do his homework making it alot easier to combat his attacking moves. He has enough skill to still beat his men but his dribbling style can be countered.
A lesser example would be Aiden McGeady who is another player with no shortage of skill but has struggled more this season with defenders doing a much better job of containing him.
Anyway as people pointed out, Ronaldo isn't fit yet and will get back to his best shortly.
Im my opinion we see the following pattern from ronnie, which is miles above the average player.
Ronaldo + Man = beat x 0.7
Ronaldo + Man = freekick x 0.2
Ronaldo + Man = loss of possesion x 0.1
Ronaldo + Man = beat x 0.7
Ronaldo + Man = freekick x 0.2
Ronaldo + Man = loss of possesion x 0.1
Completely agree.
Are people practically saying that Ronaldo isn't a good dribbler of the ball here? Or that he's lost what he had? Don't talk nonsense. For years everyone complained that all he wanted to do was dribble past defenders and showboat, now he's delivering in every game with direct, intelligent football and people believe he's lost a part of his game?! Give him the ball on the touchline and if needed, he'll skin almost any defender with whatever means necessary, but with support or the goal in sight, you're more likely to see him push the ball on and cross, or lay it inside and make a run. Much more effective and I'm glad for it.
Thats a load of pish. The boy might be pacey but a lot of his trickery is down to his quick feet and turning. Time and time again he has beaten his markers without kick and run. FFS, we are talking about Ronaldo and NOT bleedin' Downing or Lennon!
Ronaldo has better dribbling than Downing or Lennon but he doesn't have the glue feet of Messi, Iniesta or Hleb for that matter.
He can always beat his man but the point was "consistently" and the answer is not for a while.
Ok, but he's more Ronaldinho than anything close to a kick and run merchant like Lennon or SWP. It's a flick, drop of the shoulder, step over or turn that deceives the defender before his electric pace has even come into it. I don't even slightly question his dribbling or ability to consistently beat his man, he does it every game he plays in.
He's a good dribbler, but not exceptional. He's incredible in an open game where he can utilise his acceleration and power.
Yep agree with that
I'm not sure anything has changed this season yet, he had a tough time beating his man on Saturday - the assist for Rooney was one of the exceptions, and a great sign of a player not scared to keep trying when it isn't going for him - you have to give the lad chance to get back up to match sharpness. Everyone else has had a full pre season, he hasn't
Ronaldo is more of a Kanchelskis dribbler than say a Messi. He relies mostly on speed of acceleration to beat his man. What marks him out as one of the best at what he does is his rapid ability to change direction when running at pace, but also his foot speed. He can usually touch and move the ball a couple of times before the defender can react once. The thing that makes him arguably (right now the best player on form is Messi, there's no denying that) the best player in the world is that on top of this, he's phenomenal in front of goal. He misses an awful lot of chances, but he takes so many shots that he's still bagging consistantly
Ronaldo is more of a Kanchelskis dribbler than say a Messi. He relies mostly on speed of acceleration to beat his man. What marks him out as one of the best at what he does is his rapid ability to change direction when running at pace, but also his foot speed. He can usually touch and move the ball a couple of times before the defender can react once. The thing that makes him arguably (right now the best player on form is Messi, there's no denying that) the best player in the world is that on top of this, he's phenomenal in front of goal. He misses an awful lot of chances, but he takes so many shots that he's still bagging consistantly
Beating a man is probably the toughest skill in football. Messi is the best at it and is the only one that can consistently beat a man after that I'd say Ronaldo's the best.
Rafael looks like he can do ok at this
Ronaldo is probably the most skillful player in the world, No he can't dribble like Messi but at the same time Messi can't dubb a man like Ronaldo. It's too different types of dribbling... and i can't believe you guys are going to criticise him because his fast! Giggs was probably the best dribbler in the world but his not as effective know because he lost his pace, so does that make his dribbling skills relient on pace?
People going on about this assist bother me because it was a good pass to Ronaldo, an over committed defender that pretty much made Ronaldos mind up for him and he pushed it with his first touch and passed it with is 2nd. Simple but it was hardly Ronaldo beating a man, the man beat himself.
The thing thats changed about Ronaldo is that he rarely goes on mazy runs. His runs tend to be just pure pace, where as a Messi or Ibrahimovic will take the ball into and out of areas that other players couldn't dream of.
I wouldn't agree that Ronaldo is 2nd best dribber in the world.
O be quiet!! He still had to beat him.. Which he managed to do with style! Have the time defenders commit themselves which is my the opponent decides to go left instead of right or so on.... Stop Bitching Ibrahimovic doesn't even dribble!
Ibrahimovic doesn't dribble?
He scored one of the most outragous goals ever when he played for Ajax. Anyone with an interest in football will know about that goal.
Yess.. Sory thats right Ibrahimovic is one of the best dribblers in the world because he of his one move for Ajax! Don't try and tell me about football when you seem to think Zlatan is a world beater when it comes to dribbling! His got quick feet doesn't automaticly make him a fantastic dribbler.Ibrahimovic doesn't dribble?
He scored one of the most outragous goals ever when he played for Ajax. Anyone with an interest in football will know about that goal.
Ronaldo's physique inhibits him from having the low centre of gravity which would allow him to consistently manoeuvre his way past opponents in tight spaces. However, he is fantastic at dribbling from the centre circle to the edge of the box, he usually takes the most direct route to goal and commits defenders at high speed.
Ibrahimovic is very adept at using his footwork and dexterity when surrounded by a number of opponents however every so often you'll see him tread on the ball when dribbling at full speed. This is something he has done since he was a youth and he still hasn't managed to shake it off.
Ibrahimovic is very adept at using his footwork and dexterity when surrounded by a number of opponents however every so often you'll see him tread on the ball when dribbling at full speed. This is something he has done since he was a youth and he still hasn't managed to shake it off.
I watched the game on saturday, he dribbled a fair bit and beat alot of men. Ibra is one of the best one on one when it comes to dribbling, to think otherwise shows a lack of knowledge.
Also explain how beating 5 or 6 or 7 players before scoring is "one" move?
