Cultured Left Foot

The Original

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Theory could be that left footers are so often automatically put out on the wing as a kid so are more likely to develop that way

Although I suspect many would disagree with your statement and suggest Ronaldo x2, Sterling, Neymar, Mbappe, Figo, Mane, Ronaldinho etc.
Of those players only Sterling really has this dribbling style. I'm thinking more about the way they dribbling by skipping past players with the ball almost glued to their feet, using pace and jerky movements.

The others are more of tricksters... Do you get it?
 

thepolice123

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-------------------- Foster ------------------
Heinze -- Silvestre -- Rojo --- Fabio
Tosic--Anderson--Di Maria--Richardson
-------- Lukaku ------ Saha ----------


:drool: :drool: :drool:
 

Class of 63

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-------------------- Foster ------------------
Heinze -- Silvestre -- Rojo --- Fabio
Tosic--Anderson--Di Maria--Richardson
-------- Lukaku ------ Saha ----------


:drool: :drool: :drool:
Sorry to nitpick but Fabio isn't a Leftie, so maybe stick Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Danny Higginbotham, Tyler Blackett, Zeki Fryers, Paul Tierney(not the Referee), or Alexander Büttner in there.
 

Okey

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What I'd like to know is who is the shittest left footer?

It seems pretty much all of them can either smash a ball or curl it really well.
Erm...I would have thought Djimi Traore had that locked down, maybe for life? Dude played like a rightie that made a bet he would get through a whole career using his left foot!
 

Adam-Utd

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Erm...I would have thought Djimi Traore had that locked down, maybe for life? Dude played like a rightie that made a bet he would get through a whole career using his left foot!
good shout :lol:
 

Zehner

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Of those players only Sterling really has this dribbling style. I'm thinking more about the way they dribbling by skipping past players with the ball almost glued to their feet, using pace and jerky movements.

The others are more of tricksters... Do you get it?
Just because they do tricks doesn't mean they don't have close control and tempo dribblings. Neymar exemplarily is excellent at it and he does it quite frequently. Ronaldinho was, too, and then there's also a certain Hazard. They may not be on Messi's level, true, but who is?

I think this is more a case of attention bias/self-fulfilling prophecy. I mean, the most "spectacularly" technically gifted players are probably Ronaldinho, Zidane, Neymar and R9 - all right footed players. The best free kick taker was Juninho and then there's a complete set of players who deserves a mention (Mihailovic, Beckham, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pirlo) - who's primarily right footed, too. The best crosser by far was Beckham and in today's game it is Alexander-Arnold. You just pay more attention to it if it is a left footed player. And if you go as far back as Maradona, you could/should also include Zico, Cruyff and Best - three of the best dribblers ever - who were all right footed.
 

The Original

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Just because they do tricks doesn't mean they don't have close control and tempo dribblings. Neymar exemplarily is excellent at it and he does it quite frequently. Ronaldinho was, too, and then there's also a certain Hazard. They may not be on Messi's level, true, but who is?

I think this is more a case of attention bias/self-fulfilling prophecy. I mean, the most "spectacularly" technically gifted players are probably Ronaldinho, Zidane, Neymar and R9 - all right footed players. The best free kick taker was Juninho and then there's a complete set of players who deserves a mention (Mihailovic, Beckham, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pirlo) - who's primarily right footed, too. The best crosser by far was Beckham and in today's game it is Alexander-Arnold. You just pay more attention to it if it is a left footed player. And if you go as far back as Maradona, you could/should also include Zico, Cruyff and Best - three of the best dribblers ever - who were all right footed.
What I am driving at is the dribbling style, not the level. It's a very peculiar style of dribbling that is very consistent with left-footed right-wingers for some reason. Now I am not saying they are better in any way than right-footed players, I am saying that there is a consistent pattern of left-footed players playing this way.

For example, read this narration:

"the pacy winger is driving at the full-back, he drops a shoulder and beats his man on the inside, he's gone past the second, and he curls it into the top corner!"

If I asked you to name the player that comes to mind, it would most likely be one of Messi, Robben, Bale, Salah, or Di Maria. Even to mention lesser players, Chukwueze over at Villareal. Even though Marco Reus plays predominantly on the left, it's the same dribbling pattern with him. i.e run at the defender with the ball exposed, drop a shoulder, and change direction rapidly.

Some right-footed players score these goals and dribble in the same way, such as Sterling and Hazard. But compared to lefties, it's not as noticeable as a trend. Ronaldinho certainly is one of the greatest dribblers of all time in my book. And I am not saying that any of Messi, Robben, Bale, Di Maria, or Salah are at a higher level (Messi speaks for himself).

I am just saying if you think of a left-footed winger, they most likely dribble in this way by default whereas most right-footed wingers tend to mix it up.

If you name 10 top-level left-footed wingers, I am sure at least 8 would be found to dribble in this way by default.
 

Sveinp

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John Barnes had a good left foot. Brilliant player in the wrong team.
Sinisa Mihajlović must be among the best freekick takers ever.
 

Rozay

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So despite this initially being a joke, it is becoming clear that on average, left footers have superior striking technique than right footers?
Rivaldo and Recoba are the two sweetest strikers of a ball I’ve seen. Dybala in today’s game has it too.

That said, I always thought that Totti struck a ball clean as a leftie.
 

RkkMan

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Speaking of left foots a debate is on going on Twitter
Sentiment aside Robben or Giggs who you picking lads???
 

RoyH1

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I remember the term being associated with Andi Herzog, former Werder Bremen and Austria captain.
 

Toni's Left Foot

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My goal against Stoke on 15 Jan, 2018.

I would post a clip but apparently I am not 'cultured' enough to post media here.

/thread. :D
 

Zehner

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What I am driving at is the dribbling style, not the level. It's a very peculiar style of dribbling that is very consistent with left-footed right-wingers for some reason. Now I am not saying they are better in any way than right-footed players, I am saying that there is a consistent pattern of left-footed players playing this way.

For example, read this narration:

"the pacy winger is driving at the full-back, he drops a shoulder and beats his man on the inside, he's gone past the second, and he curls it into the top corner!"

If I asked you to name the player that comes to mind, it would most likely be one of Messi, Robben, Bale, Salah, or Di Maria. Even to mention lesser players, Chukwueze over at Villareal. Even though Marco Reus plays predominantly on the left, it's the same dribbling pattern with him. i.e run at the defender with the ball exposed, drop a shoulder, and change direction rapidly.

Some right-footed players score these goals and dribble in the same way, such as Sterling and Hazard. But compared to lefties, it's not as noticeable as a trend. Ronaldinho certainly is one of the greatest dribblers of all time in my book. And I am not saying that any of Messi, Robben, Bale, Di Maria, or Salah are at a higher level (Messi speaks for himself).

I am just saying if you think of a left-footed winger, they most likely dribble in this way by default whereas most right-footed wingers tend to mix it up.

If you name 10 top-level left-footed wingers, I am sure at least 8 would be found to dribble in this way by default.

Well, I understand your point but I'm disagreeing with your choice of players. I think guys like Neymar or Ronaldinho stylistically are a lot closer to Messi than Bale or Di Maria.

First of all, Messi's style is very unique. Those staccato like steps, this high transmission and very low center of gravity - you recognize Messi the moment he receives the ball. Di Maria and especially Bale are nothing like that. They don't keep the ball as close to their feet as Messi, they aren't as agile, they don't make so many steps and contacts and they rely much more on pace than him. Messi, besides his acceleration, is very good at setting the defender on the wrong foot and getting him out of balance. That's not what di Maria and Bale are doing. And they can't do it because their body shape and center of gravity is so far away from Messi. One big reason why he is unique, like it or not, is his stature. Even for his size, Messi possesses extremely short legs.

Salah possesses a similar build and Robben is similar to Messi regarding his foot work, true, I think Hazard is actually the closest to him from the world class players of the last 20 years. And Ribery is not far away from Salah and Robben. Besides those two, the only other left footed player in general which reminds me of Messi is Emre More. Maybe Dybala. And yes, players like Neymar, Ronaldinho or Sancho are in the trickster bracket but they also have sequences in their games during which they apply a more straight forward no nonsense style and during those occasions, the way they control the ball at top speed is also very reminiscent of Messi's dribbling style. I'd even say guys like Aguero, Sanchez, Insigne, Mertens or Isco are/were closer stylewise than Di Maria and Bale.

I think in the same way as R9 made the stepover a very popular skill in the late 90s/early 00s, Messi's dribbling style also inspired many imitators. It's not something left footed players naturally gravitate towards. It's just a way of dribbling that nobody mastered to the same extent as Messi.
 

Art Vandelay

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Sorry to nitpick but Fabio isn't a Leftie, so maybe stick Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Danny Higginbotham, Tyler Blackett, Zeki Fryers, Paul Tierney(not the Referee), or Alexander Büttner in there.
I hate to nitpick your nitpicking, but why not Evra or even Shaw?

Also where are Giggs and RVP? Have I somehow missed the point?
 

TwoSheds

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McTominay is a good enough passer, maybe not cultured, but still. Brucey? Did he have a goood shot?
I seem to vaguely remember him thumping a few, could be wrong though, he retired when I was about 7 haha!
 

Buchan

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City are fielding five left-footers in their starting XI tonight (Ederson, Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva, Foden and Mahrez).

A record for the Champions League?
 

diarm

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City are fielding five left-footers in their starting XI tonight (Ederson, Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva, Foden and Mahrez).

A record for the Champions League?
20 years ago Barca might have started a game with more. They had Rivaldo, Overmars, Cocu, Motta, Navarro, Frank De Boer, Zenden and Petit all knocking about the same squad. Messi, Davids and Van Bronkhorst as well but I'm not sure those 3 were there when all the others were.

I know this because I used to have 11vs11, left foot against right foot battles with my mate on Pro Ev.