The advantage of being left footed

Skills

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Is there one in football?

There's one obvious advantage, as in teams usually prefer to have at least 3 left footers in there teams nowadays (LB, RW and also increasingly LCB) - which makes up just less than a 1/3 of a football team, when left footers only make up about a 1/10th of the population IIRC.

Outside of that, do left footers have other advantages in the game itself? I was listening to the sky sports football podcast the other week - England's analyst pointed out, left handed bowlers have a clear advantage over right handed bowlers.



In summary, the key advantage is that batsman come across them far less so their movements/patterns are much harder to predict - especially in a sport where the balls whizzing past the batsman at 90mph. Do left footed footballers enjoy the same advantage? Just in terms of their dribbling movement? Is it harder for a goalkeeper to read a left footed striker, than a right footed one?
 
Left footers are better penalty takers.
 
Left footers are worse penalty takers
 
They are less common than right footers and thus also more valuable. Average left-footers can make themselves a career more easily.

They also often look more technical in comparison and are generally better at crossing than the average right-footer, but probably worse at taking penalties.
 
Oranges038 said:
Also left footers make terrible goal keepers.
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Most of the international tournaments in the last 25 years have been won with a left-footed GK. Barthez, Casillas, Rui Patricio, Lloris. Also the likes of Cech, Julio Cesar, Dida and Ederson have won quite a lot of trophies between them.
 
Left footed players often have a "wand" for a left foot.
Whereas you will never hear that about a right footer.
 
My left foot is the only foot to have its own movie as well. Coincidence?
 
No matter how bad a footballer you are, if you are left footed there is always a random net nugget in your arsenal.
 
As a lefty I can confirm it did feck all for me :(
 
It’s doing something for Messi and I’m not talking about his footballing ability.
 
I’m surprised that not more players are more two-footed. The only real two-footer I can think of was Gamst Pedersen back in the day. Greenwood was always hyped as being two footed, but he seems to heavily favour his left when playing at this level.
 
Gopher Brown said:
I’m surprised that not more players are more two-footed. The only real two-footer I can think of was Gamst Pedersen back in the day. Greenwood was always hyped as being two footed, but he seems to heavily favour his left when playing at this level.
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He was right footed growing up too, so it is a bit strange.

Cazorla was 2 footed from what I can remember.
 
Skills said:
Is there one in football?

There's one obvious advantage, as in teams usually prefer to have at least 3 left footers in there teams nowadays (LB, RW and also increasingly LCB) - which makes up just less than a 1/3 of a football team, when left footers only make up about a 1/10th of the population IIRC.

Outside of that, do left footers have other advantages in the game itself? I was listening to the sky sports football podcast the other week - England's analyst pointed out, left handed bowlers have a clear advantage over right handed bowlers.



In summary, the key advantage is that batsman come across them far less so their movements/patterns are much harder to predict - especially in a sport where the balls whizzing past the batsman at 90mph. Do left footed footballers enjoy the same advantage? Just in terms of their dribbling movement? Is it harder for a goalkeeper to read a left footed striker, than a right footed one?
Click to expand...


Interesting question. I know that studies of hand preference have shown that left handed individuals consistently are more ambidextrous - in large part thought to be due to having to adapt to the subtle ways the world is designed for right-handed people. I'm not sure if the same is true for left footed players though - off the top of my head there are the likes of Yarmolenko, Lamela, Matic, and Bertrand Traore who are one-footed to ridiculous extents.

Overall though a lot of it has to do with passing angles - especially as the LCB left footed passes up the wing will always be harder to intercept.
 
Marcos Rojo would never have been signed for United or any other top side if he was right footed.
 
Gopher Brown said:
I’m surprised that not more players are more two-footed. The only real two-footer I can think of was Gamst Pedersen back in the day. Greenwood was always hyped as being two footed, but he seems to heavily favour his left when playing at this level.
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Wer Bobby was well able to use both.
If you watch him he dribbled a lot using his left but could also pass and smash them with both.


 
Your brain interprets the world differently being left sided I'd imagine. When I used to play in goal, facing a left footed penalty taker totally threw me because all of a sudden I couldn't read the run up, my brain couldn't compute.
 
Gringo said:
Your brain interprets the world differently being left sided I'd imagine. When I used to play in goal, facing a left footed penalty taker totally threw me because all of a sudden I couldn't read the run up, my brain couldn't compute.
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What if the goalie is left footed too? :nervous:
 
The advantage is that there are very few left footed players in comparison to right footed. So I guess its easier to be a left back or right winger because there's lets competition.
 
It's an advantage in terms of competition. If certain positions can only be occupied by left footers (RW, LB) then you have a smaller pool to compete against. Just look at how many quality left wingers are out there compared to quality right wingers.

That aside I don't think that a left footer is technically better than a right footer on average. If I think of the technically best players in football nowadays, the right footers are definitely in the vast majority.
 
I don't think so. On one hand a leftie faces up to a right footed defenders preferred side, on the other they can shield the ball better when running next to a rightie.

Maybe there is something about players being more used to facing right footed opponents. It's always hard when a leftie cuts inside and makes you turn.
 
All the lefties missed penalties for Valencia against Bayern in 2001 UCL final
 
LilyWhiteSpur said:
What if the goalie is left footed too? :nervous:
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I suppose it makes no difference in that scenario. Ultimately playing against a left footer os probably harder for most players irrespective of their own foot. It's a matter of practice, you spend most of your time playing against right-footers.
 
Gringo said:
Your brain interprets the world differently being left sided I'd imagine. When I used to play in goal, facing a left footed penalty taker totally threw me because all of a sudden I couldn't read the run up, my brain couldn't compute.
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This I get.

Giggs penalty in Moscow (and any other one he took but particularly that one) looks so awkward and not "normal" because he takes it left footed.
 
Sandikan said:
Left footed players often have a "wand" for a left foot.
Whereas you will never hear that about a right footer.
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Cutch said:
Literally came here to write this. Or a hammer
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Yeah, those phrases do get mostly used for left footers.

Conversely, left footed players also get criticised for being too one footed far more than right footed players. Most players are very one foot dominant, and really should use / improve their weaker foot more. It seems fully accepted for right footed players to rarely use their left, and largely goes unsaid. But left footed players who rarely use their right get highlighted a lot more for being very one footed and 'all left foot'.
 
One of the advantages of being left-footed is just simply the fact that you are left-footed and there are a lot less of those than there are right-footed players..
 
The only difference is that left footers are not that common. Other than that they're all the same.
 
I have this weird belief that left footed players are generally more technically gifted than right footed players for some reason.
It'd be interesting to see the % of left-footers that are technically competent (e.g. dribbling, striking the ball) vs. right-footed players
Some studies have suggested that left-handed individuals tend to be more creative than those that are right handed. Maybe that plays a part? Dunno
 
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