The Importance Of First Touch And Close Control

The Importance Of First Touch And Close Control

First touch and close control, two of the most vital aspects in football and the difference between good players and great players. You need only to look at some of the greatest players in history: Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Zico, Puskas - players who played a variety of positions but had two huge attributes in common than helped set them out from the rest: their close control and first touch.

There are many situations where having these skills in abundance will give you an advantage over an opponent, or turn a tough game in your favour, but first, definitions.

Xavi - A master of the first touch

First Touch

Pretty self explanatory, the ability to manipulate the ball the way you want with your first touch of receiving the ball. Be it plucking it out of the air with your laces or the inside of your foot, chesting down a long ball, controlling it with the inside of your foot from along the floor or cushioning it into your path with your quadricep. Being able to manipulate the ball into what you want it to do with your first touch will set up your next phase of play nicely and will allow you to contribute efficiently to your team's attack.

Close control

The ability to be able to work the ball effectively within around a yard of your feet. For example: dragging the ball around in an arc with the inside of your foot, quick small touches to work your way out of a tight situation, or even performing certain skill moves such as the Cruyff turn. This again is about manipulating the ball into what you want it to do and can be applied in almost any situation on a football pitch for you to gain an advantage and to contribute to your team.


Like I said before, having these two attributes in abundance is an advantage to any footballer, and when they are most effective depends upon certain high pressure situations, here are some examples:

COUNTER ATTACK

Counter attacks are known for being fast and very direct, so having a good first touch is essential in these situations. A ball could be played out from an opposition corner/freekick and all of a sudden you could be 3 v 3 in the opponent's half and sprinting down on their goal, with a disjointed defence back-pedalling, it will not be very hard to split their defence with a pass. So the pass splits the two defenders and arrives at your feet at pace on the edge of the 18 yard box, this is when you touch will be tested and the outcome could have a huge effect on the result of the game. Over hit the touch and the on rushing goalkeeper will gather it up with ease and kill the attack, taking the touch too close into your feet will mean you have to slow abruptly and take a crucial second to sort your feet out and get the ball out of your feet, by which time the defenders will have caught up and have you covered. What it needs is a nice cushioned touch about a yard out of your feet so you can finish in the best possible position.

CLOSE QUARTERS

Close quarter situations are a huge test for even the greatest of footballer, it requires great composure, nerves of steel and most of all: the ability to take a good first touch and have good close control over the ball. Spanish players are masters of this situation, and that is due to the countless hours spent on the training pitch and as a young player developing their close control and first touch. The mastery of these skills give the players that almost faultless, quick two touch passing and ability to move the ball about their feet when they are forced to turn on the ball or dribble past a close opponent. The results are outstanding as we can see, with Spain winning both the Euros and the World Cup and churning out countless outstanding technical players, many of whom will be up there with the very best in the world, it's no surprise many club are ditching the philosophy of "bigger is better" for a player and are now drilling their youngsters for countless hours on how to take the ball under their control, and when it's there, learning how to keep it away from the opponent with quick feet and small touches.

Iniesta combines fantastic first touch with outstanding ball control

KEEPING AN ATTACK FLOWING

I've lost count of how many times the team I play for have put together a good move only for the ball to be knocked to a player who cannot take it under control, or whose poor feet cause the ball to get stuck in his feet, it kills the attack often and it's infuriating. Sometimes it may not be a huge problem to the team as the ball may be deep in the opposition half, other times it may be more problematic, perhaps the attack is in its very early stages and the ball is given away in your own half, all of a sudden you're on the backfoot and the mistake may prove very costly.

FINALLY - THE WAY IT BUILDS A FOOTBALLER

In my opinion, this is the greatest advantage of having a good first touch and good close control, it provides a foundation for you as a footballer, no matter what your position. Footballers of any age should be drilled constantly to perfect their first touch and their close control for at least 15-20 minutes per training session. Other skills can be worked on and develop more naturally over time and at a good pace, but first touch and close control must be prioritised for the sake of building a good technical footballer. Again I'll use Spanish players as an example, they are drilled constantly in their first touch and close control, and over time they develop their specialities, be it passing, defending or finishing. Like I said before, these skills provide a solid foundation for footballers and starts them off in the perfect way to develop.