Becoming a great soccer player takes time, dedication and some physical attributes. Whenever a youngster is trying to make their way through the ranks and become the next Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, they often focus on their bodies and how they can become fitter, stronger, faster and more accurate.
“Programme Kiosk” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by joncandy
Indeed, if you scroll through our pages, we’ve got tips on everything from how to improve your passing to controlling the ball. In fact, you can even read through our nutrition section and pick up tips on why the Atkins diet works well for soccer players and how most players aren’t eating enough carbs before a game.
Don’t Forget to Read
However, as valuable as these tips are, they overlook one of the game’s most important skills: reading. No, we don’t mean sitting on the sidelines reading a book. What we mean is reading the game. Without an understanding of tactics, formations, personal statistics (yours and your opponents’), you won’t ever become a master.
While there’s no doubt that natural talent, ball control and all those other things are important, it will all count for nothing if you can’t apply it at the right times. Indeed, when you think about it, soccer is a team game and that means you have to understand its underlying mechanics.soccer-books-library.jpeg
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Think Like a Sports Betting Expert
One way to improve your reading abilities is to listen to your coach and, in turn, start to think like one. Learn about formations, assess another team’s line-up, think about why a certain pass is better than another in various situations.
By drawing up a tactics boards in your head and answering these questions, you’ll have a better chance of reading the action as you play and, therefore, making better moves. In tandem with this strategy, there’s some value in thinking like a sports bettor.
From the moment a skilled punter decides to ante-up, they’re doing some research. In the first instance, they want the best odds and offers. This means listening to those in the known.
For example, there are many online casinos portals that also review sports betting sites, a bettor could read this Canadian Sportingbet review and see that it has a 4.5-star rating because of its live betting options and sign-up bonus.
This process is of using review and comparison sites is known as value hunting and it’s something seasoned punters will do to get the maximum returns on their investments.
Develop Your Soccer Brain
Once this person has found the best place to play, they’ll pour over stats in order to find a solid bet. After reviewing everything from past results, head-to-head match-ups, current form and even tweets from players to establish their morale, a bettor will then make their picks.
Essentially, what these people are doing is trying to read every facet of the game before making a move and that’s what you should be doing. Although it might be tough to find information on your opponents if you’re not playing at a professional level, it doesn’t mean you can’t use the top players as a guide.
For instance, if you reviewed the skills of Ronaldo using his latest stats, you could get a feel for where he’s strong and where he’s weak. Then, if you encounter a player with a similar style in your own games, you will have an idea of their strengths and weaknesses.
Developing your body is certainly something you need to focus on as an aspiring soccer player. However, this shouldn’t be at the detriment of developing your mind.
The soccer brain is a real thing and the more you can train yours to read the game and understand the nuances of what’s going on, the better you’ll be when the whistle blows.
