So you want to play like Messi?

Or maybe you want to be more like Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, or whom ever your favorite player is. All you have to do is watch them play. Yeah it’s that simple. But, chances are you already do watch your favorite athlete play all the time, so how is this tip really going to get you playing like a professional?

It’s important that you understand the following. There are two ways to develop as a soccer player: trial and error, and copying.

Let’s go over trial and error first. So, trial and error is what most youth athletes are already doing. It’s when you consistently practice over and over till you get it right. The hours you spend on the field shooting the ball at the net to get your technique right or that move you try to pull every game until one day it might actually work.

Now trial and error isn’t completely useless, but what happens if you were practicing the wrong technique the entire time! Now you’ve wasted valuable hours, only to develop a bad habit and a weak technique. Fixing a bad habit could take years to undo.

It’s up to you to take the advice from this article and prevent bad habits from affecting your style of play. To avoid this situation, it’s important that you copy your role model’s style of play.

All you have to do to copy is watch and learn from your favorite player. Not only are you learning, but you are learning from a professional. Professionals like Messi have spent countless hours perfecting their technique and style. They’ve made the mistakes and all you have to do is copy what they’ve perfected.

Study the style of the professional and once you have a clear understanding of the proper way to practice a technique, then you can spend the hours with trial and error.

Copying a professional is also the best way to develop your own style of play. You can take bits and pieces of multiple athletes who you like and create a style that fits to your strengths.

The main message here is if your serious about becoming a good soccer player or any type of athlete, you have to consistently watch the sport. Watch the sport with the intention to learn from all types of players. Take what you’ve seen from professional players and try it on your own during practice and games.

Something I used to do as a player was watch highlight videos of my favorite player before a game and than try to mimic the moves and strategies I had just watched. This is also a great way to pump yourself up before your game.

Want to play like Messi? It’s simple… Watch him play. Learn from the genius himself. Who knows you could be the next Messi someday. All it takes is for you to become a student of the game and learn from the best.