What Makes a Complete Football Player?

Who do you think is the most complete player in professional football at the moment? You might have your own preference and thinking, some of you might say it is Cristiano Ronaldo, and some of you argue it is Lionel Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, Pogba, Kevin De Bruyne, etc.

All of these players are considered “World-Class” because of all football aspects needed that they already possessed. None of them has the same characteristics, they have their own strengths and weaknesses, and those are things that make them unique. So, what does it take to be a complete player?

Here are four aspects that every aspiring footballer need to have to be “a complete player”:

1. Technical Abilities

As Johan Cruyff said, “Technique is about passing the ball with one touch, at the right speed, onto the right foot of your teammate”. Essentially, every football player should master all the technical fundamental skills such as passing, dribbling, shooting, first touch, etc. to a high standard if you want to make it to the highest level.

Because, the higher you climb up the ladder, the better quality of players who possessed these technical skills. If you see professional matches, you can see that the ball is moving at a high pace and most of the movements are simple yet effective for the game. Hence, you want to prioritize most of your training on this aspect of the game.

2. Tactical IQ

It would refer to your decision making, your positioning, your movements on the field. All of the technical abilities you have would be useless if you don’t know where and when to use it. You might the player who have those 5-star skills on FIFA in real life, but if you don’t aware what is going on in the playing field, those skills wouldn’t be as useful.

A player who has a great tactical IQ and has decent technical abilities would be likely more useful to the team compared to a player that I mentioned earlier. So, both of these first two points are essentially equally important to develop.

3. Mindset

I believe this separates a great football player from an average player. Your discipline, dedication, work ethic, coach-ability, mental toughness, etc. If you don’t have these in your mind and attitude, believe me, you won’t go as far as players who have them. Your mindset is the drive for you to keep doing what you doing.

No matter how lazy you are, how bad is the weather or the amount of rejection or negative critics you receive, they don’t bother you at all and you don’t care about those, you just keep going. That’s what going to separate yourself from the rest. That’s why it’s so important to work on your mind as all your actions are determined by it.

4. Physique and Fitness

If you don’t know what’s the difference, physique refers to your athleticism, strength, speed, body composition, etc. and fitness is about your endurance and stamina. There is a reason why it is placed in the last place. It doesn’t mean you can neglect these aspects, you still need these aspects if you want to progress higher and higher because you will play against bigger, fitter and stronger players every time you go to a higher level.

What it means is you shouldn’t prioritize these aspects over your technical aspects, because you are here to become a footballer, not a bodybuilder or just for the sake of being fit. The game is a combination of everything, it does not solely rely on one aspect only.

Remember, these are the aspects that would make you a better and complete player. You preferably want to incorporate all of these aspects to your training regimen. It might seem too much, but if you want it you will find solutions, not excuses. Choices are all yours to make.

If you made it to the end, I would appreciate it if you share it with one of your teammates. It also helps the blog grow. Other than that, stay healthy and stay safe, also keep ballin’!