Cristiano Ronaldo ,the name that terrorizes opposite defenders since 2002 with start of senior football carrer in Sporting CP,he used different skill moves on the pitch that other players can barely do.In each and every game he shows mesmerizing skills.
Among these skills he perfected the skills stepovers.Stepover consist of moving your legs above the ball,creating a body movement to different sides,making the defender think your moving in one direction but your going on the other.
There isn't a single game where he did not pull of any stepovers.By initiating this movement he tears through defences and creates chances and scores amazing goals.
But he wasn't just gifted with ths skill,through shear hard work and dedication he perfected this skill move.To speed up the stepovers he used to wear ankle weights and practice his skills.As a result he could do his skills faster and with ease in an actual game.
Former teammates on ronaldos skills
According to the post from mirror.co.uk ,Former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune revealed how Ronaldo was incredibly competitive from the moment he arrived at Old Trafford in 2003, and always wanted to be the best at everything.
He added"He was obsessed with step overs and showing his skills. Not tricks, skills. We didn’t tell him that he was wrong just because he was different; we could see that he was hugely talented. He was always the best at step overs, but he started doing them with weights strapped to his ankles so that it would be easier in a real game"
sourceAccording to Rio Ferdinand "He used to put these mad things on his feet, these weights, and do mad stepovers,".
sourceHe added "I used to think 'Are you mad? What are you doing?' Until he started bamboozling people."
Want to do skills like ronaldo??
So, if you want do get better at stepovers like Ronaldo you need to concentrate on practicing,use different drills and variations in your training.Of course using ankle weignts will increase your stepover speed and improve precision but there is a slight risk of injury due to pressure on ankle and knee.
So proper warm up before practicing is essential to reduce the chances of injury.Ankle weights served me good so far as i am more faster and agile after using them.
But overtraining with ankle weights should be discouraged as it will result in ACL tear during training ,so care should be taken.