Flailing around the pitch...

[Zealous Dissent]

New to soccer and new to FIFA, but I feel I'm getting the hang of it.. my problem is that I really have trouble with possession - specifically retaining it.

How realistic is it to get by at least one defender? How do I do it? I use the "stop" feature to change direction. I use the (L2+R2) to try to slide past them laterally, and sometimes I try to slow down with the "pace control" to slip by them, but 90% of the time I am dispossessed. As I don't know soccer statistics, is that reasonable or what? I am not looking to have a one-man fast-break show, but I would love to slip by one defender sometimes. What's the best strategy in dribbling?

In my quest to better understand the sport I have been watching a TON of soccer on the Fox Soccer Channel. I noticed that there is a lot of "backwards to go forwads", and that seems to yield better results in FIFA. Are there any other tips you guys can offer to help retain possession?

[Lecrae]

If you want to get by 1v1 you should use your right analog stick to either knock it past them and sprint, or if you know how to use the advanced movements and have a good player on the ball you can get creative and do spins and such.

If you want to get by and you have a teammate nearby you can through ball and it will go past the defender and have your teammate run past him to recieve it.

I like to wait until my whole team is up there before trying to attack unless I clear it and my forward gets it and only has a guy or two to beat. You can get your team forward by passing around and looking for easy runs down the side or middle that don't require you to sprint the length of the field.

[StiffArm]

You can do different things to dribble the ball up the field, like knocking the ball on (right stick), turning your back to the defender and holding up the ball (hold RT) then quickly turning past the defender, and varying your speed, but if the defender has good positioning on you, it's going to be difficult to dribble right past him unless you're using a very skilled player and you have very skillful thumbs (which is as it should be). Spending time in the practice arena working on your stick skills will help, certainly, but the quickest way to get better at advancing the ball is to get better at using the pass to manipulate the defense and pull them out of shape.

This game definitely rewards patience. Knocking the ball around the back never hurts, especially with the way the CPU likes to press. One thing I like to do when I'm playing four at the back is to pass it accross the back line a few times, then work one of the flanks to draw some players over, then pass back to the sideback and quickly switch the play to the other flank (play a lofted pass all the way over to the other sideback or side midfielder/winger) and quickly attack down the wing. Never be afraid to pass back, though. It can be difficult to break down a defense, so you have to be patient. If you're having difficulty retaining possession, you may be making too many high-risk passes; if your options going forward are all marked by a defender, be willing to pass it back to a defender instead of trying to force something. It's easy to get frustrated when an opening isn't quickly forthcoming, but try to stay patient. Spain played this way all the way to the World Cup title.

One very effective thing to do which is very easy to learn is the old give and go-- hold down L1 as you pass and the passer will overlap/make a run past the recipient; quickly pass it back to him and he should be free in space.

Also, it's often easier to pull back into your own third on defense, then strike quickly on the counter attack-- you'll have much more space with which to work, which is why so many club and national teams like to play this way in real life. When you're on the break, though, you're going to be tempted to sprint as fast as you can straight toward the goal, but try to determine when the smarter play is to hold up play just a bit to allow your teammates to catch up, as Lecrae said. During one of Germany's World Cup games (I want to say Argentina, but I'm not sure) the TV commentator remarked that Mesut Oezil showed remarkable maturity for his age when he did precisely this with the ball while on the break.

[Zealous Dissent]

Yeah - I have to break out of that "I want it now" American mentality. I think I get that way because I always get behind early (like the US National Team), and then I am playing catch-up, and rushing into turnovers, and really trying to force too much. Your post was VERY helpful, and I forwarded it to my email for further review. Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me. I appreciate it.. I will let you know how I do. I am like obssessed with this game. HAHA. I have an excel sheet and I am tracking all the details of my online games. Who I play - their ranking - the teams used - the score, and any special notes... I really want to get better, and patience and practice seem to be the key. Wathincg a ton of futbol also helps.