Ninja Strikers

Defenders HATE surprises!  Sometimes you do tricks or something fancy they don’t expect,but if they are good defenders, they can still usually put up a good defense.  But what they really hate are Ninjas. 

I’m talking about the sneaky type of ninja.  The kind of ninja that can appear out of nowhere, without warning; like Batman.  A ninja striker is someone that can sneak in and steal the ball, or better yet, a goal!

To be a ninja striker, you have to learn to be sneaky.  In order to be sneaky, you have to learn how to avoid being seen.  If they can’t see you, they probably don’t know you’re there.  The question is, how do you avoid being seen?

Ninjas avoid being seen and detected because they know how to use their opponents’ blind side.  Right now you are watching this video learning how to be a ninja, but you are open to attack because while you are looking at this, a ninja could be sneaking up right behind you! Watch out!

Here is an example of a defender’s blindside and a striker being a ninja striker.

Here we have defender Harry Maguire.  He just received a pass from his winger.  The player in white is the striker.

Now, this triangle shows what he is looking at and what he can see.  Can he see the striker in white?  Nope

Does the Striker know that?

Absolutely!

Ninjas are sneaky and fast.  Watch how he sneaks up on him and humiliates him.

Now that we have an understanding of what the blind side is and how to use it, how did STL City do this well in the game against Dallas?

On offense, it takes 2 people to realize when there is an opportunity to exploit a blind side run.  The ninja has to get into a position that is not only set up for a blind side run, but also where his, or her, teammate (our 2nd player) can see them ready to be sneaky.

Here we see Lowen on the ball looking up for a pass.  He recognizes that Becher is getting ready to sneak in.  This play also works well because the other 2 defenders for Dallas can’t run with Becher because they have 2 other City players to worry about.

Lowen plays the perfect pass because it makes that defender turn away from Becher, which upgrades his sneak level.  Becher uses his speed to surprise and beat the defender to the ball and draws the penalty. This is Ibiaga, and he is fast, Becher could not have beaten him in a race normally. 

The poor defender had no idea he was going to be a victim of a ninja striker!  Just look at that face!

Now that you have an idea of how to be a ninja striker, how will you strike?  Remember how to use the blind side to sneak in and surprise them!