Attacking Controls

Trapping

There is a popular saying that is so true in FIFA 09: “First touch will kill you.” Control over the ball when receiving is crucial to being successful. Trapping is the skill where you collect the ball instead of it merely hitting you and hoping for the best. How the player first touches the ball when it comes in his direction can make all the difference between handing it over to your opponent and maintaining possession. There are three fundamental concepts used in FIFA 09 for trapping.

Trap

Trapping is the art of receiving the ball and bringing it under control. This is a very basic concept but can be used to gain quick control over the ball and be ready for what you do next. Whether standing in a crowded space or on a full sprint down the wing, a good trap is essential to gaining and maintaining possession. There are several types, all with various parts of your player’s body, from the chest to the thigh to the foot and even the head. All of them accomplish the same thing: to get the ball with any momentum it might be traveling in immediately into your possession so that you can be effective with your next move.

First Touch

There is no more effective moment in the game than when your player first touches the ball. If not controlled, it can be a quick turnover leading to disaster, or give your player a huge advantage to move into open space. Use the right stick and bump it away from your opponent and sprint onto the ball. It is a simple quick moment, but can be a key to successful possession. In a crowd of players, use this to avoid having the opponent make a quick steal by giving yourself some room to work.

Cancel Trap

Cancel Trap is a very effective way to take a player off of this default run and redirect him to intercept a pass. A good example of this is if your team mate attempts to hit you on a through ball and an opponent looks like he is going to cut off the pass if the target player stays on the default run. This function allows you to cancel out of the run and cut in front of the opponent and collect the ball before