The Berba spin is a roulette-style spin turn for escaping when a defender has you pinned in tight space, such as on the touchline. It is named after Dimitar Berbatov, whose spin past a defender on the line became known by that name. You shield the ball, stop it with your sole, spin with your back to the defender and roll the ball away with your other foot. We read your spin rotation and your balance through the turn, plus that you stay low and stable as you rotate; the sole drag and the body shield aren't camera-visible.
Set up
Keep the ball close as the defender closes you down from the side or at an angle. Put your body between them and the ball, with the ball on your foot furthest from them.
Your body is the wall.
Slow down and get into a low base: knees bent, feet under you, chest up. Brake early, with short steps, rather than on the last stride.
Slow in, so you can be fast out.
Spin
Stop the ball with the sole of your stronger foot and pull it back slightly toward you.
The ball comes back to you, not away.
Spin about halfway round so your back turns to the defender, and plant the foot that pulled the ball between the defender and the ball. Spin away from the defender, never into them.
Your back protects the ball.
Catch the ball with your other foot and roll it behind you and away from the defender, into the space they have left. Keep the touch short.
Spin, then a short roll away.
Accelerate as soon as the ball is out, and get your head up to see what's in front of you.
Turn and burn.
Feel it
It should feel slow then fast: a controlled spin with your back protecting the ball, then a burst the moment you come out. If you're losing the ball, slow the spin down rather than rushing it, and speed up straight after.
Fix-its
- The defender nicks the ball during the spin Make some space before you start and pull the ball back further. Keep your body between the defender and the ball the whole way round.
- You spin toward the defender Turn your back to them, not your front. Plant the pulling foot on their side of the ball so the ball stays on your far side.
- You lose control of the ball in the spin Slow the pull-back and the spin down until the ball stays with you, then add speed.
- You stumble or wobble out of the turn Brake earlier with shorter steps, keep your knees bent and your feet under you, and keep your trunk upright instead of leaning out over your foot.
- You come out of the spin at the same speed Accelerate as soon as the ball leaves your foot. The change of pace is what beats the defender.
Drill
- Picture the move, then walk through the spin without a ball, then do it from standing with a ball. Practise both directions.
- Slow rehearsal on the move: dribble, stop with the sole, spin, roll it away with the other foot. Add speed only once the ball stays close.
- Shielding squares (4 x 4 m, 1v1): keep the ball from your partner using your body and your far foot, and swap roles every 30 seconds. Once you can hold the ball, use the spin to escape when they commit to one side.
- Line work: dribble along a touchline with a partner closing from the side, first passive, then for real. Spin away from them and accelerate off the line.
- Small-sided game (4v4, 30 x 20 m, mini-goals at each end, 2-minute games): look for chances to spin away from pressure and accelerate after every turn.
Sources
- We Make Footballers (WMF Coaching Team) — How to master the roulette turn (2021)
- GOAL — Best football skills: how to do the Ronaldo Chop, Elastico, Cruyff Turn and more (2022)
- The FA Boot Room, Graeme Carrick — How using the sole of the foot can benefit players (2020)
- FIFA Training Centre, Gary Phillips — Strength through shielding (2024)
- The FA Boot Room — Learning to 'hide the ball' (2018)
- FIFA Training Centre — Newcastle U-9s: finding a way forward
- Dos'Santos, Thomas, Comfort & Jones — Training interventions on change of direction biomechanics and ACL loading: a scoping review, Sports Medicine (2019)
- Planet Football, Mitch Wilks — Martinelli's skill v Sevilla and Berbatov's touchline spin (2023)
Last checked 2026-10-30.