A turn that starts as a fake pass or shot. Your standing foot goes down beside the ball, your kicking leg swings as if to strike, and then the inside of that foot knocks the ball back behind your standing leg so you can turn and go the other way. It is named after Johan Cruyff, who used it on Sweden's Jan Olsson at the 1974 World Cup, and coaching programmes still teach it as one of the standard turns for getting away from pressure.
Set up
Dribble with the ball close and your head up. Look before you turn so you know where the space is and where the defender is.
glance up between touches, not only at the ball.
Slow down over your last couple of touches and stay relaxed, knees soft. A tight, rigid body makes the turn harder to do smoothly.
brake early, so you are under control when the fake starts.
Fake the kick
Plant your standing foot beside the ball or just ahead of it, the way you would for a real pass or shot. The ball has to be able to pass behind that foot, so don't plant behind the ball.
Swing your kicking leg like a real strike. Exaggerate the pass or shot movements so the defender reacts. Make the head and shoulder cues big, but keep your hips quiet and your weight over the standing foot, so you can still turn.
your head and shoulders sell it; your hips stay ready to go the other way.
Drag it back
Instead of striking it, bring the kicking foot past the ball and wrap it round the front of the ball. Knock it back behind your standing leg with the inside of the same foot.
the foot goes round the ball, and the ball comes back through the gap behind your standing heel.
Make the touch firm enough to get the ball out of your feet. Session plans coach a bigger touch on the turn itself, unlike the small touches you take while dribbling near the defender.
Turn and go
Turn to face the way the ball went, keeping your body between the defender and the ball.
Get your head back up and accelerate into the space. The change of speed after the turn is what gets you away, so don't stop and admire it.
the first steps after the turn are your fastest.
Feel it
Your swing feels like a real pass until the last moment, then your foot wraps round the ball instead of hitting through it. The ball rolls back past your standing heel and you are already turning after it, body between it and the defender. If the defender doesn't react to the fake, make the pass or shot cues bigger.
Fix-its
- Defender doesn't buy the fake (telegraphing) You are showing the turn early: slowing to a stop or leaning toward the exit before the swing. Exaggerate the pass or shot movements and only change direction at the last moment.
- Ball hits your standing foot Your standing foot is behind the ball. Plant it beside or just ahead of the ball so the ball has a clear path behind it.
- Ball stays at your feet (touch too small or slow) Take a bigger, sharper touch on the turn so the ball moves away into the new space and you can run onto it.
- You turn and stop The turn needs a burst after it. Head up and accelerate on your first steps out of it.
- Stiff, off-balance turn Slow down earlier, keep your knees soft and your chest up, and stay relaxed. Don't fall onto the standing leg.
Drill
- Walk-through: standing still, plant beside the ball, swing, wrap your foot round the ball and knock it behind your standing leg. Right foot, then left, slowly, until the ball goes behind cleanly every time.
- Ball mastery (FIFA Training Centre): every player with a ball in a 15 x 15 m area, dribbling with heads up. Do Cruyff turns with your strong foot, then your weak foot, and push away with the foot that did the turn.
- Line turns: dribble to a cone line, Cruyff turn, accelerate back and pass to the next player. Add a fake call such as "ball" to sell it. Unopposed first, then with a teammate giving light (semi-opposed) pressure. A session plan used 10 x 15 yd channels.
- 1v1: about 20 x 20 yd with a goal, coach serves, one attacker against one defender. The attacker earns a bonus point for a goal that follows a Cruyff turn.
- Small-sided game: play normally, and use the turn only when the situation calls for it (a defender closing your passing or shooting lane).
By position
Attackers, wingers and midfielders: useful when a defender closes the lane you were about to pass or shoot into. Defenders and holding midfielders: it is a turn under pressure near your own goal, so use it only when the safe pass is not on and you have scanned the space behind you.
Sources
- Irish Times (Scott Murray, Guardian service) — Johan Cruyff's 1974 turn: the symbol of Total Football (2016)
- ESPN / PA Sport — Jan Olsson laughs at attempt to defend Cruyff turn (2016)
- FIFA Training Centre — Anton Corneal: Building relationships between the ball and the boot (2025)
- FIFA Training Centre — Mastering ball control (session plan)
- England Football Learning — Session programme: moving with the ball and turning to attack (2025)
- Premier Users' Club (Bjelland) — Cruyff turn technique (Sport Session Planner, 2017)
- Premier Users' Club (Pereira) — Cruyff Turn U14 (Sport Session Planner)
- FAW Coach Ed (Serqa) — U9 Cruyff's Turn (Sport Session Planner)
- MOJO — How to do a Cruyff turn (2021)
- Brault et al. — Detecting deception in movement: the case of the side-step in rugby, PLOS ONE (2012)
- Dos'Santos et al. — Training interventions on change of direction biomechanics associated with ACL loading, Sports Medicine (2019)
Last checked 2026-10-30.