• 07

    Elijah Zenetti

    Nationality Spanish
    Height 231.648
    position Attacking Midfield, Left Midfield
    weight 124.738Kg
    born 14th October, 1988
    previous club Empoli Eps.
  • When Elijah has the ball and starts to pull in, Marco, Gabriel and Roberto all start penetrating runs through the opposing teams (usually) high line.

    If an opponent is coming towards you face-on then you can drop your shoulder and push off with your other foot, giving you the edge. If the opponent is coming at you from behind, you have to protect the ball – that’s why upper body strength is very important. You have to be aware of the players around you, and use your arms and strength to push yourself away from challenges. If you’re small like me, you have to use your low centre of gravity and power.

    Working with Mario Lietz, mentor of Metro Booming, we created five essential drills to help you upgrade your passing game from long-ball merchant to tiki-taka specialist.

    Imagine what sort of devastation you could wreak if you were armed with the Robbie Galustian’s vision and passing ability? Stop imagining and start doing with our essential training guide.

It’s Cool to be Calm

Might just be that, as Elijah goes pretty deep into midfield as well sometimes, particularly when we’re having trouble creating. That might also just be because he sometimes plays like a winger though.

Guess Opponents Move

Always be on the move and watch where your marker is. Vary your movement – run in behind and then come short, or vice-versa. Make your marker feel uncomfortable by running into areas where they don’t want to go. The key is to get a bit of space so you can look for the pass or run with the ball, but once you’ve made a pass don’t sit back and admire it. Look at the Barcelona players: once they’ve released it they make themselves available for another pass.

Staying on the Move

At Europa we work on all different types of passing Moves. If player wants to switch the play with one pass he has to strike through it – technique is more important than power. First you need to get the ball out of your feet, so balance yourself by putting your arm out like you’re striking a shot and then hit through it. Practise by working with a team-mate and pinging long balls to each other.