From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cow dribble (Drible da vaca in Portuguese) is a football dribbling technique that consists in fooling the defender into turning around to catch ball while the dribbling player runs behind him to reach the ball. The fun of the move is that the dribbler takes the longer route to the ball, but still reaches it before the defender.

It is not known who invented the move, but Garrincha is often cited as the player who used it most effectively. Because it is of very simple execution and results in total disadvantage for the defender it is considered an humiliation to be dribbled this way.

The move depends on kicking precision and quick muscular reaction. The dribble is only successful when the defender is not a refined player but plays fairly. If the player has quick muscular reaction he may reach the ball first. If he is not a fair player he will foul the dribbler.

Garrincha's dribbling techniques relied on his spectacular ability to fool the defenders into following his body instead of the ball. He often kept bewildered defenders staring at him while he danced over the ball without touching it, only to suddenly kick it and run after it quicker than the defender could follow. The cow dribble was one of the resources he used to break "the spell" he was said to cast upon the defender. A notable showcase of this can be found in Sweden versus Brazil, the final match of the 1958 World Cup.

Nowadays this move is not normally used in professional matches for a series of reasons:

• defenders are now fully aware of its possibility
• it does not depend only on skill but also on a light body, which most modern players do not have any more as a result of the level of physical preparation employed today
• it is seen as demeaning to the defender.

The last reason is mostly linked to the assumption that to be dribbled this way suggests that the defender is not skilled or is otherwise unintelligent.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9yd6r-1EDo