Football Skills Guide - The Flip Flap

Alternative name(s): Elastico, Elastic Dribble, Snakebite, la Culebrita, Gaucho (after Ronaldinho Gaucho who perfected it in the 2000s).

The Aim: With a Flip-Flap, the focus is to trick your opponent into thinking you're taking the ball away from you with the outside of the foot, but then immediately changing direction onto the inside of the foot.

The Basics: Invented back in the 1960's by Corinthians youngster Sérgio Echigo, it was perfected by team-mate Rivelino who showcased it at the 1970 World Cup finals. With your strongest foot, tap the ball away from your body with the outside of the foot, but then immediately move the inside of your foot around the ball and bring the ball back in the other direction in one instant, smooth move.

Don't Forget: ...To move off immediately after executing the Flip-Flap. You're looking to fool your opponent for a split second, and so you need to take advantage of it.

Difficulty Rating: 4/5 The Flip-Flap is difficult to do really well because it has to be executed extremely quickly to move the ball so smoothly in two directions.


Watch this Video-clip to get a feel for how to do a Flip-Flap...


Skills Video Guide - the Flip-Flap


Step-by-Step Guide on how to do a Flip-Flap...

The following steps on how to perform a Flip-Flap are for doing it with your right foot.

  • Position the outside of your right foot against the ball.
  • Swipe your foot away from your body, flicking the ball to the right.
  • As the ball moves away from you, move your foot around the ball so that the inside of your right foot is now touching the ball.
  • Now bring the ball back in the opposite direction and burst away in that direction.
  • That's it. With a bit of luck your opponent will be temporarily confused as to which way the ball is going.


Any Progressions ?

  • Flip-Flap with moving ball - when you've mastered the Flip-Flap completely with a stationary ball then you can move on to trying to do it with a moving ball as part of a dribble.