Why the famous ’Seal Dribble’ forced the laws of football to change

One of the most outrageous skills in football, the seal dribble, forced the laws of football to change.

In the modern game, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar are all famed for their ridiculously good dribbling skills when they have the ball at their feet.

As a result of these players, we have been introduced to skills such as the ‘Around the World’ and the ‘Nutmeg’.

However, perhaps no skill will be able to top the impact that the seal dribble had on football.

The skill starts with flicking the ball up from the turf onto the head, then as the player moves forward, they will bounce the ball on top of their heads, like a seal.

This makes it extremely difficult for defenders to get the ball back in a legal manner.

Brazilian player Kerlon is one of the players who used the seal dribble the most.

As he continued to use the skill during his career, Kerlon’s opponents would elbow, trip, kick or even headbutt him in a bid to win the ball back.

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On one occasion, Kerlon was elbowed in the face by Atletico Mineiro’s Coelho, who ended up being banned for 120 days, before an appeal reduced it to just five games.

Since then, the laws of the games have been changed in order to prevent a similar case from happening again.

It is stated that a referee can now award a free kick to the opposition if a player attempted a seal dribble in a manner that could result in an injury.

The player can be cautioned for unsporting behaviour for showing a lack of respect.

During an interview with ESPN Brazil, Kerlon spoke about attempting the skill whilst he was playing for Serie A side Inter Milan.

He said: “I did a pre-season with Mourinho at Inter, but I never tried the dribble. The guys were very tall and strong, it’s complicated. If Materazzi hit me, I would fly away!”

Apart from Kerlon, Italian player Marco Nappi also used to the seal dribble.

Most famously, he produced the skill during the semi-final of the 89/90 UEFA Cup, Nappi ran 40 metres down the right side with the ball bouncing on top of his head.