Soccer (Football) advice?

[Anonymous]

I was thinking of starting soon, never played before... I'm almost 19 yrs, 58 kg and 170 cm, I think I'm quite fast and have good acceleration, though I'm not so good with the ball. (Yet) I have never really played a full game, so I don't know how I do defensively or attackingly, THOUGH, I think I would be a tad better at defending (or should I say worse at attacking?) but I partly contribute this to my lack of experience with the ball, ie. ball control and dribbles.

Which position do you think would be best for me? At first I thought of something like an attacking mf (Iniesta) or a winger like Messi, butt when I come to think about it I might be good as a full-back. They are often pretty small... or would I be too small you think?

All comments or help are appreciated! :)

[DanAG]

Full back would be good for you. But just because you don't need as much ball handling skills doesn't mean you can neglect practicing. Top priority is getting / stopping the ball, but then you have to do something with it. You don't need dribbling skills as much as passing skills. That ball is in dangerous territory and you want to make sure it gets to your own mid fielders.

Fast is good, but not outright speed as much as quick reactions. You are reacting to what the other guy is doing, not the other way around. You need side to side movement far more than forward speed.

[sketchy]

I completely agree that full-back is the obvious position to play.

Defense requires the least amount of finesse (ball control / accurate passing / etc), and you're too small to play central defense (plus central defenders need to be really good in the air). Fullback really just requires that you can tackle and have the pace to stop anyone running past you down the sideline - if you can head / pass the ball as well, that's a bonus.

[Anonymous]

just start practicing, go to the park and practice every day.

[ImSoSozzled]

If I were you, I'd just try all the positions and see which ones you are best at. If you aren't good at handling the ball, defense would be a better choice than offense. And don't forget about the goalkeeper.