Freestyle Soccer
Red Bull Street Style is back and Aguska Mnich is here to help you qualify
With qualifying for Red Bull Street Style kicking-off ahead of the World Final in Spain on November 20, 2018 champ Aguska Mnich offers 10 top tips to help you improve your freestyle soccer skills.
With seven years experience under her belt, Aguska Mnich is already considered one of the most well-known females in freestyle football. Renowned for being an all-rounder with insane skills, Mnich has been in the world's top four since 2014 and was crowned Red Bull Street Style World Champion in 2018.
To celebrate the launch of Red Bull Street Style 2021, the official Freestyle Football World Championships – the final of which will be held in Valencia, Spain on November 20 – the Polish freestyle star and London-based street artist Captain Kris came together to create a unique mural inspired by freestyle football tricks. Check out it's creation in the video above.
An imaginative illustrator and street artist heavily influenced by comics, cartoons and popular culture, Captain Kris said, “It was exciting working with Aguska and taking on a new direction to the art piece was refreshing. Integrating football tricks like 'Around the World' and 'Rainbow' into the art piece was a natural progression of the collaboration, as a lot of my work is centred around pop art-themed words. Having her kick the ball against the wall to create paint splatters for me to work around added a whole new dimension to the mural."
Captain Kris works on his mural inspired by Mnich's moves
© James Pinniger/Red Bull Content Pool
Now, with Red Bull Street Style national qualifiers kicking off, Mnich wanted to share her advice to help take your training and freestyle football tricks to the next level.
"Freestyle is the ball, yourself and some kind of football tricks. If you want to freestyle, just pick up ball and give it a go," Aguska says. "I get inspiration from everything around me and love going to different locations to experiment with new styles and trick creations. If you really believe in something, you can do it. Freestyle is beautiful because you create your own style – so be unique and be yourself."
Mnich knows what it takes win Red Bull Street Style, take her tips to heart
© James Pinniger/Red Bull Content Pool
Aguska Mnich's 10 tips to improve your freestyle tricks
- Practice every day – Being a top freestyle footballer needs dedication and motivation. You need to practice every day.
- YouTube if your friend– Watching videos of breakdancing and acrobatics is a brilliant way to get inspired.
- Learning new tricks takes time – When you're learning new things, to start with your legs will be super slow and new football skills could take one to two weeks to really learn. So, keep practicing and you will get it.
- Put some thought into a playlist – Take the time to create a good playlist, as it make it easier to learn tricks when you can vibe to the beats.
- You need your space – Find a great space to practice, whether it's a garden, park or gym – you need it.
- Nutrition matters – Eat healthy to fuel your body correctly for this sport.
- Other exercise is important – You should be doing mobility movement exercises, as it helps to keep your muscles active and loose for tricking.
- Visualise things – If you want to improve and succeed, have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and focus on that.
- Prepare mentally – Mental preparation for competitions is important – you need to be super focused on your opponent and your own routine.
- Celebrate success – When you win, enjoy the moment and celebrate with friends.
Mnich adds her own touch to the new Red Bull Street Style mural
© James Pinniger/Red Bull Content Pool
National qualifiers for Red Bull Street Style 2021 are underway, so if you think you have what it takes to battle against the world's best freestylers, visit the Red Bull Street Style homepage for more info.