At NTNU in Trondheim, Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson and his research team have delivered a finding that will reshape how football players and their coaches think about skill development: there is no universal path to technical excellence. A new study published in Football Studies, which examined 23 semi-professional players from an elite Icelandic club, reveals a humbling truth—the eight core technical skills in football operate almost independently of one another, with minimal overlap.
The research matters because it shatters a common assumption: that getting better at one skill automatically carries over to others. Many young players and coaches hope that endless hours perfecting one technique will somehow elevate their overall game. This study suggests otherwise. Sigmundsson and his team put players through the Test of Technical Skills in Football (TTSF), measuring their abilities across juggling, passing accuracy from 25 meters, heading, kicking, dribbling, corner precision from 16.5 meters, shooting precision from 16.5 meters, and wall-volley passes. The correlations between these different skills proved remarkably low.
"The correlations between the different skills are low. We find minimal overlap," Sigmundsson explains. What this means in practical terms is stark: if you spend weeks perfecting your corner kicks, you cannot expect that training to automatically improve your shooting or your heading ability. Each skill demands its own focused attention. The Icelandic elite players in the study, all training within the same club structure, provided a controlled environment where differences in training philosophy and match experience were held constant—making the findings even more credible.
For trainers and coaches, this research offers clarity wrapped in challenge. Effective football development requires what Sigmundsson calls "well thought out and differentiated" training. Blanket sessions where players do a bit of everything will not yield optimal results. Instead, coaches must diagnose exactly which technical areas need improvement and design targeted sessions accordingly. A player weak at heading needs specialized heading drills, not more passing practice. A striker struggling with shooting precision cannot rely on dribbling improvements to compensate.
This distinction between training and hoping versus training with intention marks a turning point in how elite football programs might structure their sessions. It validates the approach of specialist coaches—heading coaches, set-piece coaches, finishing coaches—who focus narrowly on specific technical domains. It also means that scouts and talent evaluators must recognize that a player exceptional at one skill may be ordinary at another, and that potential is far more multidimensional than raw athleticism suggests.
The research underscores what elite performers across all sports have long intuited: mastery requires obsessive specificity. A piano virtuoso does not become one by playing every piece equally; they repeat sections until perfection arrives. Football is no different. The path to becoming technically excellent is not a shortcut, and it is not a mystery. It is hard, targeted work on the exact skills that need sharpening. For young players hungry to improve, the message is clear: choose your focus, then commit to it completely.