The more nervous you look on the ball, the harder the opposition is going to come at you. Think about it...
Professionals close players down but they never get too close to them. It's because the attacker is cool on the ball and possesses enough to beat the defender if he commits too much. If you can play calm and confident, the defender will not commit to tackling you as much. On the other hand, if you look nervous and unsure with your first touch, you'll get tackled hard right away.
It all depends on how you put yourself out there.
not always true.
i'm always confident on the ball. and i should be. when i have the ball on my feet, that's just where i want it. that's my game. i can dribble and humiliate defenders, i am excellent at passing, long balls, and crosses... and i have a great shot on me too.
sometimes defenders back off and let me make the first move. once they're embarrassed enough times or scored on enough..... OR once they see how i play, they'll come at me like fuckin animals. they'll come in hard, check into me, hack at my legs... anything to try and throw me off. now usually, since i'm pretty strong i just hold my ground and shield the ball and continue on with the play but sometimes u jus gotta go down and get a free kick out of it, it becomes ridiculous.