I finally figured out in my old age that successful soccer moves are like judo. You have to use your opponent's momentum against him. To beat him, you have to move in the opposite direction of his momentum. Getting him to move, initially, requires misdirection.
I was better at this on defense than offense. When I ran up against guys with incredible ball skills, I'd give them plenty of room, and then make false defensive moves against them. Forcing the offensive player to think about me threw him off his plan of attack.