What Is Soccer

Or shall they say football as it is known in England and Europe, it is a game that is based on two teams of 11 players and played across two 45 minute halves and some times more depending on competition structure if there is a draw.

It can also end up resulting in a penalty shootout at the end of a game if there is still no winner.

Each soccer team will have field 10 outfield players and one goalkeeper, usually there will 4 subs of which only three can be used.

In some soccer competitions however you are allowed up to 7 substitutes albeit you are still only allowed to make three substitutions, it does though give the manager or coach the more options as the game progresses.

The beautiful game or soccer as it is known is a fascinating subject and sport, which it should be, it is one of the most addictive and enjoyable sports to watch there is.

People can argue for hours over such things as the offside rule and the all time great is the infamous disallowed goals that get given by the odd referee.

The history of soccer is very rich and some people have theorized soccer's origins can be found in almost every corner of the globe. The Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Ancient Greek, Persian, Viking, and others played a variant of the game long before our era.

The Chinese played soccer games which dates back as far as some 3000 years ago. Also the ancient Greeks and the Romans used football games to prepare warriors for battle.

And then it was in England that soccer or "football" really begin to take structure into what it is today. In 1863 two football associations went there separate paths and took their version of the game into different directions. It was with this that the first Football Association was introduced.

The Future Of Soccer

From that point on the face of the game was to change forever, and more soccer equipment was introduced into the game so not only would goals and balls be needed but the players would then wear a soccer jersey and cleats on the bottom of their shoes.

The Football Association would bring in rules which would help give the game some structure as it was a bit chaotic and just purely based on attacking and not a very defense minded game.

In the years that followed and as the game starting gaining popularity and every team striving to be the best brought in soccer coaching with coaches trying their hardest to find the best formation and tactics that would enable them to be show their interpretation of the beautiful game to the paying crowds who wanted to be entertained and wanted to see a top quality match with plenty of action.

With the coaching came the soccer training for the players and this is when the game started to go towards true professional standards, in the old days of the game players did not generally need to do half of the amount training the players of today do.

Back then players would eat what they want, drink what they want and then still go and play 90 minutes of football. However as the years progressed and the standards of the game were raised higher then players performances needed to become more consistent and taken to another level in order for the club and the player to reach success and sustain it.

The game you see today is one that has taken years and years to develop, and the popularity of the sport only continues to grow at a very rapid rate especially with the amount of media coverage there is on it and when you have players that prove that they truly have a gift and seem to play the game on a level that seems that it is from another planet, you can only sit back enjoy the entertainment that they bring to the game.