This article is classified "Real"
Football, also known in America as Soccer [1], was developed into a
professional game in the 19th century after previously consisting of a
rather ruleless battle between neighbouring villages, where the two teams
comprised of as many people as they could find, and the idea was to kick
the ball from one village to another. It was considered at this point as
a violent game, as there were no noticeable rules, and a fair number of
casualties [2].
As the game developed, it was played in many schools, and at the end of
the 19th century, a league was formed in England, which consisted of
several teams from up and down the nation. The league then expanded,
taking in more and more teams, and growing to contain miniature leagues
(known as divisions), the top four of which are regarded as the most
important. Similar leagues subsequently developed in other countries,
also.
With the advent of professionalism and the fact that the game had become
more widespread and much more organised, the rules were making it a much
safer game. However, dangerous elements still remained, which can be seen
from the number of injuries that a player can develop during their career
(or even in one year). The most serious of these are broken legs, torn
ligaments, and in a couple of extreme cases, players have actually died [3].
Another result of professionalism was the fact that players were then able
to be paid for services, and commercialism began to creep in. Some of the
top players can now expect to be paid around 10,000 UK Pounds (or roughly
15,000 US Dollars) a week for their services, which usually consist of one
or two matches a week, and a couple of training sessions. Transfer fees are
also large, and one club might expect to pay upwards of 3 million UK Pounds
(4.5 million US Dollars) for a "decent" player. So far, the highest fee
that has been paid, was 15 million UK Pounds (22.5 million US Dollars).
Some say, and rightly so, that the whole situation has got thoroughly out
of hand.
The game is played on a large rectangular field, with one goal at each
end, using a leather air-filled [4], head-sized, spherical ball. The field
(or "pitch") is divided into two halves, where one team starts in one half
and the second team in the other. Each team consists of 11 players, one of
which must be a "goalkeeper", who is the only player allowed to handle the
ball (and then they must only do so within their "penalty area" which is a
small rectangle in front of their own goal, which is in their team's half of
the pitch).
The match is played within the pitch, and if the ball travels beyond its
boundaries, the game has to stop, and the team who last touched the ball
will have to concede posession. It is then resumed by:
1) a throw, if the ball left the field at the side of the pitch;
2) a corner,if the ball left the field at the teams own end;
3) a goal-kick, if the ball left the field at the opposing team's
end; or
4) a goal,if the ball entered either goal.
It is played over an initial 45 minutes, which is followed by a short
break, and concluded by another 45 minutes. In certain games where a draw
is not acceptable, they may have to play another 30 minutes in total,
which can be followed by a "penalty shoot out" [5]. New rules in some
tournaments dictate that the 30 minutes "extra time" will be terminated if
one team scores a goal, which will make them winners. This has therefore
been referred to in some quarters as the "Golden Goal."
A goal is scored when the ball goes [6] into (in between the two posts and
under the cross-bar) one goal or the other. It can, however, be
disallowed if the referee observes that the rules have been breached.
Such transgressions include:
1) a member of the attacking team having handled the ball;
2) a member of the attacking team having committed a foul [7] on a
member of the defending team;
3) the ball having already gone "out of play" (off the field of
play); or
4) an "offside" [8] having been noted.
Many tournaments have been, and still are, played between countries from
all over the world. Indeed, there are very few, if any, countries that
don't have a team of their own. Every four years, the top group of these
play in the "World Cup". To qualify in this "top group", they must have
won through smaller "tournaments" against teams from the same "regions"
(Europe, America, Asia, Africa etc.) The "hosts" for the tournament
qualify automatically. The hosts/winners (year) from the past four
tournaments were:
* USA/Brasil (1994)
* Italy/Germany (1990)
* Mexico/Argentina (1986)
* Spain/Italy (1982)
The next tournament is to be held in France in 1998.
As this is not a particularly frequent tournament, the "European
Championships" are played two years afterwards (which generally falls on
every leap year). Unlike the World Cup, this tournament only consists of
European sides, which makes it less important to the eyes of the world as
a whole, but nevertheless, important to the countries taking part. It must
be noted that regions that are not involved with this, will have their own
tournaments at the same time. The hosts/winners (year) from the past four
tournaments were:
* England/Germany (1996)
* Sweden/Denmark (1992)
* Germany/Netherlands (1988)
* France/France (1984)
The hosts of the next tournament in 2000 are Belgium and the Netherlands.
This game is not to be confused with Rugby (Union and League) Football,
(American) Football, (Australian Rules) Football, which all
incomprehensively involve rather less contact of the foot and the ball,
and are, quite unnervingly, apparently very similar.
Finally, this game can also be played indoors (as "Five-a-side") for which
the rules are a little different, but follow the same basic pattern.
[1] Where they have their own game called Football, which is totally
different.
[2] In some leagues, some might claim that very little has changed. The
primary examples of these can be found in "Sunday league" matches,
where amateur players will knock seven bells out of each other before
going off down the pub to get drunk, or perhaps to prevent themselves
from becoming sober.
[3] This is very rare indeed. One of the most notable occasions is when
one played managed to bury his boot-studs in the head of another
player.
[4] Not solid stone, as you might imagine after being hit by one at speed.
[5] Each team initially has five penalties, and the one who scores the
most, wins. If neither is the winner, then each will take one penalty
until one scores and the other misses.
[6] Kicked, headed, deflected [9].
[7] Kicking an opposing player, obstructing an opposing player,
[8] An "Off-side" is when a member of the attacking team has passed the
ball to a colleague who was in the opposing half, and has passed every
player other than, or even including, the opposing goalkeeper when the
pass is made.
[9] Editor's note: and in one occasion, which involved Argentinian player
Maradona, by the "hand of God".