FREE ESSAY ON SOCCER

SOCCER

SOCCER
Not much is known about the origin of soccer. However, the Greeks and Romans played
football and ball kicking games. The London Football Association developed the first sets
of rules in 1863. British sailors and settlers brought the game to India, South America
and Europe. 
During the late 19th century, soccer was brought to the United States. However, it did
not prove popular until after World War I. In 1908, soccer was made an Olympic event.
Since 1952, Hungary has won the most gold medals with three.
Even today, although it is an international game, it has been slow to gain popularity as
an intercollegiate sport in this country. It is however, gaining popularity and is being
included in physical education programs in many schools. Also, many local communities
have started youth soccer leagues for children of all ages. The game of soccer, or
association football as it is properly called, is the Europe's most popular sport. Just
about every country in the world plays soccer in some form or another. It is both
physically and mentally demanding, requiring athletic skill and quick thinking. There are
many tales about how soccer began. Many civilizations claim that they discovered the
sport. There are records of soccer like games having been played in China, Greece, Japan,
and Mexico more than 2,000 years ago. Also the
The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) was formed in 1904 as an
international governing body. Today, FIFA, which is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland,
has more than one hundred-forty member nations and overseas about thirty-nine million
players worldwide. France, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden were
the founding fathers of FIFA. In 1905 Germany, Austria, and England joined the
organization. At this time there was discussion of the first World Cup. In soccer there
are many rules that have changed. Back in the 1700's the playing field was shaped like a
square. There were only four major markings on the field. They were the touchlines, goal
lines, halfway line, and the eighteen-yard lines. When the Football Association (FA) was
created in 1863, the first uniform rules were made. FIFA now requires that soccer be
played on a rectangular field between one hundred and one hundred-thirty yards long and
between fifty and one hundred yards wide. For international matches the field should be
between one hundred- ten and one hundred-twenty yards long and between seventy and eighty
yards wide. There are two goals, one placed at each end of the field. They are eight feet
tall, eight yards across, and six feet deep. The lines that mark the sides of the field
are called touchlines; those that mark the two ends of the field are called goal lines.
Also there are five other distinctive lines. They are the halfway lines, the goal areas,
the penalty areas, the corner marks, and the center circle. 
In 1908 soccer was put in every summer Olympic Game. Since 1952 Hungary has won the most
gold medals.
By 1930 the interest in soccer was high enough to ensure the success of the first World
Cup. Even though only thirteen Countries entered that was still enough to have the first
World Cup. Soccer didn't come to the United States until 1620.
Soccer first became recognized in the United States when the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) recognized it in 1959 as an official collegiate sport with a national
championship tournament. Soon after the formation of the North American
Soccer League (NASL), soccer in North America became the fastest growing sport for young
people. 
Each team is made up of eleven players--a goalkeeper, and ten field players. The team is
divided into positions. There are four players on the front line, three halfbacks, two
fullbacks, one sweeper, and a goalkeeper. Players uniforms usually consist of shorts
which are loose fitting, a shirt which must be identical to each player on the team,
socks, shoes, and shin guards. The shin guards must be completely covered by the socks.
Also the shoes should be cleated, but it is not mandatory to do so. 
Soccer is not always played outside. There is an indoor version of soccer. Indoor soccer
began in 1939. It is a faster version of outdoor soccer. It is played on a much smaller
field. The field looks like a hockey rink, except it is not played on ice; it is played
on an Astroturf field that is surrounded by Plexiglas. The goals are much smaller than
those in outdoor soccer.
Substitutions are unlimited because it is so tiring and players never stop running. It
was not until 1978 that Indoor Soccer became a professional competition in the United
States when the Major Indoor Soccer League was formed. There are three soccer leagues now
active in the United States: The seven-team American Professional Soccer League (APSL),
playing in the United States and Canada; the thirteen-team National Professional Soccer
League (NASL); and the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL), based primarily in the
western states. A national team, which includes a number of international-caliber
players, has been put together to compete with the teams of twenty-three other nations in
the 1994 World Cup, hosted in nine different locations across the United States. Soccer
is a game of continuous action. The game is normally played in two forty-five minute
halves, with a ten-minute resting period in-between. There are no time-outs and few
substitutions. Opposing teams move from one end of the field and back again. The flow of
the play is stopped only when there is a penalty or goal. The aim of the game is to score
more goals than the opponent. The ball that soccer players use is round like a basketball
but one inch smaller in circumference. A team scores a goal when a player can move the
ball past his opponent's goal line and put it in the goal. A soccer player dribbles the
ball either by pushing it forward with short jabbing kicks with his instep or by using
the sides of his feet. 
A player can pass the ball to a teammate by striking it with his head or by kicking it.
Kick passes are most often made with the inside of the foot and almost never with the
toe. Near the enemy goal, players score in a number of ways. Some have perfected kicks
past the defender and fool the goalkeeper. Others take a high pass from a teammate and
use their head to blast the ball past the goalkeeper. Scoring a goal is more difficult
than it looks. The field is slightly longer than a football field and half the width. A
team must move the ball a long way without losing possession of the ball. It may require
up to twenty passes and fancy dribbling. On most soccer drives, even in programs, the
offense is broken up before it gets shot on goal. A referee on the field who is assisted
by two linesmen, one on each sideline, controls the game. Intentional contact with the
ball from the shoulders to the hands is forbidden. The referee will stop play and award a
direct free kick from the point of infraction, against the offending team when a penalty
is called. It is possible to score a goal directly with that kind of kick. If one of the
offenses is committed by a player inside that team's own penalty area, then the other
team gets a penalty kick. The ball is placed on the penalty mark, twelve yards from the
goal line, and only the goalkeeper is allowed to defend. The most important skills to
practice are the offensive ones: dribbling (moving the ball down field), receiving,
trapping, and kicking. Then there are the defensive skills: marking (the soccer term for
guarding) an opponent, and slide tackling (slide tackling is a move to get the ball off
an opponent by sliding on the ground like sliding into a base) and heading. A soccer
player must do more with his head than strike at the ball. Individual skills are useful
only when they fit in with the team. Soccer teams use strategies, and a good player must
understand his responsibilities to the team and must use his skills accordingly. Soccer
players must learn to think for themselves during games. Since there are no time-outs,
they hear from their coaches only at half time - and then only for a few minutes. If
adjustments in team strategy are needed during play, the members of the team must know
enough to make them by themselves. Each player must be adaptable enough to play both
offense and defense, to take the responsibilities of a teammate in certain situations.
Every player must be prepared to do everything. Soccer provides a fine balance between
individual skills and teamwork. Playing winning soccer requires the cooperative effort of
eleven men and the individual skills of each.