How To Play Soccer

You only need a ball to play the soccer game which can be played even on the streets, the main reason for its popularity, along with of course the knowledge of the basic rules and few friends.

Sometimes even that is not required, as the greatest player of the century Pele of Brazil was so poor that he could not even buy the soccer ball, so he used to play it with the help of the sock stuffed with papers. However, if you want to play the game properly then you need few things that are must. You require a field, the soccer equipment (ball, goal posts, nets, flags, whistle and red and yellow cards), the gear (jerseys, shorts, socks, cleats and shin guards) and of course twenty two players, eleven for each side.

The game begins from the circle made in the centre of the field, on the centre line. This circle is ten yards in diameter. The strike of the team, which won the toss, passes the ball to the fellow striker, standing two to three feet away from him. However, no player of the opposite team can stand in the circle. The striker kicks the ball and the game begins.

The international soccer games consist of two rounds of forty five minutes each. The clock does not stop in soccer, even if the game stops due to some injury, etc. Rather the stoppage time is added on to complete the game. During the round matches the game ends after the stoppage time even if it is drawn. However, in the knock out rounds like the quarter finals, semi finals and finals of any tournament extra thirty minutes are given to the teams to try to score an extra goal, two halves of fifteen minutes each. If even after the extra time the score remains undecided the players have to go through the penalty shoot out process.

During the play the ball is reckoned in play unless it goes out of the line completely. Same is deemed to be true in case a goal is scored. A goal is only considered if the ball has cross the goal line completely, only touching the goal line, or to be some part of the ball behind the line is not enough. The team is positioned around the ground according to the coach’s tactics. In most cases the 4-4-2 formation is followed. It means the team will play with four defenders, four midfielders, and two attackers.

No player, except the goal keeper, is allowed to touch the ball. Even the goal keeper can handle the ball till the time he is inside the penalty area. However, accidental handling of the ball is not considered a foul in the youth soccer. It is such a grave foul that if a defender handles the ball inside the goal line a penalty is given to the opposite team.

All ninety minutes of the game concentration of the players is focused on the ball. The team who puts the ball inside the goal posts, behind the goal line, most of the time is considered as the winner. During the leagues and league tournaments especially the ones played in Europe the final result of the rounds are complied on the basis of the aggregate result.

If you want to play the game on the street you do not need to take up all this hassle. However, you should know how to kick, push, head or shoot the ball; these are the only things which are required to play the game.