An Idiots Guide to Soccer and Soccer Gaming

[RaychelSnr]

Soccer, or is it football? It seems like sometimes this gets more discussion in North America than the actual sport itself.

Personally, I don’t really care, but regular readers may notice that I almost always use the term football. Not because of any historical arguments, but rather that it just makes more sense. After all, between the two footballs, only one of them is primarily played with, you know, the foot. For practical reasons though, I’m using soccer for this guide because unlike most articles, this one doesn’t have a game — FIFA or PES, for example — in the title to instantly clarify it. The last thing I need is for Madden fans to click on this and realize they’ve not gotten what’s been promised, even if they should be used to this feeling by now.

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[Profit89]

Fantastic post.

I'm not quite sure why people get so hung up on labels. Soccer/football.. Who cares what you call it. And "soccer" is just as old as football, but ignorant people want to make an issue out of it. Check your history...soccer comes from AsSOCCiation Football. And has been used for long time and by many countries. Get over labels and just enjoy the sport. A great sport.

[UK0wnag3]

Decent stuff there. I would note that attacking doesn't necessarily have to be slow, possession orientated football, though it is the norm.

Also, some counter attacking teams don't use pace either, preferring to play "route one" instead by hitting it long to a target man who holds it up to bring others into play.

[shadia147]

Thank You for this Primer. Just curious; I grasp the 4-4-2 etc concept. Pretty basic. But does not Hockey use the same theory? Only with five players rather than 11?

[kelvinmak]

Quote: Originally Posted by UK0wnag3

Decent stuff there. I would note that attacking doesn't necessarily have to be slow, possession orientated football, though it is the norm. Also, some counter attacking teams don't use pace either, preferring to play "route one" instead by hitting it long to a target man who holds it up to bring others into play.

Good shout. Those were things that got left on the cutting room floor (I almost feel like I'm doing the sport a disservice by shaving it down to a three-parter... I probably had enough material to do seven.) But, yeah, feel free to use the comments section to toss additional nuggets of knowledge in for those who may be curious, it's very much appreciated

Quote: Originally Posted by shadia147

Thank You for this Primer. Just curious; I grasp the 4-4-2 etc concept. Pretty basic. But does not Hockey use the same theory? Only with five players rather than 11?

If I assumed correctly and you're referring to the different styles of forechecking and neutral zone formations (2-1-2, 1-4, etc.), then yeah, I think that's a pretty good comparison.

Perhaps the only difference is that for hockey, 99.9% of the time a team would ice 1 center, 1 left wing, 1 right wing, and 2 defensemen; whereas in soccer, with a larger pitch, there are more than 11 positions that a team can conceivably fill, so they have to pick and choose. For example, some teams will choose to play a narrow "diamond" midfield and eschew the traditional wingers.

But theoretically I do agree that they're similar, and is a good indicator of how aggressive or reactive a team will play.

[OSUFan_88]

Quote: Originally Posted by UK0wnag3

Decent stuff there. I would note that attacking doesn't necessarily have to be slow, possession orientated football, though it is the norm. Also, some counter attacking teams don't use pace either, preferring to play "route one" instead by hitting it long to a target man who holds it up to bring others into play.

For examples see: City, Stoke and McLeish, Alex.

[kelvinmak]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUFan_88

McLeish, Alex.

Now now, the goal is to get prospective fans getting into soccer, not alcohol

[Riderfan]

As a soccer player in Canada...

1) "Second Striker" - Where you've got him, he's a Center Forward. A 2nd Striker should be beside the first striker. (It's pretty obvious really, you've got Center Back and Center Midfield right...)
2) A "Stopper" is just another name for a Center Back. (I checked Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defender_(association_football) and it agrees with me)

But overall, good job. That should help those who don't know the game.