www.footsmoke.com

Archive for July, 2011

Although American soccer is growing in stature and status, many of its top players continue to ply their trade overseas in foreign leagues, most notably in Europe. There are many reasons why this happens, but the two main reasons tend to be money, and quality.

Financially, American professional soccer can not compete with the likes of the English Premiere League, La Liga in Spain, or Italy’s Serie A. Even though foreign stars in the USA like David Beckham get rewarded substantially, this is not the case for the average, or even top flight, home grown players. Even if you are Read the rest of this entry »

In order to watch a soccer game and have any idea of what you are watching, it’s important to have a basic grasp on the rules. Here are a short list to clarify any misconceptions.

Number of players
A team can bring 10 outfield players and one goalkeeper onto the pitch. Substitutions allowed in a match vary with the game played. In official matches only 3 substitutions are allowed.

Match Duration
A standard game consists of two 45 minute halves. However, the clock never stops ticking for things like the ball being out of play, injuries, substitutions, etc. To Read the rest of this entry »

Football, originally known as Association football and commonly called soccer, has no real origin. There are records of the Chinese around second century B.C. playing a game called Tsu’ Chu that involved kicking a leather ball through a small hole in a silk cloth strung between two large poles. This was believed to help train the military. The game began to spread across many civilizations and it started to evolve and gather rules. Modern football, or soccer, was “invented” in 1863 by the English Football Association. During this time Cambridge University established uniform rules and Read the rest of this entry »

It is already the most popular sport in every country other than the US, therefore, it will eventually have to catch on here in the US. Soccer is the most played, the most watched, and the most highly paid and popular sport in every country outside the US. With players coming into American leagues from outside countries and continents, such as: Europe, Brasil, Argentina, Germany, and the bigger soccer playing nations, the game is becoming more exciting here Read the rest of this entry »