The average age of players in the English Premier League is 26.8, meaning the vast majority of footballers weren’t playing 25 years ago when the most dramatic change to the game in recent times was instituted. Many weren’t even alive in 1992 when FIFA decided to prevent goalkeepers from picking up passes intentionally kicked to them by teammates.
When the first international football match was played in 1872, the tactics and formations used were completely foreign to what modern soccer coaches employ. Seven forwards, one defender? Not even a team of 5-year-olds would consider a lineup like that these days.
But how would modern teams look if they decided to turn back the clock and utilize ancient tactics?
For those of us who threw our collegiate and professional aspirations out the window after high school, we have to search for glory in other ways. Whether it's by playing FIFA, arguing with other fans or ranting on Twitter, the game will always be in our blood. When ranting loses its appeal, you turn to dusting off your cleats and trying to remember where your shin guards are hiding.
It’s finally August, which means the 2017-18 season is upon us. Ligue 1 begins Friday, the German Super Cup is Saturday and England’s Community Shield is Sunday. But as a new campaign begins, another cycle is coming to a close. The inaugural FIFA Interactive Club World Cup will be held in London on Saturday followed by the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2017 Grand Final on Aug. 16-18 to crown the world champion for EA Sports’ FIFA 17.
There's perhaps no other refereeing decision, in any sport, that causes the deep emotional reaction of the awarding of a penalty kick. When the call is made for a spot kick from 12 yards out, the response is typically either a flurry of expletives and impending sense of doom or the feeling of utter joy derived from receiving a blessing, depending on which side of the call you are.
And it seems these feelings are warranted — stats show that there’s a 75-80% chance of the penalty being converted.
With the start of the 2017-18 European season only days away, we take a look at all three promoted clubs in Europe's top four divisions (EPL, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga).
Newcastle United
Ask any soccer player what injury they dread the most and the likely answer is going to be either an ACL tear or a concussion. A rightfully-invigorated focus on concussions in particular has been brought on in recent years by the issues coming to light in the NFL. The frequency with which they occur, the fear they invoke, and the serious long term damage they may inflict have led a number of medical institutes to undergo extensive research into how to decrease the prevalence of head injuries.
We all know that Pele loves nothing more than a bit of Pele. There’s nothing wrong with that. If you spent over 50 years fielding questions exclusively about yourself to an adoring audience, you’d probably think you were the world’s greatest too. It's either that or you have a massive mental breakdown in the face of the enormity of the lie that is your life.
The start of major European leagues looms and fans are anxious to see how their teams fare on opening weekend. But how much does the first match even matter? After all, it's a long season and teams have plenty of time to rebound from week one losses. Or do they?
Looking at the statistics, it appears that the first game can set the tone for an entire season. It can either give a burst of confidence or present an omen of troubles ahead.
Chances are, if you’ve done soccer, you’ll know about goals. But what are they? How does a goal become a goal and not something else? When will you know if you’ve actually seen a goal?
These are all good, valid questions. You see, all goals are created equal, but not really. Goals come in all shapes and sizes, and you never really see the same goal twice.
At the most basic level, a goal is a goal when the ball crosses the goal line in its entirety. That’s really what a goal is. That’s really the science behind it in a nutshell, I guess.