Training

Kristine Lilly, a midfielder/forward for the USWNT for 23 years, holds the world record for most international appearances made by a man or woman. To give you some perspective on just how incredible the feat of 354 caps is, the male player with the most international appearances (Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan) has 184.

Kristine Lilly played on the national team over 4 different decades. She witnessed the permed and teased hair of the 1980s and the sidebangs of the early 2010s, the peak of the Michael Jackson era, the rise of Taylor Swift and everything in between. 

They don’t get the credit the footballers do for their performance each game, but referees have to be just as prepared physically and mentally as those players they’re chasing all around the field.

It’s a varied and strenuous training process. The best refs have to be fitter than a world-class midfielder, have to possess an acute awareness for the type of teams, players and tactics they’ll be observing, and they need to be ready to handle all that might be thrown at them psychologically when it comes to high stakes and other maddening elements.

With an emphasis on one-touch passing, instant decision making and defensive pressing, Barcelona’s rondo drill has become synonymous with the club. 

Johan Cruyff introduced the practice to Barcelona from the famed academy of Ajax, and the likes of Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez enforced the significance of the tradition to this day.