More important things to know
Let’s continue with some more basics!
Passing:
Whenever a player kicks the ball to another player, it’s a pass. Players on the field can pass with their feet, their chest or their head: anything but their hands. As I stated in Part 1, only the goalkeeper can pass with their hands. The only exception to this rule is when the ball is kicked out of bounds. In this case, the ball is thrown in by one of the players.
Long passes across the field (usually from one side to the other) are known as crosses. These are useful for drawing defenders towards the passer and the recipient, stretching the field to make room for smaller passes and setting up goals for the strikers.
This video begins right before the first goal of the game for Borussia Dortmund, a German team. On the bottom of the field you’ll see that #23, Thorgan Hazard, runs to his right to stretch out the defense and lure a defender after receiving the ball. The recipient of Hazard’s pass, Erling Håland, is surrounded by two defenders but he manages to beat them both and score. Hazard crosses the ball just right.
There’s another type of pass called a through ball. In this case, the pass isn’t directly sent to the recipient. Rather, the ball is sent further ahead in the hopes that the teammate will be able to catch up and receive it. These passes are great and fun to watch, especially if the recipient can beat his defenders and score.
In this video, you will find an absolutely beautiful pass from former New York City FC player RJ Allen to another former NYCFC player, David Villa. Allen wins the ball, sees Villa beginning his run towards goal and sends the ball down the field towards him. It has a perfect curve on it, nestling right at the feet of Villa so he can score.
Offsides:
However, not all passes are valid. In soccer (and in some other sports as well), there is the offside rule which states that a player cannot pass to another player if the recipient is positioned ahead of the final defender before the goalkeeper. I know it sounds confusing, but this video will help out with that.
Remember that this rule applies to the moment a ball is passed. If an attacker realizes they’re offside and adjusts their positioning before the ball is hit, then the pass will be valid. However, if a players leaves too early in anticipation and is offside when the ball is hit then they will be called offside.
To help trigger this, defenders can use an offside trap. In other words, they can purposely position themselves and move so that the attacker will be called offside. For this reason, attackers must always be aware of their position in relation to the defenders.
The person in the video raising and lowering the flag is called the assistant referee. They must have a good eye for the game and must always be paying attention. However, with the rise of Video Assistant Referee (“VAR”–I’ll discuss this in the future), the process has become meticulous and hyper-analyzed. If the assistant makes an incorrect call or misses a call, it can be reviewed and the decision be changed.
Fouls:
Soccer players may not wear the same amount of equipment that hockey or football players do but that doesn’t mean that soccer isn’t a tough sport. Great players must be fast on their feet, quick with the ball and have good awareness BUT physical presence is just as important. Players will do anything to win the ball back, including pushing, shoving and tackling (among others). While some little things are allowed, anything greater is a foul. It is up to the main referee’s discretion whether or not to award a foul.
When a foul is given, the player who received it is awarded a free kick; play is stopped and the ball is placed where the foul occurred. The recipient can then pass it to a teammate and play will resume. If the free kick is in a dangerous position close to goal then the defending team can set up a wall with a couple of players. Here’s an example:
If the foul occurs so close to goal that it’s within the penalty box (the large rectangle surrounding the front of both goals), then the fouled player is awarded a penalty.
This video starts from the build-up to the penalty in a World Cup Qualifier with the United States and Panama. Bobby Wood is brought down in the penalty box and then Jozy Altidore takes the penalty. In many cases, teams will have a designated penalty kick taker who takes the penalty no matter what. At this time, Altidore was that man for the US and that’s why he kicks it and not Wood.
And that’s it! Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll stay tuned for my next post!
Four Score Soccer 