The world’s game, as it is so often called, captivates audiences across the globe to a point where they are ready to immerse themselves into whatever they are watching. The passion that this sport elicits is like none other and is truly magical. The immense passion of the fans coupled with simplicity of the game itself is actually why Football is the most popular sport in the world. Although, such is the case with pretty much everything, we must get to know something to really enjoy it. To immerse ourselves into the game like hundreds of millions have, we first must understand what the game is about.
The Basics
At its core, football is about scoring goals. The more goals one team scores compared to the other one is what will guarantee victory. There are two teams, each consisting of eleven players on the pitch, with a few attackers, a few midfielders, and a few defenders all accounted for. The entire squads, though, have 25 players each, including seven substitutes, with the rest being labeled as ‘reserves.’ Each team also has a manager. One thing to note is that in contradiction to other sports, Football teams have a ‘manager’ instead of a ‘coach’. This is because in football, management includes not only on field strategies, but off field activities such as individual player management, scouting, working with staff such as physios to better condition different players, and most importantly, transfer business, as well.
Even though the term “manager” has a more holistic outlook, their coaching abilities, which are reflective of their team’s performance on the pitch, are at the forefront of their job description. The managers are responsible for the record their team maintains. What some managers do is implement their own philosophy, and if it proves to be successful, they run with that. An important part of those different philosophies is formations. A formation, simply put, is the approach a team takes to a match, whether it be an attacking approach or a defending approach.
Formations
The most common types of formations used by different teams are 4-4-3, 4-2-3-1, and 4-4-2, but there are many others as well. A 4-4-3 formation, for example, which is employed by the most renowned teams in Europe like Football Club (FC) Barcelona and Manchester City, includes four defenders, four midfielders, and three attackers. Such a formation has a right back, a left back, two center backs, two central midfielders, one central defensive mid, a right winger, a left winger, and a striker. The goalkeeper is usually not included in formations because no matter the formation itself, his position is the only one that is unchanged. On the left is the formation that Arsenal F.C, an historic club from London, utilized almost throughout the entirety of 2019.
The tactics resulting from a formation are also important parts of the manager’s philosophy. Atletico Madrid are infamous for frequently using rigorously defensive formations such as a 4-2-3-1 or even sometimes a 5-4-1, albeit the latter is more effective if it is used when in the lead, because it is difficult to score that way. These formations result in a tactic known as “Park the Bus.” When even the midfielders come to the aid of the defenders, and the attackers bring themselves to the midfield, this results in a thoroughly reinforced defense. Used by teams leading against a difficult opposition and not wanting them to score, the former parks the bus.
Technicalities
The sport of football itself is governed by numerous major organizations in different continents, but chief among them is FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), which is the governing body that oversees the international competitions amongst national teams like Spain, England, and Brazil. All of those organizations, though, are in agreement regarding the rules and regulations of this beloved game. Those rules and regulations have actually been in place since 1863, which is when football was first established.
The home team starts every game with a player on the middle line (in the middle of the field) passing the ball to his teammates. After that Kickoff, two 45 minute halves are played, totalling up to 90 minutes of game time, with a 15 break between half. Technically, any player can get the ball past the other team’s goal line and claim his goal for the team, but it is easier for attackers since they are in a position to do so.
A throw-in for one team occurs when a player from the opposing team kicks the ball out through the sideline, and that is the only rare instance in the entire game when a player can throw the ball toward their teammate. Players are not allowed to push or tackle their opponent in any way that may be considered unfair, because that unsportsmanlike contact will result in a Yellow Card. A Yellow Card is a warning for such violation of rules and a Red Card is a straight up sending off for the violation of rules, which in that case, may refer to a repulsive/despicable offense. Additionally, those fouls may result in a free-kick (outside 15 yard box) or worse, a penalty (inside the 15 yard box) to the opposing team, and the latter drastically increases the chances of a goal. An offside position is an overly technical detail that you may get a better understanding of by clicking here.
Footballing Giants
The teams referenced earlier in the article i.e. FC Barcelona and Manchester City are just some of the many around the world that take part in “the beautiful game.” There are football clubs all around the world but the biggest teams, and subsequently the ones with the biggest fan bases, are in Europe. A few of them are in Germany, Italy, and France, but most of them are in England and Spain. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of the most successful clubs in the history of football, and what has made them so successful is their proven ability to win numerous trophies and attract the best players in the world.
However, in today’s day and age, with the sport becoming more popular than ever and thus, attracting more investment than ever, other teams are rivaling these two giants. Who knows what the future holds. Every team’s thirst to win is what drives them and that is why underdogs quite often overcome the historical champions every once in a while. It’s really anyone’s game and it’s never over until it is really over. That is the beauty of Football; that is why it truly is the beautiful game!