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OrlandoGarcia
Mrs.DeRuiter
5thHour
Soccer
HereintheStates,weareblessedwithmanysports.Forexample,wehaveAmericanfootball,
baseball,basketball,icehockey,boxing,trackandfield,golf,andtennis.Butwhataboutsoccer,oneofthe
mostpopularsports?Peopleshouldlearntherules,majorattractions,andhowitallbegan,includingthose
whoplayandplayedthissport.
Manypeoplearoundtheworld,whetheritsinNorthAmerica,Australia,Europe,Asia,Africa,
andSouthAmerica,playsoccer.Manypeoplearoundthethisplanetarejustkickingasoccerballtoward
agoalwith11playersandsometimesmore(Hanlon208).Soccerisasportinwhichmanypeoplearound
theworldenjoywatchingandplaying.Formany,soccerisntjustasportitisajob,apassion,andajoy.
ItallbeganinAncientChina1967B.Cwhereitwasdiscovered(LablancandHenshaw17).But
nowadays,wehavesomanyleaguesaroundtheworld:WorldCupwhenitsnationsagainstnations,Copa
LibertadoreswhichiswhereMexicanteamsplayagainstBrazilianteams,andEuropeanCupLeague
whichwhenonlyteamsfromEuropecompeteagainsteachother.Allleagueshavedifferentteamsall
fightingforatrophy.Thefirstmatchwasin1872,Scotlandvs.England,whichendedasadraw11.This
ishowsoccerbegan.(Lineker14)
Also,theWorldCupisoneofthemostwatchedsportsaroundtheworldwith715.1millionviews
intheWorldCup2010wasoneofthemostwatched(FIFA).ToqualifyaWorldCupwhichiseveryfour
yearseverynation/teamhastocompetewithovertwelvedifferentnationsplayingforatrophyoutofpure
solidgold.Manyplayandtrainalotforthis.Thesearethemajorattractionsforsoccer.(Herbst14)
Inaddition,herearealsomanypositionsinsoccer.Forexampletherearedefense,goalkeeping,
midfielders,andforwards.Allofthesecreateateaminsoccer.Therearepositionsinsoccerbutalso

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rules.Forexample,thereisoffside,onside,handballandfouls.Offsidesiswhenapayerreceivesaball
whilebeingbehindthedefensiveline.Onsidewouldbewhenaplayerreceivesballwhileinfrontof
defense.Handballwouldbeifplayertouchestheballwithhandwhichcouldcauseafreekickorpenalty.
Apenaltywouldbeoneononewithgoalieandfreekickwouldbeonekickeragainstopponentswitha
wallofpeopleinfrontofshooter.Andlastly,foulsarewhenanopponenttacklesaplayerandhitsplayers
feetbeforetouchingtheball.Forexample,ifaplayerslidestacklesanopponentandhitshisrightfoot,he
wouldgetfoul,nofoulwouldbeifplayerhitsballfirstthenplayertripsoverfeet,thatwillnotbemarked
asafoul.Theserulesshouldbelearnedbyeveryonewhowatchesandplayssoccer.(Woog101Herbst
9)
Now,thereisafieldfulloflinesthatmanypeopledontknowwhatthemean.Thereisamidfield
linewhichislocatedinthemiddleoffield.Thereisacentercircle,alsolocatedincenteroffield,butit
createsacirclearoundmidfieldline.Thereisalsoasidelinethesidelinecreatesathelongesttwolinesof
therectanglethatiscreatedaroundfield.Iftheballgoesoutofline,therewillbeathrowin.Ifballgoes
outontheshortestline,therewillbeacorner,butonlyifanyplayerofotherteamhitsbeforeitgoes.For
example,aplayerisattackingandadefenderhitsballlastbeforecrossingthelinetherewillbeacorner.
thegoallineisthelinethatmakessocceragreatgameandexcitinggame.Theballmustcrossthegoal
lineinordertobeagoal.Thepenaltyboxisaboxoutsideofthetwogoalswhichhaveapenaltyspotin
both.Andlastlyagoalisarectanglethatisnormallyoutsideoffield.Thetwogoalsarerightbehindthe
goallinewheretheballendsuponceballhascrossedthegoalline.Theseareallthelocationsinthe
soccerfield.(Herbst9)
Soccerisaveryexcitingsport.Itisexcitingtowatchandalsotoplay.Manyaregladitexists.In
soccer,allpeoplereallyneedtoplaythissportistobeabletorun.Everythingelsewillbesimpletodoand
learn.

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WorksCited
FIFA.FIFAWorldCup.N.p.:FIFA,2014.N.pag.Web.22April2014
<http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldcup/>.
Hanlon,Thomas.TheSportsRulesBooks.Illinois:HumanKinetics,1997.
Herbst,Dan.Soccer.NewYork:Times,Inc.,1988.
Lablanc,MichaelandRichardHenshaw.TheWorldEncyclopediaofSoccer.UnitedKingdom:Gale
Research,Inc.,1994.
Lineker,Gary.Soccer.Spain:CarltonBooksLtd,1994.
Woog,Dan.TheUltimateSoccerAlmanac.LosAngeles,CA:RGAPublishingGroup,Inc,1988.