Soccer & FIFA

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Soccer (a.k.a Football) is the most popular worldwide sport where two teams compete by shooting the soccer ball in the opposing team's net. Each team has eleven players including the goalkeeper, which tries to defend the opposing team from scoring a goal. (Back to index)

David Beckham performing a throw in.

History

Background

Soccer Pitch

The game of Soccer has been known to be one of the simplest, most flexible games ever created. People of all shapes and sizes are able to join the fun because the sport does not require just one specific skill set. Instead, it demands many skills such as touch, shooting power, passing ability, accuracy, speed and more.

Clubs from all over the world compete through various leagues such as the English Premier League, La Liga and more. At the world stage, players compete for the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup, which takes place every four years, while playing for their respective countries.

Today, a surge in popularity has happened thanks to an increase of the popular gaming franchise, FIFA by EA Games. Players of all ages from all over the world partake in playing against friends and random opponents for bragging rights and to support their favorite clubs.

In this article, readers will learn about the different positions of the sport and ethical concerns surrounding the sport both in real life, for instance a variety of fouls and penalties committed during a match, and virtually through the medium of video games.


Positions

Goalkeeper (GK)

This is one of the most important positions in the game because of the great deal of skill required. Without a solid keeper, hopes of winning can be dismissed. A keeper is required to have strength, agility, height and solid judgement for dealing with all of the different shots that may come their way during a match. Although unlikely, it is possible for goalkeepers to take penalty and free kicks in a match but it comes with a great risk due to the fact that the opposing team can score if a squad's goalkeeper cannot score and is then caught out of position.

Defenders

Centre-back (CB)

These defenders are crucial to a squad's defense. They are the last line of defense and the primary tools that mark an opposing team's strikers. Two exceptional CB's are Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United, CB) and John Terry (Chelsea F.C., CB). Both players are fantastic defenders with the ability to shut down top strikers and make necessary passes to clear the lines of defense.

John Terry during a match

Full-back/Right-back/Left-back (FB/RB/LB)

Players in this position are located wide of the CB's, and focus on shutting down crosses into the penalty area where an opposing striker may be to head a ball or to close off wide play but opposing wings. A textbook defender is Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona, RB) known as a top RB in the game for his defending skills and speed.

Midfielders (DM, AM, CAM, CDM)

Midfielders take on duties both on offense and defense. Depending on their role, some are used as scoring threats in tandem with a team's strikers or as an extra line of defense. Whichever role they specialize in, Midfielders must have top-notch vision of the pitch and passing skills to thrive in the midfield, between the attacking and defending zones. Frank Lampard (Chelsea F.C., CAM) displays mastered skills of transitioning between both ends of the field, sending balls through to the club's strikers and netting goals with his accuracy and touch.

Forwards (CF, LW, RW, S)

This position consists of players who are focused on one thing, attacking the opposing team and scoring goals. Throughout the years, several players have come and gone in the sport and have made their mark on history. Today, Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona, S) is regarded as one of the best of his generation, racking up several awards and honors during his span in the game.

Soccer Terminology

  • Corner Kick: The opposing team's kick on the corner of the defending team when the ball passed over the goal line by the defending team. A memorable corner kick was when David Beckham scored off of one while playing for the LA Galaxy
  • Goal Kick: The goalkeeper's kick when the ball passed over the goal line by the opposing team.
  • Punt: When the goalkeeper saves a ball, he can drop kick it far to the other players on the team.
  • Kick-Off: The start of each period and after a goal.
  • Penalty Kick: A kick that is issued to the fouled team in the penalty area.
  • Throw-In: The throw of the ball when the ball passed over the sidelines. One variation is when a player does a flip throw in where the player performs a somersault before throwing the ball into play.
  • Red Card: The suspension of a player by the referee for the player's misconduct.
  • Yellow Card: A caution put upon a player by the referee for the player's misconduct. Two yellow cards leads to a red card.

Ethical Concerns

The most popular sport in the world is surrounded by controversies, foul play, cheating, and more. This happens through fixing of matches, taunting during play and through different cheap shots taken in several exhibition games. It is also present in the virtual world of gaming through online taunting through voice messages, text messages and the ever-popular user celebrations that ignite gamers' tempers.

Real Life

Fixed Matches

The sport is victim to match fixing through the bribing of referees, managers and players. Certain positions are easier to utilize in order to swing games such as a midfield player using poor midfield passing leading to ball turnovers or paying the goalkeepers to let goals get by them.

Fouls/Penalties

During matches, emotions run high as squads battle for positions in their leagues, trophies and bragging rights among rivals. One of the most memorable instances of foul play was when Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest after Materazzi insulted his sister.

Flopping, or feigning injury, has also become a regular aspect in professional soccer matches, usually performed with the intent of drawing penalties or fouls against the other team. This has caused many soccer fans to push for more strict rules regarding flopping, such as penalizing the player that has obviously faked an injury. Clearly this has taken a negative effect on the game of soccer as it delays the game and also causes confusion as to whether the player has actually sustained an injury. Often times, flopping is performed near the end of matches when a team is clinging onto a narrow lead in an attempt to waste the opponent's time and thus their chances to score.

FIFA is one of the most popular soccer video games.

Video Games

Taunting

In any online gaming situation, the presence of chat rooms, forums, and voice communication enhances gameplay but also leads to online bullying through name-calling and other forms of trash talking or harassment.

User Celebrations

One of the most potentially insulting aspects of the FIFA series is the user celebrations. After a user scores a goal, he or she can perform celebrations based on certain combinations of buttons they press. Many times this can lead to heightened tempers in the victim of the celebration causing them to play with an uneven, temper-minded style exposing them to even more goals and frustrations.

Technology and Officiating

In the 2010 World Cup, England had an apparent goal against Germany to tie the match however, the linesman did not see the ball cross the goal line and Germany held onto its 2-1 lead. In response to miscalls like these FIFA has determined to invest in goal detection systems which would inform the referee if the ball fully crosses the goal line. FIFA has various tests that any system must complete [1], but if a system is certified, soccer will began taking the path that many other professional sports have of implementing technology to aid officials such as football video reviews and tennis's Hawk-Eye

References

  1. Malinowski EriK. (2011). FIFA Eyes 2012 for Goal-Line Tech Implementation. Playbook.