The FIFA world cup is going on until the 18th of December, and no doubt it is capturing the attention of millions of Canadians as it is the first time the Canadian team has participated since 1986.
Unfortunately, Canada doesn’t seem to have the same talent for soccer as we do for hockey, but that doesn’t mean you can get away with knowing nothing about this event.
In the first part of this series I explained how the tournament is set up; the different stages and what they entail.
And any dummy would think this is enough to know, but since you are a soccer dummy, you would be wrong.
What good is it that you know the different stages of the tournament if you don’t actually know how the game of soccer works! Newsflash: it’s no good at all.
So here is part 2 of the Dummies Guide to the World Cup: the basic rules and jargon of the game.
I’ve picked a few of the terms I’ve found confusing, since I myself am a soccer dummy, in the hopes that they should help all you other dummies out there.
First of all, the different positions that players on each team play:
Defender: the last line of defense in front of the goal, they are there to stop the other teams forwards from scoring
Forwards: These players are the ones attacking the goal, taking most of the shots, they’re the furthest up the field
Midfielder: This sounds like the worst freaking job ever. Their job is to pass and move the ball towards the goal. They sit in the middle of the field, and boy do these guys have to do a lot of running. Like way too much. No wonder soccer players are such sissies when they get injured, they’re just way too exhausted from all the running. Can’t say I blame them.
Now a few terms related to the rules and playing of the game:
Pitch: a normal person would call this the field, but soccer fans aren’t normal. So if someone says the players are on the pitch, they mean the field.
Volley: a player kicks the ball white it’s mid-air
Punt: The goalie drop kicks the ball
Offside: a violation that happens when a player from the offensive team is behind the defender and gets a pass from a team mate in front of the defender. Still confused?
Yellow card: If a player does something undesirable they are given a warning
Red Card: the player receiving the red card is out of the game for breaking some rule.
Formation: how the 11 players of each team are arranged on the field. For example, if you see the numbers 4-3-3 in relation to a formation, that means four defenders, three midfielders, three forwards.
After compiling all these terms for you I have only one conclusion; I will tolerate the world cup, but I will not like it. Soccer is a weird game. But at least you understand it now (kind of).