0-0 draw
question: how can anyone watch a replay of a 0-0 match? or for that matter, watch a match after the goals have been scored?
it seems that soccer (or football), a sport that evolved from unknown numbers of men kicking an inflated pig's bladder in britain, to a organised team sport of 2 11 a side teams battling on a grass pitch for 90mins, can't stop reinventing itself. today when someone asks me to play soccer, i would ask what surface (court, concrete, astroturf, grass) and even how many a side. you can play 5 a side on grass and 8 a side on court surface. there are no limits, except that you need a ball and 2 goals.
the evolution of soccer is not limited to the birth of new games like futsal and street soccer. a new sport has been born from soccer, a sport played without teams and without goals: freestyle soccer.
i am not a fan of freestyle soccer, though i do admit that the practitioners are without a doubt skillful. the perplexing issue is that many fans of soccer confuse the 2 and believe they are one, and this results in them not applying the correct skills and competencies when playing the team game of soccer.
the emphasis of advertisers on flair and skill has attracted an army of fans who think they love the beautiful game, but in actual fact they only love the skill and control aspect. they don't understand that this beautiful game is much more than that. it is much more than the dribble, the shot, the cross and the trap.
it is about covering a player so his teamate cannot pass the ball to him. it is about working together with your teamates to close down a very skillful opponent. it is about communicating to your teamate in a more forward position, telling him where the danger is and where he should go. it is about covering holes and spaces for your team so that opponents are denied time on the ball. it is about closing down the opposition so that your pressure up field will lift the pressure on your teamates in further back.
it is about organising the team to take positions to cover the entire field, ensuring that every flank is covered when the opponent attacks. it is about shifting as a team, to overload in certain areas on the pitch and for other players to cover the spaces the team has left behind as a result. it is about encouragement and inspiration.
organised soccer is like war or a chess match, you need strategy and tactics. flanking maneuvers, defensive tactics, soak and hit, possesion. freestyle soccer is like watching a circus monkey or a stripper performing.
so back to the question, how is it possible that a 0-0 bore draw can capture my attention? it is because soccer is not about goals, or the scoreline. it is about many other things, like hardwork, cooperation, getting the job done; and the job is not limited to scoring goals.
and players who are too preoccupied with the latest trick and fancy moves should not be playing organised soccer, because organised soccer is much more intellectual and selfless.
watching tricks won't help you play better in organised soccer. watching 0-0 draws will.
it seems that soccer (or football), a sport that evolved from unknown numbers of men kicking an inflated pig's bladder in britain, to a organised team sport of 2 11 a side teams battling on a grass pitch for 90mins, can't stop reinventing itself. today when someone asks me to play soccer, i would ask what surface (court, concrete, astroturf, grass) and even how many a side. you can play 5 a side on grass and 8 a side on court surface. there are no limits, except that you need a ball and 2 goals.
the evolution of soccer is not limited to the birth of new games like futsal and street soccer. a new sport has been born from soccer, a sport played without teams and without goals: freestyle soccer.
i am not a fan of freestyle soccer, though i do admit that the practitioners are without a doubt skillful. the perplexing issue is that many fans of soccer confuse the 2 and believe they are one, and this results in them not applying the correct skills and competencies when playing the team game of soccer.
the emphasis of advertisers on flair and skill has attracted an army of fans who think they love the beautiful game, but in actual fact they only love the skill and control aspect. they don't understand that this beautiful game is much more than that. it is much more than the dribble, the shot, the cross and the trap.
it is about covering a player so his teamate cannot pass the ball to him. it is about working together with your teamates to close down a very skillful opponent. it is about communicating to your teamate in a more forward position, telling him where the danger is and where he should go. it is about covering holes and spaces for your team so that opponents are denied time on the ball. it is about closing down the opposition so that your pressure up field will lift the pressure on your teamates in further back.
it is about organising the team to take positions to cover the entire field, ensuring that every flank is covered when the opponent attacks. it is about shifting as a team, to overload in certain areas on the pitch and for other players to cover the spaces the team has left behind as a result. it is about encouragement and inspiration.
organised soccer is like war or a chess match, you need strategy and tactics. flanking maneuvers, defensive tactics, soak and hit, possesion. freestyle soccer is like watching a circus monkey or a stripper performing.
so back to the question, how is it possible that a 0-0 bore draw can capture my attention? it is because soccer is not about goals, or the scoreline. it is about many other things, like hardwork, cooperation, getting the job done; and the job is not limited to scoring goals.
and players who are too preoccupied with the latest trick and fancy moves should not be playing organised soccer, because organised soccer is much more intellectual and selfless.
watching tricks won't help you play better in organised soccer. watching 0-0 draws will.
posted by daniel at 21:09
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