Soccer



= = **By - Chris Karczewski, Eduardo Salazar, Jaime Cardenas, & Victor Blachut**

=Soccer=

Definition
  A game played on a rectangular field with net goals at either end in which two teams of 11 players each try to drive a ball into the others goal by kicking, heading, or using any part of the body except the arms and hands. The goalie is the only player who may touch or move the ball with the arms or hand.

History
 Many different cultures have played a sport similar to the modern game of soccer but no one can really say with any certainty when or where soccer began but it is known that the earlier variations of what later became soccer were played almost 3000 years ago. One of the earliest forms of soccer in which players kicked a ball around on a small field has been traced as far back to 1004 B.C. in Japan. The Munich Ethnological Museum in Germany has a Chinese text from approximately 50 B.C. that mentions games very similar to soccer that were played between teams from Japan and China. The Chinese kicked a leather ball which was hair filled and it is known with certainty that a soccer game was played in 611 A.D. in the Japanese capital, Kyoto. While historians kept records of events such as wars and religious movements they had very little interest in preserving the various origins of soccer or many other sports, so no one can say how soccer seems to have spread from Asia to Europe. Which is now from my opinion the most popular game on earth.

Positions

 * Goalkeeper - The job of the keeper is to defend the goal from the opponents shots. He is the only player that can legally use his hands besides throw-ins. There is only one keeper per team.
 * Defenders - The main objective of these player is to stop the opposing team from scoring. The defenders play closest to the keeper and at times they will cover the goal when the keeper is away.
 * Midfielders - Midfielders play in the middle part of the field, hence their names are Midfielders. There are basically 2 types of midfielders: Offensive Midfielders which help bring the ball up the field and Defensive Midfielders which stay back and help out the defense. Defensive Midfielders also might be considered Stoppers.
 * Forwards - The forwards mainly push the ball up the field and try to score on the other team.
 * Sweeper - This player plays behind all of the defense and directs other player on the field. If the defense gets broken up, the sweeper holds of the opposing team so the defense can regroup. Not all team use this position but if they do, there is only one.
 * Stopper - The stopper play as the first line of defense behind the midfielders. This player needs to be good at steals anusually goes against the other teams best forward. Like the sweeper, not all teams use this player but if they do, there is only one.
 * Pictures

"Laws of the Game"
The official rules for soccer are called "The Laws of the Game"and are checked annually by FIFA.The "Laws of the Game" can be difficult to understand.There are 17 sections and over 100 pages in the official rulebook. The rules are also adjusted for children and to make matches more fun.

Rules
=World Cup=
 * The field of play must be between 90 and 120 meters long and 45 to 90 meters wide(rectangular shape), dimensions of each goal must be 7.32 meters long and 2.44 meters high, diameter of the center circle is 18.30 meters
 * Soccer ball used must have a circumference of 68-70 centimeters, weigh between 410 and 450 grams, can be made of leather or material that is similar[[image:Football_Soccer_Ball_Official_Size.jpg width="206" height="193" align="right" caption="Official sized soccer ball "]]
 * Teams can have 10 outfield players and 1 goalkeeper also several substitutes on the bench
 * Duration of the game is 90 minutes(45 minute halves separated by a 15 minute break)
 * Ball is out of play when it passes any of the boundary lines(Players cannot interact with the ball or score goals)
 * Goal is made when the entire circumference of the ball crosses the goal areas
 * Tripping, kicking, pushing, charging or striking an opponent is considered a foul and are penalized by handing over the ball to the team that was fouled, referee can award a penalty kick or free kick, give out yellow card or red card
 * penalty kicks are awarded to team being fouled inside the penalty box.
 * Ball must be thrown in when it crosses the sidelines, over the thrower's head and feet not touching the sideline
 * Yellow cards are given to players as a warning when unsportsmanlike fouls occur,red card is given to players who are given 2 yellow card in the same game or for bad conduct on the field __[|Basic Soccer Rules]__ [|Laws of the Game]

General Information
The [|FIFA World Cup] is a tournament for men national soccer teams. The tournament is held every four years. During the years in between, the teams are chosen to play in the cup over the course of a qualification phase. It is composed of 32 national teams and the games are held in one of their respective countries. The whole tournament spans over the course of a month and is referred to as the World Cup Finals. The World Cup is the most viewed sporting event. In 2006, 715 million people watched the most recent cup. The next World Cup is in 2010 which will be held in [|South Africa].

Trophy
The team who wins the World Cup get the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The trophy was originally the [|Jules Rimet Trophy] but after Brazil won it permanently, it was stolen and never recovered. In 1970, a group of FIFA officials came together and thought up a new trophy. After 52 prototypes, they decided to got with Silvio Gazzanigas design. The new trophy is 14.2 inches high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 13.6 pounds.

Victorious Teams
All together, there has been 18 World Cups. Over the years, only seven different teams have won the title. Brazil has the most titles: they have won the cup 5 times. They have also been in all 18 World Cup and are the only ones to do so. The other teams are Italy, which has 4 titles, Germany has three titles, Uruguay and Argentine both have won twice, & Britain and France with one win each.

**First World Cup**
In 1930, the first FIFA World Cup was played in Uruguay. It was played from July 13-July 30. Thirteen teams participated, four from Europe and nine from America. Only a few European teams chose to attend because of the duration of the games and the cost of travel. The first two matches were played simultaneously. France and the USA won these matches against Mexico and Belgium. 4-1, 3-0 were the scores. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people. Uruguay was the first country to win a FIFA World Cup.

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