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I guess it would be safe to say that more countries in the world follow soccer than any other sport in the world. Mostly because soccer is one of the simplest games in the world to understand as well as to play. Soccer also requires very little equipment, so all you need to do is to pop out on to the field with a bunch of friends and start playing! But before you start, and assuming that you do not know the game, it would be a pretty good idea for you to go through these basic soccer terms, the meaning of which any footballer ought to know about! So, here are some of the basic soccer terms and rules explained.

Instead of clumping all the soccer terms together, in this article, I will be classifying them into the following categories which I feel they belong to.

• Soccer Terms Related to Player Positions
• Soccer Terms Related to Player Formation
• Soccer Terms Related to Pitch Dimensions
• Other Basic Soccer Terms And Rules

Soccer Terms Related to Player Positions

Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper is the player in soccer who guards the goal. The goalkeeper is also the only player on the pitch who is allowed to touch the ball with his hands in the penalty area.

Defenders
Defenders are the players who are basically responsible for stopping the opposition team from scoring. Defenders are usually split into center backs and full backs.

Full-backs
Full-backs or wing-backs are players that play on the right and left flanks of the defense. They generally are entrusted with two tasks. The first is to ensure that the attacking players from the wide ends of the pitch are dealt with and the second is to bring the ball forward to facilitate attacking play. The right-back is the full back who plays on the right of the two center-backs and the left back plays on the left of the two center-backs.

Center-backs
Center-backs or center-halves or central defenders generally form the heart of the defense. They are positioned in the center of the defense line and they are given the task of stopping the opposition attackers from running at the goal and scoring. Most teams today play with two center-backs, although there was a time when the just the one center-back (then known as a ’sweeper’).

Midfielders
The midfielders are the players that play in the center of the field between the defense and the attack. The midfielder was traditionally entrusted with the task of bringing the ball from the defense and passing it to the attacking players. Midfielders are further classified according to their specific functions as defensive midfielders. Attacking midfielders, wingers and playmakers.

Defensive Midfielders
Defensive midfielders act as a screen for the defenders. Defensive midfielders generally operate in the center of the pitch and tackle the opposition attacking players. The role of the defensive midfielder has grown into prominence of late and they operate as a back up to the defense.

Attacking Midfielders
Attacking midfielders generally come forward from the midfield and assist the strikers and help them score goals. Attacking midfielders generally take the pass from the defensive midfielders and pass it to the strikers.

Wingers
Wingers are those players in the midfield line that play on the right and left ends of the pitch. Wingers generally bring the ball forward from the defense and either cross it into the path of the attacking players or run into the center, towards the goal.

Playmaker
Few teams are lucky enough to have an efficient playmaker. A playmaker is the one that plays as an attacking midfielder, but has the vision and ability to understand and control the tempo of the game and helps the team by making important assists to the team’s attacking players. The playmaker generally holds the ball forward and dictates the flow of the game.

Inside Forward
The traditional inside forward is on the wane now. The inside forward was the player generally stationed between the strikers and the midfielder.

Striker
The striker is the player employed by the team to go forward and score goals. A striker has to big all and fast and ought to be a good header of the ball.

Soccer Terms Related to Player Formation

3-5-2
The 3-5-2 is one of the older formations that is very rarely used these days. In a 3-5-2, the team played with just the one center-back (sweeper), two full-backs, five midfielders and 2 strikers.

4-4-2
The 4-4-2 is perhaps the most common formation seen in football today and is widely followed basically because of its tactical simplicity. The 4-4-2 has two center-backs and and two full-backs in the defense, four midfielder of which one or two may be defensive midfielders and the rest are attacking midfielders and two strikers.

4-3-3
The 4-3-3 is generally seen as an aggressive and attacking formation. There are several different ways of playing out the 4-3-3 formation. Either way, the defense is composed the same way as it is in the 4-4-2. The 4-3-3 has three midfielders of which only one or all three may be played defensively. The three forward players can be arranged with two strikers and one playmaker behind them or with one striker and two attacking midfielders behind him.

4-3-2-1
The 4-3-2-1 or the pyramid formation is again a very rarely used formation owing to its ‘narrowness’. The 4-3-2-1 has the usual four defenders, three defensive midfielders, two attacking midfielders and one striker. It is a narrow formation as there are no real out and out wingers to man the flanks and hence the full-backs are expected to get forward and cover the area on the wings.

4-2-3-1
Less narrow and more balanced than the 4-3-2-1 is the 4-2-3-1, which gives a bit more width as it stars three attacking midfielders and two defensive ones. But having two defensive midfielders can sometimes slow the tempo of the game down and make it far too defensive and really bottle up the goals.

4-2-1-2-1
Or quite simply, the ‘diamond’ is an effective enough formation although narrow and relatively less popular. The 4-2-1-2-1 has a diamond at the front with one striker at the front tip, two more strikers behind him, and one playmaker behind the two second strikers at the lower tip of the diamond. Two defensive midfielders play behind the diamond.

W-M
Known as the W-M because if the formation was drawn on the pitch it would look like the players are arranged as the two letters. The W-M has three strikers, two attacking midfielders, two more midfielders just behind them, and 3 defenders. The W-M is now almost completely been discontinued.

Catenaccio
If you look it up in a dictionary, it vaguely means ‘door-bolt’. The catenaccio is a formation which we can call a 5-4-2 and uses five defenders. It is knows the door bolt as the door to the goal is rammed shut by the five defenders. The catenaccio again is a very sparingly used formation.

Soccer Terms Related to Pitch Dimensions

Center Line
The center line is a line drawn across the pitch which divides its length into two equal halves.

Center Spot
The center spot is the spot at the center of the center line and is the spot from which the teams kick off at the start of either half of the game or once a goal has been scored.

Corner Arc
The corner arc is the demarcated area on the corners of the pitch from within which the corners can be taken.

Penalty Area
The penalty area is a rectangular area in front of the goal where, if a foul is made by the team defending that goal, it will lead to a penalty kick for the opposition team. The penalty area is also the only part of the pitch within which the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with his hands.

Penalty Spot
The penalty spot is a spot in front of the goal from which the penalty kick is taken.

Other Basic Soccer Terms and Rules

Goal
Undoubtedly the most important part of the game is the goal. A team is said to have scored a goal when they successfully advance the ball forward into the opposition’s area and shoot the ball into the area marked as the goal. The team which has scored the maximum number of goals by the end of the game wins.

Foul
A foul is generally a move deemed illegal by the referee. Common fouls include handling the ball, injuring or trying to injure an opposition player in an attempt to take the ball away from him.

Corner Kick
A team is awarded a corner kick when a player of the opposition team hits the ball out behind the goal that his team are defending. Hitting the ball behind the opposition’s goal does not lead to a corner kick. A corner kick is taken from the corner arc.

Free Kick
A free kick is a kick taken by the player of a team which has been fouled. The opposition players aren’t allowed to obstruct the player taking a free kick. The free kick need not be taken by the player who has been fouled and can be taken by any person from the team of the player who has been fouled.

Penalty Kick
When a foul is made by a player in his penalty area (the area around the goal his team is defending), especially when the opposition player had a clear goal-scoring opportunity, a penalty kick is given. The penalty kick is taken directly from the penalty spot and no one other than the goalkeeper is allowed to defend it. The penalty kick need not be taken by the player who has been fouled and can be taken by any player from the team.

Caution
If the referee sees a player making too many fouls, the referee has to ensure that the player is cautioned. Ignoring the caution and continuing to make fouls results in a yellow or red card depending on the nature of the foul.

Yellow Card
The yellow card is given by the referee to a player as a caution for a foul deemed to be serious by the referee. A player receiving two yellow cards in one game is given a red card and sent off and will no longer be allowed to participate in the game.

Red Card
The red card is given by the referee either after two yellow cards in one game or if the referee deems a foul so serious that a red card is the commensurate punishment. A ’straight red’ (no yellow cards) is given when a player denies an opposition player a goal-scoring opportunity in the penalty area by committing a foul. A player receiving a red card either directly or as a result of two yellow cards is ’sent off’ and is no longer allowed to participate in the game. The team whose player is sent off has to play with one player less.

Assist
The assist is the last pass made by a player before the goal is scored.

Possession
A player who has the ball is said to be in possession of the ball.

Header
A header is when the player touches the ball with his head.

Tackle
A tackle is when a player makes an effort to get the ball from a player who has possession.

Cap
The number of caps a player has is the number of times a player has represented his club/country.

Cross
A cross is a pass made from one wing of the pitch towards the other side.

Extra Time
When the score is level for a knockout game (not a league game), two halves of 15 minutes each are added as extra time. If the scores are still level at the end of extra time, the game goes into a penalty shootout.

Formation
A formation is a shape in which the players of one team are arranged.

Half-Time
Half time is a break which separates the first half of 45 minutes from the second half of 45 minutes.

Hand ball
When a player touches the ball with his hands, it is called a handball.

Hat-Trick
A player is said to score a hat-trick when he scores three goals in one game.

Injury Time
Injury time/Stoppage Time/Time Added On is the time added at the end of each half to account for stoppages in play due to injuries, fouls etc.

Kickoff
Kickoff marks the start of a game.

Offside
A player is said to be offside when he is closer to the opposition’s goal than the opposition defenders, when the team mate of the former passes the ball to him.

Penalty Shootout
If in a knockout game, the scores of both teams are still tied, there is a penalty shootout where each team is given five penalty shots. The team that scores more penalties, wins.

Referee
The referee is the person employed to watch over the game and ensure that the game is played within the legal framework.

Linesman
The linesman is the one who checks and tells the referee which team’s player took the last touch before the ball went out.

Set Piece
A free kick, corner or penalty is known as a set piece.

The Stadium

Cape Town is building a new stadium for the 2010 World Cup in the suburb of Greenpoint, 500 metres from the Atlantic Ocean with Table Mountain as a backdrop.

Upon completion, the stadium should seat 70,000.

Group matches to be played in Cape Town

• 11th June – 8.30pm: Uruguay v France
• 14th June – 8.30pm: Italy v Paraguay
• 18th June – 8.30pm: England v Algeria
• 21st June – 1.30pm: Portugal v Korea DPR
• 24th June – 8.30pm: Cameroon v Netherlands

Soccer City

Johannesburg will have two stadiums in the World Cup 2010 and also boasts the opening match, one semi final and the final match of the tournament.

Soccer City is the jewel in South Africa’s crown, built in 1987 and with a capacity of 94,700 (excluding Media and VIP’s) it is sure to offer a great atmosphere for the lucky few that get tickets and hopefully as the stadium to be used for the first game, provide an excellent springboard for a magnificent tournament.

For 2010, the upper tier will be extended around the stadium, an encircling roof will be constructed, new changing room facilities will be developed and new floodlights will be installed.

Ellis Park

Ellis Park was constructed in 1982 as a modern, integrated stadium offering outstanding sight lines from every seat. The Stadium stands within a world class sporting precinct, barely 15 minutes’ walk from the Johannesburg City Centre, and offers outstanding office, security and medical features.

For 2010, new upper tiers will be constructed behind each of the goals, at the north and south ends of the venue, increasing the net capacity by 10,149 seats to a total 60,000.

Ellis Park will host one quarter final match.

The Stadium

Durban will boast the new Moses Mabhida stadium, unveiled on June 15th 2006 at Durban’s ICC by KwaZulu-Natal’s Premier Sbu Ndebele and eThekwini Mayor Councillor Obed Mlaba.

The stadium will be built on the site of the existing King’s Park stadium and has been designed as a first-class multi-purpose sporting facility with a seating capacity of 70,000.

The stadium is named after named after Moses Mabhida, a former General Secretary of the SACP.

Group matches to be played in Durban

• 13th June – 8.30pm: Germany v Australia
• 16th June – 4.00pm: Spain v Switzerland
• 19th June – 1.30pm: Netherlands v Japan
• 22th June – 8.30pm: Nigeria v Korea Republic
• 25th June – 4.00pm: Portugal v Brazil

The Stadium

Construction of the new Mbombela Stadium on open land just eight kilometres north of Nelspruit will confirm the recently rising fortunes of this far north-eastern corner of South Africa.

The Mbombela Stadium has been designed to ensure it enjoys a prosperous life beyond the tournament as an adaptable, relevant multi-sport, entertainment and exhibition venue.

The stadium will be specifically constructed to ensure that it meets all FIFA Requirements and presents a compact and attractive venue for both first and second round matches with a capacity of just over 40,000.

Group matches to be played in Nelspruit

• 16th June – 1.30pm: Honduras v Chile
• 20th June – 4.00pm: Italy v New Zealand
• 23rd June – 8.30pm: Australia v Serbia
• 25th June – 4.00pm: Korea DPR v Ivory Coast

The Stadium

Only minor renovations will be required to bring the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace into line with requirements for a stadium able to host first and second round matches at the 2010 World Cup. The stadium will have a capacity of just over 40,000.

For 2010, essentially cosmetic measures such as installation of new electronic scoreboards and upgrading of the floodlights and public address system will render the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace ready to welcome the football supporters of the world.

Group matches to be played in Rustenburg

• 12th June – 8.30pm: England v USA
• 15th June – 1:30pm: New Zealand v Slovakia
• 19th June – 4.00pm: Ghana v Australia
• 22th June – 4.00pm: Mexico v Uruguay
• 24th June – 8.30pm: Denmark v Japan

The Stadium

The main west stand of the Loftus Versfeld stadium was completely rebuilt in 1977, and the other three stands have been rebuilt since, creating an impressive arena, that rises steeply on all sides and incorporates some of the country’s finest facilities for corporate hospitality.

Minimal upgrading will be required for the stadium to qualify as a venue for first and second round matches, but the floodlights, sound system and scoreboards will all be improved. The stadium has a capacity of 45,000 and this will probably rise to 50,000 for the World Cup.

Group matches to be played in Pretoria

• 13th June – 4.00pm: Serbia v Ghana
• 16th June – 8.30pm: South Africa v Uruguay
• 19th June – 8.30pm: Cameroon v Denmark
• 23rd June – 4.00pm: USA v Algeria
• 25th June – 8.30pm: Chile v Spain

The Stadium

The roof over the existing west stand of the Peter Mokaba Stadium will be removed and replaced by a roof that covers the entire western stand of the new Stadium.

An additional 20 rows of seating will be built around the entire stadium to increase capacity to 40,000.

In addition to the structural work, the Peter Mokaba stadium will be provided with first rate equipment, including an electronic scoreboard in the northern stand, new floodlights, a modern sound system and a fire detection and protection system.

Group matches to be played in Polokwane

• 13th June – 1.30pm: Algeria v Slovenia
• 17th June – 8.30pm: France v Mexico
• 22nd June – 8.30pm: Greece v Argentina
• 24th June – 4.00pm: Paraguay v New Zealand

The Stadium

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will have a capacity of 49,500 and will be a multi purpose facility launched at the World Cup in 2010.

Click here for the host city website.

Group matches to be played in Port Elizabeth

• 12th June – 1.30pm: Korea Republic v Greece
• 15th June – 4.00pm: Ivory Coast v Portugal
• 18th June – 1.30pm: Germany v Serbia
• 21st June – 4.00pm: Chile v Switzerland
• 23rd June – 4.00pm: Slovenia v England

The Stadium

In advance of 2010, a second tier will be added to the main grandstand of the Free State Stadium on the western side of the ground, increasing the net capacity beyond the 40,000-mark required for venues to stage first and second round matches.

Additionally, new turnstiles will be erected, the floodlights will be upgraded, electronic scoreboards will be installed and the sound system will be revamped to the required standards.

Group matches to be played in Bloemfontein

• 14th June – 4.00pm: Japan v Cameroon
• 17th June – 4.00pm: Greece v Nigeria
• 20th June – 1.30pm: Slovakia v Paraguay
• 22th June – 4.00pm: France v South Africa
• 25th June – 8.30pm: Switzerland v Honduras

In just over two weeks the World Cup kicks off and tonight, Australia were the first team to arrive in South Africa. I guess it really is about to happen.

Brazil arrive tomorrow, while the Argentina and Denmark national teams are due to land on Saturday morning. All will be flying into O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

If you happen to be in South Africa and you are interested in knowing when each team arrives, we will list each date below. The airport will have a viewing area for you but be warned, security will be tight.

“With the arrival of teams, the FIFA World Cup becomes real. This marks a very special moment because we have provided the stage, now the players take the spotlight and that is what the FIFA World Cup is about.

“The focus will now shift to the excitement around the teams and the build-up to the games. The teams will certainly have a wonderful time in this country and be part of the African spirit while playing in world-class facilities,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

World Cup 2010 Team Arrival Dates

• 26 May – Australia
• 27 May – Brazil
• 29 May – Denmark
• 30 May – Argentina
• 31 May – USA
• 1 June – Korea DPR
• 3 June – England and Paraguay
• 4 June – Mexico and Chile
• 5 June – France, Korea Republic, Uruguay and Nigeria
• 6 June – Japan, The Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand, Greece and Algeria
• 7 June – Germany, Ghana and Slovenia
• 8 June – Serbia
• 9 June – Cameroon, Italy, Honduras and Slovakia
• 10 June – Ivory Coast and Switzerland
• 11 June – Spain

We are getting inundated with requests for World Cup 2010 tickets, news and information and we don’t have anything new to tell you. By writing a small article about the process we can send everyone interested in knowing more to this page.

Basically the ticketing system will be controlled by FIFA and there will approximately 3,000,000 tickets available for the 64 matches that will take place in South Africa during 2010.

Of those 3,000,000 tickets a third will go to sponsors, the teams and the FIFA family. Another third will go to international visitors and the last million tickets will go to South African residents or possibly residents of Africa.

Danny Jordaan has promised to make the tickets affordable for South African residents so pricing isn’t going to be a shock. The only concern is if the one million tickets for South Africa has to be spread over Africa.

As of 2005 there was an estimated 890,000,000 people living in Africa which means not everyone that wants a ticket is going to get one, so FIFA will manage the allocation of tickets as a lottery.

When tickets go on sale you will need to visit a special website that will be set up by FIFA and request what matches you want tickets for and the number you require.

Ticket sales will likely take place in 2009 and you will be given lots of notice. The website will also probably go up several months before ticket sales begin so you will be able to gather all the information you need and it will answer every possible question you may have.

Now, we don’t mind you all asking and if there is something that we haven’t made clear, please feel free to contact us. We are here to help, if we can.

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A top five of weird and great soccer (also wrong called football) goals.

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soccer

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