for messi fans

Argentina legend Diego Maradona is urging his countrymen to leave Lionel Messi alone after Messi's decision to retire from the national team following their loss to Chile in the Copa America final.

In an interview on La Red radio, Maradona also ridiculed people who have criticized Messi for missing his shot as Chile won a penalty shootout to take the title. Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup, questioned those who find fault with a football star's play "without ever having touched a ball."

Despite Argentina's loss, Maradona said, "I consider Messi a winner."

Although he earlier joined in the chorus of Argentines calling on Messi to stay

with the national squad, Maradona toned that down on Wednesday.

"Let's let Messi have his holidays," he said. "From now on we have to build a unified idea, and if Messi says, 'I don't want more,' we will have to present another team."

Maradona criticized the Argentine Football Association, whose national team hasn't won a major title since the Copa America tournament in 1993.

"We must have done something wrong because the AFA is the way it is," he said. "Argentine soccer is how it is, and we will be paying for it."

Illustrating his dim view of the current national team, Maradona confirmed the authenticity of a leaked WhatsApp audio in which he implies to his 1986 teammates that their 1986 World Cup-winning squad was better than Messi's.

"We didn't go to play against Chile. We went and beat Germany," he says. "You know what I mean about the difference between one team and the other?"

Messi touched off an uproar in Argentina with his abrupt resignation from the national team after Sunday's game with Chile.

He is the national team's career leading scorer with 55 goals in 113 international appearances, but he has never led Argentina to a major title, losing championship matches to Brazil in the 2007 Copa America, Germany in the 2014 World Cup and Chile in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America.

"I tried my hardest," Messi said on Sunday. "It's been four finals, and I was not able to win.

"I tried everything possible. It hurts me more than anyone, but it is evident that this is not for me. I want more than anyone to win a title with the national team, but unfortunately, it did not happen."

top ten football teams 2015

Current Standing of World's Top Football Team 2016

10.

England

9.

Chile

8.

Wales

7.

Brazil

6.

Spain

5.

Columbia

4.

Portugal

3.

Belgium

2.

Germany

1.

Argentina

more about football:

next- top ten football clubs

previous- the fifa world cup

The FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup

FIFA is the highest governing body for association football. It is primarily responsible for arranging competitions and most of the rules related to international competitions. FIFA has its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. It has now 208 association member associations.

  There are six regional confederations associated with FIFA:

Asia: Asian Football Confederation (AFC)

Africa: Confederation of  African Football (CAF)

Europe: Union of European Football Association (UEFA)

North/Central America & Caribbean: Confederation of  North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)

Oceania: Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)

 South America: South American Football Confederation; CONMEBOL

The FIFA was founded in Paris on May 21, 1904.

Innumerable soccer tournaments take place every year around the globe. Some tournaments take place after a particular period of few years. The biggest international soccer event that takes place once four years is the FIFA WORLD CUP. The last world cup was held in the 2014 in Brazil. Germany won the 2014 world cup. It was the 20th world cup. The next FIFA world cup will take place in the year 2018 in Russia.

The official mascot of the FIFA World Cup 2014 was tatu-bola, an armadillo 

The FIFA world cup was started in year 1930 on 13th July. Since then it has taken place once every four years except in the years 1942 abd 1946 because of the second world war.

Adidas Brazuca was the official ball of the FIFA World Cup 2014.

more about football:

next- current standing of world's top football teams

previous- red card and yellow card

red card and yellow card

Red Cards And Yellow Cards

Yellow and Red Cards

After awarding a free kick or penalty kick, a referee may take further disciplinary action against a player by showing him a yellow or red card.

Yellow Cards

A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

• is guilty of unsporting behaviour
• shows dissent by word or action
• persistently infringes the Laws of the Game
• delays the restart of play
• fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick or free kick
• enters or re-enters the field of play without the referee's permission
• deliberately leaves the field of play without the referee's permission

Red Cards

A player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

• is guilty of serious foul play
• is guilty of violent conduct
• spits at an opponent or any other person
• denies an opponent a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
• denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
• uses offensive, insulting or abusive language
• receives a second caution in the same match

more about football:

next: The FIFA World Cup

previous- referee signals

referee signals

Referee Signage

Advantage: 

When a referee feels that the fouled team still has an advantage in the situation then he will merely point out both his arms. In such a case he will not blow the whistle.

Indirect free kick:

After signaling for a free kick, if the referee keeps his hand above his head then he is signalling for an indirect free kick. The referee will keep his hand up till the time the ball has been kicked and it has come in the contact of other player.

Direct free kick:

The referee will blow his whistle and point with a raised arm in the direction of the goal of the team who has been awarded the free kick is attacking.

Caution:

Caution is given by showing yellow card by the referee to the player.

Seeding off:

It is a signal to the player to leave the filed by showing a red card from the referee.

Substitutions:

By holding the edges of the flag the signal for substitutions is made.

Throw in:

By bringing hands up in the air with the  flag by the assistant referee towards the direction of corner of the team who passes the ball from the touch line.

more about football:

next- red card and yellow card

previous- fouls

fouls

Fouls

Direct Free Kick

When the referee stops play for certain fouls, he may award a team a direct free kick, meaning that team will resume play from the spot of the infraction with a pass or a shot at goal. Any members of the opposing team must be at least 10 yards away when the ball is struck. If the free kick were indirect, it means that a second player must touch the ball before it the team can shoot at goal.

A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following six offenses in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• jumps at an opponent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent

A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following four offences:

• tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball
• holds an opponent
• spits at an opponent
• handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area).

Indirect Free Kick

An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following offences:

• takes more than four steps while controlling the ball with his hands, before releasing it from his possession
• touches the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player
• touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate
• touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate

An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player, in the opinion of the referee, commits any of the following three offences:

• plays in a dangerous manner
• impedes the progress of an opponent
• prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
• commits any other offence, not previously mentioned, for which play is stopped to caution or dismiss a player.

  Penalty Kick

  

  A penalty kick is awarded if any of the above ten offences is committed by a player inside his own penalty area, irrespective of the position of the ball, provided it is in play.

  One player may then take a free shot at goal (defended only by the goalkeeper standing on the goal line) from the penalty spot, located 12 yards away.

• more about football:

• next- referee signals

• previous- whistle

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

The whistle

 The whistle

Referees use a whistle to indicate the commencement or restart of play, to stop or delay play due to an infringement or injury, or to indicate that time has expired in the half time. The whistle is an important tool for the referee along with verbal, body and eye communication.

A referee blows his whistle when he sees something, usually a foul, or a stoppage in the play, which requires him to immediately stop the play and deal with the situation. The tone of the whistle will often indicate the nature of the foul. A short, quick whistle indicates a lesser foul punishable by a free kick, and longer, harder sound indicate serious fouls punishable by cards or penalty kicks.

ASTONISHING FACT

                     AC Milan, famous Italian football club, was actually founded as a cricket team.

more about football:

next- fouls

previous- referee

REFEREE............

                REFEREE - THE KEEPERS OF THE GAME

A referee is a person officially appointed by the authorities to watch over the game and ensure proper play. The referee is responsible for maintaining order and enforcing the rules of the game. Referee's decisions regarding the facts of the play cannot be challenged. A player must not disobey a referee's decision under any circumstances. 

The referee is assisted by two assistant referees and in some matches also by a fourth official. Since the fate of the game rests in the referee's hands, it is crucial to be able to understand what he has seen and what he wants.

ASTONISHING FACTS

Didier Drogba, a footballer from Ivory 

Coast, had helped stop a civil war in his

home country after qualifying for the World Cup.




In 1966 the world cup trophy was stolen.
 It was however found a few days before the
 tournament by a dog.



A British referee, Ken Aston is the inventor of
the concept of using coloured cards in the game.
He got the idea when was sitting in his car at a traffic light.

more about football:

next- whistle

previous- laws of association football

laws of association football

LAWS OF THE GAME

The laws of the game are the rules that help define association football. These laws are published by the sport's highest governing body FIFA ( International Federation of Association Football ), with the approval IFAB ( International Footbaall Association Board ), the body that writes and maintains the laws. The rules mention the number of players, the length of the game, the size of the field and the ball, etc. 

Ebenezer Cobb Morley 

The laws were first drawn up by Ebenezer Cobb Morley and approved at a meeting of the Football Association (England) on December 8, 1863. At present, there are 17 laws of the related to the pitch, the uniforms, number of players, referees, methods of playing and other rules.

more about football:

next- referee

previous- the team and the players

The team and the players

                                           The Players

There are two teams involved in a match of football. The number of players in each team is 11 including the goal keeper. In addition to these, each team is allowed 3 substitute players. There must be at least 7 players present on the field at all times during the play. The match will not start if a team is unable to maintain this minimum number.

The players wear the jersey, shorts, socks and shoes of their respective teams. The goalkeeper, however, must be clearly distinguishable from the rest of the team players. The goalkeeper can wear gloves to save himself from finger injuries.

The players must wear shin guards so as to protect them from serious injury. They are not allowed to wear any jewellery or watches which may cause an injury to other players. 

                        POSITIONS OF THE PLAYERS IN THE FIELD

In the sport of association football, each of the 11 players on a team is assigned to a particular position on the field of play. A team is made up of one goalkeeper and ten outfield players who fill various defensive, midfield, and attacking positions depending on the formation deployed. These positions describe both the player's main role and their area of operation on the pitch.

                                                           GOALKEEPER 

Goalkeeper is the most defensive position in football. The goalkeeper's main job is to stop the other team from scoring by catching, palming or punching the ball from shots, headers and crosses.

DEFENDER

Defenders play behind the midfielders and their primary responsibility is to provide support to the team and to prevent the opposition from scoring a goal. They usually remain in the half of the field that contains the goal they are defending. Taller defenders will move forward to the opposing team's penalty box when their team takes corner kicks or free kicks, where scoring with one's head is a possibility.

MIDFIELDER

Midfielders  are players whose position of play is midway between the attacking forwards and the defenders. Their main duties are to maintain possession of the ball, taking the ball from defenders and feeding it to the strikers, as well as dispossessing opposing players.

FORWARD

                            

Forwards (or strikers) are the players who are positioned nearest to the opposing team's goal. The primary responsibility of forwards is to score goals and to create scoring chances for other players. 

more about football:

next- laws of association football

previous- ball in, ball out of play

ball in, ball out of the play?

      WHAT IS 'BALL IN, BALL OUT OF THE PLAY?

There are two basic states of play during the game. From the beginning of each playing period until its end, the ball is in the all time. When either the ball leaves the field of the play, of play, is stopped by the referee, the ball becomes out of play, Once the ball goes out of play, the is restarted the following restart methods depending upon how it went out of the play.


A kick off is used to begin each period of play or after a goal. Kick off happens in center circle.

Throw-in is used when ball has wholly crossed the touch line. It is awarded to the team opposing to the one which last touched the ball. Throw-in is taken by hands.

A goal-kick is awarded to defending team when the ball has completely crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored.

A corner-kick is similar to the goal kick but it is awarded to the attacking team when the ball has last been touched by a player of the defending team. It is taken from corner arcs. 

When the referee has stopped play for any other reason, such as a serious injury to a player, obstruction by an external party, or by a ball becoming defective it is called dropped ball.

more about football:

next- the team and the players

previous- duration

duration

                                       DURATION

The game is divided into two periods of 45 minutes each. There is a half time break of 15 minutes between the two periods. The end of the time is known as full time. The clock is not stopped during the time when the ball is out of play.

An allowance is made for the time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is known as stoppage time or injury time. Only referee can signal the end of the math. The players and spectators are informed of this time by a person holding up a board showing this number.

If the game is tied at the end of the full time, it may go into extra time, which consist of two further 15 minutes period. Goals scored during extra time periods count toward the final score of the game.

more about football

next- ball in, ball out of play

previous- duration

The field

                                          THE FIELD  

Football is played on a rectangular piece of land covered with grass or artificial turf with two goal posts in the middle of the either extremes. It is 105 m long and 68 m wide. The field is marked by various lines drawn on the field. The longer boundary line are called touch lines. The shorter boundry lines on which the goal posts are placed are called goal lines.

A half-way line connecting the touch lines divides the field into two equal halves. On the middle of the half-way line is located the center circle. It has a radius 9.15 meters. The center of this circle is called 'center spot'.

The goal area is marked by two lines which extended 5.5 m from the inside of each goalpost at the right angles to the goal line. The lines and are joined by a line drawn parallel to the goal line.

Penalty area is a rectangular box around the goal which extends 16.5 m each side of the goal and 16.5 m in front of it.

A penalty mark( or penalty spot) is put 11 m from the goal line. It is located at the midpoint of the goal posts. The spot is use for penalty kicks.

A penalty arc is also called 'the D', adjoins the penalty area, and encloses the area in 9.15 m from penalty spot, Penalty arc does not form a part of the penalty area.

Flag posts of length 1.5 m are placed at the four corners of the field and quarter circles with a radius of 1 m are drawn around them inside the field.

more about football:

next- duration

previous- the ball and the goal

the ball and the goal

                                 

                                             The Goal 

                          In soccer, the goal is scored by kicking the ball into the 

                          opposing team's goalposts, goalposts are rectangular 

                         framework of bars, standing upright on the ground. 

                         They are usually covered by a net to catch the ball.

                         The team with maximum number of goals at the end of

                          the full time wins. The goalposts stand 2.44 m high and 

                          7.32 m wide.

                                         ASTONISHING FACT

                          Did you know that the bolt of lightning killed an entire soccer team 

                                                        during a game in 1998!

                                           The Ball

                                  The ball used in the is a spherical air filled ball with a circumference 

                                 of 27 to 28 inches. It weighs around 410-450 grams. The first official

                                   soccer ball was designed and built by charles goodyear in 1855. It 

                                   was made up of vulcanized rubber ball.

                                       Now, footballs are made up of synthetic leather patches sewn together. 

                                  A ball based on this design is called the Buckminster ball after its inventor,

                                 the american architect Richard Buckminster Fuller. 

                                

                                         The first Buckminster ball to be used in a world cup was Telster.

                                   It was used in the FIFA World Cup of 1970 held in Mexico.

                                   

more about football:

next- the field

previous- about the game and the golie

about the game and the goalie

                                             The Game

                         In this game, the players are not allowed to use their hands

                         or arms in order to score a goal. They may use their feet or 

                         their head to move the ball across the field. However, only the 

                         goalkeeper is allowed to use his hands or his arms to stop the

                         goal or throw it back into the play.

                                                   ASTONISHING   FACT

                               For the first time in FIFA World Cup 2014, the World Cup matches will
                              be played using goal line technology.

                                                               

                                     Who is a Goalkeeper? 

                  A goalkeeper also known as 'goalie',  is a player who stands in a goal area 

                 between the goalposts to prevent the opposing team from scoring a goal. The

                The goalkeeper is the only player who is permitted to touch the ball  with his 

                hands or arms during the play while remaining inside the penalty area. Each 

                team is required to have a goalkeeper on the field at all times during a match.

more about the football:

next- the ball and the goal

previous- What is football? from where it was originated?