Theory of Soccer

Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.

     Johan Cruyff

 

Indeed, soccer is a simple game. However, its simplicity may be deceiving and creating the belief that there is not much to be discussed about it. This cannot be further from truth. As  an analogy, think of chess. It is a board game between two armies  consisting of 16 pieces each which battle. The rules of the battle are simple and few:  the starting position of the pieces  and the way the six distinct pieces move. Given these rules, the number of possible different developments of the game is astronomical. As a result, the game has defied mathematical analysis and  chess players spend many years mastering it before they reach a satisfactory level of knowledge. Soccer is similar —  two armies consisting of 11 pieces each battling.  The pieces in this case are real human beings, who can be arranged in many different ways in the pitch and who may move and act in any possible way (within the bounds of the laws of the game). Hence, the complexity of this simple game is beyond astronomical!

This series of lectures aims to provide players with an extensive and deep understanding of soccer  which they can apply to reach an elitestatus.  Lectures include a wide variety of topics that must be known to the players. In particular, lectures may be

(a)  Informational, such as Formations, Squad Numbers;

(b)  Tactical, such as Attacking Principles, Defending Principles, Systems;

(c)  Educational, such Wall Building, Goalkeeping, Free and Penalty Kicking;

(d)  Statistical, such as Elite Soccer and Elite Player Standards;

(e)  Historical, such as History of Soccer, History of the Soccer Ball.