Soccer

My name is Debora Wuhrmann and I’m from Switzerland. I’m 21 years old and the village I live is called Maennedorf which is near Zurich. One of my hobbies is soccer. In my free time I play a lot of sport but soccer is one of my biggest passions in my life. I have played it now for 12 years, that means since I was 8 years old. My position on field is middle-defender, and this season I will be the Captain of our team.

General

Soccer is the most popular sport in Switzerland.

Soccer is a team sport. So the spirit of the team is very important. On field there are 22 players, included the two goal keepers. Eleven players are on each team, and the aim of the game is to shoot more goals than the other team. So everybody knows what soccer is but these are some necessary aspects.

Rules on Field

Kick off

After each valid goal, at the beginning of the first and second halves, as well as at the beginning of the half-time of extensions, the game is continued with a kick-off at the middle of the field and it may not be played until the referee has started the game through a whistle.

Throw in

If the ball leaves the playing field via one of the side lines, the game is continued with a throw-in for the team whose opponent had last touched the ball before crossing the side line. When throwing in, the player has to stand with both feet behind or on the side line and throw the ball with both hands from behind the head.

Goal kick

If the ball is kicked by a player of the attacking team outside the field boundaries over the goal line of the defending team, the game is continued with a kick from the goalie. To do this, place the ball anywhere in the goal area.

Corner kick

If a defending player has touched the ball before the ball has crossed the goal line without going into the goal, the game is continued with a corner kick. For this, the ball is placed in the area marked by a quarter circle in the corner of the playing field.

Free kick

The free-kick knows the variants of direct and indirect version and the special form of a penalty too. The penalty is almost direct. A free kick or a penalty will be corrected from the referee when a player does something against the rules. For example when a player from another team gets fouled/misconduct, like when a player from the opposite team knocks someone down to the floor and didn’t touch the ball.

Offside

An offside is (see the picture) when A passes the ball to B and he is behind all the other players who are in defense from the other team. The blue line is the offside line in this scene.

These are only a selection of the rules on the field but they are the main and most important ones. Soccer will always be a very important interest in my whole life. My favorite team in Spain is FC Barcelona and in Switzerland it is FC Zurich. So, since I’m half Italian, I’m a fan of AC Milano, too.