| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | [[Image:2010 World Cup.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Pictured is [[Miroslav Klose]], a star Polish-born player competing for the highly ranked German team, during the 2010 World Cup]] | + | [[Image:2010 World Cup.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Pictured is Miroslav Klose, a star Polish-born player competing for the highly ranked German team, during the 2010 World Cup]] |
| | '''Soccer''' is a sport played with a round ball generally played using the player's feet. | | '''Soccer''' is a sport played with a round ball generally played using the player's feet. |
| | In soccer, players are not allowed to intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, with the exception of goalkeepers in a penalty area. The object of the game is to kick the ball into the opposing team's goal; the team with the most goals at the end of the 90 minute game is the winner. If both teams at the end of two 45 minute periods are level on goals, the result is a draw, or the teams may rematch or play a period of extra time and penalty kicks to force a result. | | In soccer, players are not allowed to intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, with the exception of goalkeepers in a penalty area. The object of the game is to kick the ball into the opposing team's goal; the team with the most goals at the end of the 90 minute game is the winner. If both teams at the end of two 45 minute periods are level on goals, the result is a draw, or the teams may rematch or play a period of extra time and penalty kicks to force a result. |
| Line 6: |
Line 6: |
| | Soccer is a popular sport for children and adults alike: | | Soccer is a popular sport for children and adults alike: |
| | *As Stephen H. Webb wrote at ''First Things'', to contemporary American parents, "Baseball is too intimidating, football too brutal, and basketball takes too much time to develop the required skills ... Soccer is the perfect antidote to television and video games. It forces kids to run and run, and everyone can play their role, no matter how minor or irrelevant to the game."<ref name=media-goal /> | | *As Stephen H. Webb wrote at ''First Things'', to contemporary American parents, "Baseball is too intimidating, football too brutal, and basketball takes too much time to develop the required skills ... Soccer is the perfect antidote to television and video games. It forces kids to run and run, and everyone can play their role, no matter how minor or irrelevant to the game."<ref name=media-goal /> |
| | + | |
| | + | Soccer has drawbacks as a sport, however. Girls can ruin their knees playing soccer, while boys can suffer head injuries while heading the ball, particularly if hardened. Practicing not to develop hand-to-eye coordination as required by soccer is unhelpful for other sports. |
| | | | |
| | ==Origins== | | ==Origins== |