FanPost

Clemson Men's Soccer: A Soccer Primer

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

One idea that has been tossed around STS lately is increased coverage of Clemson sports outside the big three of football, basketball, and baseball. One of those sports is arguably the most successful program at Clemson: Men's Soccer. Spencer York was good enough give us a FanPost to get us started.

Now its time for some basic soccer terms.

  • Offsides: This may be the most confusing rule. Basically, if you are on the opponent's side of the field, there must be two opposing players (the goalie counts) between you and the goal at the time the ball is kicked to you for you to be onside. In this image, you can clearly see both offsides players. The ball is being kicked to them (a pass) and only the goalie is between them and the goal. If a player is offsides and doesn't make a play on the ball or does not interfere with the play then the offside rule is not applied. This rule prevents cherry picking. The refs screw up this rule all the time but it is a hard call to make.
  • Advantage Rule: If a player is fouled but it is to his team's advantage for the play to continue, the ref will allow the game to continue. For example, if you have the ball and make an amazing pass that puts a player in position to score but are fouled while passing, the ref will allow play to continue. He can retroactively punish the player who fouled you.
  • Injury Time: Also known as stoppage time. The time added on to the end of each half due to stoppages of play. The fourth official will hold up a sign that looks like this to indicate how much time will be added on.
  • Extra Time: This is basically overtime and different than injury time. If there needs to be a winner in a game that is tied after the full 90 minutes then it will go into extra time. Extra time is two 15 minute periods. The "golden goal" rule is used in college, which mean the extra time is sudden death.
  • Penalty Kicks: What follows extra time. It is the most nerve wracking event ever and can be considered a form of torture. Best of five wins. If it is tied after each team has had five penalties taken then it continues with sudden death.
  • Overlapping run: The player with the ball slows down or stops to draw the defender to him. A player without the ball makes a forward run into the space the defender left. Example. Pele, #10 in yellow, receives the ball, stops and then passes to the player who is flying up the sideline. Different than a through because in an overlapping run the off ball player "overlaps" or overtakes the player with the ball.
  • Through Ball: This is akin to throwing someone open in football. Rather than passing it directly to their feet, the ball is passed into an area for a player to run onto. Another aspect of a good through ball is how it slices through the heart of the defense. In this clip you see how the goal scorer has to go to the ball, and how dumb the defense looks. There are also chipped through balls. Andre Pirlo for Italy is one of the greatest of all time.

I hope y'all got something out of this. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask in the comments. Next time I'll probably explain the different positions and their roles.

These opinions are not necessarily those of the Proprietors of Shakin' The Southland.