95five-0

Hey guys I have been interested in soccer/football since I was stationed in England a couple of years ago. But I have a few questions that I have always wondered and I figured you guys could help me out. First is what does the FC stand for in front of some of the clubs names? I have seen some games go over the 90 minute clock. Whats up with that?

yustr

FC = Football Club

The referee is allowed (required to) add time for when play has stopped. For example, if I stop play because of an injury, I do not stop my watch (unless I call for an ambulance) instead I mentally calculate how long play was stopped and add this to the end of whichever half it occurred. In pro-level games you'll offen see about 3 minutes added.

It's only in US High School matches that there's an official score board clock - in the other 99.99% of matches around the world the ref keeps the only official time.

Be glad to answer any other questions you might have. Except who's better Man Utd or Chelsea

campfire_2

Neither , well , maybe in the standings , but Money can't buy everything all the time

Lets show a little love to Arsenal and Liverpool ...

mimo2005

i don ' t think they can not stop the clock in soccer/football game , thats why the referee add minutes at the end of the game .

In nfl and nba , the clock is stopped when there s no game ( ball out of bond )

yustr

There are any number of reasons the ref will add time: injury, normal stoppages (ball out of play, substitutions, to issue infractions, wasting time, etc) unusual stoppages (dog on the field, the only ball goes into a lake, the net rips off the goal, a minor car crash just behind a goal - all of these have happened to me!). He’ll add up all of these in his head and add the time.

The only time he’ll actually press stop on his watch is a serious injury where he knows it’s going to take a while or he has to suspend the match for some reason (lightning, to deal with a coach or parent, the field becomes unplayable, etc.)

So in theory the game can go on for a very long time. But, as I said, it’s rare to add more than a couple of minutes.

Kalim

Yes as yustr said before mentioning MU

The dirtier the match the more the added time is usually. 3minute is the norm TBH. Due to it being inconsistent, there's endless arguments as to how much time should be added to this match or that match or how much not that was added.

And then the IFs and BUTs fly in from here to there - its worse than religious cults. Footy is a game of talent but also very dirty like most contact sports.

5 man, astro, indoor, panna or 7 a side is a good laugh and usually played instead of the full team 90min game unless in a game that counts, 5 minute each way (each half), 10 minute, 15 minute, 20 minute, etc. They have others where they just play to keep the ball up or volleys where you set your own game rules.
Like for instance, each "man" can only have one touch of the ball, called "one touch" and you have a netter with small nets to cover, all stand outside the semi-circle and you can only shoot off a volley to score, having passed it on a volley at least once before shooting. In 2 touch, you also can't shoot off your own volley.. meaning each person cannot do kickups with the ball from it being dead on the ground and then shoot - it has to be a "created" volley by at least one other. If the keeper catches the ball before it touches the ground on the shot you're in nets!
Another slight variation consists of the goalkeeper counting to 60 in some mess abouts... called "60 seconds". You have to score a goal off a "volley" (ball cannot touch ground to count as a volley or from player to player while passing it in air) inside that time, or 2nd round starts where theres no counting but keeper can come to the edge of the box (semi-circle) and fight for the ball. This isn't allowed in the first half where if the players shoot and miss, the keeper just throws it back out again. If it reaches 3rd round before a keeper change, then that consists of penalties. First to miss the back of the net is the new goalkeeper .. with a walk of shame

These are played with one goal and one goal keeper, no teams, all mixed.

Being nearly pro years back having played for Rovers U15 and ManU U16, I know they practise with many more variations and the gaming variations change from place to place everywhere. I moved around back to states so I dropped it anyway. One thing they practised was shooting on drills off a volley for the best midfielders and strikers. Stand in your own half, 25yards out, man throws a ball still in air, shuttle run to it and boot it into the net When we played all these smaller games for control/skill/technique in leagues the training also consisted of "60 seconds" but another modified version. The nets being 7ft across, 6ft high and shooting distance being 20 yards minimum. Shoot over the bar i.e. too high and you're in nets!

We played it a lot in S.America, Holland and Italy.. less than too many years back

There's a kid in the ME, I think Jordan whose like the baby zidane in a game- I've seen him personally not drop the ball (i.e. not let it touch the ground) while doing endless pro moves for over an hour and seen him play in an U18 tournament in Spain where he replicated solid nifty control in the semi n final knockout game itself... with a quick search I think its this one: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/268365...radis_village/

Ignore the hype, its just an example but I've seen him and he can play some good in-game footy for any 16 year old out there. Bodyweight and size is a bit of a concern though...

95five-0

Thanks guys. Now I definitely know where to go with any soccer/football questions in the future.

bry623

You should go see a Burn game over in Dallas this year. It isn't the Premier League or the World Cup, but it is good soccer.

forcifer

or (if you have it) Fox Soccer Channel. only way for us to get Barcalys over here

Rebellion88

One team 'Arsenal' Go to England and watch them, they play the best football in the world, just amazing its all smooth passing and excellent control. On another note i hope Chelsea go down the drain!!!

forcifer

thats disputable, but thats also for another thread

Kalim

As forcifer said....

But come to London and ask for a guy called Leban (french pronounced lay-ba)

Is usually the tournament winner for everything major not-pro. A hint: he's a replica in size, looks and play of Henry. Just more consistent i.e. scores at least 1 in every game and averages around 4.63 at present.

I taught him

Rebellion88

I've heard of him i used to live in London only moved to Aus last year, it's amazing how far the english premier league has come, it must be one of the best in the world now close with the spanish.

Kalim

Ditto to that, along with Lega Calcio. Holland is one country thats getting up there - I was over 4 months back & watched a local tournament, seeing the game is advancing massively there with huge interest.
S.America also has some excellent talent but zero promotion, league system, funding and opportunities. Having lived in Brazil and Venezuela for quite long on and off, you'd be amazed at the gameplay there and the friendly nature of it.

95five-0: fire away!

bry623

Sadly, association football in the U.S. will never be on par with the premier league or the Spanish league, or even Serie A in Italy.

But, thos of us that are true fans know of at least one team in each league. Go Liverpool!

Kalim

Depends on the funding... there's already much interest. Last time I was back in States around 3 weeks ago, I headed out to Sacramento, CA and drove past 3 young kids doing kick-ups against their garage

The next Del Piero?

forcifer

Milan and FC Barcelona ftw

Deleted090308

Liverpool forever. No divers there