The Beautiful Game

-Brandt Bronico! -Ryan Enriquez

History of the Game

When soccer originated out of England, it was a very violent sport with the sole purpose of carrying the ball to a "target spot". It became so violent in fact that it was eventually!! In China, during the Han dynasty, people began to kick leather balls into small nets.! Although these sports don't perfectly line up with the sport we call soccer today, these two examples go to show the natural world-wide urge to start playing soccer.

Rules
!

In soccer, the rules of the game are actually called the "Laws of the Game". Due to the dangerous free body nature of the game, and the millions of possibilities of each moment, rules must be put in place to keep the players safe and to keep the game fair.! Four referees govern each game, and there are classes that they must achieve to ref different levels of youth to professional soccer and everything in between.

www.huntsfa.com

www.sfcup.com

Top Soccer Leagues

There are hundreds of soccer leagues throughout the world. However, only top leauges receuve genuine respect and recognition.! Barclay's Premier League (England)! German Bundesliga (Germany! Spanish Premier League (Spain)! Italian Serie A (Italy)! Major League Soccer (USA)
www.thedrum.com

! ! ! !

English Premier League

Known as the top league in the world.! Manchester United, Chalsea FC, Liverpool FC, and Arsenal FC are known as "Powerthouse" teams of the league! Founded in the 1992-1993 season.! Was initially called, "First Division"! Barclays Bank bought the league and tha's where the name derived from.
www.sportmenu.net

! ! !

Best Clubs of All Time

Manchester United!
Barclays Premier League! Produces quality players!

!
! !

FC Barcelona!
Spanish Premier League! Produces the best player in the world!

!
! !

Juventus!
Italian Serie A! Been a dominant force in Italy for years

www.superstarcastic.com

How Soccer has Changed

Rules have remained almost the same, apart from advance in recent technology.! Lighter balls and gear.! Game is possession-oriented now.! Players becoming more athletic empowering a worldwide demand for athletes.
www.glogster.com

! !

Issues With Soccer

One of the major issues of soccer in the United States is the lack of players. While a massive portion of young athletes in other countries jump into soccer and stick with it, kids in the US jump into the sport but are pulled away by more "american" sports.

Getaway
!

Often times soccer serves as a daily getaway. The same way everyone has that one activity to do to get their minds off of everything, ours is soccer. The last real week of this semester has been tough, but the few ours a day at soccer where we get to focus purely on the game, really helps when it's time to switch back into academic mode.

Soccer Trends
!

Believe it or not, each player as a personal taste in apparel, especially cleats. Sometimes it goes beyond the realms of simply comfort, but often times makes a statement. Over time, jerseys and cleats have completely transformed.

www.aliexpress.com

Fashion
!

Not only have cleats changed dramatically, but the clothing is completely different. We can remember watching soccer when we were young and specic memories of amazing moments are of the professionals wearing very different uniforms than what is currently fashionable.

www.footbalarchive.com

www.ibtimes.com

The Soccer Ball

Soccer balls have also changed dramatically. Back in the day, they were made of real leather. This made them heavy, and they didn't have the same ability as the current balls to race across the pitch. Current balls are made with synthetic materials, and they weigh a lot less. In many areas, they pump the ball with 13% helium.

Top Players
Lionel Messi Height: 5'7" Arguably the best player of all time Club: Barcelona Country: Argentina

Christiano Ronaldo Height: 6'2" One of the best trainers of all time Club: Real Madrid Country: Portugal

Top Players

www.santabanta.com www.theguardian.com

How We Got Started

It all started when I was six years old. My parents were signing me up for sports to play and they gured soccer would be an easy one. I played about four sports but fell in love with soccer and became very passionate about it. Soccer has been a passion of mine that has taught me self-discipline, created a diligent work ethic, and instilled a persevering mentality.

How We Got Started

I began just as soon as I turned ve years old. Although there were many other sports that I enjoyed, I chose to commit to soccer and track. It stayed this way through middle school and into my freshman year of high school; but as soccer became more serious, and my team became part of the national Academy which is a nation wide league, I chose to completely commit to soccer, with hope of it opening doors in my future.

When We Got Serious

Soccer became a passion of mine about two years after I started playing. I would think about it all day in school and could not wait for any practices or upcoming games. I never thought about becoming anything except for a professional soccer player when I grew up and I get a little closer to that dream every day.

When We Got Serious

Soccer became really serious when I realized it could be a gateway to a different future. I was always good and always played on the best team, but I didn't realize that that truly meant anything for me until freshman year of high school. That is when my club became an Academy. I got picked for the preacademy team because I was too young, and eventually played for the Academy, which got me to Charlotte where I am today.

What soccer players eat

Soccer players have to stick to a strict diet to achieve maximum performance.! Carbohydrates! No sodas or sweets! ABSOLUTELY no drugs or alcohol

! ! !

www.people.com

Passion
!

At rst soccer was just a fun game for us. It developed into a hobby and soon after, a passion. We invested a lot of time and effort into it and in the end it worked out. That's what soccer is to us, whereas people go through this same process with other things.

Lifestyle
!

The most amazing part is when this passion became a lifestyle. While most guys are talking about girls and the next friday night, we were focused on soccer. Sure we were thinking about friday night, but we were thinking about how we were gonna perform on the eld, not at a party. It got to a point that we realized we can make a future out of the game and that's exactly what we're doing.
www.uncc.edu

International Language
!
!

Soccer is an international language. Like in this class, we study language and we delve in deep to deeper meanings of rhetoric, soccer is a more simply language that allows people to communicate through emotion and laughter. It's hard to explain in depth, but soccer can really bring people close together, a good player can see an interesting personality shine through the style of play.
www.dailymail.co.uk

The Culture

Worldwide, soccer has a massive following of dedicated fans. The culture is surreal. Some fans in England would lay down their lives for their teams.

Committment
! !

Traveling! Soccer players have to travel all over the world just to play one game! takes away from family and relationships! No off season! lots of tness

! !

Top Player wages

Contrary to the popular belief, soccer has more money in it than any other sport in the world! Messi-26 million dollars a year! average professional soccer player makes between 500k and 1.5 mil. a year

! !

Conclusion
! ! !

Soccer is more than a sport, it is a lifestyle.! Different styles of play.! Must make a lot of sacrices like dieting and being away from family for days at a time.! Good money.! Language for the world.

! !