I have friends who refer to soccer (football for the rest of the world) as "
the beautiful game". This phrase is credited to the soccer-great Pele.
I am not a true soccer fan I guess - I only watch the World Cup. But I have seen bits of every game in the 2006 World Cup. For instance, the
goal Maxi Rodriguez of Argentina scored against Mexico. That was a beautiful goal. Off the chest, and onto the left foot and in the net in one smooth motion. Worth replaying again and again.
But more often than not, soccer is not beautiful. It is ugly. It seems to be full of cheaters, and rules that are meant to be bent. It is often a totally unsatisfying game to watch. Disgusting at times.
For instance, yesterday's France-Spain game is a good example. The winning goal was stolen. The French player Henry
ran into a Spanish player, and then fell to the ground holding his face although the replay clearly shows his face was never touched.
Of course, the ref gives the Spanish player a yellow card and France has a free kick just meters from the goal. Some lucky bounces of the ball, and it's in the net. With less than 10 minutes to go, the game was virtually over. Spain was robbed.
Now, occassionally people ask "Why doesn't soccer 'take off' in North America the way it has in the rest of the world?". This is why. A game, in the North American point of view, is defined by a very precise set of rules. We employ every reliable means available to ensure the rules are followed.
American Football is known as "a game of inches". The referees employ camera replays from multiple angles to determine if the ball travelled one inch or two. Chains are available on both sides of the field to ensure an exact placement of the ball on each down. Each coach has the ability to "challenge" one or two calls during the game. And the ref can, on his own, go to the instant replay to double-check a call. A single toe touching the sideline can bring a touchdown all the way back up the field for 4th down.
Hockey also uses the instant replay. Did the puck cross the line? The instant replay judge can even call down to the on-ice referee during the next break in play and tell him of something he saw on the tape that the referee might have missed. Hockey players are tough - two players can have a big collision mid-ice, and both get up and keep playing. No diving, no fake injuries, and very little whining to the referee.
Basketball has shot clocks, lines, buzzers, 3-point lines. It's a very precise game as well. Since basketball is a small court, players are in contact much more often and the occasional foul call is made. But basketball is not broken nor corrupted.
Why not soccer? The biggest problem with soccer, as I see it, is the diving. It's a weird thing to watch. How did grown men get so fragile? These men are athletes! Yet, one little tug of a shirt is enough to cause a 200-pound man to fall to the ground clutching his elbow like it had fallen off. Oh the pain! Oh the agony! It gets to the point where the best soccer players are actors, and not goal scorers. They might as well hire Patrick Stewart to run around and pretend to be near death as the pinky finger of an opposing player came within half-an-inch of his forehead.
And the whole concept of "timing". Does the game last 90 minutes or not? With extra time added to both the first half and the second, the game often lasts 100 minutes. But some games don't. In this World Cup, I've seen a goal "called back" by a ref because time was up just seconds before the goal. This not knowing precisely how many minutes or seconds remain is ridiculous.
They need to fix this game. It is seriously broken.