The Beautiful Game

The FIFA Confederations Cup is a men’s national tournament that is held every four years, falling on the year before the FIFA World Cup.  The Confederations Cup takes place in the host country for the following World Cup. Continue reading »

We here at Sideline Soccer like to post quick facts about soccer. Well, after doing a quick search, I noticed we have quite a few of them now. So here is a list of 17 quick facts about the beautiful game that you might have missed! Continue reading »

Did you know that Ramon Unzaga of Chile was the first player to perform a bicycle kick? It is a very difficult kick where a player throws his/her body in the air, while moving the legs in a scissor like motion, in order to kick the ball backwards over their head. Ramon first performed this kick in 1914 at El Morro Stadium in Talcahuano, Chile.

Did you know that the first goal scored directly from a corner kick was in 1924? Cesareo Onzari, who played for Argentina took a corner kick and the ball ended up in the net without anyone else touching it. This type of goal is also referred to as an “olympic goal”. Unfortunately for Uruguay, they lost that game because of such a goal, but they did end up winning the gold in the Olympics. Many say this is why this type of goal is referred to as “olympic”.

Did you know that the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup, is the world’s oldest soccer competition? First held in 1871, it is a competition between teams from the English football league (Premier League, Coca-Cola Football League, and lower levels). There is also the FA Women’s Cup.

Did you know that small marks were made on the post to keep track of the number of goals? Every time a goal was conceded, a small nick was made into the post. So literally, a goal was “scored” onto the post, hence the phrase “to score a goal“!

Did you know that the word “soccer” came from an abbreviation of the word “association football”? Back in the 1880s, students of Oxford University used to abbreviate words by adding “er” to the end. For example, breakfast was referred to as “brekkers” and rugby was referred to as “ruggers”. Charles Wreford Brown, once a student at Oxford University, is usually credited for inventing the word “soccer” but there is a lack of supporting evidence.