Soccer History

Chuck Heredia 02-28-04 Period 1 The History of soccer The long history of soccer extends almost 150 years. The game began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football went on their different ways and the world's first soccer association was created The. Both forms of soccer began with similar structures. Their history shows at least six different styles of the games, all of the forms have something in common. Whether this can be disputable soccer has many different forms of the game. It is a fact remains that playing a ball with our feet is more natural than with the hands or any part of the body. apart from the absolute necessity to use our legs and feet in such a tough bodily dorm for the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was no doubt recognized right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was extremely hard and, as such, it required special technique and incredible talent. The very earliest form of the game was an exercise of precisely this skilful technique dating back to the 2nd century B.C. in China. A military manual dating from the period of the Han Dynasty includes among the physical education exercises, the TsuChu". This consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30 - 40 cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes - a feat which obviously demanded great skill and excellent technique. A variation of this exercise also existed, where the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders whilst trying to hold the plays of his opponents. Use of the person's hands was not permitted. The ball handling of today's

top players is therefore not quite as new as some people think.

by Anonymous Student

View