Saturday, July 14, 2018

Modernizing FIFA and Soccer

I spend a fair amount of time worrying about one of my life-long true-loves: soccer.  I'm played and watched for fifty some odd years now and I'm saddened by the fact that soccer is just not keeping up with the times.

First of all, I'm a soccer lover and a traditionalist. I think the game is great. But it should keep up with the times and its pace of rule changes is just too slow. I agree with almost all the changes in the last 50 years many of which have been more about referees interpretations of rules than fundamental rule changes.

The changes have been (as I can think of them):
  • a minor tweek to how kickoffs work
  • Tightening of rules on fouls, professional fouls, and faking fouls
  • Limited use of video playback for referrees
  • The card system got tweeked a few times
  • Offsides now only counts if they are involved in the play. Also, the tie now goes to the offense
  • A limit to when passes back to the goalie can be picked up. And how goalies can move with the ball once they catch it.
  • The shootout for tie breaking and an additional player during the overtime (it use to be that ties were resolved by extensive OT or who had the most penalty kicks or by replaying the game. Rule changed in 1978 I think)
What should they change?

The worst games are when one team goes into a defensive posture and keeps all 11 players back in a dense almost imprenetrable system that is dull to watch and frustrating for the players. Solution: don't allow everyone to go back on defense.  Create new lines, 10 yards off the center line and only only  8 of your players to go back on defense behind the line. This is derivative of a lacrosse rule and it would really open up goal scoring and attacking.  

Those same lines could be used to tweek the offside rule again so that it only comes into play after passing the line.  We could also, to reduce the lines that have to be drawn, get rid of the center circle and have the defense wait behind their line on kickoffs.

A penalty box much like hockey and lacrosse.  Players could be sent off for 5 minutes for various infractions which creates new possibilities to supplement the card system. And having one team up a player for 5 minutes would be really fun to watch.

What if we outlawed all passbacks to the keeper from outside the penalty box? 

What are your ideas?

No comments: