SOCCER GLOSSARY
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Juggling: keeping a ball in the air with any part of the body besides the hands or arms; used for practice and developing coordination.
Jules Rimet Trophy: the trophy given to the World Cup winner between 1930 and 1970, after which it was permanently retired.
Kickoff: the method of starting a game or restarting it after each goal; a player passes the ball forward to a teammate from the center spot.
Laws of the Game: the 17 main rules for soccer established by FIFA.
Lead pass: a pass sent ahead of a moving teammate to arrive at a location at the same time he does.
League: an alliance of teams that organizes sporting competition.
Linesmen: the 2 officials who assist the referee in making his decisions; they monitor the sidelines and goal lines to determine when a ball goes out of bounds and they carry a flag to signal their observations.
Linkmen: see Midfielders.
Loft or lob: a high-arcing kick.
Man-to-man: a type of defense where each defender is assigned to mark a different forward from the other team; the most common type of defense for national-level teams.
Marking: guarding a player to prevent him from advancing the ball towards the net, making an easy pass or getting the ball from a teammate.
Match: a soccer game.
Midfield: the region of the field near the midfield line; the area controlled by the midfielders.
Midfield anchor: See Defensive midfielder.
Midfield line or center line: a line that divides the field in half along its width.
Midfielders: the 2, 3 or 4 players who link together the offensive and defensive functions of a team; they play behind their forwards.
MISL: Major Indoor Soccer League — started in the U.S. in 1977 playing games of 6 players per side in modified hockey rinks covered by artificial turf; became the MSL in 1990.
Mismatch: when a particular offensive player is far superior to the defender marking him.
MLS: Major League Soccer — the new U.S. outdoor league scheduled to begin play in the Spring of 1995.
MSL: Major Soccer League — a U.S. indoor league which formed in 1990 from the MISL and folded in 1992.
NASL: North American Soccer League — an outdoor league formed in the U.S. in 1967 that attracted great international players including Pele and huge audiences to the U.S. in the 1970s; folded in 1985.
National team: a team consisting of the best players in a country chosen to represent it in international competitions such as the World Cup.
NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association — governs and organizes sports at the collegiate level; has its own soccer committee.
Near post: the goalpost closest to the ball.
Net: hemp, jute or nylon cord draped over the frame of the goal and extending behind it; also used to refer to the goal itself.
NPSL: National Professional Soccer League — a U.S. indoor league that plays its games in a modified hockey rink, much like the former MISL; plays by non-traditional rules to create a faster-paced, higher-scoring game; also, a different league by the same name that played in the 1960s, merging with another league to form the NASL.
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