Footy 101 A Start of an Education on a Beautiful Sport

So one of my friends has decided to get interested in football or soccer as we call it here in the states. I only have two other girl friends who are avidly interested in soccer and pay as much attention as I do. So to get her involved I drove her to Kickette.com one of the best footy sights for the female audience since it focuses on the perks of football matches abs, thighs, fashion, and all those beautiful men in football. No David Beckham isnt the only one there are definitely hotter ones out there hint hint Iker Casillas to name one.

Anyways since football isn't a big sport here and is only featured on ESPN2 and if fortunate FSC we in the states have to resort to online streams sometimes in other languages. Also if no one else in your family is interested you have to educate yourself if you want to be truly educated and not just jump a bandwagon during the World Cup and support the US or another team for some odd reason.

So I give you the intro to football as I am slowly getting my friend involved and hope in the future that soccer will be big here in the States since it is the biggest sport watched world wide. As a side note and a precaution to those who are knowledgeable I know there are other leagues and you might not agree with the lists listed but it is just a little glimpse and to those who arent educate you are missing out on the beauty of it all.

Ok so to start off there are many leagues in football. The only ones that really matter (to us ) are the EPL (English Premier League) and La Liga (Spanish League)
To know who we all follow this is the list (to best of my knowledge) You can choose one of our teams to start off but once you get involve you will get a feel of team, players, and history that you will be interested in

Chelsea-(MJ), Liverpool- (JAM), Arsenal (A), Tottenham (A) (EPL)
Barcelona ( La Liga) (JAM)


Now the big rival team in the EPL is Manchester United (Man U) which I am assuming you have heard of. But in the EPL the thing they talk about is the Big 4 which are usually the teams who end up at the top of the charts every year. However top 4 at end of season go on to the Champions League (another lesson) In EPL though the top 4 are Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Livepool however is not currently in top 4 :( but thats a whole other story which involves money, coaches, sackings, and transfers

In La Liga the big huge teams and rivals are Real Madrid and Barcelona (Barca). Good news both teams are full of hotties, bad news we don't like Real Madrid except for the exceptionally hot Iker Casillas. The rivalry for these teams goes beyond just the team but deals with location. People in Barcelona, although part of Spain speak different language (Catalan) and people are proud to be Catalan and not Spanish. Also Barcelona slogan is More than a Team which is very much true.

So to start off you need to know the Big Players
Wayne Rooney- Manchester United - EPL
Christiano Ronaldo- Real Madrid- La Liga Hate the man with a passion due to crying and ugly greasy hair
Lionel Messi- Barcelona- La Liga- Amazing footballer who has won the best footballer trophy 2 years in a row (ball d'or)
Iker Castillas- Real Madrid- La Liga THE BEST GOAL KEEPER AROUND
Xavi- Barcelona- La Liga- Made over 22 passes in World Cup and insainley good Passer
Steven (Stevie G) Gerrard- Livepool- EPL - Has been captain of England team for some games
Didier Drogba- Chelsea- EPL Insanely crazy footballer who makes as many goals as Rooney but not attractive... actually scary looking
David Villa- Barcelona- La Liga- Made the most goals in World Cup and usually Messi in Barcelona game and Torres in NT games


Then Hotties you need to know about
The whole Spanish National Team (highlight a few- not all hottie hot but there)
Cesc Fabregas- Arsenal ( EPL)
Gerard Pique- Barca- (La Liga) (currently dating Shakira although we like to not believe this news)

Carles Puyol- Barca ( La Liga) we joke about him, call him the beast because of his awesome skills and hair
Pepe Reina - Liverpool ( EPL) Most entertaining player on the team and good keeper too
Sergio Ramos- Real Madrid ( La Liga) Great Defender but if hair grows long he resembles Jesus
Xabi Alonso- Real Madrid ( la Liga) Great style and Swag plus amazing player
Not only amazing good looking team but yes WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS

Francesco Totti- Roma (Italian League
Fabio Cannavro- Jueventes ( Italian League)

Thats just a little sample. Once you start watching you will form your own opinions but finally last but not least you need to know some key thing

There are 11 Players on the Pitch
Pitch- Field
Kit- Uniforms
WAGs- Wives and Girlfriends - Victoria Beckham One who started it although people don't like the label its there
Yellow Card- When a player fouls someone real bad
Red Card- Really Bad Foul and results in getting knocked off the pitch and suspended 1 games
2 yellow result in a red
Offsides - best to describe when you see it but happens when players pass the other team and heading towards the goal and are off sides so ball goes to other team

Time: Each half is 45 minutes with stoppage time which is added on after 45 minutes due to cards or injury that has stopped the game which is why there are no time outs. It is 45 minutes all the way through no stops

Difference between National Team and Club Team
Ok so players play for National Teams and Club teams. Club teams are the teams they play for the whole season and National Team is when they play on the world stage
So for instance
Cesc Fabregas plays for Arsenal and The Spanish National Team. His club team is Arsenal his National team is Spain
Best way I describe it is to somewhat relate it to baseball.
Ok so there are the Cubs and Sammy Sosa who's from the Dominican Republic so when they play in the world Baseball Classic Sammy represents the Dominican Republic, his national country not the Cubs ( Yes although old player proves point)

Welcome to the Beautiful world of footy where there are abs, thighs, drama, and tents to just admire :)

Leave you with the amazingness that is Lionel Messi