Fouls and poor conduct[edit]

The following are fouls or poor conduct practices in football:

Pretending injury in order to delay play or to get an opponent booked or sent off

Teasing opponents to get them out of balance

Attempting to influence the referees

Stealthily touching the ball with the hands

Stealthily holding the shirts of opponents players

Illegally stopping players in a counter-attack

Recklessly duelling with the opponent's goalkeeper

Professional fouls

Purposely slowing down your opponents' speed of play

Although some fans and players see foul play as a good part of the game (as long as it helps them
win), FIFA constantly change rules and issue campaigns for promoting "Fair Play".

Techniques and skills[edit]

Handling

Sprinting

Throw-ins

Shooting

Headers

One on ones

Passing

Crossing

First Touch

Pressing

Physical skills[edit]

Pace

Agility

Sprinting

Stamina

Power

Endurance

Jumping

Balance

Strength

Goalkeeping skills[edit]

Jumping (can be considered a physical ability)

Agility (can be considered a physical ability)

Balance (can be considered a physical ability)

Communication (can be considered a mental ability)

Goal kicker (can be considered a technical ability)

Handling (can be considered a technical ability)

Positioning

Reflexes (can be considered a mental ability)

Distribution (ex.Throwing, punting) (can be considered a physical ability)

One on ones

General principles of attack and defence[edit]

Width and depth are both principles of offense and defence as follows: [4]

Width in attack- the attacker tries to divide the defence by spreading strike points across a
broad front, rather than attempting to force advances through narrow channels. This may involve
play from the wings, or rapidly shifting into open lanes/open space when approaching the goal.
Mainly using wingers, often gaps are made between defenders using the width. These gaps can
be used to feed the ball to strikers.

Width in defence- the defender counters, trying to contract and deny width. Attackers are
"shepherded" or channeled into narrower or more crowded avenues of approach

Offensive tactics: attacking[edit]

'Pass and move': This is the most basic team tactic as soon as the ball has come into
possession of the player, they need to be quick to decide whether to pass it or not. If they don't
pass it immediately, they need to move with it; if they do pass it, they again need to move along,
following the general ball movement.

This can also be used to mean that once a player has passed the ball he does not remain stationary
but moves into a position where he can receive the ball again and give more options to the player in
possession.

'Give and go'[or 'combination passing']: This is a basic tactic which is essentially the same
as 'pass and move', and is an essential part of the 'target man' style of play (see below). The
player in possession of the ball plays a pass to a teammate and then immediately seeks to move
into space. If the player who passed the ball can 'lose' his defensive marker (either through
pace, movement, superior fitness or a lack of awareness on the part of the defender) he could
then be free to receive a return pass and advance towards and possibly threaten the goal. When
the ball is played by the receiving player immediately back to the first player this is known as a
'One-Two' (in British parlance)

Switching sides

Switching the attack: Using a 'square' or 'cross' pass across the whole width of the pitch to
a player in plenty of space is a very effective way of both relieving pressure and building a fresh
attack. The defending team will be required to adjust its positions and this usually creates
spaces which can be exploited. In this example, the player numbered 1 has moved out of
position, allowing more space for the opposing player. By playing the ball to the other side (the
curved line represents an aerial pass), the recipient of the pass finds themselves in space which
can be exploited.

Penalty kicks[edit]
In the case of a penalty kick, no defending players except the goalkeeper are allowed within
the penalty area or within ten yards of the penalty spot and 18 yards of the goal line. A
significant number of players should, however, be placed right outside the penalty area, alert
to advance into the area and clear any deflection. For this purpose, sometimes the attacking
team will nominate two players to run at the goal from either side of the penalty spot; timing
their run so that they only enter the penalty area once the kick has been taken will hopefully
give them the first opportunity at gathering the ball if it is saved by the goalkeeper. This tactic
is rarely seen, however, since the likelihood of the ball being saved and then falling into the
path of the attacking player is small. A particular tactic that can be used by the goalkeeper
involves trying to distract the penalty taker by drawing his concentration away from striking

the ball cleanly. Such tactics normally involve moving one's body, or body parts, in an
extravagant manner, or through verbal comments. Famous examples of where this worked
successfully include Bruce Grobbelaar in the 1984 European Cup final, and Jerzy Dudek in
the 2005 Champions League Final.

Home stadium

Nehru Stadium in Delhi

The Indian Football Team does not have a permanent stadium as of 2011
due to so many football stadiums not meeting FIFA guidelines. The only
stadiums that are FIFA and AFC approved are the Ambedkar
Stadium in New Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium also in New Delhi,Nehru
Stadium in Chennai, Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, and most recently
approved after a renovation the Salt Lake Stadium In
Kolkata and Bangalore Football Stadium in Bangalore.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF TWO GREAT PLAYERS OF INDIA

Baichung Bhutia

Baichung Bhutia an Indian footballer of Sikkimese-Bhutia descent who

plays as a striker. Bhutia is considered to be the torchbearer of Indian
football in the international arena.[3]He is often nicknamed the Sikkimese
Sniper because of his shooting skills in football.[4][5] Three-time Indian
Player of the Year I. M. Vijayan described Bhutia as "God's gift to Indian
football".[6]
Bhutia has had four spells at I-League football team East Bengal Club, the
club where he started his career. When he joinedEnglish club Bury in 1999,
he became the first Indian footballer to sign a contract with a European club
and only the second to play professionally in Europe, after Mohammed
Salim. Afterwards he had a short loan spell at the Malaysian football
club Perak FA. As well as this he has played for JCT Mills, which won the
league once during his tenure; and Mohun Bagan, which failed to win the
league once during his two spells, in his native India. His international
footballing honours include winning the Nehru Cup, LG Cup, SAFF
Championship three times and the AFC Challenge Cup. He is also India's
most capped player, and in the 2009 Nehru Cup he received his 100th
international cap.
Off the field, Bhutia is known for winning the reality television
programme Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which caused much controversy with his
then-club Mohun Bagan, and for being the first Indian athlete
to boycott the Olympic torch relay in support of the Tibetan independence
movement. Bhutia, who has a football stadium named after him in honour
of his contribution to Indian football (first player to have such honour while
he is still playing), has also won many awards, such as the Arjuna
Award and the Padma Shri.

Sunil Chhetri

Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who

plays as a striker for Bengaluru FC in the I-League. Born
in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Chhetri began his professional career
at Mohun Bagan in 2002. He then moved to JCT Mills where he scored 21
goals in 48 games, the most he has scored for any side in his career. He
signed for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer in 2010,
becoming the third player from the subcontinent of note to go
abroad. However, that stint in the United States did not last long and soon
he was back in India's I-Leaguewhere he played for Chirag United and
Mohun Bagan before going back abroad. This time he was signed
by Sporting Clube de Portugal of the Primeira Liga where he played for the
club's reserve side.
It was with the national team that Chhetri gained fame and made a name
for himself. He helped India win the 2007 Nehru Cup, 2009 Nehru Cup,
the 2012 Nehru Cup as well as the 2011 SAFF Championship. He was also
one of India's best players during the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup in which
India won the tournament and thus qualified for their first AFC Asian Cup in
27 years. Chhetri has also been named AIFF Player of the Year thrice in
2007, 2011 and 2013.