Here's your 5-step guide to understanding the game of football

Once you understand the game, you're going to love it, we say. Photo Courtesy: Twitter/TheLuxeWorld

Remember Joey from Friends? Don't we all relate to him for being the ultimate foodie that he was in life? Hell yes! We do.

While this relatability sounds all cool and funny, there's another aspect of his personality that you really don't want to be able to identify with.

It's when the "friends" have some "serious"/"intelligent" conversations, he automatically feels left out because he's really consumed in his own world. Now, you don't want to be the left-out Joey of your group, right? Especially not while your gang gathers to enjoy a football match this season.

No, you don't have to be the next David Bekham, but you sure can bend things your way by understanding these basic rules of football in order to enjoy the game:

Let's Start With Some Ground Realities

And quite literally so.

In all probability, you've already seen the rectangular football ground on your T.V. screens/Internet. Now, check out this layout because it's time to get into details:

Layout of a football ground. Photo Courtesy: YouTube/raj agola

Firstly, calm down! No one is asking you to be the next Aryabhatta here and calculate/memorize these minute dimensions.  All you need to remember here are these five areas:

#1 The goal posts which are basically those net stands on either sides of the ground where the players hit the ball and score a goal.

#2 The penalty area which are rectangular boxes marked right in front of the goal posts on both sides of the field.

#3 Penalty mark, the spot from where the player kicks the ball towards the goal post.

#3 Side lines which are the white lines marked along the length of the field.

#4 The center mark and the center circle which obviously are marked in the center of the field.

Let's Talk About The Timings Now

The good part about football matches is that they usually last for around 90 minutes (which is divided into two halves of 45 minutes each--unless of course there's extra "injury time" that needs to be added to the game in case of an injury and other on-ground situations that may arise while playing. Not to mention, running after a ball can be quite tiring, so yes, these guys take a 15-minute break between the two halves.

So, unlike cricket, you won't have to be glued to your televisions all day long. And guess what? You can go shopping/ hit the gym/catch up with friends/spend time with family once the match is over. How cool is that!

It's Time To Talk About The Guys Chasing The Ball

We mean the players, of course! So obviously there are two opposing teams which just like cricket consist of 11 on-field players each and well--three substitutes, who sit on the bench, and can play in case someone from the playing squad gets injured.  

Everyone has one sole motive here: To somehow kick the ball into the goal posts and score a goal. So much effort, imagine!

Player positions during a match. Photo Courtesy: YouTube/Simon Swan

Before you let this diagram boggle your mind, let's break it down for you: Each team has defenders, whose sole purpose in life is to stop the opposing team players from scoring a goal. So, all the players who take the left back, right back, and centre back positions are actually just defenders. Next, there are attackers, who are expected to score goals and are also fancily called the center-forward players. Finally, the mid-fielders, who usually play from the middle-half of their side of the ground help the attackers and defenders of their team by passing the ball into the right, well--feet.

Coaches and Referees Are The Real Dudes In This Game

Unlike cricket, the coach of the team doesn't sit in the stands and watch the players make/break the game. He/she usually instruct their players from the side lines and help them core goals.

And just like cricket has three umpires as the deciding Gods, football has three referees, who keep a close watch on the players. One runs around with the players on the field, while the other two help the main guy from the side lines just in case he misses out on some action.

Referee during a football match. Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Basically, these guys make sure that no one messes with no one on the ground. So just in case on pretext of hitting the ball one player hits another player with the intention of injuring him, the referee can show him a yellow card first as a warning and then a red card ousting the player from the game if the offense is too severe.

In case of a foul, the opposing team gets a free kick. No we don't mean they get a kick from another player, but they get a chance to score a goal directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.

Foul during a football match. Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Andrew_Soccer

And There's a Way Out of Draws Too

Unfortunately, sometimes running after one goddamn ball for 90 minutes isn't as fruitful as you'd expect it to be and thus the match ends in a draw.

In that case, there's a 30-minute extra playtime to get a clear winner. If that also backfires, then each team gets five kicks. Whoever scores more goals, wins.

Now that you've got the basics right, you need to stop cancelling those football-match watching plans, okay? Trust us, you'll surely enjoy the game and even learn more as you watch.