We explain everything about the history of football, its origins and variants in various cultures. Also, the best players in history.
What is the history of football like?
Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is practiced in practically all countries in the world, which meet every four years to compete in the World Cup, and maintain their different regular leagues throughout the year.
It is estimated that Soccer has around 250 million players around the world and which mobilizes around 1.8 billion interested parties and fans around the globe. It is one of the Olympic sports, and its international leadership is exercised by the International Federation of Football Associations (or FIFA, by its French acronym).
The ancient origins of this sport are uncertain, but in the 3rd century BC. C. a similar sport was practiced in China. In this ancient history of football, soldiers of the Han Dynasty practiced an exercise called ts'uh Kúh (also called luju either tsu chu), which consisted of throwing a ball with your feet into a small net. In some variants, the player had to do so while defending himself from the physical attack of his rivals.
Centuries later there were practices more similar to modern football, such as kemari Japanese, of a more ceremonial type, in which a ball had to be kept in the air for as long as possible, passing it between players without using their hands.
There were also Western variants, such as episkyros Greek and the haspastrum Roman of which there is very little information. It is also known today that ancient Mesoamerican people practiced something similar called pok ta pokabout 3,000 years ago, and that the North American aborigines did the same, although they called it pasuckuakohowog.
However, it is unlikely that these ancient sports had a direct influence on modern football. The closest in European history are the “ball games” played by British and French youth (the latter under the name of soule). Its practice was common in the British Isles at carnivals, occasions in which an entire town could participate.
The Italians had the clearest antecedent of all, the calcium Florentineless violent than its British variants and more organized than the French ones, consisting of two teams of 27 players each. It was practiced starting in the 16th century, and in 1580 Giovanni Bardi presented the first formal set of rules.
Properly said, The modern history of football begins in Great Britain in the 19th century when the first unifying rules of carnival football emerged, beginning to be practiced in collegiate associations outside the holiday season. In fact, in 1863 the Cambridge tuition rules of the game were the basis of the current code of rules, also taking norms from the Sheffield game.
Thus, with a regulation of just 13 rules, modern football was promoted by the newly created Football Association (FA). From there also came, although some years later, the term soccerderived from “association” and the suffix –erand The first league competition in history also emerged, the Football League in 1888. Its purpose was to raise enough funds to professionalize the FA players.
Towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, English-style football had spread throughout Europe and then to other continents, partly thanks to the European colonial system, and the commercial exchange with the recent American republics.
The first American soccer league was Argentina, founded in 1891 and the first international match outside Europe was played between Argentina and Uruguay in 1901. On the other hand, economic conditions in Asia prevented football from leaving the purely university sphere until the 80s of the 20th century.
In 1904, in Paris, the Fédération Internationale Football Association (FIFA) was founded by football representatives from 8 different countries: France, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany. Its objective was to manage European matches not linked to Great Britain and Ireland, who initially rejected the existence of a world football body.
The first soccer world cup in history was played in 1930 which became the largest event of this sport in the entire globe. Then the Intercontinental Cup emerged in 1960, the South American Copa Libertadores and the European Champions League. Women's football emerged professionally after the First World War, when female participation in society and at work increased.
See also: History of athletics
Best players in history
According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), recognized by FIFA, the list of the 5 best football players in the world in the 20th century is as follows:
- Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) Born in Brazil in 1940, the best player of the century according to FIFA's vote and the best athlete of the 20th century according to the International Olympic Committee, he won the World Cup with the Brazilian team in 1958, 1962 and 1970, being the player who won the most times and youngest has obtained it in history.
- Johan Cruyff Dutch player born in 1947 and died in 2016, he is considered the best player in Europe, he received the Ballon d'Or three times (1971, 1973 and 1974), and he is considered the best exponent of the so-called “total football” of Rinus Michels .
- Franz Beckenbauer Born in 1945 in Germany, this footballer nicknamed “The Kaiser” was captain of his country's team when it won the World Cup in 1974 and 1976, as well as the European Championship in 1972, and was the coach of the team when it won the Cup. 1990. In addition, he won the Ballon d'Or in Europe in 1972 and 1976, being remembered as the best player in history in his country.
- Alfredo Di Stefano Argentine footballer and coach, nationalized as Spanish, born in 1926, he was an honorary player for the clubs River Plate, Millonarios and Real Madrid, being honorary president of the latter from 2000 until his death in 2014. He is considered one of the best players of all times, Real Madrid's top scorer at the time of his retirement, after having played eleven seasons.
- Diego Armando Maradona Born in Buenos Aires in 1960, “El Diego” is one of the best known, admired and controversial soccer players in history. A midfield or forward player, he was world champion in 1986, runner-up in 1990 and youth world champion in 1979, before being suspended for doping. He was the top scorer in the Argentine league five times, and was later a television host, coach of various national teams and star of fiction films and documentaries.
Obviously, this list, drawn up in 2004, does not include current 21st century soccer stars such as the Argentine Lionel Messi or the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
Continue with: History of gymnastics
References
- “History of football” on Wikipedia.
- “History of football. “How did it all start?” (video) in Stories Drawer.
- “The origins of football” in La Vanguardia.
- “The 10 best footballers in history according to 'Four Four Two'.” (video) at Gol Caracol.
- “Who invented Football?” on History.com.
- “Football (soccer)” in The Encylcopaedia Britannica.
