Many of soccer's most important club competitions are played on a knockout basis. A draw is conducted to decide the pairings. The two clubs drawn as a pair play each other twice, home-and-home. T [..]

The give-and-go. So called because in soccer games played by boys in streets, the ball was often rebounded off a wall rather than passed to a teammate.

When a player under contract to a club is traded (transferred) to another club, the new club has to purchase the contract, often paying huge sums of money for it. This is the transfer fee -- it goes t [..]

To use the feet in attempting to take the ball from an opponent's feet. A tackle may be accompanied by a legitimate shoulder charge, but there must be no holding, pushing, tripping, elbowing, or [..]

Inevitably, Americans have brought statistics to soccer, a sport in which, traditionally, records have not been particularly plentiful. The theory behind most of the statistics - to plot the shape and [..]

Also called touchlines. A ball that goes out of play over the sidelines is said to have gone into touch.

The side volley. The ball is kicked in the direction that the player is facing. The player leans sideways, throws his legs upward, and volleys the ball forward with a scissor-like motion as the kickin [..]

See: Promotion and Relegation.

The person in charge. His decisions on the field are final. He (or she) starts the game and, because under international rules he is also the official timekeeper, he (and not the scoreboard clock, sho [..]

A useful way of measuring the sophistication of a soccer crowd is to listen to their reaction to a long punt by the goalkeeper. If they ooh! and aah! as the ball arcs downfield for 40 or 50 yards, cha [..]