NYC Footy's Spring Survival Guide: The One Stop Shop for Winning On & Off The Field
The arrival of spring brings with it planet Earth’s annual reminder that growth - both on and off the field - cannot be stopped. So whether you used this past winter to play in NYC Footy’s Indoor Leagues, enhanced your touch technique with BetterPlayer, or spent time taking care of nagging injuries, the launch of NYC Footy’s spring season on March 17th is your chance to celebrate the arrival of the new you.
But much like jumping into an empty subway car at rush hour only to realize after the doors close you’ve made a horrible choice, you need to see the full picture of what you’re dealing with ahead of time before making a fateful mistake that ruins the entire ride. So whether you're a seasoned footballer or a newcomer to the NYC Footy community, we know providing support in all forms goes a long way in making sure your season doesn’t stink.
That’s why we’ve put together our very own spring survival guide below to help you navigate everything our community has to offer. From choosing a league and field that’s right for you to the type of experiences we want all players to walk away with pre and post game, our spring survival guide is designed to help you focus on one thing: the joy of playing the beautiful game. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Surviving & Thriving NYC Footy’s Spring Season
Our VIBE: Creative, Competitive, And Completely Original
NYC Footy is more than just a recreational co-ed soccer league—it's a community of passionate players dedicated to promoting the joy of the game. Founded with the mission of making soccer accessible to everyone, NYC Footy offers a variety of options for players who want to achieve different results when playing recreational soccer.
The principles that guide us are grounded in kindness and inclusivity. We call it in respectfully when someone crosses the line and prioritize our community values above all else. We have captured these core beliefs in our official Ted Lasso Code of Conduct, which we ask all players to review and abide by when participating in any Footy organized activity.
Note: our code of conduct also works great for real life Non-Footy situations too!)
Riverbank State Park in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Manhattan is one of the many fields we offer here at NYC Footy
Our Fields: Find A Pitch That Matches Your Personality
NYC Footy organizes indoor and outdoor games in public and private parks located across New York City. We have captured these locations using an interactive map as well as individual location pages categorized by neighborhood. If you’re more of a list type of person, we’ve captured all of current spring league locations below, most of which you can still register for as of today:
League Formats: Finding the Best Fit
Ready to step on the pitch, but not sure which level is right for you? Here’s our roster of league formats which can help you find the best situation and have way too much fun whether you win or lose.
Flip: Footy exists to crush traditional soccer constraints, and our Flip league is the place to be if you’re looking to be part of a team where the majority of players identify as female.
P1: Advanced. Former professional, NCAA player, or just love endless cardio? This is likely your best option to continue reliving your glory days of competition as its our most advanced level.
P2: Intermediate/Advanced. Select P2 if your love language is challenging yourself on the field of play. Choose this level if you’re looking for competitive play and enjoy being surrounded by a mix of players who are at or above your skill level.
P3: Intermediate Leagues. Former high school star that hasn’t played in awhile but are ready to strap up the old shin guards and find out where you’re at right now? P3 is the perfect middle of the road option.
P4: Intermediate/Beginner: Select P4 if you love learning and want to enhance your solid dribbling and passing techniques by leveling up.
P5: Beginner. If you know you’re in love with soccer but not exactly familiar with its rules of engagement, this is the best way to get indoctrinated. Ideal for beginners, you are joining for the joy of getting to know the NYC soccer community
Spring Tournament: The Governors Cup
Our flagship spring tournament is The Governors Cup which takes place on Governors Island June 1 - June 2 this year. It’s so popular that it already sold out prior to our team publishing this guide, but we’ve got a waitlist going which you should absolutely sign up for as previously registered teams have been known to drop out beforehand.
Reminders for First Time (And returning) Players
To make the most of your NYC Footy experience this spring, here’s a quick r
Stay Active: Keep an eye on NYC Footy's website and social media channels for updates on upcoming games, leagues, and events.
Pack the Essentials: Bring water, sunscreen, your Footy jersey, and the right footwear as each location
Respect the Game: Embrace the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship both on and off the field. Treat your fellow players, referees, and opponents with respect and courtesy at all times.
Have Fun: Above all, remember that soccer is a game meant to be enjoyed. Whether you win, lose, or draw, cherish the opportunity to play the sport you love with like-minded individuals.
Dress the part: Did you know Footy offers custom kits for teams now? Email [email protected]
Getting Started
Ready to kick off your spring season with NYC Footy? Visit the NYC Footy website to join a current league or sign up for invites to upcoming events (Premier League matches anyone?) . Want to see Footy players in action? Follow NYC Footy for exclusive video and photo content, merch drops, and more!
The Best Footy Presents From Christmas Past
As we are approaching Christmas, I have been thinking about the best football related Christmas gifts I’ve received in my life. As I was a football nut as a kid, football gifts were a large part of my childhood.
Here are a few that stuck out in my memory.
1. Subbuteo Set
Do you know what Subbuteo is? Do you know what Subbuteo WAS, is probably the better way to phrase that question. When I was a kid, Subbuteo would take up a huge amount of real estate in any self respecting toy shop. Subbuteo was a game that involved flicking these teeny plastic figures at a ball.
The branding of Subbuteo was fantastic and you could buy any team you wanted. What’s more with Subbuteo you could buy stands, floodlights and build your dream football stadium. It was so popular that there were vast Subbuteo tournaments that people took very seriously. I must be honest - the game itself was not too much fun to play. But it didn’t matter. It just looked great.
2. Footy Books
I had a library of football books as a kid. Two that stick out were -
The Times Illustrated History of Football
By most people’s standards I think I have a pretty strong knowledge of the history of football. Why? Well one Christmas I got The Times Illustrated History of Football. The book dedicated about 4 pages to newspaper stories telling the biggest football stories of that season, along with a couple of pages with every league table for that season. I poured over that book like it was the Bible.
The Comic Book History Of The World Cup
Another absolute beauty of a book - The Comic Book History of The World Cup brought to life the history of the world’s greatest sporting event through beautiful illustration. The book isn’t particularly big, and has an unconventional shape, but it feels so unique in your hands. You don’t get bored going through it again and again. Between World Cups, the book has short interesting profiles on the greatest managers and all the results from that particular tournament. Sadly, the comic book only goes up to the 1990 World Cup in Italy, and as far as I can see has never been updated. If you can get a copy of this on Amazon if will make a unique item on your coffee table.
3. Premier League Trading Cards
For a few years of my youth, collecting and swapping Merlin’s Premier League stickers was as addictive as crack cocaine - not that I have any experience with the later mind you. Building onto the frenzy kids had in the mid nineties for football stickers - Merlin brought out a far more expensive trading card set. I managed to collect all the cards at great expense, but I needed to find one to finish the collection. My poor old grandmother would buy tons of packets of cards hoping I would find it, to no such luck. The particular card I was looking for was known as a Laser Cut card, and there was something like a 1-in-a-million chance of finding it. One Christmas, with my aunt light on funds, she asked me what I would like as a gift. I told her to just get me a couple of packets of cards. That Christmas, when she gave me the two packets, I wasn’t expecting to get the elusive card. But like Charlie Bucket himself… I did. I celebrated the find like scoring the winning in the last minute of a World Cup Final.
Here is the card in question which I see you can now get on Ebay for about 8 dollars. Had I known the value would climb so poorly, I could have saved my family a lot of money had they just waited 20 years.
4. Footy Videos
Back before the days of YouTube, I was a huge collector of football videos. You could buy all manner of videos on the beautiful game. I particularly liked goal-compilation videos. Those videos would have imaginative titles like ‘500 Great Goals’ or ‘All the Goals of USA 94.’ I wore those videos out like the footy geek that I am.
Around Christmas time it was often common in the UK for videos to come out featuring the best of footy bloopers. The videos would be marketed on TV as the ultimate Christmas gift. These productions always seemed thrown together - and were often hosted by some b-list TV presenter. Now, of course, you can find them all on YouTube. So without further ado… enjoy Danny Bakers Own Goals and Gaffs:
5. Footy Kits
I was only really into getting football jerseys when I was young. My best jersey memories included getting the Ajax shirt from around 1995, and the Brazil 98 jersey. That was a classic. But I suppose my all time favorite kit memory was when I got the Irish goalkeeper jersey after the 1990 World Cup.
6. Footy video-games
There were so many football video games that I loved as a kid. The first one I remember having was simply called Soccer for the NES. It was made by Konami and was ultimately a precursor to PES. After that, there was Super Soccer on the Super Nintendo. That was dodge, even if it did allow you to run the field and score with the goal keeper.
My friends loved Sensible Soccer with its top down visuals. Apparently, that was the thinking person's football game. But I never got into it. FIFA Soccer came out around 1993 but was all style and no substance. I preferred Striker and World Cup Striker. Me and my friends would all gather around have have high stakes tournaments on it. No jammy goals allowed. But in hindsight, the football game I played more than any other was International Superstar Soccer on the Nintendo 64. After that, there really was no point in playing a footy game ever again.
That was a good trip down memory lane. Get writing your Santa wish lists kiddos.
A Footy Fest Diary
I hadn’t slept the night before. I had to wake up at 6am to watch Ireland in the Rugby World Cup Quarter Final v New Zealand (The All Blacks). In the end I didn’t really sleep at all. I tend not to sleep very well when I know I need to get up so early. I’m too worried about not waking up. Suffice to say game was an unmitigated disaster for Ireland and I would have done well to sleep right through it.
I took a hastily arranged car ride to Footy Fest with the kid, Adin. Adin was quite a character and together we made for an unlikely buddy cop movie duo on the way to the fest. I thought Adin was a NYC Footy regular initially, but it turned out it was his first time taking part. I was excited on his behalf to see the Footy Fest set up.
Before we hit the road proper we stopped into a gas station. He grabbed two meat pies, and a bunch of the most random confectionery - Ferro Rocher as a pre footy snack… nice.
On the ride we got acquainted by talking about everything and anything - break-ups and music tastes. Nothing was off limits. We had philosophical conversations about kids and tattoos while I bored Adin with my love of U2, and gave him a crash course in the best of Irish music - Van Morrison, The Boomtown Rats, The Waterboys and Thin Lizzy.
I am not the best passenger in a car ride. I am a nervous passenger. And I am not immune to car sickness. This kicked in particularly during the last 30 minutes of the ride to the fields in the Catskills. Those windy country roads do nothing for my stomach - not helped by the meat pie I decided to join in on.
By the time we arrived, I pretty much fell out of the car - gasping for air and trying to gather myself.
I confess we arrived so late that we had missed our first two games. Nevertheless I couldn’t wait to have a game. The weather was particularly glorious in the Catskills. I was half expecting an icy chill and a mud field this time of year, but in truth I could have done with bringing some Factor 50 rather than a wooly hat.
I was put on team, Pre Malone. The Green Team - rather appropriate for the Irishman. I love the shirts that NYC Footy give the teams. The designs are always great.
As excited as I was about playing - my first game was an utter disaster. We lost what felt like 9-0. We were all quite frustrated with each other by the end of the game. I made the decision then, that in the next game I was going to be diligent to the task of defending and maintaining some kind of team shape. I always feel when a game goes badly, it’s important to focus on the basics of your own game - stay in a good useful position, and make sure to give passes to feet. I think I did that pretty well… but we still got hammered in our last run out.
Shaking off the blues of our team performances I dived into the pizzas that were on offer. I also had a couple of Red Bulls. Usually, I would be very against such an energy drink, but as I was working on about 30 hours without sleep I needed a good kick up the arse - especially as my main task was to make the weekly NYC Footy video.
When I make my videos, I like interacting with people and bringing out some level of colour and humor. But sometimes you need to dig deep to find the right energy to do that. I am actually shy at heart, so going up and talking to random people you barely know requires you clicking into somewhat of an alter ego. Red Bull helped in this case.
My main strategy when making a video is to circle the fields and try to find interesting moments and shots. I like to come up with a certain theme of questioning for the people as well. It amazes me how often I have no clue what I will ask them, and then out of nowhere something pops up in my head to save the day. For the day’s video, I thought simply I would ask people what was on their mind. That worked well to get me going as I got a few wacky answers.
The great thing about NYC Footy and the Footy Fest is seeing the regular faces. Everybody seemed in great spirits overall. Tarek and Gerardo (two of NYC Footy’s founders) were well on top of proceedings. I was only thinking last night how those guys need a medal. As a former founder myself, I understand what it’s like to be taken for granted despite the huge amount of work and stress that goes on behind the scenes to make an operation go off well. The guys do a stellar job. I salute them.
The footy moment of the day for me was during one of the semis, the game was tied 0-0 going into the last two minutes. Then one team (the New York K(n)icks - the ‘n’ is silent), went on top, only to give away two goals in the subsequent 60 seconds to lost the game 2-1. It was the most glorious of comebacks and I am happy I caught it on camera.
From the Footy Fest we headed to the bar. I was under-dressed for the evening - Still in the footy gear I had wore all day. An icy chill have finally arrived. Meanwhile some had been able to squeeze in a shower and get changed allowing them to show up looking sparkling. It’s amazing how people can look totally different when spruced up, as opposed to when they are wearing their functional footy gear. Mind you, shout out to the girl who wore the fashionable woolly Nike leggings.
Sadly, I had to get back to Manhattan that evening as I had a video shoot the very next morning. I hitched a ride with Danny Ospina - the photographer for the day. I didn’t know Danny at all but we had great chats on the way back that made the 3 hour drive go by in no time.
By about 11 I was back in bed for some much needed sleep. It had been a while. But it was a great day. Looking forward to the next NYC Footy Fest outing already.
5 Training Ground Bust Ups Caught On Camera
In my recent NYC Footy video I took in one of the new NYC Footy Fitness sessions held on Saturday mornings at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown. It was a great run out for all involved - stretches and technique training capped off with a good old game of ball.
Despite Footy Fitness being free from controvery (to date), things can actually get quite heated on the training pitch. I’m sure it happens more often that anyone cares to admit, so I did a bit of research and found some high profile training ground bust ups for your amusement:
1. Paul Pogba vs. Jose Mourinho:
In present memory there was last season’s training ground confrontation between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. The two didn’t seem to hit it off since Pogba’s arrival at Old Trafford with the Frenchman’s continued bad form sinking The Special One into the mire. In this training ground run in not much seems to happen. But if you look closely you can see words are exchanged followed by a glaring stare by Pogba. The writing was on the wall for one of them. Player power won out.
2. French National Team World Cup Meltdown
During the 2010 World Cup nothing seemed right in the French camp. There’s too much to outline to give this spat any good context but I recommend the documentary Les Blues to give you the full background. The training ground meltdown happened in-front of live TV cameras, smack bang in the middle of a disastrous World Cup for the French team.
3. West Ham’s John Hartson vs. Eyal Berkovic
This one is straight up nasty. In 1998, a video leaked showing a training ground altercation between West Ham teammates John Hartson and Eyal Berkovic. It was Tarantino level violence from Hartson on Berkovic. Berkovic said of the incident “If my head had been a ball, it would have been in the top corner of the net”. Hartson would later say the incident was the biggest regret of his career.
4. Mario Balotelli vs. Roberto Mancini
All these bust ups seem to be between big egos. Another such confrontation happened between the consistently tempestuous Mario Balotelli and Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini in 2013. In the pictures of training ground argument you can see Mancini trying to grab a hold of Balotelli - something no manager has appeared capable of since with the Italian strikers career going into steady descent since. He currently plays for Brescia in Serie A.
5. Barcelona’s Neymar vs. Nelson Semedo
The final major bust up that comes to mind was between FC Barcelona’s Neymar and new recruit Nelson Semedo during a pre season training camp in the USA ahead of the 2017-2018 season. Neymar at the time was about to depart Barcelona for PSG. Since then Neymar has had his fair share of problems and is now begging to get back to Barca. Semedo beware.
Comment below with any other legendary training ground sparring sessions that I may have missed.
8 weird, wonderful, and not always real, football grounds
In this week’s video I went to cover some NYC playoffs on the rooftop of Upper 90 in Astoria - a brilliant unique football environment in NYC. It got me thinking of some other unique footy locations. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are some great alternative places you might find football being played.
1. Indoor Mode In Striker
OK, granted, my first example isn’t even in the real world, but it was too much fun not to mention. Striker is a Super Nintendo soccer video game from the early 90s that me and my friends would play endlessly. The game had a unique mode that allowed you to play indoor. It was certainly unique at the time, and was particularly fun because the ball could bounce off the walls, making the gameplay lightning fast.
2. The Pontiac Silverdome
Speaking of indoor football, the Pontiac Silverdome hosted the first ‘indoor’ game in World Cup history when the USA played Switzerland in the 1994 World Cup. Having a roof over a stadium is now much more common, but in 1994 it felt very unique. In its heyday, the Silverdome hosted all manner of high profile sporting events, but sadly now has been left to crumble.
3. The Colosseum in the Good v Evil Nike ad
In writing this article, I have just realized hat unique football locations in the world of make believe are more fun. And there are few better companies at coming up with makey uppy football theatres than Nike. In the Good v Evil ad from the last 90s - Eric Cantona, Paolo Maldini and a raft of other superstars take on Satan’s footballers in a far away colosseum where the pitch lines are marked by flames. It’s a classic.
4. Airport 98
The next great football location in the Nike cannon is Rio airport which was used for a television ad pre-World Cup 1998 in France. The ad which was directed by legendary action director John Woo features a bored Brazilian national team deciding to have a kick about around the airport. The spot has been described by FourFourTwo as the greatest ad ever. The music really makes it for me.
5. The Secret Tournament ships hull
The last of the 3 Nike ads that spring to mind was made in advance of the 2002 World Cup. The location - a cage inside a cargo ship’s hull. The commercial was directed by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame and featured a kicking remix of the Elvis track ‘A Little More Conversation.” The track went on to reach No.1 in 20 countries on the back of the ad’s success. It was all a bit convoluted if you ask me, but it stuck in the head.
6. AS Monaco's training field
I was actually going to reference AS Monaco's football stadium, Stade Louis II, which has always stood out to me watching TV as having a unique look and feel to it. But, upon just a couple of minutes research it appears to me that Monaco's training field may be an even greater footy location. Have a look.
7. Estadio Hernando Siles – La Paz, Bolivia
This one on the list is more of a good trivia piece than having any particular resonance with me. Estadiou Hernando Siles in La Paz is always referenced as being one of the highest stadiums in the world at 3,601 metres (11,932 feet) above sea level. The stadium is so high that Lional Messi got sick on it during a game, and Neymar described the conditions as inhuman while wearing an oxygen mask at the arena.
"Inhuman to play in such conditions. Pitch, altitude, ball... everything bad," he wrote on Instagram.
Did we mention, it’s apparently home to paranormal activity as well?
8. Estadio Nacional, Lisbon
A nostalgic final choice for me. Estadio Nacional in Lisbon in where Glasgow Celtic won the European Cup (Champions League) in 1967. I recently took a pilgrimage to the stadium and had a walk about inside. You can see the video of that adventure above. What is interesting about this Estadio Nacionals characteristics is that it hasn’t really changed much since its look and feel in 1967. The stadium is surrounded beautifully by greenery and is close to the beach. It has a great retro feel to it in an era of soulless modern stadium development.
Estadio Nacional still hosts the Portoguese Cup Final if you are curious.
That's all folks.
Next play: Moving past bad performances
In this week’s moody NYC Footy vid, there is a moment where I point out that I had a bad first half in goal for my side. To say I had a bad game was an understatement. And the attempt I made in the video to add some levity to my abject performance was nothing other than a desperate attempt on my part to mask what was horrifying internal embarrassment and crushed confidence.
Now I will admit, the game was the first proper game I have played in goal for almost two decades. As a kid, and up to about the age of 14, I played in goal regularly. I was a pretty good keeper, always picked for my local team, and also playing regularly for my school in Gaelic football (a kind of soccer / rugby hybrid sport).
My school got all the way to the Gaelic cup final which took place in Croke Park - the most famous and historic stadium in Ireland. Even though we lost that final, it didn’t stop The Irish Times from writing - Only a fine goal keeping display from Stephen O’Regan prevented the winners from scoring more.
Considering how long its been since I put on the gloves, perhaps I could be forgiven for having to dust off some cobwebs. Perhaps I was naive to think that I could simply turn back time and expect to be the agile shot stopper I once was. Regardless the excuses I or anyone else could have, the embarrassment and humiliation I was feeling was real.
The bad vibes creeped in early. An inoffensive ball was floated into the box. It was a simple catch by anyone's standards. But as I looked up at it, terror overcame me. What if I don’t catch this? Don’t mess this up whatever you do.
Suffice to say, I completely misjudged the flight of the ball, taking my eye off it as the panic overcame me. Instead of falling into my hands, it fell into the goal, with my hands flapping pathetically. When you make a mistake like that there really is no one else you can look at but yourself.
Sometime later a similar ball was floated in. This was one of those that had the potential to just go wide, or over the bar. A braver and more confident keeper in that moment would have not taken that chance and simply caught it. Instead I watched the ball as it got closer and closer to the goal in the hope that it would miss the target. But no. To my skin crawling embarrassment the ball hit the bar, bounced back and hit my arm and went in. And this was just as a bunch of NYC Footiers passed by the goal in the background.
I made about 3 or 4 other glaring mistakes in the first half alone. I have no idea what my team must have been thinking.
But how does a keeper or any player for that matter recover from an embarrassing moment? The super elite have such intense focus and determination to be the best that they simply manage to dust themselves off and even come back with renewed vigor. Ronaldo, Messi, and even David Beckham have had very high profile bad moments but they all came back fast and strong. Those type of players are in the minority though. Confidence can be shattered easily even at the top level, and it is incredibly hard for most to come back from that.
In the last few years, I have found that goalkeepers’ confidence to be more brittle than I remembered as a kid. David De Gea at Manchester United, for example, has been the best United player of the past 5 seasons. But in the past few months he no longer has seemed as reliable as he once was. When he concedes a goal he may previously have saved he now has a look of bafflement. So much of goalkeeping is instinctive. You just react and save. But when something in that instinct goes and you end up letting in that goal at the near post, you just wonder, What did I do differently there than what I usually do? You begin to second guess yourself.
Look at Liverpool. They have been blighted by shaky keepers for years. When they made the Champions League Final a couple of years ago - the grandest stage of them all, Liverpool keeper, Loris Karius, was already walking on ice with Liverpool fans. The fans knew he was capable of mistakes. His confidence I would suspect was already delicate. But nobody could have expected the mistakes he made in the final which gifted the trophy to Real Madrid.
The mistakes were too much for Liverpool to accept and soon after, The Redmen broke the bank for a new keeper. It has been a very public ordeal for poor Loris Karius and one which he will be reminded of for the rest of his days.
Confidence affects player performance all over the pitch, of coarse. Strikers seems to be either on form or off it. There are countless examples of players who were at one time incredible, and then for no reason that anyone can understand suddenly are a shadow of their former selves.
Fernando Torres was a world superstar until his 50 million pound move from Liverpool to Chelsea when he suddenly couldn’t hit a barn door. Most recently, much was expected of Alexis Sanchez after his big money move from Arsenal to Manchester United. But he has been a shadow of the player he was prior to the move. I don’t think anyone can understand his drop in form.
So, how does someone recover from embarrassing performances? How does one avoid it sinking into one's psyche and leading to prolonged bad form? Well, if I had the exact answer I might be a better player. In fact if I had the right temperament I might be an all round better person. Temperament is the word of the day here. It’s either in your temperament to overcome setbacks fast, or it’s not. If like most of us, it’s not and you’re relegated to those sorry souls that buy various self help books in a bid to improve yourself.
The key piece of wisdom that I might give comes from any other bad moment you have in life. Think of a failed relationship, for example. Or a failed business effort. The advice your usually given is to dust yourself off and get straight back up. You need to just move forward. Quickly learn the lesson from the mistake you made, and then speedily move forward. Avoid wallowing in the past at all costs.
But if you are like me , a nostalgist - as these articles have demonstrated, moving on bravely is not so easy.
2 Feature Films That Focus In On Individual Soccer Players
In this week's NYC Footy video, I decided to focus on just one player’s movements during a game - the talented, and poetic Dexter. I actually followed him through the whole game in order to make the video.
Afterwards, it got me thinking of a couple of noted films that take the same approach.
The first film that comes to mind is Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. Part documentary film and part art installation, the film focuses on Zidane through a full match for Real Madrid v Villareal in 2005.
The film used 17 cameras to track Zidane through the game in which he would ultimately get sent off. Funny that.
To add to the esoteric nature of the film was a soundtrack by the Scottish band Mogwai.
Another more obscure film in the same vain was the 1971 German film, Football As Never Before (Wie Noch Nie)
The film used eight 16mm cameras to track the legendary George Best during a game for Manchester United v Coventary. As the Guardian writes:
For 45 minutes each way and at half-time, the cameras stay focused only on Best, who sports shoulder-length hair and a beard. There is a hypnotic sequence of him inside the bowels of Old Trafford.
The film was only recently resurrected with a new score by Irish composer Matthew Nolan.
Even though Football As Never Before was a pioneering piece of cinematic art by an experimental German film-maker, back in 1971 it had limited distribution options. I think if it had been made today it would have received similar exposure to the Zidane movie. It is a source of some annoyance that in all the press attention the Zidane film got, nobody seemed to acknowledged that there was a precursor in Best.
Here is a clip from the original film.
These films are for anoraks mainly. They both capture the player mostly walking around the field without the ball while observing and reading the game as it flows around them. The players are waiting and looking for opportunities. Only in very rare moments do the players come to life. As one online reviewer states -
The small segments of real action (especially Best's goal) are like Jekyll-and-Hyde transformations -- you can almost see the electricity going off in Best's head as the ball nears him.
Personally, as a film maker and football nut, I love what is attempted in both these films. But the question is, which current player do you think should get the same treatment? Messi? Ronaldo? Zlatan?
Hope you enjoyed this week’s video.
A Brief History of Soccer Injuries
My personal history with injuries
My worst football injury was a leg break that occurred when I was about 10. I’ll never forget it. Inspired by the goalkeeping heroics of Irish shot stopper Packie Bonner in World Cup Italia’ 90, I had already set my life's ambition - I wanted to be the man between the sticks - screaming at defenders, and marshaling the troops.
My budding career got off to a good start. In games at the local green, I would pull off miraculous save after miraculous save. I was Gordan Banks in the making.
Wanting to push forward I tried out for a local 11-a-side team - Cambridge Boys in Ringsend Park, Dublin. Cambridge Boys were a tough bunch. The players had a hard edge. But once I showed up, I immediately displaced the current regular in nets. He was not too happy being demoted to the sidelines. He would chew gum and look at me with dagger eyes which made me a tad nervy I’ll admit.
All was going well, until the fateful day arrived. It was sunny if I recall. The grass was green, the manager was shouting on the sidelines. I should point out that in Ireland, we played our u11 games on full adult 11-a-side pitches - with full size goals. Absurd really. But it might help you paint a picture - a bunch of diminutive kids chasing a ball around a giant field.
A ball was played through to an on-rushing striker. It was a classic one-on-one scenario. I knew instinctively what I needed to do. Come out. Make myself big. Narrow the angles. After that it was just a blur. All I remember next was screaming in agony. I wouldn’t be surprised if my screams are still echoing somewhere today.
My Dad came to pick me up, and brought me to a local hospital. I had broken my leg so severely I had to spend days in the hospital. If I recall, I even needed an operation to realign the bones in my leg which were verging off in different directions. To this day, my right shin can be a bit sensitive (or it could just be in my head).
After recovering from that ordeal I returned to the number one position undaunted. But no sooner was I back on the pitch when an older kid with a Roberto Carlos style thunderbolt managed to fracture my brittle wrist bone. I saved the shot, but damage was done.
I have luckily managed to avoid any significant injury since then. I suppose I should count my blessings. It’s been a good run.
I should be more sympathetic to others with injuries. But playing in a 5-a-side league with some of my best friends when I was 22 or so, I became hugely frustrated with my injury-prone teammates. These players were not going down after heavy collisions either. They were blighted by knee issues, joint issues… you name it. The would run, and next thing you know, they’d be on the ground.
I was the self appointed manager of the team, and took the job responsibility with that of the Champions League elite. So to see my players on the deck hobbling off with regularity began to drive me nuts. These players were useful. We needed them. But I began to wonder why they were going down so easily. When it becomes so repetitive, you begin to think that perhaps, just maybe the players are a bit ‘soft’ (this coming from the biggest scaredy cat in town, let me assure you).
Injuries in the world of football
Often real managers wonder about their injury prone players too. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp shared his feelings about the constantly injured striker Daniel Sturridge. When Klopp took over Liverpool in 2015, Klopp said the striker must learn "what is serious pain and what is only pain."
As a fan, nothing is as upsetting as when an important player of a team you support falls injured at a crucial time - such as in the lead up time to a World Cup. That time unfortunately always coincides with the most intense time in the football season.
England, in particular, have had its share of bad luck over the years. I recall both David Beckham and Wayne Rooney being stuck down by the dreaded metatarsal in the weeks preceding a World Cup. The metatarsal injury, it would seem, was fashionable in the nineties. Some blamed lightweight boot design for the reason so many metas were causing strain.
Becks and Rooney. were both were struck down in the prime of their careers, and when England expected more than ever. Both injuries came with inadequate time to heal for the World Cup. The updates on Becks and Rooneys metatarsal status was as prevalent in the UK then as Donald Trump is on CNN today, such was the desperation of the Three Lions.
With national pressure requireing both stars suit up for their respective World Cups, suffice to say both players returned in time for the competitions. But, certainly in Rooneys case, nowhere near the level expected.
Imagine the frustrations for players that wait their entire lives to perform on the global stage, only to succumb to a performance-reducing injury. Think Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup Final. Ronaldo suffered a mysterious seizere the day of the Final, leaving fans bewildered at what was going on with El Fenomeno..
Speaking of phenoms, I always feel Messi is carrying knocks by the time each World Cup rolls around. He is constantly accused of under performing for Argentina on the biggest stage. But surely, after a 60 game season for Barcelona, the toll has been taken on him. For Argentina on the big stage he often looks like he has a ball and chain attached to his foot.
Avoiding Injuries
But how does one avoid injuries and mishaps? Well, ironically one would say that to best avoid disaster is to be fully committed. If you second guess yourself and look to pull out of a challenge you stand a risk of getting caught. It’s like crossing a road and changing your mind half way. The tiniest pause to check yourself might be the split second needed for disaster to strike. It’s also a bit similar to changing your mind in a run up to take a penalty. That rarely works out well. One must have conviction in their movements and conviction in their tackles or you risk coming off second best, and perhaps minus a leg. It’s all down to confidence.
But even with the best will you can find yourself in trouble. I’ll wrap this up by showcasing arguably the most famous collision in World Cup history -
Where does soccer passion come from?
Where does soccer passion come from?
After seeing last week’s video where I asked players in Chinatown about their preferred 5-a-side formation, a friend of mine suggested I ask NYC Footy players how their love for soccer (well, being from Ireland, I said football) came about. So visiting the 11-a-side games on Saturday at East River Park, I was excited to hear what great soccer moments the players would recount. What soccer moments lit their passion?
But what quickly became apparent, is that, aside from a few select players, many of the American born and bred players didn’t have a moment that instigated their love for soccer. It was simply a case that when they were young they started playing soccer. They were brought up to play soccer. This created a slight issue for me making this week’s video, as the response “I just started playing when I was young,” didn’t really make for the video I was imagining.
This highlights what I think might be a cultural difference to other countries.
In the States (again, that’s what we Irish call the U.S.), what appears to be commonplace is that parent's enroll their kids to play organized soccer. Whereas in other countries, a passion for the game is passed down by elders out of a love for a particular club. Perhaps the kid is brought to a game, or perhaps they are made to watch it on TV. The kid has no choice in the matter. But they are often seduced by the loud crowd, the smell of the grass and the grand drama of it all.
Prior to the age of 7, I had no interest in soccer. I distinctly remember saying to other kids, rather pompously, “It’s just a bunch of people chasing around a ball.” In truth, I had absolutely no idea.
Then in 1990, the Republic of Ireland qualified for its first World Cup, which was taking place in Italy. I remember being made to sit and watch Ireland's opening game v England in my grandmother's apartment with my parents and various uncles and aunts. My family were not football mad in the slightest, but the country was all in on Italia 90 hysteria. Ireland saw that World Cup as one of the first times we were represented on a global stage. There was a huge sense of national pride for the Boys in Green.
During the course of the first three group games Ireland played, I quickly got swept up in the madness. I think I was surprised by how easy the game was to understand. “You mean it’s just about getting the ball in the goal? And whoever gets the most goals wins?” I mean what a simple (yet brilliant) concept.
By the time Ireland drew 1-1 with the Netherlands to progress out of our group, I was spending every waking (and most likely sleeping) hour thinking about soccer. Not just thinking. When I was drawing, I was drawing soccer pictures. When I was making Lego, I was making soccer stadiums. When I was reading, I was reading absolutely anything to do with soccer. And, of course, I was out in the garden endlessly kicking a ball against a wall. And too often kicking the ball over the neighbor’s wall, driving them nuts in the process.
After the World Cup I got sucked into following football in the pre-Premier League era. At the risk of sounding like an old man, it all seemed to carry more of a mystique back then. Less globalized. More exotic.
Watching soccer just made me want to play. Whenever something exciting would happen in the rare televised game (you might get one a week in the early 90s) I would run to the phone and call my best friend.
“Did you see that goal!”
Which would be quickly followed up by…
“Do you want to play.”
My feet would literally tingle with excitement to play when I watched games.
When we would play, we would just go out on the street. We would play till it got dark and we could barely see the ball. Our parents would have to demand that we come back inside.
Those were the days when there was no fear at all about letting your kids just go out and do their own thing.
Here is yet another difference between the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. is often frowned upon by foreigners for having such a heavy pay to play model. I think many of us would agree that this limits access and opportunity for people that might otherwise become soccer superstars. That said, while the rest of the world gets distracted by social media and the like, the US may just be ahead of the game in creating the next generation players. That’s another story.
For all my soccer passion though, I have to admit, the best thing about soccer, is that feeling of having a ball at your feet. And I think to truly love soccer is to know what that feels like. As the game has become commercialized to death in recent years, there is a lot to be said for getting right back to what it’s really all about - and that is simply the joy of playing.
In saying that, here is a great clip showcasing the action and national hysteria created by the Boys in Green at Italia 90.
Hope you enjoy the video. If you have any feedback, opinions, or ideas for future content just drop us a line.
The best formation for 5 a-side (5v5) soccer
On my way to NYC Footy’s Friday night games in Chinatown last week I pondered to myself what would be a good question to ask players during my weekly coverage of Footy happenings.
I confess that I consider myself as a bit of a diminutive Pep - that is a tactical genius. A wannabe anyway.
So the question that came to mind was simply - what is the best 5 a-side formation?
The response I got from most was the 1-2-1 formation. Not taking into account the goalkeeper, the 1-2-1 might otherwise be known as the diamond. The thinking with the diamond is that there is a defensive player, an attacking player, and then two players on the sides that can move up and down. These two wing players should, if they do their jobs correctly, get up to support the attacking player, and then they should get back to support the covering defender.
Without giving it much thought, this formation should work well. That is, unless the opposing team use all 4 outfield players to put the pressure on when they get the ball. If they do that well, especially on a quick counter attack, you can quickly find yourself easily outnumbered, especially should your attacking player be lazy getting back. And let’s face it, we have all been guilty of that at times.
See, five a-side tactics/ formations only work well if all players know and carry out their responsibilities well. But since many of us just come along for a kick about, things can become unwieldy pretty fast.
Things are thrown off even faster when substitutions are coming on and off with good regularity. In one of my games last week, my team literally got caught out as we were trying to work out positions in defense as a substitution was coming on. The question of when is a good time for a substitution might be a subject for a future article 🤔.
Other five a-side formations might include the 2-2. That is two defensive players, and two midfield/ attacking players. Again, if people adopt their responsibilities well, this is solid enough. It feels like it should be more solid than the diamond if the team plays together as a strong unit. But playing as a unit appears to rare enough in 5-a-side.
With the diamond formation there is a bit of an obsession with wing play. Which is rather impractical when you consider how small the fields are. Wing play even in the professional game has been a dying art for some years. The main idea of wing play - in the sexy sense - is that some player with great skill and speed goes by a player on the side before ultimately whipping a ball into the box for the striker to nod in. But if you go by a player on the wing on a 5 side field, your more than likely hitting the by line. Also, I rarely see crosses of any type in 5 a-side except at corner kicks. All a defensive player has to do in 5 a side to protect against wing play is stand back a bit from the attacking player. The attacking player will be forced then to come inside and shoot or pass inside. This can still be effective, but again, it makes the focus on wingers a bit futile.
Then there’s the ultra defensive formation, The 3-1. In practice, it should be good at preventing you conceding. But in the end I think it plays out the same at the diamond. Eventually you have to try go forward, sacrificing the wing backs in defense.
There are so many permutations that play into your success in 5-a-side. Quality of player with game understanding being the most key. An intelligent player should know the players around them, know when to cover back, and know when to step forward. Football intelligence is pretty rare actually. Some players may have the skills, some players may be great goal scorers, but that doesn’t mean they have any football intelligence.
At the Footy Fest this past June, I played alongside an incredibly skillful and powerful player. He blew my mind with what he was capable of. But he shared little in terms of responsibility towards his team. He was your traditional glory hunter. The type of player that infuriates managers in the professional game (5-a-side managers are more forgiving…because there are none). Anyway, they are often considered to be a luxury. A famous example of the glory hunter was David Ginola. Ginola was spectacular going forward but not much use to the team at large. Some say that Cristiano Ronaldo in his heyday was this type of player. Though he got away with it because of how extraordinary his skill was in attack.
Anyway, I went off on a little tangent there. Let’s get back to some Pep like thinking.
What everyone is discounting here is the goalkeeper. In 5 a-side the goalkeeper should be considered almost like an outfield player. Think about the Bayern/German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. When Germany had the ball he would come far out of his box , sometimes as far as the halfway line. The whole defensive line of Germany would push far up and and press the opposing team back into their last third.. The opposition team would be so hemmed in by 10 oppressive Bavarians. They would be suffocated. Often the best an opposing team could do was clear the ball long, in which case Neuer was often there to sweep it up with no one there to pressure him. Neuer was the classic sweeper keeper.
In 5-a-side what you really want then is the whole outfield team attacking together as a unit, and once you lose the ball, the whole team needs to get back and pressure the opposing team to get the ball back. Barcelona under Pep were masters at this. They attacked together, but when they lost the ball, everyone bust a gut to get the ball back as fast as they could. No one abandoned that responsibility, including Messi. Opposing teams never had time to breathe against Barca.
Peps Barca were marveled for their ability to attack, but in truth, it’s how hard they worked to get the ball back once they lost it that was their main strength.
This plan is the most courageous in 5-a-side. But any other formation usually takes two players out of the game itself, and sometimes 3 - the goalkeeper, the holding defender, and the sit up top striker. This only allows 2 players to be flexible. The question is, why take 2 or 3 players out of the game?
After interviewing players and pondering further, I’ve concluded that the most effective strategy is when everyone moves up together, and everyone moves back together. That includes the keeper sweeper. You must avoid getting spread out, avoid getting stretched. Short quick passes are the order of the day to unlock the opposing team.
It goes without saying that any of these formations only work if players know their responsibilities, especially when the team loses the ball.
Do you play 5-a-side? What say you?