Ever tried playing on the streets? Like either on neighbourhood streets, tennis courts, basketball courts etc.? I think through the influence of Nike advertising, have I some how become interested in this kinda "baller" attitude being applied to soccer. If you check out the Nike Football website (choose language english USA, then enter the soccer-zine thing) you'll see that Nike is beginning to portray a more "street" image to appeal to the American youth. Just check out all the little "cut-outs" and tidbits on the sidebar when you enter the soccer-zine and you'll know what I'm talking about. I think in North America, part of what's restricting the sport from being more "popular" (depending on what your idea of popular is) is that it's not portrayed as "cool" enough. Soccer is seen as....I guess one of the more "formal" sports to kids, if that makes any sense at all. Personally, I think this is quite a neat idea, because it's sorta like football at it's most basic level, playing one-on-one, two-on-two etc. Just like how basketball players can play streetball, soccer players can have street football. There's just this interesting appeal to it. Maybe I'm just weird. Or very gullible, but I'm getting the urge to call out some of my buddies and cause terror in nearby subway stations. Maybe even put it on film too.
I see what you mean. BTW, were the "Cage Tournament" commercials advertised a lot in the US last year? These were a damn cool series by Nike, indeed.
"I see what you mean. BTW, were the "Cage Tournament" commercials advertised a lot in the US last year? These were a damn cool series by Nike, indeed." Not really. The most common soccer related commercial I have seen is the commerical with the kid and the soda and the players from Real Madrid.
Yeah, thay ran it a lot during the World Cup. They also sent out interactive CDs with all the matches plus games you could play in Eurosport Catalogs.
If you want to see some really cool streetball / 1v1 stuff, go and register at www.mastersofthegame.net and then watch the videos...I guarantee you won't be dissapointed. I think Nike should actually hoook up with these guys, maybe get them to tour street games around the US to draw interest, etc.
I checked out the "Player Profiles" and I think the guy named Lenny is signed to Nike right now cause he's on the nikesoccer website, part of that soccer-zine thing.
My friends and I like to play "gym soccer" every once in a while. We go up to our high school, and play in the gym. All of the doors are locked, but we get in by kicking the third door, and it just pops open. Usually there's a desk or two in the gym, so we use them as goals. Usually its no more than 3v3, but we've had 10v10, and used a basketball court. Its a lot of fun, and helps you develop dribbling, moves, and control. -CPFitz-
When I used to live in Peru we played street futbol every day. Nothing better to do when your a young futbol fan, imo.
Wow.... That Site Is Amazing. *jaw drops* Those moves are just plain ridiculous, I thought I had most moves mastered, but apparently I have a ways to go.... -CPFitz-
nikefootball.com has an archive of tricks, also. I love street soccer, I haven't played in forever though. When I was ten I got some lovely scars on my knees from tripping on gravel. Fun times.
i spent my summer in europe, (madrid, barcelona, paris, amsterdam) and it was great to see paved soccer fields at playgrounds and parks, along with the basketball courts. I think the "playground" attitude, with pickup games and such, really helps develop good soccer players. At this point in the states, soccer for many kids is a once a week organized activity. So I credit Nike for some great ads
I also spent time over the summer in Europe and played soccer with some Italians on a small gravel soccer court, it was a great experiance. I agree, the latest batch of nike commercials are great, the ads in eurosport are hilarious.
In one of the neighborhoods in Newport News, where I live, there is a large Bosnian population, and they took a local tennis court, took down the nets and built soccer goals and they play there almost every night. One night, one of the kids invited me to come. That was the first time I've ever played real street soccer. It was 7 vs. 7 I think. It really does go a long ways in developing your skills. It was a lot of fun.
I picked up the Summer 2003 copy of World Soccer a couple days ago (not sure if it's still on news stands everywhere but for those who aren't sure which on it is, it's got that fat bloke on the cover. I think his name is Rooney or something like that ) Very interesting theme for this issue, focusing on youth development. Here's a snippet from it (hopefully I won't get sued or anything): "In May 2001 youth directors from top European clubs including Manchester United, Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich gathered in Geneva to mull over their programmes. They issued an extraordinary statement: the loss of street soccer was hurting youth development. Here were the rich top clubs, with money, facilities, organisation and qualified coaches admitting they need street soccer- which never had any of those things." Quite a statement indeed. The gist of the 13 page article (minus two to three pages of ads + interviews with youth experts) is that youth development today is too organized, and instead of developing exciting, "flair" players, clubs and academies are producing role-players. The loss of street soccer as the result of dangerous neighbourhoods (criminal or otherwise), municipal by-laws, etc etc, is taking away from the natural development of youth in football today, and ultimately, causing youth to lose the passion they could have/once had for football, and turning training and development into gritty occupation. Great read for those who are interested.
Good thread. Here are a few games I like to play (besides straight pickup): (1) Garbage can. 1v1 or 2v2 to a garbage can, you score when you hit it and the ball stays in play. It's actually very hard on fitness too. (2) 1 touch cage. 1v1 played in an enclosed basketball court or soccer field, score in a goal or on the post of the hoop. (3) DONKEY: multi-touch juggling, 1v1 usually. Your partner tells you how many times to juggle and with what surface after you receive it. If you screw up you get a letter.
great suggestions gorilla too bad the Masters Of The Game website is down, but I think Ring Soccer is pretty cool.
Growing up in Colombia, there wasn't a afternoon/night that wasn't wasted by playing street-soccer, it was usually 5 v 5. Of course, we would get the neighbors mad cause sometimes our shots hit their doors/windows, so they would call the cops and they would come in their motocycles and take our ball away. But we would get another ball and play again. That is something I've missed since I moved here to the U.S. I sometimes grab a ball and go on the street and see for how long I can keep juggling the ball in the air. That's why I go back to Colombia almost every summer, great pick up soccer games, but now 11 v 11.
MOTG doesn't seem to be a frequently updated site, which kinda sucks, and the forums there are quite dead too. nothing much there 'cept for flaming I'd really love to see ring soccer, and organized events like the kind that MOTG sponsors, expand into North America. it'd certainly be a risk for organizers and sponsors, in the terms of money and stuff like that, but it'd be interesting to see how well it would do here. i think the (as some earlier coined it) "playground" attitude can be quite appealing and possibly successful in NA, but it just needs a kickstart in the ass first. i don't know if anyway can recall, but last year when the Nike Scorpion KO campaign came out, a few select cities in the States actually had the Nike cage competition come to town for kids to play. Edgar Davids was signing auto's at one of the California dates with the X-ecutioners spinning live for free. really cool, cept that it was for U14 or U16 kids. as far as i know however, in Japan and Hong Kong, Nike holds 5v5 and 3v3 street tournaments at least 1-3 times a year for all ages with multiple skill categories. sounds good, but why not try it here?
Exactly. I think that street soccer could catch on very well across all American youths, similar to how street basketball has caught on. With little kids emulating their favorite street players, the quality of US soccer as a whole would dramatically improve. All we need is a little help from Nike...
Oh, btw, I was skipping study hall in the computer lab and guess what I discovered? Mastersofthegame.net was shut down. But guess what I discovered? They have moved to http://www.motgonline.com . Cool, huh?