The following posts have been tagged with "soccer onball attacker"...
Soccer Onball
(aka “Onball Attacker” & “First Attacker”). Refers to the soccer player with the soccer ball, such as the “onball attacker”. (See “First Attacker“, “Second Attacker“, “Third Attacker“, “Off-The-Ball” & “Creating Space“).
Soccer Offside Rule (Detailed)
What makes the offside rule especially complicated is that a soccer player can be in an “offside position” without being offside. Two things are necessary to be “offside”:
1st – The soccer player must be in an “offside position” at the moment the ball is “played” by a soccer teammate. To be in an “offside position”, a soccer player must be on the opponent’s half of the field & closer to the opponent’s goal line than both the soccer ball & the second-last defender. A soccer player is not in an offside position if he is on his own half of the field (i.e. the half his goalkeeper is on), or even with the second-to-last defender or the last 2 defenders. (The goalkeeper is usually the last defender, or one of the last two, but he might not be; the rules just refer to the last 2 defenders & don’t mention the goalkeeper). This is often difficult to call. (For example, if a soccer player is even with the Second Last Defender & thereby in an “onside position” but runs past the Second Last Defender a split second after his teammate makes a through pass. In this example, the soccer player is not offside because he was in an onside position at the moment the soccer ball was played.)
2nd – The player must be involved in “active play” by either:
- gaining an advantage by being in an offside position, or
For example, if a soccer player is in an “offside position” but not involved in the play, he would not be “offside”. This can be a tough call & can be very judgmental. For example, what if the “onball attacker” is to the right of the goal but a teammate is in an “offside position” to the left of the goal’ You can argue that the teammate wasn’t involved in the play, but you can also argue that he distracted the goalkeeper because the goalkeeper had to worry about the possibility of a crossing pass & therefore the attacking team “gained an advantage by being in an offside position”, in which case the teammate was “offside”. In this case, the Referee’s decision might depend on whether he felt the Goalkeeper was influenced by the player in the offside position. Obviously, it is a very subjective decision.
The penalty for Offside is that an Indirect Free Kick is awarded to the opposing soccer team to be taken from the place where the offside occurred.
I suggest this: don’t argue with the referee over these calls. It’s a very tough call and it’s easy to miss these calls. (Even the best Linesmen in the world miss these calls). I suggest teaching your attackers to stay 2 steps behind the “Last Defender” and, if they don’t have the soccer ball but are running with a teammate who has the soccer ball, to stay 3 steps behind the soccer ball so they are less likely to be called offside. (The linesman’s sight angle can sometimes make an attacker look like he’s in an offside position when he’s actually even with the Last Defender or with the soccer ball).
Special Cases Where Offside Is Not Called: A soccer player is not offside if he receives the soccer ball directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner kick, even if he is in an offside position; however, once touched, the offside rule starts and if it is then played to a soccer player in an “offside position”, offside may be called. (Note that the offside rule does apply on “free kicks”). A soccer player is also not offside if he passes the soccer ball backward, even if doing so leaves him in an “offside position”. However, if he is in an offside position and the soccer ball is played returned to him by a teammate (e.g., a wall pass), then he can be called offside.
Soccer Off-The-Ball
Refers to soccer players on the attacking soccer team who do not have the ball (e.g., “movement off-the-ball”). In contrast, the player with the soccer ball (the “ballhandler”) is “onball”. (See “Onball Attacker“, “Movement Off-The-Ball” & “Creating Space“).
Soccer Channel
There are two meanings:
- The soccer defender should angle his body & position himself to “channel” the “onball attacker” toward the soccer side line. This is the same concept as “turning” the soccer ballhandler, but if you “channel” the ballhandler you stay with him & keep trying force him wide. This is a desirable soccer tactic because it poses much less risk to the defending team than if the ballhandler is able to turn into the center of the soccer field. The Defender should favor the center and turn his body so the ballhandler cannot easily get past him to the center of the soccer field. This encourages the ballhandler to go to the outside. Forcing the ballhandler to the outside reduces the risk of the ballhandler getting a clean shot on the front of the soccer goal (i.e., if he gets off a shot from the sideline area he has a bad angle). (See “Defense” and “Marking“).