A Look At Italy Soccer

Founded in 1898, the Italian Football League, also known as Italy soccer, is the highest football league in the country. Serie A, which began in 1929, is the top division of Italy Soccer and is primarily sponsored by Italian mobile phone company TIM. Prior to the inception of Serie A, Italy soccer was structured into regional groups. The championship title is commonly referred to as Scudetto, which means 'small shield' because the champions' uniforms will feature a small coat of arms during the following season. After more than 100 years of play, Italy soccer is at the height of it's popularity in both the eyes of the fans and in the media. As we know it today, Serie A is the most elite of all divisions in the Italian Football League. Other divisions include Serie B, Serie C1, Serie C2, Serie D and Eccellenza.

With an Italy soccer league consisting of 18, 18 or 20 teams, Serie A requires that each club play all other teams on two occasions, once at their home stadium and once at the home of their opponents. The first half of a traditional Italy soccer season consists of each team competing once against all of the other clubs. The second half of the season will consist of the same competitions in the same order, with the only difference being the location of the games.

When it comes to scoring, an Italy soccer team receives three points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss. When it comes to tallying the points to see which club will be crowned as champion, teams are ranked according to their total points accumulated during the season. If two teams are found to have equal points at the conclusion of a season, those two teams will meet up in a one match playoff. The top four teams in the Serie A of Italy soccer will qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Like the area itself, Italy soccer is rich in history and in tradition. With so many years of successful play, the competitors have set a number of records. As of September 2006, three players hold the record for most appearances. These include Paolo Maldini, Gianluca Pagliuca and Dino Zoff. The current records held for the oldest player appearance include Marco Ballotta and Dino Zoff. During the 2005-06 season, A.S. Roma set the record for most consecutive wins with a total of 11 straight victories. For additional information on Serie A and/or Italy soccer, fans may visit their official website at http://www.lega-calcio.it. Current standings, news, updates, photos, historical profiles and league news is available online and is offered primarily in the Italian language. A professional design with colorful appeal make this a very popular website among Italy soccer fans. Soccer, itself, remains a popular sport throughout the world and is celebrated in many different countries. With legions of fans worldwide, it appears that soccer players will be kicking high for many years to come.

Read all Lazio soccer news, Sampdoria soccer news and all other Italian soccer news on http://www.sportsnews24h.com/Soccer/Italy/

Important Soccer Moves

There are several soccer moves that a coach need to train his team about. Some of the soccer moves are explained below.

Dribbling

An expert coach knows that dribbling is one of the most important skills in soccer. Dribbling is the ability of the player to move the ball up and down the field.

In order to dribble, the player has to move the ball back and forth from one foot to the other. The coach can train the players to do this by shoving, pushing, tapping, or nudging the ball with the inside, outside, or sole of the foot.

Push Passing

Passing is equally important for the soccer players to have impressive command in. Passing is the ability of a team to move the ball down the field, from one player to another. The coaches need to teach his players regarding the several different types of passes.

The push pass is the most common type of passing. In fact, every soccer player uses this passing and the major reason for this is that it is the most accurate of all passes.

In order to execute a push pass, the coach should train the players to use the inside of the foot and strike the ball in the middle, planting the non-kicking foot alongside of the ball and following through with the kicking foot in the direction that the player wants the ball to go.

The most important thing in passing is that the players must learn to keep their eyes on the ball as they make the pass.

Long Passing

Long passing is another important type of passing in soccer. When you want to pass the ball to a teammate who is far away, you need to execute a long pass.

In order to teach the team how to execute a successful long pass, the coaches should instruct the players to approach the ball at a slight angle, keeping the non-kicking foot to the side and slightly behind the ball, and striking the ball low, with the instep, and following through with a full swing.

One important thing in these soccer moves is that the foot should follow through in the direction in which the pass is made.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority on the subject of soccer moves. His web site, Youth Soccer Drills, provides a wealth of informative soccer articles, resources and tips for soccer coaches, parents and players.