Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears. Sports commonly called ‘football’ in certain places include: association football (known as soccer in some countries); gridiron football (specifically American football or Canadian football); Australian rules football; rugby football (either rugby league or rugby union); and Gaelic football.[1][2] These different variations of football are known as football codes.
Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular peasant games. Contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century.[3][4] The expanse of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled Empire.[5] By the end of the nineteenth century, distinct regional codes were already developing: Gaelic football, for example, deliberately incorporated the rules of local traditional football games in order to maintain their heritage.[6] In 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the various kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team sports in the world.
BEST FOOTBALLERS
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
It has not been a good summer for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. As well being found guilty of tax fraud, Messi suffered heartbreak for a third successive major tournament with Argentina, this time missing a penalty in the final shootout and later shocking his country by announcing his retirement from international soccer. However, he still showed during that tournament, not least with his mesmeric free-kick against the United States and scintillating hat-trick off the bench against Panama, that he remains untouched as the best player on the planet.
2. Luis Suárez (Barcelona, Uruguay)
Suárez was another to endure a disappointing summer, with injury preventing him from getting on the pitch as Uruguay crashed out at the group stage. Still, he is coming off his most prolific season yet at club level, firing 53 goals in just 48 games for Barcelona. And the former Liverpool forward also does plenty to aid the performances of Messi and Neymar as part of the best-ever forward trio.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
In terms of silverware, Ronaldo has enjoyed an extraordinary past 12 months. On Sunday he added a long-sought first title with Portugal to a third Champions League winners’ medal picked up with Real Madrid in May. The irony, though, was that he played very little part in either final. While injury was the cause of that, the fact remains that at the age of 31, he is no longer a player that dominates games, but rather, as he showed in the Euro 2016 semifinal against Wales, a player who produces decisive moments.
4. Neymar (Barcelona, Brazil)
Brilliant at the start of last season, even suggesting that Barcelona could have a life beyond Messi, Neymar fully earned a place on the Ballon d’Or podium for the first time and should even have taken second spot ahead of Ronaldo. But there is no question that he tired considerably at the climax of the campaign, which played its part in his side’s exit from the Champions League. It is not surprising then that Barcelona prevented him from playing at the Copa America. Instead, he will feature at the Olympics before, Barcelona hopes, returning fully match sharp to the Camp Nou.
5. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, Wales)
Overshadowed by the reputation and ego of Ronaldo at the Bernabeu, Bale showed at Euro 2016 that he is a capable of being the talisman for a team. Not only did he come up with crucial contributions as Wales reached the semifinals, he was also a superb blue-collar team player. His record at Real Madrid wasn’t bad last season, either, scoring 19 goals in 23 La Liga appearances and often being far more influential over the course of 90 minutes than his more illustrious teammate.
6. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid, France)
The Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner at Euro 2016, Griezmann was the spark for a France team that often lacked cohesion. With six goals, five in the knockout phase, it would be unfair to remember his tournament for his missed chance in the final. Having also scored 32 goals for Atlético last season, he has unquestionably elevated himself into the ranks of the world’s best forwards.
30. Mesut Özil (Arsenal, Germany)
After struggling to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League in his first two years, the former Real Madrid playmaker had his most productive season yet at Arsenal. As well as contributing 19 assists, he broke the Premier League record for chances created. That his numbers dipped markedly in the second half of the season, though, just reinforces that he needs to more consistently bring his immense ability to the fore.
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