Welcome to Euro Cup 2008, the second largest football tournament in the world.

No, it is not second behind the Super Bowl, nor is it ahead of the Grey Cup championships. The football (or futbol) I am referring to is more widely known on our continent as soccer.

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Though you’ve probably played soccer in either its traditional outdoor, or the increasingly popular indoor format, there’s a strong possibility that you haven’t seen a professional soccer game in quite some time. After all, the Winnipeg Fury folded in 1993.

So as a refresher, here are the basics to get you set for hours of enjoyment in front of your telly.

THE PITCH (a.k.a. field)

A soccer field is not dissimilar to a basketball court with some hockey elements mixed in. The pitch has a centre circle, a half-way line (which is used in part to mark backward passing violations), two goals with a penalty and goal area outlined in front of it (which carry similar rules to shinny’s crease and behind-the-net trapezoid hashes for netminders), a penalty spot (similar to American football’s kick marker) and corner flags.

THE PLAYERS

Each team fields a crew of 11 players at a time, including one goaltender and a mix of forwards, defenders and mid-fielders, which can come in a number of combinations.

“Every single team will walk on the field with a strategy,” says the Manitoba Soccer Association’s Hector Vergara, who also has refereed in the World Cup of Soccer.  “Counting from the back (defenders, mid-fielders and forwards), they’ll either play a 4-4-2, a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3.”

Vergara adds that the number of players at each position can change during the game.

THE RULES

Soccer’s most basic regulations are based on the ball play:

•    If the ball leaves the pitch, the opposing team gains possession.

•    If it is stopped by the goalie, he is given a free kick or pass.

•    If a player other than the netminder touches the ball with his or her hands or violates other individual
    rules (e.g. tripping), the opposing team is awarded one of three free kicks: An indirect free-kick (which
    must be a pass), a direct free-kick (which can be used as a shot on net) or a penalty kick (a direct free
    kick from the penalty mark with no defenders between the shooter and the goalie).

Though team violations exist, best-known penalties involve yellow and red cards. These come after one player commits one of seven fouls. As Vergara explains, though referees will, at times, first give players a verbal warning, the yellow card is the first visual caution for all to see. If the same player gets another caution, they are given a red card, which means they are removed from the game and are given an additional one-match suspension. The team, from here on in, plays a player short.

During all these stoppages, you will notice that the play clock will most often continue to run to the full time. Following the end of regulation play, at the referee’s discretion, a period of penalty time is played to make up
for lost time during penalty situations.

Now that you have graduated from Footy 101, enjoy Euro Cup 2008.