Ball evolution

Ball evolution
The Dark Ages

Who can say when the game began? Kicking is a fairly instinctive activity, so no doubt Stone Age man gave a rock or bone the occasional thump with his foot and then perhaps one day someone kicked it back and it all began there.
However, the first indications of an early formal form of football date back 3,000 years to Ancient China. A game played with a ball of animal skins stuffed with hair or feathers was kicked between poles some 10 metres high and was most likely used for military training. By 50AD, the game was named “tsu chu” (or “cuju”) and early records compare the round ball and square goal to Yin and Yang, the ancient symbols of harmony.
Football probably began in China 3,000 years ago. This 19th century watercolour shows Kemari, a Japanese ceremonial version of the game. Illustration courtesy of the National Football Museum, Preston, UK.

The Greeks and Romans were the greatest exponents of games. They built arenas all over their empires and staged everything from chariot racing to gladiatorial combats where serious injury or death were taken as a matter of course and all part of enjoyable entertainment. Kicking a ball seems tame in comparison, nevertheless there are indications that they did play a type of football, too. In the case of the Greeks, it was called “episkyros” and the Romans had a game called “harpastum” – but both were mainly ball-carrying games.

“Harpastum” is taken from the Greek word “Harpazein”, which means “to seize”. The ball was small, about the size of a grapefruit, and hard, not least because it was stuffed with sand. Play would take place on a marked-out pitch, with each player taking a position on the field, just as they do today. Teams probably consisted of 12 players. The game itself was more like rugby with more throwing than kicking and it required considerable agility. The rules, it appears, involved a sort of inverted form of football, with the objective being to keep the ball behind one’s own half of the centre line and not allow the opponents to get it. Goals were scored if the ball hit the ground.

The Vikings are reported to have kicked the heads of their enemies about, which was not very pleasant behaviour, but the somewhat more civilised societies such as the Japanese, Persians, Egyptians, Assyrians and North American Indians all played forms of ball games. The Aztecs in Mexico developed their own kicking game with a stone covered in a thick coating of gum. The game known as “tlatchi” was played between two seven-man teams and it was a very important cultural activity. Games were even played in purpose-built stadiums and huge sums of money were staked on the results.

The whole essence of football is its most simple implement – the ball. And it has to be a particular type of ball, too, with the ability to fly through the air as directed by the player and – most importantly – to bounce predictably. It was really only the development of the bouncing ball and the sheer fun of kicking it in a wide variety of ways that made football the world’s most popular and successful game.

Football

* The Origins
* Britain, the home of Football
* Opposition to the game
* The Global Growth

History of the Game - Module
History of Football - The Origins

The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was formed - becoming the sport's first governing body.

Both codes stemmed from a common root and both have a long and intricately branched ancestral tree. A search down the centuries reveals at least half a dozen different games, varying to different degrees, and to which the historical development of football has been traced back. Whether this can be justified in some instances is disputable. Nevertheless, the fact remains that people have enjoyed kicking a ball about for thousands of years and there is absolutely no reason to consider it an aberration of the more 'natural' form of playing a ball with the hands.

On the contrary, apart from the need to employ the legs and feet in tough tussles for the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was recognised right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was not easy and, as such, required no small measure of skill. The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise from a military manual dating back to the second and third centuries BC in China.

This Han Dynasty forebear of football was called Tsu' Chu and it consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30-40cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes. According to one variation of this exercise, the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted.

Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was the Japanese Kemari, which began some 500-600 years later and is still played today. This is a sport lacking the competitive element of Tsu' Chu with no struggle for possession involved. Standing in a circle, the players had to pass the ball to each other, in a relatively small space, trying not to let it touch the ground.

The Greek 'Episkyros' - of which few concrete details survive - was much livelier, as was the Roman 'Harpastum'. The latter was played out with a smaller ball by two teams on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre line. The objective was to get the ball over the opposition's boundary lines and as players passed it between themselves, trickery was the order of the day. The game remained popular for 700-800 years, but, although the Romans took it to Britain with them, the use of feet was so small as to scarcely be of consequence.

Carles PUYOL

* Date of Birth: 13 April 1978
* Height: 178 cm
* Shirt number: 5
* Position: Defender
* Current club: Barcelona (ESP)
* International Caps: 89
* International Goals: 3
* First international: Spain - Netherlands
(15 November 2000)

Club History

* FC Barcelona B (ESP): From 1996 to 1999

Thanks to a combination of talent, humility, dedication and a ferocious work ethic, Carles Puyol has developed into a first-choice central defender for both Spain and Barcelona. What makes this feat even more notable is that the 32-year-old Catalan started out in the Barça youth system as a right winger, before a succession of coaches decided the best place for this fierce competitor was further back.

Indeed, his first-team debut under the Azulgranas' former coach Louis Van Gaal came as a right wing-back, with the Dutch strategist soon making full use of Puyol's versatility and indefatigable spirit by changing his position once more; this time to the heart of the defensive line.

Quick off the mark and good in the air, it is Puyol's commitment and sheer will to win that have earned him the respect of fans and the media alike. After winning two La Liga titles and the 2006 UEFA Champions League, he went on to captain his beloved Barcelona in an historic 2009, in which the Catalan club won no less than six titles: La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish SuperCup, the European SuperCup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Puyol made his senior national-team debut in November 2000, shortly after playing his part in the Olympic squad which picked up silver at the Games in Sydney. Since then his name has been a constant in the Spain squad list, including appearances at two FIFA World Cups™ and two UEFA EUROs. Indeed, Puyol's tigerish defending was another key factor in La Roja's long-awaited success at the latter event in Austria and Switzerland last summer.

An adaptable performer, the Blaugrana stalwart is able to step into either full-back position as well as his favoured central role, while his powerful leap makes him an imposing aerial presence in either box - amply demonstrated by his headed goal in the 6-2 win at Real Madrid on 2 May.

Instantly recognisable thanks to his shaggy mop of curly hair, a look he insists will remain with him at least until he hangs up his boots, Puyol's strength of character and leadership skills will surely serve him well to that day and beyond.


Carles puyol spanish attacker playes attractive football and he also a stylish footballer JAYAN