They are important right.  Few will, but some do change games.  Roughly half the goals scored in soccer arise either directly or indirectly from set-plays, that is to say from free-kicks, corners and throw-ins.  Concede a free kick at the wrong time and place, and a games result can alter from one or two touches of the ball.  Just ask David Beckham – one kick of the ball and England get to go to the world cup. 

When the ref blows the whistle for a foul or misconduct, it helps the kicker to know if they can shoot straight at goal.

So when is a free-kick direct or indirect?

Here are 10 offences that can lead to a direct free-kick.  When a player:

1. Kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
2. Trips or attempts to trip an opponent
3. Jumps at an opponent
4. Charges an opponent
5. Strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
6. Pushes an opponent
7. Makes contact with the opponent before touching the ball when tackling
8. Holds an opponent
9. Spits at an opponent
10. Handles the ball deliberately

Read More

As a response to feedback from our customer survey we have added a new feature to help you get more from Statzpack, and iPad soccer analysis tool.  To allow greater analysis of your data, we have added a new feature on the Manager website which allows you to see all your players stats on one single page.  Drop down the Analysis tab and at the bottom you will see ‘Matrix Analysis’.  Select your team and time period and press Go, and you will get a one page snapshot of the data. Plus, you can also export this page to Excel. 

And just to let you know that this a Version 1 of this feature, we haven’t got it to where we want it to be, but we thought we’d put it out there – so we will shortly improving this function.  And if you have any ideas – SHOUT! 
Below is an example of the output you can obtain.

A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was first devised in Sheffield under the Sheffield Rules 1867. It was adopted by the Football Association on 17 February 1872. It is referred to Rule No 17.

When taking a corner kick, the football is initially placed so that some piece of the ball touches the corner arc closest to where the ball went out of play. The corner arc is located at the intersection of the goal-line and touchline and has a radius of one yard. All defending players must be at least ten yards (9.15 metres) from the ball until the corner kick is taken. A corner kick is taken as soon as it is kicked and moves and to prove this definition check out this cheeky corner kick.

A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick, but only against the opposing side; an own goal may not be scored.

It has been permitted to score direct from a corner kick since the International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting of 15 June 1924 authorised it for the following season. The first such goal was scored by Billy Alston in Scotland on 21 August 1924.  And this has to be one of the best examples of how to score from a corner, stunning goal. Read More

We would like to welcome Martin Dell to our team.   Martin has over 25 years of coaching experience at the Youth, ODP, High School, Collegiate and Professional levels including 5 years as head coach of the Richmond Kickers Future PDL team. In 2003 and 2005, the Future was the Mid-Atlantic division champion, and Eastern conference champions and National Semi-Finalists in 2005. In addition to his coaching experience, Martin has an extensive background in sales for industry leaders Puma and Patrick in their soccer divisions.

As well as working on strategic marketing partnerships, Martin is also setting up a sales agent network in the USA and Canada. You can contact him at martin@statzpack.com or on 1 804 938 1885.