• 1) Stay always in a useful position for the team!
• 2) Keep track of the ball!

This is enough to develop a good team.

However many more guidelines are needed to develop a really very good team:

• 3) When the ball is not important scan the field (keeping track of teammates and opponents)
• 4) Don’t speak unless you have anything important to say!
• 5) Communicate important events and information if you believe you are the one that know them better!
• 6) Prepare your actions by predicting it’s outcome! (look out there and imagine possible scenarios!)
• 7) At each moment, try to reduce opponent’s possible options and increase teammate’s possible options!
• 8) To do different things in the field (attack, defend, etc.), different team behavior is needed!
• 9) Don’t waste energy unless it is essential for the team!
• 10) Try to put yourself inside others’ minds (teammates and opponents) and try to imagine what they are thinking!
• 11) If you can score, shoot! If not, if you may pass to someone who can score, pass! If not, if you can pass to someone that may pass to someone that may pass to someone that can score, pass! If not, …
• 12) Don’t hold the ball or dribble unless you really do not have anything else to do!
• 13) Don’t pass backwards!
• 14) Forward the ball to the back of the defense whenever possible!
• 15) Cross the ball early from the flanks (wings) to the back of the defense!
• 16) Allow the ball to work for you! Don’t you work for the ball!
• 17) Maintain a compact team shape!
• 18) Use the open space to attack and limit it to defend!
• 19) Forwards (and other players) should change positions to confuse the opponent’s defense!
• 20) Wing forwards should stay wide to bring defenders out of the middle of the field!
• 21) When the ball is lost, all players must think defensively!
• 22) Challenge opponents (in control of the ball) very fast so that they may not advance in the field!
• 23) Limit opponent’s choices by reducing his space and covering his pass lines!
• 24) As a defender don’t do risky passes or risky interceptions. Be cautious! Let the opponent commit himself first!
• 25) The closer the play is near your own goal, the tighter the defense must be!
• 26) What you do without the ball is as important as what you do with the ball!
• 27) Use players with different capabilities for different positions!
• 28) Change your playing style according to the game situation and opponent!
• 29) Be flexible and adaptative. Don’t use rigid rules for anything!
• 30) Train against different opponents and analyze deeply the games! 

Rule Number One:
Great soccer players are like plants. They all grow from the roots up. Give them strong soccer roots and you will have a strong FUTURE player.  Only focus on the EARLY BLOSSOM and they will wither away once they start to feel the HEAT.

Rule Number Two:
TEACH THEM TO KICK FIRST. Some where, some place, some how, some idiot who thought they were a genius made this statement. “Kids will learn how to kick a ball over time; just let them play the game.”

Well this idiot has ruined many soccer players that have now played the game for over 8 years and still can’t kick a soccer ball properly. 

Rule Number Three:
Always tie training and practice sessions into something fun. It is what we call the transition. Even the Pros and their soccer coaches know that soccer players are all kids at heart. They love the game because it is a game and fun.

Soccer is played in accordance with a set of rules, known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a single round ball (the soccer ball) and two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team’s goal, thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals, then the game is a draw. There are exceptions to this rule, however; see Duration and tie-breaking methods below.

The primary rule is that the players (other than the goalkeepers) may not intentionally touch the ball with their hands or arms during play (though they do use their hands during a throw-in restart). Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their bodies other than their hands or arms, how to play soccer.

In typical  soccer game play, players attempt to propel the ball toward their opponents’ goal through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling, passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent who controls the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is limited. Soccer is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play, or when play is stopped by the referee. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart.

At a professional level, most soccer matches produce only a few goals. For example, during the English 2005-06 season of the FA Premier League, an average of 2.48 goals per match were scored. The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper, but a number of player specializations have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals; defenders, who specialize in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders, who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball in order to pass it to the forwards; players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to discern them from the single goalkeeper. These positions are further differentiated by which side of the field the player spends most time in. For example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in these positions in any combination (for example, there may be four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards, or three defenders, three midfielders, and four forwards), and the number of players in each position determines the style of the soccer team’s play; more forwards and fewer defenders would create a more aggressive and offensive-minded game, while the reverse would create a slower, more defensive style of soccer play. While players may spend most of the game in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any time. The layout of the players on the pitch is called the team’s formation, and defining the team’s formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the soccer team’s manager.

“This is a great result,” Shehata said after an emotional night for the Egyptians, whose 1-0 victory over the world champions is their best ever result.

“We had a good game against Brazil technically but the result did not go our way. But this gives us great hope for the semi-finals,” he added.

“It was a great feeling, a fantastic victory and we are very proud,” said striker Mohamed Zidan, who went off with a hamstring injury and said he was unsure of playing in the final Group B match against the United States tomorrow.

“We have realised that we have to stand up together to show some good performances,” added Zidan, who scored twice against Brazil in the 4-3 loss in the opening group game on Monday.

Defender Wael Gomaa said it was a thrill to beat a team of Italy’s quality after a first-half goal by Mohamed Hommos.

“They were very strong with top players from Serie A and we are really happy about the victory. We know we will need to work hard to beat the US and qualify for the next phase.”

Gomaa, a long-standing member of Egypt’s African Nations Cup-winning teams, added it had been a memorable night for his country.

Egypt had lost all four previous encounters with Italy, who had never before been beaten by African opponents in 14 previous matches.

Winger Ahmed Fathi, who had a brief spell at English club Sheffield United, said of the Italians: “They are a big team but all our players gave a lot of effort on the pitch. The Americans will be difficult but we have to win it to go through.”

All four sides in Group B can still reach the last four.

Brazil are top with six points, followed by Italy and Egypt on three each. The US have lost their two matches but could still go through if Brazil beat Italy in Pretoria tomorrow and the Americans win handsomely against the African champions

Nadal withdrew from the grass-court Grand Slam tournament on Friday, three days before it begins, becoming only the second men’s champion in 35 years to decline to defend his Wimbledon title.

“When I start a tournament like Wimbledon, it is to try to win,” the No. 1-ranked Nadal said, “and my feeling right now is I’m not ready to play to win.”

A subdued Nadal, wearing a purple T-shirt and white pants, spoke at a news conference on Friday at the All England Club, in the same room where he took questions after beating Roger Federer in the epic 2008 final that ended after 9 p.m. with light fading..

He announced his withdrawal about 2{ hours after losing to 18th-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka in an exhibition match on grass at Hurlingham Club in south London.

“Today was the last test. I didn’t feel terrible but not close to my best,” said Nadal, who also lost an exhibition match against 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt on Thursday.

“I’m just not 100 percent. I’m better than I was a couple of weeks ago, but I just don’t feel ready.”

Nadal called it “one of the toughest decisions of my career,” but he also added: “There’s no option. I don’t feel ready to compete 100 percent for two weeks.”

He is the first reigning Wimbledon men’s champion to pull out of the following year’s tournament since Goran Ivanisevic in 2002.

Otherwise, it hadn’t happened since 1973, when Stan Smith opted not to defend his Wimbledon title because of an ATP boycott of the tournament.

Nadal has complained about his knees since a fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling at the French Open on May 31 ended his streak of four consecutive championships at Roland Garros.

Later that week, Nadal pulled out of the Wimbledon tuneup tournament at Queen’s Club, then went to Barcelona to have tests on his knees.

“I think I reached the limit right now. I need to reset to come back stronger,” Nadal said.

Asked what sort of threat the knee problems might present to his career moving forward, he said: “It’s not chronic. I can recover, for sure.”

His exit opens the door for Federer to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, a spot he held for a record 237 consecutive weeks until Nadal pushed him down to No. 2 in August.

Federer, who is 7-13 against Nadal, also avoided facing him at the French Open.

Instead of a fourth consecutive final in Paris against Nadal, Federer faced Soderling for the championship on June 7 and won in straight sets to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major titles.

Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, said the Swiss star would wait to comment on Nadal’s withdrawal until a pre-tournament news conference on Saturday.

Nadal looked ragged during his straight-set loss against Hewitt on Thursday.

But the Spaniard appeared in better condition against Wawrinka.

He did not play either of the exhibitions with tape below his knees, something he usually does.

Aside from the physical issues, Nadal spoke on Friday about the mental toll the injury has taken.

“One of the big problems is, when I am playing, I’m thinking more about the knees than about the game. So that’s very difficult to play well like this, no?” the six-time major champion said.

After shaking up the tournament, Nadal sat on a couch in a players’ lounge area, chatting for quite awhile with his spokesman, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, and Novak Djokovic.

As it approached 10 p.m. – later, even, than the finishing time of his epic match against Federer a year ago – Nadal finally rose to leave.

That trio, along with his uncle and coach, Toni, walked toward one of the black steel gates that guard the All England Club’s exits. The gate was locked shut.

“How do you get out of Wimbledon?” Perez-Barbadillo asked aloud.

They eventually found another – unlocked – gate, and Rafael Nadal, 2008 Wimbledon champion, departed the grounds, his 2009 Wimbledon over before he hit a single shot.

Liverpool boss Benitez had an offer accepted for Johnson, 24, on Monday.

He was hoping to tie up the transfer this week only for Chelsea to have now matched the Reds’ approach.

Johnson has told friends he favours a move to Merseyside after a miserable time at Stamford Bridge between 2003 and 2007, where he made just 35 league starts.

Yet Chelsea are hoping to tempt him back to the capital with a more lucrative wage package.

Johnson’s departure from Fratton Park remains inevitable though.

Pompey executive chairman Peter Storrie said: “The matter will come to a conclusion at the beginning of next week. I do not have a preference over the move, it is up to Glen.

“The deals are almost identical so it really is down to him and what club he prefers, which one is going to pay him more money.

“Glen wants to play regularly in the Champions League, he has got himself back in the England side so I understand that. Sometimes you have to be fair to players.”

Johnson’s performances for Pompey last season elevated him into the position of Fabio Capello’s No. 1 right-back.

And with the World Cup in South Africa less than 12 months away, he is conscious that unless he is playing Champions League football he could miss out..

FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced the ban here on Thursday ahead of Brazil’s 3-0 victory over the United States. 

“There is no more video in front of the fourth official on the side of the field so no one can say there is any interference in any decisions on the basis of video,” he told a press conference. 

FIFA acted after Egypt complained about a penalty decision by English referee Howard Webb that cost them the match in the 4-3 loss to Brazil on Sunday. 

The teams were locked at 3-3 in their Confederations Cup opener when a spot kick was given in the dying minutes for a deliberate handball inside the penalty area by Ahmed al-Muhamadi, who blocked Lucio’s shot. 

Deputy coach Shawky Gharib said the team was bemused after Webb initially gave a corner only for the decision to change, seemingly after the fourth official, Australian Matthew Breeze, watched a video replay. 

However, FIFA had on Tuesday dismissed the complaint. 

“FIFA analysed the decision by going through all the evidence at its disposal, including the referee’s match report, as well as the additional statement that Howard Webb provided at FIFA’s request,” it said in a statement..

The Boston Red Sox will take on the Atlanta Braves. The Red Sox, believe it or not, are threatening to open-up a comfortable lead in the American League East. This division looks to be a shootout all year. However, the Red Sox are red-hot right now and the other teams look like they are fading.

The New York Yankees are playing some bad baseball right now. They haven’t really recovered from getting swept by the Red Sox a couple series ago. The Yankees just lost a series to the Washington Nationals. Yes, the Washington Nationals! The same team that is playing under .300 ball and has only won 18 total games this year. 2 of them have been wins over the Yankees.

Actually the Toronto Blue Jays are playing good baseball lately. They’re now just a game behind the Yankees. The Blue Jays now get to play the Nationals and the Yankees have to play the Marlins. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees find themselves behind the Blue Jays when this weekend is over.

Meanwhile, this weekend will probably see the Los Angeles Dodgers go up double digits on the rest of the NL West too. The Dodgers will actually be locked-up with the Anaheim Angels in the best series of the weekend. The Angels are charging hard and have won 6 straight games. The Angels might take over 1st in the AL West too.

If the Detroit Tigers don’t start hitting they might get caught by the Minnesota Twins this weekend. The Tigers have been in 1st place for more than a month but they aren’t hitting the ball. They have a pitcher starting his first game on Saturday and tonight Gallaraga will take the mound and he’s been struggling mightily.

We’ll see what happens…

Pompey accepted a bid from Liverpool earlier this week and the 24-year-old looked set to seal a move to Anfield. However, Storrie has confirmed the Fratton Park club have also now agreed terms with Chelsea – Johnson’s former club.

The in-demand full-back now has a decision to make, with both sides keen to tie up a deal this week.

“The matter will come to a conclusion at the beginning of next week. I do not have a preference over the move, it is up to Glen,” Storrie said. “The deals are almost identical so it really is down to him and what club he prefers, which one is going to pay him more money.

“Glen wants to play regularly in the Champions League, he has got himself back in the England side so I understand that. Sometimes you have to be fair to players.”

Storrie admits that Johnson needs to be playing Champions League football next season in order to secure his place in Fabio Capello’s starting XI – with the World Cup finals now less than 12 months away.

“It’s a big year for him with the World Cup coming up,” he added. “Playing Champions League football will make him an even better player than he is today.”

The visitors finished the game with 10 men and defending against a wave of attacks but held firm to join South Korea, Australia and Japan as Asia’s four automatic qualifiers for South Africa 2010.

North Korea finished runners-up to South Korea in Group Two while Australia and Japan went through from Group One.

Third-placed Saudi Arabia, bidding for their fifth successive appearance in the finals, advanced to the Asian playoffs with Bahrain, third in Group One.

The two teams meet over two legs in September with the winners progressing to a home and away playoff against Oceania winners New Zealand in October and November for a place in South Africa.

With Saudi Arabia needing to win to gain an automatic place, the hosts made all the early running at the King Fahd International Stadium.

They kept North Korea under pressure with a series of shots at goal but were unable to capitalise on their chances, even when the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Kim Yong-jun was sent off in stoppage time.

North Korea’s only previous appearance at the World Cup was in 1966 in England when they reached the quarter-finals.