Forward is really a great position in soccer. Forwards can make the game wonderful, change the result or even create history. There are many world-famous forwards, it is such a pleasure to watch them playing. For me, playing as a forward is interesting, too.

It is such a brave attempt for me to learn to play as a forward. As we know, good forwards like C.Ronaldo and Messi should be very skilled. However, I was not skilled at all. I didn’t know how to deal with the tackle of defenders. In order to play well, I have to learn.

  The first skill I learned from soccer masters was chopping, which is to shift the ball’s direction by using feet kicking its side. Later it’s proved that chopping was really a simple but useful skill. I can clearly remember that, in a game of students VS teachers, where I played as a forward, my teammates asked me to try attacking alone for they were all in the back field. I stood with the ball, with 5 defenders in front of me. I had to get through them. So I decided to chop. Surprisingly, I got through all 5 defenders by chopping, just like what Messi did. Then I scored a goal. That was amazing, I couldn’t even believe in myself. I also tried to be an ‘invisible forward’. Sometimes I hid in back field behind many other teammates. When they approached the opposite penalty box, I ran quickly to their goal and scored. It was relatively easy, for the defenders didn’t pay attention to me when I appeared. What impressed me most was Ibrahimović’s fake shot. After seeing it, I tried it too. I remembered that once upon a time when I faced a goalkeeper closely alone, I gave a fake shot. He was fooled and fell down. Then I scored easily.

  Forwards’ biggest mission is scoring. Sometimes, forwards did it in an incredible way. They just managed to score, when people all thought it was completely not an opportunity. In the final game of 2016-2017 UEFA Champions League, Mandzukic in Juventus managed to score by a bicycle kick. At that time, He was standing with his back to the goal, with a few defenders surrounding him. However, he just got the ball, jumped upside down and scored the goal. It was like a magic show. However, I think the most famous bicycle kick was from Ibrahimović. In the game of England VS Sweden, he just made a bicycle kick outside the penalty box! No wonder He is called “God”. As for the two top forwards in the world, C. Ronaldo and Messi, I don’t have to introduce them so much. They have countless beautiful goals.

Click here to see Mandzukic’s goal

Click here to see Ibrahimovic’s goal

  My series passion blog about soccer is over, but my passion for soccer isn’t. Soccer really inspired and entertained me a lot. I hope that in the future I will have the opportunity to step onto the soccer field again.

  It is so ironic that, although I love soccer, I’ve never been trained to play it. When I was in primary school, I joined the baseball team. Yes, it was in baseball team rather than a soccer team that I learned to play soccer. In that team, the coach sometimes organized some soccer games to entertain us. I didn’t know how to attack, how to dance with the ball or how to get it through the defenders. The only thing I could do was to play as a defender, kicking the ball away from our goal. Since then, I have been fixed on position of full back. In the next few years, I gradually felt what I meant to be a guardian, and how enjoyable it was.

  After entering junior high school, I was sad to know that I could not play baseball any more ——there was no baseball team in middle school. So, I turned my sport passion to soccer. My position was, of course, full back. I could run so fast then, which made it so much easier for me to prevent any forward from goal. It wasn’t until my participation of Principle Cup, which is a traditional cup game in my junior school, did I really begin to love my position.

I have to say that the 1/4 final game was my ‘battle of fame’. Our rivals were so skilled, and they cooperated very well. Our forwards could barely approach their side, and we defenders suffered from high pressure of their attackers. However, I managed to prevent their every attempt. After frustrating 90 minutes, we won by 1-0. My teammates hugged me and they gave me a nickname: “铁闸 (The Iron Gate)”, which was usually used in Chinese to describe an excellent defender.

  There are two things to make a defender extraordinary. First, the sense of responsibility. In soccer field, forwards are usually more noticeable, for they create goals. In contrast, defenders do what people call “dirty work”. They usually have to commit fouls to stop their rivals. However, defenders are really important to the whole team. It is impossible to win a game only by scoring. I really enjoy the responsibility, which made me feel that I’m needed, I have my own value.

  Defenders need skills, too. Practicing these skills is also interesting. A good defender can manage to get the ball off his rival by a fabulous sliding tackle without hurting anyone. In fact, there are many outstanding defender players. For example, Polyol is a legend in Barcelona. He is a nightmare for most of forwards. When you watch him playing against some world-class forwards such as Zidane. If you are interested, click here to watch Puyol’s best moment.

  After playing 5 years of defenders, I somehow got tired of it and tried to make a change. In my next passion blog, I’m going to talk about my attempt to play as a forward.

First I would like to draw an outline for my whole passion blogs. My first to three passion blog will appear in series. In the series, I will discuss my passion for soccer from three aspects: the joy of watching games, the happiness of playing as a defender, and the meaning of playing as an attacker

 Why do people enjoy watching soccer games? I remember a joke, saying “I don’t really understand why people like watching soccer. Millions of poor people watching some billionaires running on the field with a ball? That is not interesting at all!” well, maybe the joke sound plausible. However the joke doesn’t comprehend the joy of watching games. Watching soccer, is witnessing wonder.

In fact, soccer itself is a beautiful thing. Watching soccer, is like watching a dance, or a movie. So where does it beauty lay in? First, the cooperation, or pass of the ball, between players. In Chinese we use some idioms to describe fabulous cooperation, like “行云流水“ （Moving cloud, flowing water) ”水银泻地“ (Pouring mercury onto the ground). When you watch the ball is passed unexpectedly from this side to the field to another, and finally flies into the gate magically, all you can do is to open your mouth big and shout out “Goal!!!!” If you are interested in it, click here to watch Greatest Passes in Football History

Soccer’s beauty also comes from the amazing skills of players. There are many great soccer players in the world, who are extremely skillful. They are able to create a goal without cooperation. There are many kinds of playing styles. For example, Messi, is like a megician. He dances with the ball, hops among defenders and plays his magic. In contrary, Hulk, a brazilian football player, shows us what violence aesthetic means. He just bumps the defenders like a bulldozer and shoots the ball like a cannonball. In addition, some players are known for their incredible speed such as “Flying Dutchman” Robben, who earns his name by running like a flash on the field. It is so amazing to see so many diverse styles in a soccer game. If you click here, you can watch the Most Amazing Solo Goals

However, soccer is not all about the beauty. It also offers people strong emotion. Audience feel happy, surprised, angry or even sorrowful when watching a game, just like watching a movie. When your team goals, you cheer with all the fans. When your team loses, you sit with your head buried in your hands, reluctant to leave the stadium. When your team is treated unfairly by the referee, you yell at him madly. That is a kind of experience, you are not just watching, you are going through the game with your team. If you want to experience the emotion, click here to watch Best Reactions After a Goal.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. The popularity of World Cup even exceeds Olympics. Why? Beacuse of all the reason I listed, and more and more. My passion for soccer will never stop.

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