Introduction

Why does anyone love football? It’s a game that requires us to use our feet to control and pass a hard, bouncy ball, trying to shoot it into a goal that feels both too big and too small at the same time. The goals are placed at opposite ends of the field, which is so long that sprinting back and forth more than a few times becomes exhausting. The game can last over two hours when played by the official rules. These rules make football a complex sport, with offside and handball regulations that challenge players’ sense of fairness and test spectators’ patience. It’s also an unusual sport, with few goals scored and a category of players—midfielders—whose role is crucial for keeping the game flowing, and confusing to those who aren’t interested in the sport. Midfielders don’t score or block goals; they stay in the middle of that long field, occupy space, and pass the ball. The rules don’t strictly define their role, yet playing without them is impossible. 1 Football is a strange game, yet it’s the most popular sport on Earth. The joy of football comes from this very strangeness—a sport that shows how complex, creative, and imaginative we can be as people.