soccer and shootouts, newspaper article

[lakeview]

This has been debated for years. I still have in my head the picture of Baggio missing the PK in 94 WC. Still no resolution by FIFA. MLS tried a 35 yard run up to the goal in 5 seconds, but that was booed by the Eurosnobs and then disbanded. Now they play for ties.

I guess we could have a "replay" like some matches?

[Tigertail]

If team A scores 1 goal 2 mins. into first OT and then packs in the box to hold...

how is that different from...

Team A goes up 3-2 with 35 minutes to play in second half and then packs in the box to hold.

I don't understand her argument about disrupting the flow or rhythm of a game. Maybe it's just me.

[blueandwhite12]

Hmmm...in a way, I see her point. The tension and the abbreviation certainly give the overtime determinations a different feel. On the other hand, though, I think that the urgency of overtime--the knowing that you have to score in such a proportionately smaller time--can be thrilling for both players and fans. Furthermore, most players are tired after 80 minutes of running; the time constraint of overtime allows them to experience a burst of adrenaline. If the game just continued until the "250th" minute, I bet few starters would even be left on the field. I just kind of feel that teams know that if they don't score within the 80 minutes of regulation time, they face a somewhat different set of challenges in overtime. I have been in a State Championship that went into golden goal overtime, and we wound up losing. As frustrating as that situation was, we knew that we could find ourselves in it. Penalty kicks may seem unfair, but just prolonging the game indifinitely makes it a competition of fitness alone rather than skill and strategy.

[sokerfan]

I have a suggestion. How about we take a player off the field each overtime period before going to a shoot-out. For instance, the 1st overtime period we play 10 vs 10, the 2nd overtime period it's 9 vs 9. There will more likely be a goal or 2 scored and a winner determined before we would get to the shoot-out. Goal keepers would still play a big role in the game because there would more than likely be more shots, even more breakaways coming to her.

I really do not like shoot-outs because the keeper is at such a disadvantage. When you have a game as good as the FHS and Laffy game was, or the LHS vs Barbe games have been, it hurts me to see the losing teams goalie crying when she was at such a disadvantage. We as fans know it it not the keepers fault in these situations.

[Forgotten North]

There is one major flaw with the article's proposed resolution. It assumes that a team will score in the overtime periods. That is not a guarantee. What happens when someone doesn't score? Do we play for 400 minutes until a goal is indeed scored? That just isn't practical and goes completely against keeping the game safe for the player. The overtime guidelines that LHSAA uses are by far the most practical and commonly used. As a player and a coach I detested the golden goal, but I certainly understand it after playing 100 minutes of soccer.

sokerfan, your idea about removing players from the filed is something that NSU does during their spring season 7v7 tournament. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, a player is removed from the field at a rate of one per minute. This only happened during one of the matches. It certainly was entertaining and some strategy was employed to actually win the game; however, I don't feel that there is a place for it in a championship tournament.

[Barron]

Fewer players for each overtime period would not be a natural game, and the game dynamics would change drastically with fewer than 11 players. Longer overtimes or continuous overtimes are not realistic--especially young players should not be asked to play extremely long games. I, for one, like shootouts. PKs are a part of the game of soccer, and provide a realistic, game related, way to decide a winner. If I would change anything, I would eliminate the two 5-minute golden goal overtime periods, and go to a shootout after the two 10-minute overtive periods. Golden goal does not give the other team a chance to "get it back," and does not seem quite fair to me.

[lakeview]

Removing a player every 5 minutes was considered by FIFA.

As was dropping the 11-player a side to 10 in every match. This was proposed by Brazil after the 94 WC when they played 10 and still defeated USA.

I know the 94 WC (Brazil) and the 06 (Italy) WC matches were decided by PK, and every time FIFA gets new proposals. ( I think Germany won on a pk in regular time in 90??)