A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

Long before the 1863 Laws of the Game were codified by the newly formed Football Association the various versions of the sport played all had a few things in common. The basic aim of the game, as highlighted by the genius punditry of Michael Owen , was to kick a ball in a certain place more often than your opponent. While some versions were more liberal about how the ball was moved about the general consensus was that it should be kicked. Moreover even the early games of ‘mob football’ involving entire villages, inflated pigs bladders and extreme violence were clearly carried out as team games. The fact that football is about two groups of eleven players trying to get the better of each other seems to be forgotten by some fans who seem more engrossed in the career of individuals rather than the fortunes of their local or familial club. Supporters of Argentina’s most talented tax evader could hide behind a veneer of following Barcelona until his recent moves to Paris Saint-Germain and