Last updated June 14, 2022 by Javier Argudo
The offside, offside, offside or orsay is one of the most difficult rules to explain to a novice football fan. In this article we will review what is, when and why was it invented and how has it evolved from its creation to the present day.
In the first football regulation, created in the year 1863, the rule appears offside. Initially, any player who received the ball in advance was in an illegal situation. Manchester City camiseta, in those early years, it was very common for a team to attack with almost all its players in parallel, clearly influenced by rugby.
Just three years later, in 1866, the norm is modified. This is known as the 'three opponents rule'.. A player was in offside if he was closer to the opposite line than the ball and the second last opponent.
The objective of this rule was to prevent forwards known colloquially as 'palomeros' or 'suckers' from waiting next to the goal to score a goal.. But nevertheless, there was a footballer who caused the rule to have to be modified and perfected for the good of football.
Bill McCracken and the offside
Bill McCracken was a Northern Irish defender who signed for Newcastle United In the season 1904-1905. Pronto, devised a plan to cause rival attackers to continually fall into offside. Along with his partner Frank Hudsperth formed the pair of defenders of the magpies At a time when it was customary to use a system 1-2-3-5.
The 'trick' consisted of advancing his position when a rival was going to receive the ball, leaving Hudsperth as the only player between the attacker and the goalkeeper. Thus, McCracken He came to despair not only his rivals but also the public that was getting more and more bored due to the few goals and the numerous interruptions of the game that there were in the matches.
Far from trying to fix this problem, the rest of the teams copied the tactic of the Newcastle, who by the way won three leagues almost in a row and became the team to beat in England. Thus, the number of goals scored plummeted, as well as the attendance of spectators at the stadiums. An urgent solution had to be found..
had to wait until 1925, two years after Bill McCracken hang up the boots, for him to arrive offside we know today. A) Yes, an attacker is in an illegal situation if he receives the ball and there is only one rival (usually the goalkeeper) before the goal line.
Thus, the goals came again and the public was once again hooked on a sport that is currently followed by billions of viewers around the world. curiously, That 'legal trap' put its existence in serious danger.
