Football and geometry

As I mentioned in the previous post, geometry is used in sports. Now, I would like to talk about its use in football, since it is my favorite sport.

The geometry is used to know the measurements of the pitch, of the goals, even to know the correct angle to shoot the ball.

A soccer field has a rectangular shape and all must have a similar symmetry.

A soccer field has a rectangular shape and all must have a similar symmetry.

As we can see in the image, there are several lines drawn inside the field to differentiate the two areas, and the front of the area is delimited by a semicircle.

Without the geometry, we could not divide the field of play.

The most important thing, and without what we could not practice this sport, is the ball.

The shape of the ball must be spherical and its measurements must be of a circumference between 68 and 70 centimeters (inclusive).

The soccer balls of FIFA had this form for a very long time. The leather segments that formed it were hexagons and pentagons arranged in the form of a truncated icosahedron. When inflated the ball took the characteristic spherical shape.

The truncated icosahedron is an Archimedean solid that is obtained by truncating each vertex of an icosahedron.

In addition, in the image that we can see below, it appears represented a strategy carried out by a team to get score goal. We can see how geometric figures are formed while the players are moving or passing the ball.

In addition to producing these figures, when practicing this sport, it is necessary to position them in parallel to their teammates, in order to leave the opponent in an illegal position, or even narrow the field to try to steal the ball and start the kickback.