Soccer!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
‘Pass it to me!’ called Abby.
Abby loved playing soccer.
‘Come on, Pete!’ she yelled. ‘I’m free!’
Pete was Abby’s teammate and best friend.
They were playing against their friends Lizzie and Joe during lunch break at school.
There were soccer nets on the school oval, but the grade sixes played there at lunch, so Abby and her friends had made a mini soccer pitch. They used their jumpers to mark the goals.
‘PEEEEETE!’ Abby shouted.
Pete tried his best to keep the ball off Joe and Lizzie.
‘Argh!’ Abby was annoyed that Pete wasn’t listening to her. ‘Pete! You’re going to lose it!’
Abby ran as fast as she could towards Pete. She dropped to the ground, slid towards the ball – and took it right off him.
‘What?’ Pete couldn’t believe it. ‘I’m on your team!’
But Abby was already up on her feet. She tapped the ball in front of her and ran towards their goal.
‘QUICK!’ Joe shouted to Lizzie. ‘Let’s get her!’
The chase was on.
Joe and Lizzie were close behind Abby. But Abby knew they wouldn’t catch her.
She was too fast and was now only metres away from the goal.
FWOOOOMMMPP!
Abby booted the ball and it shot right through the middle of the goal.
‘YES!’ She punched her fist in the air. ‘That’s four goals to us. And nothing to you.’
Abby did a victory dance around Joe and Lizzie. She wiggled her bottom and flapped her arms like chicken wings.
But Pete wasn’t celebrating. He was just standing there with his arms crossed.
The school bell rang – lunch was over.
Lizzie and Joe didn’t say anything. They just walked to the classroom. They didn’t even look back.
‘What was that about?’ asked Pete.
‘That was called winning,’ said Abby proudly. ‘Cheer up.’
‘No!’ said Pete. ‘You hogged the ball from your own teammate.’
Pete turned and walked away too.
After school, while waiting for her mum, Abby tapped her soccer ball from knee to knee, then from foot to foot.
She didn’t touch the ball with her hands or let it drop to the ground.
Abby waved to Lizzie and Joe. ‘Do you want to have another quick game?’ she asked.
‘No way!’ Lizzie said.
‘Sorry, Abby, but no,’ Joe added as they walked past.
Abby turned to Pete and threw him the ball.
‘Hey, Pete, what’s wrong with them? Why won’t they play with us?’
‘You really want to know?’ said Pete.
Abby nodded.
‘It’s because you’re being a showoff. It’s not even fun for me. Coach Greco says that teamwork is the most important skill, remember? But it feels like you’re the only one on the team.’
Abby felt really hurt. She’d never meant to upset her friends.
‘It’s just that if I can do something to score a goal I will,’ she said. ‘You like winning as much as I do . . . ’
‘Hey! Do you wanna play?’ It was the Farelli twins, Luca and Sofia.
‘Us two against you two,’ said Sofia.
Pete, Luca and Sofia had been friends since kinder, but they were always competing with each other.
Abby knew there was no way that Pete would turn down a challenge from them.
‘C’mon,’ Abby said. ‘Please?’
Pete nodded.
‘Yeah!’ she said. ‘Game on!’
They ran over to the oval where the soccer goals were set up.
Pete will appreciate how I play now, thought Abby. He won’t complain when we beat the pants off the Farelli twins.
‘We’re totally awesome, so we’ll let you go first,’ said Sofia, throwing Abby the ball.
‘The first team to get two goals wins. And that will totally be us,’ said Luca, high-fiving his sister.
‘Talk about showing off,’ whispered Abby to Pete.
‘GO!’ shouted Sofia.
The Farelli twins charged towards Abby.
‘Abby!’ Pete called. ‘Pass it to me. I’m free!’
But Abby knew she was faster than Pete so she kept the ball to herself.
She wasn’t faster than Sofia though.
Sofia tapped the ball from under Abby’s feet.
Pete chased after Sofia, but it was too late.
FWOOOOMMMPP!
Sofia booted the first goal of the match.
‘YES!’ the twins yelled.
Luca pulled his shirt over his face, and they both ran around as if they were aeroplanes.
‘One more goal and the match is ours!’ yelled Sofia.
‘Why didn’t you pass, Abby?’ asked Pete, running up to her. ‘I was right there! We have to win this.’
‘Aha!’ cried Abby. ‘I knew you liked winning as much as I do. Admit it!’
‘Okay, I do,’ Pete said. ‘But we’re not going to win unless you start playing as a team. You might be good enough to beat Joe and Lizzie on your own, but not the Farelli twins.’
This time, Luca started with the ball.
He was even bigger and stronger than Sofia. He dribbled right past Abby as if she wasn’t even there.
Abby rushed over, but Luca flicked the ball to his sister.
Abby was desperate. One more goal and it would all be over. She knew Pete was right. They would have to start working together or they were going to lose.
Sofia ran with the ball.
Luca ran in from one side. Pete ran in from the other.
Then Abby heard someone calling her name. ‘Go, Abby! Go, Pete!’
Abby looked to the sidelines and saw that Lizzie and Joe had come to support them.
They were waving. Abby gave them a thumbs up.
Suddenly Sofia stumbled and lost control of the ball.
It was Abby’s chance to save the game, if she could get to the ball in time. But Luca was almost there.
Abby started to run in, but then she stopped.
Pete was closer to the ball. Maybe she could help him get there. She had an idea . . .
‘Hey, Luca!’ she called. ‘Nice undies! Do they come in different colours?’
Still running at full speed, Luca looked back to check his pants.
And Sofia ran back with her eyes on the ball.
WHAAAACCKKKK!
Pete jumped over them, got the ball, and kicked it long – straight through the goal.
‘One all!’ he yelled. ‘Go team!’
Now Abby started with the ball. She dribbled it towards their goal.
‘CHARGE!’ Luca yelled. He was right behind her.
Abby tapped the ball. She stepped forwards as if she was going to run in one direction, but then turned and dribbled the ball the other way. It was an epic blind turn!
Luca was caught off-guard. But Sofia was waiting for Abby.
‘Abby,’ yelled Pete. ‘Over here!’
She kicked the ball towards him.
Pete sprinted in. He had the ball, but he was trapped between Luca and Sofia.
Luca was covering Abby so she couldn’t get near the ball. Joe and Lizzie cheered from the sidelines.
Pete grinned. ‘I reckon I can take both of you on,’ he said. ‘Come on, Luca. Or don’t you think you can beat me?’
‘As if!’ said Luca. He left Abby’s side, and both the twins closed in on Pete.
Abby sneakily moved closer to the goal.
And Pete kicked the ball with all his might.
FWOOOOOOOOMMMPPP!
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The ball dropped just in front of the goal.
Abby turned and booted it right through!
Pete raced over and gave Abby a huge hug.
‘Whooo-hoo! We won! We won!’ he yelled. ‘That was incredible!’
‘We’ll get you next time,’ yelled Luca as the twins ran off.
Lizzie and Joe rushed over.
‘You guys are an awesome team,’ said Joe. ‘How are we going to beat you now?’
‘So . . . am I allowed to celebrate this time?’ Abby asked.
Lizzie and Joe laughed.
Pete grinned. ‘Yep, you sure can. Bring on the chicken dance!’
We all love our sporting heroes, but it takes more than one person to win a game of soccer. The best teams communicate with each other and work together.
Abby might be a soccer star, but she’s got to work with her team to play her best.
Everyone on the soccer pitch has a role to play – strikers can’t score goals if no one passes them the ball. And to pass the ball, you’ll need to know how to dribble.
Here’s how to dribble like a star:
Start with the ball in front and tap it with the inside of your foot.
Follow the ball and tap again with your other foot.
Stay close to the ball so you can change direction, stop quickly, speed up or slow down.
Make sure you’re looking ahead, not down – you need to know what’s going on around you!
Other soccer skills include passing, shooting and heading the ball. So get out on the field, and don’t forget to practise your chicken dance!
How did the soccer pitch get all wet?
The players dribbled all over it.
What lights up a soccer stadium?
A soccer match!
What do you call it when a dinosaur kicks a goal?
A dino-score!
What tea do soccer players drink?
Penalty!
What did the bumble-bee striker say?
‘Hive scored!’
What’s the goalkeeper’s favourite breakfast?
Beans on post!
Knock Knock!
Who’s there?
Boo!
Boo who?
Don’t cry – we’ll win next time.
How do chickens encourage their soccer teams?
They egg them on.
Did you know?
The umpire in soccer is called a referee.
The men’s World Cup is the biggest soccer tournament in the world – it is held every four years in a different country.
The first women’s World Cup was held in 1991.
Two World Cups were cancelled because of the Second World War.
Soccer is also known as football or association football.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world – it is played by about 240 million people in over 200 countries.
The modern rules of soccer were created in 1863 in England.
Before that, soccer and rugby were considered to be the same sport.
Footballers can also use their head or chest to strike the ball, but only goalies can use their hands.
Some of the best soccer players of all time include Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Pelé and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2015
Text copyright © Red Wolf Entertainment Pty Ltd, 2015
Illustrations copyright © Tom Jellett, 2015
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Design by Tony Palmer © Penguin Group (Australia)
puffin.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74348-512-5
THE BEGINNING
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