Humans have been kicking spherical objects around since at least 375 BCE (Before the Current Era). One Ancient Greek stele depicts a nude athlete standing on one leg while balancing a perfectly round object on his right thigh as a young boy looks on. That design also appears on Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) trophies.
But Greek episkyros players were not the only ones forming teams and chasing spheres around. Chinese writings from the Han Dynasty describe a game called cu ju - 'kick ball' in its translated form. The game played during that period, from 206 BCE to 220 in the Current Era (CE), most closely resembles our beloved game.
But that's still not the extent of ancient humans kicking spheres into nets as an organised sport. The Japanese played kimari and the Koreans delighted in playing or watching vigorous matches of chuk-guk. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Algonquians played a remarkably similar game called pasuckuakohowog.
Which one of these is the true origin of soccer? Ancient China was responsible for many inventions: paper, the compass, gunpowder and printing among others. Historians aver that the Chinese version of the game, also called tsu chu, could be the origin of the game we love today.
So let's find out if the world's favourite game is, indeed, another great Chinese invention. We'll then trace the world's love of football through the centuries and talk about some of the best players of all time. Which is your favourite team and who's your favourite Australian soccer player? Who are you rooting to be the best player of 2023?
Continuing the History of Soccer
Save for the Korean and Japanese variations that copied the Chinese game, historical records reveal that the pastime developed organically and simultaneously around the world. Later writings show that around the 8th Century CE, Europeans started playing similar games. Today, the Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) insists that association football - soccer, has no ties to those ancient sports.
At best, FIFA traces the game's origins to sometime in 8th Century England. From then until the 19th Century, teams played by a hodge-podge of rules, mostly depending on which English schoolyard was playing. Only in the mid-19th Century did any type of rule standardisation begin. That timeline coincides with the start of compulsory education in England, as well as the First Industrial Revolution winding down.
Football matches must have been great entertainment for the masses just coming off their factory shifts, whether they played or watched. But it got increasingly harder to coordinate matches when all the teams played by different rules. So in 1848, representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury schools convened at the University of Cambridge. Together, they penned a set of official rules that every team would henceforth play by.
These Cambridge Rules underpin FIFA's codes. Of course, the rules have changed over time, and they've expanded to meet the sport's globalisation demands. Today, rules for association football - soccer's official designation, dictate everything from penalties to player swaps. They even include how much a player might earn and who merits special recognition. Now, let's discover who they selected for such honours through the years.
Who Is the Best Soccer Player of All Time?
That answer is obvious even to people who don't follow sports. Soccer's greatest legend, Pelé, went to his reward late in December 2022. For days, practically every news outlet around the world broadcast his feats and sang his praises. People revered Pelé as the God of Football, and for good reason.
Pelé began his football career when he was 15 and went on to win three World Cups - one of them when he was just 17. That made him the youngest player ever to achieve that feat. He was further voted Athlete of the Century and FIFA Player of the Century. His extraordinary success on the pitch set a Guinness World Record.
Pelé's football accomplishments only slightly overshadow Diego Maradona's. In fact, these two players were jointly awarded the FIFA Player of the Century prize. But personal demons tortured this Argentinian footballer even at the peak of his fame; he was even banned from playing after two separate incidents.
Maradona was renowned as the Golden Boy of football. His skill and talent as a player commanded world-record transfer fees - not once but twice. By contrast, fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi's record is far more muted - but no less spectacular.
Messi and his supposed rival, Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo consistently feature at the top of every soccer fan's list of best soccer players. They faced off across nine seasons, Messi for Barcelona and Ronaldo for Real Madrid. They're the only two players to have scored over 800 goals apiece; together, they made football history. Both are starting the season on new teams; do they have what it takes to be 2023's top player?
The World's Best Soccer Player for 2023
It's tough to nail down who will clinch that title, seeing as the season is still underway in some parts of the world. But Messi and Ronaldo are high on the list of contenders, along with a few other big names in soccer like Harry Kane. This England national team captain also plays for Bayern Munich. Harry never met a goal he couldn't score, hence his record as a prolific striker.
Harry is a perennial fan favourite; he finished in the UEFA Championship League as a runner-up a few seasons back. He's a touch younger than both Messi and Ronaldo, too. But this year's list of possible best players boasts contenders even younger than him.
Shrewd eyes are on Kylian Mbappé to claim that prize. This 24-year-old French footballer, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), brings back memories of Pelé. Pundits draw parallels between the God of Football's performance and Kylian's; he's the second teenager to score in a World Cup final - Pelé was the first.
Young as he is, his development still has a long way to go but in terms of speed and raw talent, Kylian is breathtaking to watch. Still, he's not the only energetic, talented player. Keep your eyes on Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne too; either one of them may yet snatch the 2023 Best Player title.
The Best Australian Soccer Players
Every football fan worth their salt knows the big money conquests. FIFA and UEFA are the big names; the AFC, OFC and CAF govern the sport in Asia, Oceania and Africa, respectively. At one time, the Australian League (A-League) belonged to the OFC but we've since migrated to the AFC. In theory, that's how Australian players qualify to play in big-money FIFA or UEFA games.
But there's another way around it: play for a FIFA or UEFA team. Many of Australia's best soccer players play for teams abroad, particularly English teams. Mark Viduka is an example of such; he played for Leeds United, Middleborough and Newcastle United. But he still captained the Australia National Team in 2006, at the FIFA World Cup.
Tim Cahill also took his football talents abroad, first playing for Millwall and then moving to Everton; both English teams. He then moved to the US to play with the New York Red Bulls before playing for a couple of years in China. If we were gaging the best Australian soccer players by their diversity of experience, Tim would win, hands down.
The Best Soccer Team in the World
So much goes into labelling anything 'the best' that it's hard to come up with such an assessment. Should we judge only by the teams' statistics or should their histories factor in? Some football fans reject teams based on moral or ethical grounds regardless of how well they play; should one's morality decide who plays the best soccer?
And then, we have to consider the home advantage. Not the one that gives players an edge, the one that says "My country's/city's team is the best!". Fans will wear their local teams' colours on game day - sometimes even if their team isn't playing, just to raise their champions' profiles. Loyalty is a big deal in sports; a 'fan' who switches teams because the numbers look better elsewhere is hardly a club fan.
Obviously, the best soccer team in the world is the one you support. But from a statistical perspective, that title goes to Manchester City. Man City's win record is long and flawless; a fine rebound from its long early-80s slump. After slipping to third-tier rankings in 1998, this club regained its Premier League standing through hard work and savvy management.
But keep your eye on PSG, especially this season. PSG is France's most illustrious football club; it plays in Ligue 1, France's top division. This club should already be on your radar, considering that it's Kylian Mbappé's team and he's the 2023 Best Player favourite. PSG may not have as long a history as Man City - it is a young club, but it has a lot on the ball and could well be the world's best soccer team by season's end.
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