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What is Total Football?

Total Football is the term used to describe an influential theory of tactical soccer in which any of a team’s players on the field can take over the role of any teammate. The foundations for Total Football were laid by Jack Reynolds, who was the manager of Ajax Amsterdam from 1915–25, 1928–40, and 1945–47. Rinus Michels, who played under Reynolds, later went on to become manager of Ajax himself and refined the concept into what is known today as “Total Football” (Totaalvoetbal in Dutch). In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team’s intended organizational structure. In this fluid system, no player is fixed in his nominal role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder, and a defender.

Specifications For Soccer Balls

An International Football Association–approved ball must be:

• spherical;

• made of leather or other suitable material;

• of a circumference of not more than 28 inches (70 centimetres) and not less than 27 inches (68 centimetres);