Soccer is the consummate team sport, and it is nearly impossible to single out one specific position as the most important for a team's 11 players.

Soccer players at the highest levels have plenty of excuses to take their shirts off and show off impressive six packs. Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo memorably posed for Annie Liebowitz on the cover of Vanity Fair to publicize the 2010 World Cup. U.S.

Although both sports take place on either grass or artificial turf, soccer and football fields have many differences. The size of the fields and the markings on them are different. In fact, the size of a soccer field can even change from game to game.

All soccer fields are not created equal for a variety of reasons. In fact, the soccer fields used for international competition like the Olympics can be very different from the soccer fields used in local high school games.

It is a little more than 380 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, to Dover, Delaware, which is roughly the same distance midfielder Steven Gerrard covered while playing for his English Premiere League club team Liverpool FC and the English national team during the 2005-06 season.

Depending on whether your team is on offense or defense, a soccer goal can appear huge, or too small to kick the ball past the goalkeeper. In reality, the official size of the goal is the same for high school, college and international competitions.

Your triceps surae is more commonly known as your calf. It is actually composed of two muscles, the gastrocnemius and the soleus. These muscles connect the back of your foot to the back of your upper leg. They are necessary for movements integral to soccer, such as running and kicking.

Only about 113,000 people worldwide earn their living playing soccer, and of those, only about 7,000 play in CONCACAF, the region including North and Central America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, more than a quarter-billion people play soccer worldwide, including more than 44 million in CONCACAF.

Every soccer game begins with a kickoff at the center of the field. A coin flip determines which team takes that kickoff, as well as which one takes the kickoff to start the second half. Procedures surrounding the kickoff are spelled out in the "Laws of the Game"

Outdoor soccer cleats come in four different outsole patterns -- soft ground, firm ground, hard ground and turf -- each matched to a type of playing surface. You’ll want to invest in a sufficient number of surface-specific shoes to cover the types of fields you typically play on.

Millions of passionate fans follow two ball sports, one the favorite of Americans and the other the favorite of the world. Each is played on a large rectangular field and based on rules that evolved in the 19th century. “Soccer is a gentleman's game played by beasts.

Famous soccer players who have played with a cast on their right arm include Chelsea forward Didier Drogba, who represented his home nation, the Ivory Coast, in the 2010 World Cup. Drogba wore a soft cast under a long-sleeved shirt in the wake of an injury days earlier.