Football (known as SOCCER in some countries) is a game played by millions around the world. Now you can experience the most playable and action packed football game from the comfort of your own armchair. Goal! offers an enormous number of features both on and off the pitch.
Off the pitch you can set up your own league and cup competitions, pick up to 32 teams at once from a pre-defined list of 144 or create your own, choose from a selection of different pitch types, weather conditions, officials, alter the length of each match, change the view (from large to small scale) or change the pitch orientation to play left to right, or up and down.
On the pitch, winning requires skilful running, passing, chipping, heading, tackling and shooting. All of the set pieces found in real soccer are here throw ins, corners, free kicks, goal kicks and penalties. Players can be injured, substituted and booked. Action can be replayed at any point, and saved to disk to create your own match highlights. The crowd also plays its part. Hear them roar as you approach the penalty area and chant as the game reaches its climax. All this and much more is included in Goal!, so why are we waiting lets play GOAL!.
Football is the world's favourite ball game. It is believed to have developed from simple contests between rival medieval towns, and has grown from a popular amateur sport in the 19th century into one of the world's great spectator entertainment's. Millions of people also play the game for recreation. In the unlikely event that you don't know the the basic rules of the game here is an overview for beginners of the rules followed by Goal!
Goal! is played with a round ball between two teams of eleven players each (plus two substitutes). One player on each side must be a goalkeeper and only they can handle the ball during play (although they are restricted to using their hands within their own goal area). Their job is to defend their goal from the opposing team who will attempt to knock the ball past them (what a load of crap)and into the net behind him. The ten other players kick, head and pass the ball to each other in an attempt to knock the ball into the opponents goal. These players are divided into three types:
They must stop the opposing team from shooting at the goal.
They play mainly in the middle area of the field (hence the name) but often help out in attack or defence when required.
These players will try to score the goals, although the other players in the team can also try if they are given the chance.
Players are allowed to try and get the ball off the opposition by tackling them. However, if the tackle is judged by the referee to be illegal then it is called a foul and the team who were fouled are awarded a free kick. If a foul is committed by a player in his own teams penalty area then a penalty kick is awarded to the opposition. When a player commits a foul, there is a chance that he will be warned, booked ( a yellow card) or sent off (a red card). What actually happens is determined by the referee. If the player is exceptionally lucky he may get away without being penalised at all! If the ball is knocked outside the touchlines then a throw in is awarded to the opposing team. A match is divided into two halves of equal duration. If any players are injured during a game then the time lost is added to the end of each half as injury time. Some matches can go into extra time if the result at the end of time is a draw. Sometimes penalties are called upon to decide a match if it is still drawn after extra time. Each match kicks off from the centre circle at the start of each half. Whenever a goal is scored the team who conceded the goal, kick off again from the centre circle. Teams swap ends at half time. This means they will play in the opposite direction in the second half. The winning team is the one that scores the most goals.
Various markings are found on the pitch that define particular areas These are:
The line behind the goal, stretching from one corner to the other ( in the same half of the pitch!). If the ball goes out of play after being kicked by the attacking team, then a goal kick is awarded.
Defined for placing the ball in the penalty area or the goal area but nowhere else. An attacking player fouled in either area will be awarded a penalty kick.
This is where the ball is placed when a penalty kick is awarded.
If the defending team knock the ball out of play over their own goal line then a corner is awarded. The ball is kicked back into play by the attacking team from within this small area.
These lines mark the sides of the pitch.
This is the middle division of the pitch, showing where one half ends and another begins.
The team who aren't kicking off must not enter this circle until the ball has been played by the opposition. This only applies at kick off.
Football aficionado's will notice the inclusion of the recent back pass rule which stops a goalkeeper from using his hands if the ball is passed back to him by one of his own team members. The 'Keeper will immediately kick the ball back up the pitch under these circumstances.
The offside rule as not been implemented in Goal! as it was felt that it would detract from the playability and flow of the game.
From the main menu you can set up and play in your own league or cup competition, participate in a single match, practise ball control and penalties plus much more. These are a number of different options available. To select them you must move the pointer (shaped like a football) over the option you want with your mouse or joystick and click the left mouse button or press fire to confirm your choice.
To get onto the pitch with the minimum of fuss, select the practice option. On the next screen, select the speed box until it says NOVICE, then choose FREE PRACTICE. On the next screen, select CONTINUE. The final screen requires you to hold and press down fire for a few seconds before you are let out onto the pitch. If you get a message mentioning "possible auto fire detected on joystick" turn off your auto-fire switch and try again. You are now in a practice match against a computer controlled goalkeeper. For information on how to control the players, kick the ball, pass, shoot, etc, etc. Please read the "Player control" section. Practice will finish at the end of the first half. If you want to abort before then, press <Escape> to take you back to the main menu. You won't be able to practice tackling, free kicks or penalties but you will learn to dribble, pass the ball and shoot with the ball. Now select the SINGLE MATCH option. You might want to select the SPEED PLAY option at the bottom of the screen. The screens that follow are almost identical to those you saw in practice, so select continue on the first screen, then hold down fire on the next to get out onto the pitch. You are now playing a one player match against the computer. This will be your first competitive match against opposition. If you want to quit at any point, press <Escape> and select QUIT.
All of the features from the Main Menu are now described in full detail.
You can change a number of features before you play a single match or practice by choosing to alter the options from the Main Menu. (league and cup matches have their own separate options screen but they are very similar to the one found here).
The pitch type affects the way the ball behaves when it makes contact with the surface.
NORMAL - This is a standard league pitch. WET - Wet- The ball will travel further on a wet pitch. There is also reduced bounce. MUDDY - The ball tends not to go so far when passed along the ground on a muddy pitch. The ball bounces even less than on a wet pitch. WEMBLEY - The best surface available. Similar to a normal pitch but the bounce is slightly higher. RANDOM - This will randomly select one of the four pitch types for you. This is the best way to solve any arguments when two players prefer different pitch types!!
The length of the game can be altered using this option. You can choose from 1, 3, 5, 10 or 20 minute halves. Each match consists of two halves played for the same duration.
Wind affects the way the ball behaves when it is off the ground. It can be On or Off. The strength and direction of the wind is shown before you get out onto the pitch.
For most of a match, the goalkeepers in a player's team will be under computer control. The settings here affect how the 'keepers in both teams (player or computer) will perform. Note that they no affect when a player takes control of the 'keeper for goal kicks or penalties.
The settings are Hard, Medium, or Easy. The main differences between these settings is a variation in the keepers speed of reaction and their overall accuracy when going for the ball.
Whenever a goal is scored you can relive the moment by watching an action replay. These settings affect haw and when you see them.
AUTO - After each goal is scored, it is replayed automatically. AUTO + SAVE - The goal is replayed and saved to disk automatically. This requires a 'Replays' disk to have been previously created via the 'Clear Disk' at the bottom of the options screen. OFF - Turns them off completely
You can force an action replay at any time. It does not have to be after a goal. Simply press R during a game and the last ten seconds or so will be replayed. The game resumes immediately after the replay is over. If you wish to save the replay to disk, press Enter during the replay. You will need a Replays disk inserted in your internal drive. See 'Other Features' for further information.
Here you can choose the orientation of the pitch. Which way you play is down to personal choice. The default setting is vertical.
VERTICAL - This will view the match vertically (up/down).
HORIZONTAL - This will view the match horizontally (left/right).
The pitch and players can be shown in two different scales. Both are available during a match.
AUTO - The game is viewed in a closer zoomed in scale except at set pieces (throw ins, corners, goal kicks, free kicks) when it zooms out to the wider scale automatically. ZOOMED IN - This will force the game to be viewed in the closer zoomed in scale all the time, even at set pieces. ZOOMED OUT - This will force the game to viewed in the wider zoomed out scale all the time, showing more of the pitch as a result.
You can also force a change in scale during a game or action replay by pressing the <Spacebar>. This will toggle between the zoomed in and zoomed out scale each time you press it. You can also do this at set pieces by holding down fire and pushing left or right on your joystick.
The scanner is a handy overview of the entire pitch, showing the position of all the players and the ball. It is overlaid on the screen during a match. The players on opposing teams are colour coded by their main kit colour to distinguish ones teams from the other. The ball is also displayed in another colour for improved clarity.
AUTO - The scanner will change it's position on screen so it does not obstruct the players view of the ball. Fissato - La scansione rimane sempre nell'angolo alto a sinistra dello schermo (hello luigi)!!! FIXED - The scanner will remain in the top left hand corner of the screen at all times. OFF - The scanner is not displayed at all.
You can also manually change the position and size of the scanner during a match. You can also turn it off if you change your mind.
X - Toggle between various scanner sizes. C - Toggle between various scanner positions. V - Assign player numbers to the markers on the scanner. D - Turn the scanner off.
Goal! features lots of sample sound effects. The crowd will react to events on the pitch, adding to the atmosphere. You will hear the roar of the crowd as you near the penalty area, or the chants of teams supporters over the other. These can be left on or turned off. The sound of the ball and the referees whistle will stay on even when the sound effects are off.
Each referee has his own personality. This means that each one will react differently to the situation in hand. For example, some will be more whistle happy than others. A few may rarely show the yellow card whist another may send you off without hesitation!
The golden rule to remember is - The referee is never wrong!
Keep selecting the referee until you are happy with your choice, (if that isn't a contradiction in terms!). You will only learn their temperaments by experience. If you prefer, leave the choice to chance by selecting Random.
In the early days of the game, referees were not needed. Differences of opinion were settled in a sporting manner between the two captains. Some countries had umpires in each half of the field who were called in when a player appealed against a decision. These umpires eventually became linesmen as we know them today.
Once you have altered the options, you can save them to disk. This requires a 'Data' disk to have been created via the 'Clear Disk' option.
This allows you to load in a previously saved setup file from a 'Data disk.
There are two kinds of blank disk required for Goal!, depending on whether you are saving replays or other game data. This option allows you to format to either standard. You can also erase a previously formatted disk from it.
DATA DISK - This is used for all data except action replays.
REPLAYS DISK - This is used exclusively for saved action replays.
EXIT - Once you have done all you want to on the options screen, selecting Exit will take you back to the Main Menu with your newly configured options intact.
This option gives you the chance to choose which team you want to play, and whether you play a one or two player game. Note that the game you play is a one off match and is not part of any league or cup competitions. All of the details on this screen can be changed by you. Simply select the one you wish to change by using the pointer.
You can choose from any of the available teams. Select one of the team names it will change colour. If you change your mind, select another team instead. When you are happy with your choice, select - DONE - to finish and return to the single match screen. If you would rather go back to the default teams choose the cancel option and it will forget any changes you have made and return you to the single match screen.
Selecting this option will automatically toggle between computer (C) or joystick (J) control. The default players name will also change to reflect this.
You can change the default names if you wish. These names will appear when a goal is scored during a match as you will see later on. Select the name to change and a cursor will appear. Simply delete the default name and type in your own, which must be no more than nineteen characters in length. To delete character by character press the backspace key. To delete the entire text in one go, press Delete.
There are five levels of speed available, ranging from Novice up to Ace. The levels affect the speed that the players run around (although these are affected by the player attributes to). Beginners playing a one player game should set the computer level to be lower than their own.
Once you are happy with your choices, select Play. If you have changed your mind, selecting Quit will take you back to the Main Menu instead.
This next screen will always appear no matter which type of match you're about to play. The type of game appears at the top. The left and right sides show the two team kits. Beneath each one is the respective player names. The current score is shown(0-0 before the match begins). Next to each score is a square box labelled 'Pick/View teams'. This allows you to see your current player line up and change the team selection if you want from the available squad.
Your current team list is shown on the left. On the right you can see your current tactical formation. Beneath this are a couple of options.
Selecting this option allows you to play as manager and choose the players for your first team squad, which will consist of 11 players(including ya goalie) and 2 subs.
The entire team squad is displayed here, consists of upto 28 players.
A default squad has already been selected. To choose different players, you must swap the currently chosen player with the player you want to replace him with.
Select the players number and the box should turn black. Now choose the number box of the player you wish to play in the position instead. The old players number will now appear in the new players box. If both players were already in the squad then they will simply switch positions.
Football players were originally identified in the matchday programmes by the colour of the caps that they wore during the match, player numbers didn't appear until 1928. However, caps still play a part in the modern day football. They are awarded to players when they represent their country in international matches.
Select OK when you have finished.
Undo will undo any changes you have made. Quit will take you back to the team select screen with the current changes left in tact.
You can choose your preferred team formation from those provided. Select the arrows to go through them. You can also change the players within the formation, for example, you might want player #2 to play in the #10s position and vice versa. Simply select the player name then select the name of the player who is in the position. This change will affect all of the other available formations. This is most useful when a player has been sent off. You can press your substitution key, get to this screen and place a midfield player up front if your main striker has been sent off.
Once you've finished picking or viewing your team, you can select the referee from the available list. There are two ways to change the pitch(I prefer horizontal personally @"PoB"@). Selecting the group of arrows will alter the orientation of the pitch(horizontal or vertical). You can also change the pitch type by cycling through the five available settings(Normal, Wet, Wembley, Muddy or Random). Lastly, selecting the Wind option will toggle between a random wind setting and no wind (None).
Which team kicks off is randomly selected by the computer. Whoever wins the toss of the coin will have the choice of which direction of play in the first half. If a player wins, they can choose the direction they wish to play by selecting the box at the bottom of the screen. If you are playing a computer team and it wins the toss, you will be informed of its decision.
Lastly, at the bottom of the screen is the Continue option, which should be selected once you've finished.
To play, each player must press and hold down the fire button for a second or two. The bar beneath the Joystick number at the bottom of the screen will fill up from left to right. If it doesn't or the bar is only partially fills up, you will get the message "Possible autofire detected on joystick".
Check that your joysticks autofire is switched off the select OK and try again. In a 2 player game, both players must do this. If all goes well you will find yourself running out onto the pitch, ready for kick off(the game that started a new era in computerised football).
To learn how to control the players during the match, please refer to the "Player Control" section on page #38.
To Quit during a match, press <Escape> at any time to bring up a new screen. This screen also appears at half time and full time.
Play the second half or confirm at the end of the game(depending on which half has just finished). If you've interrupted the game during one half then use this option to go straight back to the match.
This will give you the statistics from the first half or the overall stats if the match has just been finished.
You can see from here how many shots you have had on goal, how many saves were made, the number of corners, throw ins, penalties etc etc. The amount of possession will show which team had the ball most.
Abort the game. You will be asked to verify this. Note that if you are playing against a computer team in the league or cup competition you will automatically awarded a 5-0 defeat regardless of the current match score. This option wont appear at the end of the game.
Apart from actually playing a game of football, you can adjust a number of other features during the match.
The scanner is a handy overview of the entire pitch, showing the position of all the players and the ball. It is overlaid on the screen during a match. The players on the opposing teams are colour coded by their main kit colour to distinguish one teams players from the other.
The ball is also displayed in another colour for improved clarity. You can manually change the position and size of the scanner and you can also turn it OFF.
X - Toggle between various scanner sizes. C - Toggle between various scanner positions. V - Assign player numbers to the markers on the scanner. D - Turn the scanner off.
Press R to replay any moment during the game. There are a number of ways of viewing an Action Replay. This facility is not unlike a video recorder. You can play, stop, visual rewind, or visual fast forward through an action replay. You can also play the action replay at half the speed, if you want to.
R......................Initiate Action Replay(start) Fire Button/...Stop F1.....................Fast Visual Rewind F2.....................Visual Rewind F3.....................Freeze Action Replay F4.....................Normal Play(after Fast Forward/Rewind) F4(again)..............Slow Motion(after normal play F4) F5.....................Visual Fast Forward <SpaceBar>.............Change Pitch Scale on Replay(zoomed in/out)
You can also save replays to disk. To do this you need to have created a "Replays Disk" from the clear disk option found in the "options" menu before the match kicked off.
To save a replay to disk, insert your "Replays Disk" into your drive after the players have appeared on the pitch. When you have initiated a replay by pressing "R", immediately press <Enter>. Goal! will look at your Replays disk and save the replay if it can. 11 replays can be stored on one disk and GOAL! will automatically assign the next available number to each saved replay.
In the corner of the window at the bottom of the screen(where the score and the other info is shown) you will see a message appear. What this message says depends on the circumstances.
1 OK Replay has been successfully saved to the "Replay Disk". (Example)
FULL - The Replay Disk already saved 11 replays on it. If you decide to press R and <Enter> again, it will save to the disk deleting the oldest Action Replay found and saving the new one in its place.
BAD DISK - Somehow the disk has become corrupted and is unusable.
You can put a new Replay Disk in the drive at any time, so you don't have to overwrite old action replays because the disk is already full. Goal! always starts again from 1 on a new Blank Replay Disk.
If you have set up Replays from the Options menu to be saved automatically then you don't have to press <enter as this will be done automatically. If a disk becomes FULL it will overwrite the oldest action replay by default.
Pressing P during a match will pause the game. Press P again to unpause and return to the action.
The <Space Bar> can be used manually toggle between the normal zoomed in and the wider zoomed out view of the pitch during a match or an action replay. You can also do this by pressing and holding down fire and pushing left/right when taking throw-ins or corners.
During a game, players can be automatically subbed due to injury. You can also force a sub at any point by pressing your sub keys, during a match or at half time or full time(if extra time is played afterwards).
PLAYER 1 (HOME TEAM): Left Amiga key(AMIGA), left Alt Key(ALT) PLAYER 2 (AWAY TEAM): Right Amiga key(AMIGA), right ALT Key(ALT)
You will notice a small arrow appear in the window at the bottom of the screen near Your score.
As soon as the ball next goes out of play(for a throw-in, goal kick or corner) you will be presented with the sub screen, where you can choose who you want to take off.
Your first team squad is listed on the left. On the right are the current team tactics.
If a sub has been forced due to a player injury, the bar on the right will show the number of the player coming off and the number of the sub nominated to come on. If you want to change to the other sub, simply select the name of the injured player from the list on the left and then select the name of the other sub instead.
If you are forcing the sub yourself, select the name of the player you want to take off then select the name off the sub you want to bring on. Their shirt numbers will appear in the bar on the right. If you change your mind, select the bar to clear it.
If you want to change the team tactics, go through those available by selecting the arrows. You can also change the players within the formation. For example, you might want player 2 to play in player 10s position or vice versa. Simply select the name of the player who is in the position. This change will affect all of the other available formations. This is most useful when a player has been sent off. You can press your sub key, get to this screen and place a midfielder player upfront if your main striker has been sent off.
When you are completely finished, select QUIT.
Most eager beginners will probably play a single match first to get their taste of football action. However, if you feel that you might need to practice your footballing skills this is the option for you! From here you can choose to either play a practice match or practice taking and saving penalties in the penalty shoot out.
Free practice is a match that allows you to run out onto the pitch and knock the ball around, getting used to the control method. Whilst you have your full squad to play with, the opposition is limited to just the Goal Keeper. All throw ins and corners will be taken by you to allow you to practice them.
Having chosen Free Practice, you will be taken to a screen you might have already seen as you prepared to play a single match. This very same screen will appear immediately before every type of match(Practice, Cup, League).
The two team names and their respective kits are shown on the left and right hand sides of the screen. The home team is on the left(this will be you during the practice or in a 1-player game). As the match hasn't kicked off yet, the current score is 0-0. Next to each score is a square box labelled "Pick/View Teams". Selecting the box will allow you to see your current team. This is discussed in more detail in the "Single Match". As we are interested in practising, we don't need to worry about this option for now.
Beneath this you will normally see the name of the referee. However, a practice game doesn't need one so this will remain blank. To the left of the pitch types you will see a small group of two arrows. These indicate whether the match is to be played horizontally or vertically. The pitch option can be selected to cycle through those available. The differences between the various pitches are described in the "Options" section, but it is the best to stick with normal pitch for now.
Select Continue to go to the next screen. This will summarise the setup you have chosen (for example, no referee, normal pitch and no wind).
You might have noticed in the middle of the screen an instruction telling you to "Press Fire to Start". You should have spotted a bar beneath the option Joystick 1 at the bottom of the screen. When you press fire to start the match, hold down the fire button for a second or two. You will see the bar gradually fill up from left to right. If it doesn't, or the bar only partially fills, you will see the message "Possible Autofire Detected on Joystick". If this appears, check that your joystick autofire is turned off. When it is, select OK then try pressing fire again for a few seconds.
Both teams will run out onto the pitch and line up in player order at the start of the match. During practice, the opposing team will only have 1-player(the goalie).
Moments later both teams will automatically run into their correct positions. In a normal match, one team will kick off the first half and the other team will kick off second half. However, in Practice you only play the first half and you always win the toss to kick off anyway.
To learn how to control the players, please refer to the "Player Control" section for further details.
There is a special feature implemented in a practice match which allows you to practice certain moves over and over again easily. When the ball is in press the <DEL> key. This will temporarily store the position of all the players on the pitch. At any other time during a match when the ball is in play, pressing the <HELP> key will restore the players to their saved positions.
For example, you can practice crossing the ball from the wings by positioning a player down the right wing then pressing <DEL> once. Try crossing the ball. If you want to try again, press <HELP> whilst the ball is still on the pitch and you can try again from the same position if you press <DEL> again at any point the player positions will replace the previously saved ones.
In this situation, both teams have alternately take 5 penalties to decide who wins. If the scores are tied then you continue taking alternate penalties until one team misses and the other team scores.
You can change the number of penalties taken by selecting the "Best of" value and cycling through the available numbers.
One Player Penalty Practice(or PPP)will match your team against computer controlled opposition. Selecting Two Player will obviously play you against a human player (that is if ya call ya m8's human).
For further details on how to take penalties, please refer to the "Player Control" section.
If you decide you've had enough of practising, pressing <ESCAPE> will take you straight out and back to the Main Menu.
GOAL! allows you to define your own league competition. You will find the options very y similar to those used in defining cup competitions.
Select the current league name and a cursor will appear. Delete the name and type in your own. A maximum of 23 characters are allowed.
To change the values for the remaining options you must select the arrow buttons either side of the value you wish to change.
This will define how many teams will play in the league. The minimum allowed is 2. The maximum is 32.
This defines how many times the teams play each other in the season. The minimum allowed is 1. The maximum allowed is 10.
You can either award a team 2 or 3 points for a win. A draw is worth 1.
This value is automatically calculated from the number of teams in the league and the number of times they play each other. For example, if there are 24 teams in the league then your team must play the remaining 23 teams. If you play each other twice a season then the total number of games to be played will be 46 in one season.
This sets the computer level, ranging from the lowest (Novice) to the highest (Ace). All computer teams will play at this level.
This does the same as above.
If you are happy with your choices then select PLAY instead.
You can access the usual Options screen to define the pitch type and so on. Before you start. This options screen only applies to league matches. You can also format a Data or Replay disks from here.
If you don't want to play in a league, choose Cancel to go back to the previous screen.
You will now have to select your teams as normal. Selecting a team once places it under Computer control (C). Selecting it twice gives it Joystick control (J). Selecting it a third time, will cancel it from the selection.
You are told at the bottom of the screen how many teams you have left to choose. If you change your mind at any time just select Cancel.
When you have chosen the required number of teams, select Done. You will now be shown your League table.
The table shows the position of each team, the team name, and then details on the matches played so far:
P......................The number of matches played.
W......................The number of matches won.
D......................The number of matches drawn.
L......................The number of matches lost.
GF.....................Goals for(the number of goals scored).
GA.....................Goals against(the number of goals conceded).
PTS....................The total number of points awarded.Where the points are the same,the team with the superior goal difference will be placed higher. For example, Liverpool and AC Milan have 5 points each, Liverpool are placed one position higher than AC Milan because Liverpool has scored 16 and conceded 1 goal (a goal difference of 15), whilst AC Milan has scored 14 and conceded 5 goals(a goal difference of 9).
Only the first 14 teams are shown. If your league is larger, select the down arrow to the right of the table to see the teams further down. Select the up arrow to return to the top.
The next fixture to be played and the result of the previous fixture are shown beneath the league table. At the very bottom are four options:
This will play the next scheduled fixture in the league.
This option allows you to save the current league table to disk. You must have already formatted the disk as data disk.
This will take you back to the league menu.
Skip is a handy feature for getting to player fixtures quickly. Selecting skip will rapidly play all of the scheduled computer vs computer matches until it comes to the next player fixture.
You can also change when matches are being played. By selecting the next fixture which is highlighted at the bottom of the screen(as text) you can go through all of the home teams fixtures. Stop when you reach the fixture that you want to play next. This is most useful in the away team(a player) isn't available for a particular match. Obviously, any matches you decide not to play will have to be played eventually.
You can also choose the home team by selecting the team name directly from the fixture list. You can then go through the fixtures as described above.
This is where you can review previously saved action replays. You will be prompted to insert a Replays Disk. Those found on the disk will be displayed alongside any comments(which are discussed next).
Select one of the available replays from the list. A new screen is displayed which looks very similar to the summary screens shown before each match. Here you can see the name of the referee, the pitch and wind conditions. You can also inspect the match report for the moment the replay was saved.
At the bottom of the screen there are 3 options:
To watch the replay you have just loaded in. To re-save the replay with the new comments press <ENTER> during the replay.
As normal this allows you to see the exact match stats at the moment the replay was saved.
Once you've finished, select EXIT.
If you want to change the names in any way, you must select this option first before you decide what kind of match you are going to play. If you try editing teams after you have started a new cup or league competition, both cup and league data will be erased and you will have to start them again.
Firstly select a team from the list. You will be taken to a screen which will allow you to change the teams details.
From here you can change the names of the teams, players, and managers. You can also choose their default tactics and change the home/away playing kit designs. About the only thing you can't do is choose the results!
Select the relevant box. Delete the current text and type in your own, which cannot be longer than 19 characters.
Choose either box to be taken to the Kit Design screen.
Along the top of the screen are 6 different kit styles. Simply select the one that you want.
Beneath these are two separate colour palettes. The left side palette is used for the main kit colour. The right side represents the second colour.
The currently selected colours are indicated by a small round marker.
When you select a colour it is immediately shown in the kit designs above.
When you've finished, select DONE and return to the team screen. CANCEL will also do the same, but it ignores the changes that have been made to the kits.
Select a player from the squad shown to edit his name.
By selecting the players name you can delete the current one and type in a new one. The name must be no longer than 15 characters.
Whilst you're here you can examine the players attributes. There are eight in total.
PACE How fast the player can run and how quickly they accelerate and decelerate. STAMINA How long they can last for at their maximum pace. AGGRESSION How likely a player is to try a tackle and injure an opponent. RESILIENCE How likely a player is going to survive(?) a tackle. KEEPING SKILL How good the Goalies reactions are? TACKLING SKILL How good the player is at tackling and gaining the ball. PASSING SKILL How good the player is at passing the ball. SHOOTING SKILL How good the player is at shooting(?)at the Goal!.
Each attribute is represented by a colour coded bar. The colour at the right end of the bar indicate the strength of the attribute. You cannot alter the attributes.
PURPLE...POOR DARK GREEN...AVERAGE LIGHT GREEN...GOOD WHITE...VERY GOOD ORANGE...EXCELLENT
When you've finished looking, select DONE.
This is your chance to play Manager and choose the default players for your first team squad. 13 players must be selected. this must include 1 goalie (No1) and 10 outfield players and 2 subs(No12 & No14). Note that you can change these default players again before you play a league, cup or single match.
Choosing a player is simple. Select the pick players screen will now be shown. Select the number box of the player you wish to add or move in the team. It will turn black. Now select the number box of the position you want to play him in. He will swap places with the player who currently plays there. Do this as often as you wish until you have a team line up you are happy with.
You can also move a player from 1 club to another. Instead of selecting the player name, place the pointer over the name and press the <SPACEBAR>. The players name will appear at the bottom of the screen. Now select OK then QUIT to go back to the team selection screen. Choose a new team and select pick players as before. Place the pointer over an empty slot in the player list and press <SPACEBAR> again to place the player in the team.
Note that you cannot delete players.
You can only move 1 player from a club to another, one player at a time. Note ya cannot exchange a player from a club if they are in the first squad.
You will have to select the team you wish to edit from either the default GOAL! teams or from Custom teams. You will be presented with a simple file selector.
Using the selector is simple. The available files(teams in this case) are shown on the left. A slider button allows you to scroll up and down the list if it is to large too fit in the allocated window. Either select the button( keep pressing fire or the lmb) then move up or down to scroll up/down the list. Alternatively, select it once and it will automatically go down to the next window full of files for you each time you select it.
The name of the file you select will appear in the bar at the bottom. You can also select this bar and type in the name of the file that you want to load in if ya prefer. Either way, when you are finished, select OK if you are happy with your choice or CANCEL if you've changed your mind and want to do something else instead.
What you now do on this screen depends on what mode its in.
The mode is displayed in the bar near the top of the screen. It can either be in DELETE mode or REPLACE mode. Say you want to delete a team. Ensure that the bar is in DELETE mode first(select it to toggle between DELETE/ REPLACE mode). Now select the small box to the right of the name of the team you wish to delete. The team should disappear completely.
Replace mode is very handy if you want to take a few teams from France, etc and mix them together in one European League or cup competition. You must first load in the group containing the teams you wish to extract. These teams haven't replaced the ones that are already in memory. They are now both in different screens and you will be able to switch between the two of them to effectively cut and paste them together.
Choose your team from those you just loaded in by selecting the name. You will then be shown the previous teams screen. You can replace a team with the one you choose by selecting the small box next to the team name you wish to replace. Your other team will now appear instead. Alternatively, you can add the other team to the current list by selecting the first blank slot and placing them instead. To finish in replace mode you must select DONE at the bottom of the screen. To finish completely you must select done again.
The Arcade Challenge will test your playing skills against all five of the computer skill levels.
(Novice, Amateur, Semi-Pro, Pro and Ace). Each round will progressively get harder. A draw will be enough to get you through but you can beat the cream of the computer teams? Each match is played on Normal pitch with no Wind and lasts 2 minutes per half.
G.............FGOALS for(the number of goals you have scored) GA............Goals against(the number of goals conceded by you) DIFF..........The Goal Difference(goals scored/goals conceded) LEVEL.........Level 1 = NOVICE, Level 5 = ACE POINTS........Calculated by multiplying the DIFF by the LEVEL.
All the Main Menu options have now been described. All that's left is to learn you how to move your players(sweetly, slick, fast, smooth).
No matter what type of game you have selected to play, you will eventually run out onto the pitch, ready to play the match. When the players are in the centre circle, press P to pause the game for a moment. Before we start we should look at the screen. Apart from the players and the pitch you will see a couple of other things that need explaining. At the bottom of the screen you will see a window displaying lots of useful information.
The name and number of the player currently in possession of the ball is shown. (The name is displayed in the teams main colour). The length of time in the half is shown between the current score. The coloured arrows next to the score indicate the direction the teams are playing in the half. Relevant messages are also displayed from time to time underneath as you will see as the game progresses.
In the top left hand corner of the main screen you will also see the SCANNER. This is an overview of the pitch showing the position of all the players and the ball. Each team is represented on the scanner by markers. The colour is determined by the teams main kit colour. The ball is also shown in a different colour. The scanner can be adjusted by pressing the following keys during play(you cant do this when the game is paused).
X - Toggle between various scanner sizes. C - Toggle between various scanner positions. V - Assign player numbers to the markers on the scanner. D - Turn the scanner off.
Now that we've looked at these features, press P to unpause the game and we are now ready to learn now to control the players and the ball.
Throughout the match you will control the player nearest to the ball. All the other players on your team will behave according to their individual attributes and will move into suitable positions according to the tactics employed. The player you currently control is highlighted by a line.
Note that the following instructions refer to tapping and pressing the fire button on your joystick. A tap is a quick stab and a press is where you hold the button down a second or more, depending on the circumstances.
Don't worry if the instructions sound complicated. Many of them will come naturally after a while.
To make a player run, push the joystick in the required direction. The longer the player runs in one direction he will go faster. The fastest he can go is determined on his attribute and how long he can sustain it is affected by his Stamina attribute. You will learn more about all the available attributes later.
When a player is running at full speed, it is harder to suddenly change direction. This is due to the players turning circle. The faster he runs the larger the circle is. This is a revolutionary new feature especially implemented in GOAL!
Whilst the only way to practice tackling is to play a proper match against another team, it is important to understand the principles. There are a number of different ways of tackling and they each have their own merits.
This tackle is powerful, but it can result in fouling and injuring players. To perform a slide you must tap the fire button whilst the ball is low. As a result your player will slide in the direction he is facing. To make a safe tackle your player must make contact with the ball before he makes contact with the opponent. If he makes contact with the opponent before the ball, then that will almost certainly be seen as a foul by the Referee. For example, tackling from behind the player will nearly always result in a foul. Press fire and the direction that you want to slide.
It is possible to block a player from reaching the ball by getting in his way. This will slow him down. To gain the advantage ensure that you get ball side of the player when you make the block, so that you can reach the ball first. Press and hold fire whilst running to the player/ball.
If the ball is in the air, quickly tap the fire button and when the player jumps, push the joystick in the direction you want to head the ball. You can make the player head the ball downwards by holding the fire button down while the player is in the air until he heads it. Note that your players speed and direction will affect the direction and force of the header. Heading is a difficult skill to master but it can be very effective. Press fire and direction you want to head the ball.
If the ball is coming towards you at chest height, facing the ball and doing nothing will automatically make your player chest the ball down, ready to be controlled. If the player is facing away from the ball then it will bounce off him. Press fire.
Also known as the overhead kick, this is a strong kick given to the ball whilst at head height. To execute it, you must reverse your joystick while the ball is in the air. To make contact with the ball the kick must be timed to the nearest second. The player will always fall to the ground after performing this acrobatic kick. Reverse the joystick and press fire.
The following moves are all possible when your player has the ball.
This is what happens when a player is running with the ball at his feet. He runs forward and kicks the ball ahead of him in the desired direction. The distance the ball is kicked depends on the speed that the player is running. Tap the joystick in the direction you are running.
If you want to pass accurately the first thing you need to do is stop the ball at your feet to give you complete control. This is known in the game as trapping the ball. To do this, you must press and hold the fire button immediately before your player touches the ball. You should come to a halt to a stop with the ball on your feet. Press and hold fire then turn into the direction you want.
Turning with the ball when travelling at speed requires good technique to avoid losing the ball. The Trap Turn method involves slowing down with the ball using the Trap and then moving off in a new direction as follows:
You can try turning at faster speeds, but this is more a case of choosing the right movement to change the direction of your run so that you don't reflect the ball away. This especially applies when you try cutting in at 45 degrees to make a diagonal run into the opponents Penalty area.
Centre the joystick while in contact with the ball. You will slow down and stop with the ball. This is most useful when you intend to continue dribbling but in a different direction. However, this technique requires careful timing but when it works it ensures that you are moving slow enough to lose the ball. 180 degree turns with the ball are possible using this technique.
If you've trapped the ball, keep the fire button held down and then try moving your joystick. You will see your player turn with the ball still at his feet. When you let go of the fire button the ball will be passed to the feet of the player who is nearest to yours in the direction you are currently pushing the joystick. Of course, an opposition player may try to tackle you to block or intercept the pass so it's not guaranteed to reach your team mate. Press and hold fire, turn to the direction required and let go of fire.
You can chip the ball by reversing your joystick when contact with the ball. This will kick the ball high but with less force than a normal shot. The position of your joystick after the chip will give the ball swerve and allow you to adjust the height(see After Touch). This technique allows you to pass the ball over an intervening player to a fellow team mate or make a cross into the opponents Penalty area.
Usually when making a chip you need to keep the ball low. This can be done by pushing your joystick forward again immediately after performing the chip (thus dipping the ball downwards). After Touch explains in more detail.
This is a different sort of pass. Whilst dribbling with the ball you can stop running. The ball will run ahead of you and if you've judged it correctly it will run through to another of your players instead. This can be very effective as some human players tend to follow the movement of the player rather than the movement of the ball and this can fool them.
This technique is simply kicking the ball towards a team mate by shooting the ball and using the swerve. To shoot the ball, tap the fire button on the joystick when in contact with the ball. The player you are aiming the long ball at must intercept it as it comes down so that he can control it quickly.
Seeing that the aim of the game is to score as many goals as possible, you should really learn how and when to score one! Fortunately, there is more than one way to do this.
This is simply a straight shot in any of the eight joystick directions. Just give the fire button a quick tap. You may then adjust the direction and height of the ball using the After Touch.
You can also try scoring by using a number of other techniques, like headers, scissor kicks, lobs from the half way line. etc
This is a very useful technique which allows you to affect the travel of the ball after it has been kicked. This serves two purposes:
The direction of your joystick immediately after the kick determines the direction of the swerve. How soon after the kick you adjust the direction and now long you hold onto it in that direction before letting go determines the amount of swerve.
To really get a good curl on the ball, you must push the joystick the moment the ball is kicked and hold it there till the swerve dies away.
Left/Right - Swerve ball Left/Right Centre - Does fuck all Dip the ball - Push the joystick the way you are shooting Lift the ball - Pull the joystick the opposite way than you are shooting
Set pieces come into play whenever there is a dead ball situation. This includes throw ins, goal kicks, free kicks and corners. When you take these set pieces, think about where you are going to play the ball or who you are going to pass it to.
If you haven't changed the options you will notice that every time the ball goes out of play you are represented with a wider view(zoomed out) scale giving you a much bigger view of the pitch, but reducing the size of the players as a result. Once the set piece is taken, the scale will change back to the normal size. This is automatic rescaling can be changed by you in the Options menu, which was discussed earlier.
To throw the ball back into play you must select the direction, length and height of the throw. This is indicated by a white dotted line which is drawn from the players position outwards.
If you push the joystick left/right then the line will rotate around the player. Stop moving when it is pointing in the direction required.
If you push the joystick up/down the indicator will move further/closer. This shows how far the ball will travel when you throw it(the strength).
The height of the throw can be adjusted by pressing and holding the fire button, then moving the joystick up/down.
When you are happy with the direction, length and height of the line, tap the fire button to throw the ball.
The original football laws of 1963 awarded a throw in to the first player to touch the ball after it had crossed the touch line. The ball had to be thrown in at right angles to the touch line and it couldn't be played by anyone until it had been touched by the ground first.
When a free kick is awarded a number of things can happen, depending on where the offence took place.
If you are near enough to the opposing teams Goal, you will see a number of their players lining up a wall between the ball and the goal. A few moments later you will see a dotted line similar to the one used for throw ins appear. Once again you must use the joystick to set the direction, height, length of the free kick. When you are happy, tap the fire button to kick the ball. Remember that you can use the after touch to bend the ball when taking free kicks.
If the free kick is not close enough to the opposing teams Goal, then a normal free kick is required. Simply kick or pass the ball like normal.
If you are the defending team, the defensive wall will be set up automatically for you. However, you do have a few seconds to adjust the number of players in the wall. By default, four players are lined up, but you can increase or decrease the number of players with the joystick:
Increase players - Push right on the joystick. The maximum is 7 players.
Decrease players - Push left on the joystick. The minimum is 0 players.
Moving the wall - Push up/down to move the wall up/down.
Again you will be presented with a dotted line to set up the direction, length, height of the corner kick. Once again remember that after touch can be used for the flukiest goal ever(over head kick from the corner).
There are two kinds of Goal Kick. The first is a drop kick which will occur when the keeper has caught the ball in his hands. He will step forward, drop the ball and kick it before it touches the ground. After touch can be added to swerve the kick. The second type is when the opposition kick the ball over the Goal line. The keeper then places the ball on the edge of the 6 yard area and will kick the ball from there.
By pushing the joystick and tapping the fire button you can affect where the ball is kicked under these circumstances.
If a player if fouled inside the 12 yard area then a penalty will be awarded to the attacking team. Some cup matches have to be resolved by playing a penalty shoot out.
To take a penalty you must first press fire on the joystick to start the run up to the ball. The longer you press fire the higher the kick will be. Just before the player makes contact with the ball, push the joystick in the direction you wish to kick the ball. After touch can also be applied if you are quick enough.
If you miss a penalty in a penalty shoot out then you do not get the chance to score from a rebound. However, in a normal match, the opposition keeper saves the shot but the ball bounces of the keeper and stays on the pitch, you can run in and try to score from the rebound.
If you are controlling the team who conceded the penalty, then you will have direct control over which your keeper dives when he faces the kick. Push the joystick in the direction require then press fire button to make a save.
The penalty kick was introduced in 1891 after professional players began deliberately handling the ball to stop certain goals. Many amateurs thought a penalty a disgrace and instructed the Goalie to stand by the corner flag, leaving the goal unattended!!
A player can be booked when a foul is committed. If it is his first offence it will usually be a yellow card. However, if it is his second offence then he will be sent off(a red card). Some referees will send a player off for a first offence if they believe the foul was bad enough.
Someone once said that football's a funny old game. Well, it isn't for some people. In fact, some sad people have to invent excuses to explain why they lost. (Don't they B/\ggy, sorry is it Spiderman or is it Wilma no it is a Big Baby).
The get in the excuse before kick off method this is by far the most popular method. For this to work, the player must mention his excuse before the match begins, and he must ensure that it isn't over emphasised. Subtlety is the key here.
The post match analysis method the loser tends to blame his defeat on one or two key events during the match. The questioning of the referees ability and the statue type qualities of the Goal Keepers are 2 favourites.
B A D L O S E R S T O P S I X E X C U S E S ----- ----------- ----- ----- -------------
And so to the excuses, in reverse order. See how many ya or ya m8s use. I'm not typing in the shitty messys with these kause there LAME!
I CAN'T SEE THE GAME PROPERLY
MY ARM HURTS
I DON'T LIKE THE PITCH
BUT YOUR GOAL KEEPER'S BETTER THAN MINE
I THOUGHT I WAS KICKING THE OTHER WAY
OF COURSE, THIS ISN'T MY FAVOURITE JOYSTICK
