kcirdor
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Yep... Ignorant... here is Soccer players take on the similarities in tactics.
https://www.quora.com/What-strategies-tactics-are-common-to-both-ice-hockey-and-football-soccer
https://www.quora.com/What-strategies-tactics-are-common-to-both-ice-hockey-and-football-soccer
You're right, there are striking similarities between the two games. Playing soccer can help your hockey playing, and vice versa. Hockey players realize this, and often juggle a soccer ball before games because it helps with coordination of their feet.
1) For one, receiving a puck to your skates is extremely similar to receiving a soccer ball. The angle of the skate needs to be just right so as to deflect it towards your stick. Taking a touch in soccer and deflecting a puck with your skates are very similar because in both instances you must know where you want to go. Soccer players want to get the ball out of their feet and into space, and hockey players want to get it out of their feet and towards their stick.
2) The basic attacking and defending structures are also similar in both games. For instance, the most common pattern in hockey is to have two defencemen, two wings, and a centerman. Well isn't that extremely similar to the 4-4-2 formation in soccer, except miniaturized? Soccer formations utilize 4 defence, usually 2 wingers and 2 midfield players (plus strikers which are unique to soccer).
3) The responsibilities of midfield players in soccer are similar to the centerman in hockey because they track up and down the field, participating in both offence and defence.
4) Wingers in soccer are also similar to hockey wingers because they are meant to penetrate into the corners and then get the ball towards the net. In hockey you do the same thing, except you're able to go behind the net, something you can't do in soccer.
5) When a teammate don't have anyone to pass to, it is essential that the person on the ball/puck has at least two people to pass to. As Tom Stagliano noted, this is what creates triangles, something extremely beneficial for keeping possession. Both sports utilize this. In soccer this is quite a lot easier because you have more teammates, but the concept is the same.
6) Next time you watch hockey, notice how players sometimes come towards the puck if their teammate has possession. If their team is in the offensive end attacking, and a teammate is at the point with the puck, they will do something we call "showing" in soccer. Essentially, this means coming towards the puck/ball, giving your teammate someone to pass to.
7) Possession is an important tactic in both sports. In hockey, if your team can't keep the puck for ten seconds or more, you probably won't be able to get into the offensive end and score a goal. This is even more evident on power-plays where you want to keep possession of the puck until a shot opens up. The same concept applies for soccer; possession is kept until a scoring opportunity opens up.
8) It is essential that you get the puck/ball to the net. You're never going to score from the corner, something players in both sports know. That's why in hockey players will cycle the puck back to the point for a big shot, or throw the puck in front of the net to score a scramble goal. Soccer players do the exact same thing. We'll cycle it back to the attacking midfield player so that he can take a long-range effort from outside the 18 yard box, or we'll throw it into the 18 yard box via a cross to get a scramble/header goal.
9) Deception is a massive part of both sports. Hockey players will use similar shoulder-drops and fakes to those used in soccer. The effect is exactly the same: throwing off the defending player, making him think you are doing something you aren't. When I play hockey, I find that hockey defenders fall for the exact same basic moves I use in soccer (although I can't use my stopovers, sadly).
10) Choice of players before the game is also important. Coaches have to choose their lineup that has the best chemistry, and that has an often unnoticed effect on game. For example, the manner in which a hockey coach puts together his 4 lines changes everything. You don't want to put 1st line players with 4th liners, otherwise things don't really gel together. Soccer is similar in that you want players in your lineup who work well together and have chemistry. People often underestimate the effect of player choice by coaches on the outcome of the game.
There you have it, all the similarities between the two games that I can think of. Because I'm Canadian, and hockey is such a large part of our culture here, I've watched my fair share of the sport. Even though I'm a soccer player and not really a hockey player, the time I've spent watching hockey games wasn't lost time because what I learned from it can be applied on the soccer field.