Soccer in the US has continually experimented over the years, trying to find a balance between the game experienced around the world and serving up a uniquely Americanized product to its domestic audience, with rules echoing those found in the nation’s major sports leagues.
Some changes were revolutionary and stuck around – a rudimentary form of the backpass rule was an innovation of the North American Soccer League in the 1980s, for example, long before it was adopted throughout the game in 1992; likewise the use of substitutes, which was pioneered by the American Soccer League in the 1920s more than three decades before the idea was written into the laws of the game internationally.
Related: Three points for a goal? League 1 America: the soccer revolution that never was
Others are better forgotten. There was the two-point goal. There were ejections for persistent fouling. There was even an effort (who came up with this doozy?) to use corner kicks to decide tied games.
But there are a handful of innovations instituted Stateside, that have either faded away or remained confined to US soccer. While we’re not saying that any of the following should be instituted in the Premier League tomorrow, they could work in modified form in some places outside the US.
“American” penalties
Introduced in 1981 in an attempt to revitalize the flagging NASL, hockey-style penalties were deemed a more entertaining method for settling tied games and a greater test of a player’s skill than a traditional spot kick.
The shootouts alone couldn’t save the NASL. The league that once glittered with stars such as Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Pelé was defunct three years later. But when MLS was founded in 1996, this unique approach to deciding games was retained and used to settle every match that ended all square – no ties allowed.
Although, to the non-American eye, this alternative to penalty shootouts was unusual the rules were simple: starting 35 yards from goal, the attacking player had five seconds to beat the goalkeeper in a one-on-one showdown. The attacker could elect to shoot from distance, carry the ball closer to goal before striking or attempt to dribble around the keeper, and if the goalie fouled them in the process, a regular penalty kick would be awarded.
It was fun, it was different and it was, inarguably, a greater test of skill than an unimpeded shot from the spot. Settling tied games in league play is a non-starter. But…