Who Is the True Soccer King? A Deep Dive Into Football's Greatest Legends
As I sit here watching the MPBL games resume at Paco Arena in Manila, I can't help but reflect on how far organized sports have come throughout human history. The energy in this arena tonight—with Pangasinan facing Marikina at 4 p.m., GenSan battling Muntinlupa at 6 p.m., and Manila taking on Ilagan Isabela at 8 p.m.—reminds me that the passion for competitive games stretches back thousands of years. Soccer's journey from ancient pastimes to the modern global phenomenon represents one of humanity's most fascinating cultural evolutions, and honestly, I find it absolutely captivating how these early games parallel what we're witnessing in modern basketball leagues like the MPBL.
The earliest evidence of ball games dates back over 3,000 years to ancient Mesoamerican cultures, where the Olmecs played a ritual ballgame using a solid rubber ball—something I've always found remarkable considering rubber wasn't even introduced to Europe until the 16th century. What really blows my mind is that these games weren't just recreational; they held deep religious significance, sometimes even involving human sacrifice. Meanwhile, in China around the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, the military practiced "cuju," which literally translates to "kick ball"—a game where players had to keep a leather ball filled with feathers airborne using their feet. Having studied these ancient forms extensively, I'm convinced cuju represents soccer's most direct ancestor, though some historians might argue for the Greek "episkyros" or Roman "harpastum" as stronger contenders. Personally, I lean toward the Chinese origin theory because the foot-focused nature of cuju aligns more closely with modern soccer than the hand-heavy European variants.
Fast forward to medieval Europe, where chaotic mob football games would involve entire villages kicking inflated animal bladders across fields that sometimes stretched for miles between neighboring towns. These games could last for days and often resulted in broken bones and property damage—a far cry from today's regulated matches at venues like Paco Arena. I've always been fascinated by King Edward II's 1314 ban on football in London, where he declared the game caused "great evils in the city." It's amusing to think that what we now consider family entertainment was once deemed public disorder. The transformation began in 19th century England when public schools started formalizing the rules, leading to the 1863 formation of the Football Association—the single most important development in soccer's history, in my opinion. The standardization created what we'd recognize as modern soccer, separating it from rugby and establishing the fundamental principle that players couldn't handle the ball.
Watching the MPBL games tonight, I'm struck by how similar the organizational journey has been for basketball—another sport that evolved from informal play to highly structured competition. The passion displayed by fans cheering for Pangasinan, Marikina, GenSan, Muntinlupa, Manila, and Ilagan Isabela mirrors the enthusiasm that accompanied soccer's global spread through British traders and colonists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Soccer's first international competition, the British Home Championship, began in 1884, while the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 featured just 13 teams—a modest beginning for what would become the world's most-watched sporting event. I've always believed soccer's simplicity is its greatest strength; all you need is a ball and something to mark goals, which made it accessible worldwide. Today, FIFA estimates over 270 million people play soccer professionally or recreationally, with the 2018 World Cup final reaching approximately 1.1 billion viewers—numbers that humble even the most popular basketball leagues.
The modern game continues evolving, with technological innovations like VAR (Video Assistant Referee) creating both controversy and improvement. As someone who's played both soccer and basketball recreationally for years, I prefer soccer's continuous flow compared to basketball's frequent stoppages, though I understand why some find the constant action of basketball more exciting. The financial aspect has transformed dramatically too—when Manchester United paid £6,000 for Billy Meredith in 1906, it was considered outrageous, compared to Neymar's 2017 €222 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. This commercialization has its downsides, but it's enabled the global spectacle we enjoy today. Sitting here at Paco Arena, watching these MPBL teams compete with such intensity, I'm reminded that whether it's soccer or basketball, our fundamental desire for organized competition connects us to those ancient players who first started kicking balls centuries ago. The equipment, rules, and scale have changed, but the human passion for the game remains beautifully constant.