how many players on a pro soccer team

Alright, so you wanna know ’bout them soccer fellas, how many on a team, eh? Let me tell ya, it ain’t as simple as countin’ yer chickens.

See, these fancy pro teams, they got a whole bunch of guys. Like, more than you’d see at a barn raisin’. They call it a “roster,” sounds all official and such. Now, they can have up to thirty of these fellas on the roster. Yep, thirty! That’s a lot of boots to lace up, lemme tell ya.

But, hold yer horses, that ain’t how many play at once. See, that’s just the whole bunch they got.
When they actually get out on that big ol’ grassy field, they only pick eleven. Eleven fellas runnin’ ’round like chickens with their heads cut off.

Eleven, that’s the magic number. Don’t matter how many they got sittin’ on the bench, or whatever they call it. Only eleven get to kick the ball and try to score.

Now, why eleven? Don’t ask me, I ain’t no rule maker. Maybe it’s ’cause eleven’s a good number, like the eleven herbs and spices in that chicken recipe. Who knows? All I know is, eleven’s what they do.

And it ain’t just the pros, either. All them other teams, the ones with the young’uns and the fellas playin’ for fun, they mostly do eleven too. At least, when they got enough folks to show up.

Sometimes, though, the little ones, they play with fewer. Like, seven maybe. Guess it’s easier to keep track of ’em that way. Less chance of ’em runnin’ off into the weeds or somethin’.

But these pro fellas, they stick to the eleven. Gotta have a goalie, ya know, the one who catches the ball. Then there’s the ones runnin’ up and down, kickin’ and whatnot. And the ones tryin’ to score. All eleven of ’em gotta work together, like a team of horses pullin’ a wagon.

Thirty on the roster, eleven on the field. That’s what you need to remember. And they gotta be fit, these fellas. Runnin’ around like that, gotta have good lungs and strong legs.

So, there ya have it. More fellas than you think, but only eleven playin’ at once. That’s how they do it, in the fancy soccer games. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go check on my chickens.