This is a tactic used by soccer teams in order to lure the other team offside. In soccer, offside is when an offensive player is behind the second to last defenseman when the ball is passed to him.

To intiate an offside trap, your team has to be in the proper formation. The most commonly used formation is the sweeper or "diamond" formation. It is in the shape of an elongated diamond, with the latitudinal sides being the ones elongated.

The actual trap is iniated by the back defenseman or sweeper. As the ball is about to be kicked, the sweeper runs forward in order to draw any offensive players, that are behind their man, offside. It is a very good trap and is used by many professional teams.

There are, however, many things that can hamper the trap. A particularly fast forward doesn't need to be behind the defense. Another is a mistimed run by the sweeper when moving forward. The last is common at all levels of the game, an incompetent referee or linesman.

Despite many things that can make it useless, the offside trap is very effective at stopping an opponent's attack even before it happens.

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