On The Ball: League Edition

On the Ball: League Edition was alternately titled Anstoss Soccer. It is a European football or soccer management simulation game that was both developed and released by Ascon GbmH. It was released for play in the middle nineties and was primarily only a hit on the personal computer in the DOS format.
In the middle nineties, and even somewhat earlier, soccer management games were a dime a dozen, ranging from the Sensible World of Soccer series to the Football Manager or Goal series.

What set On the Ball: League Edition apart from the waves of others was its unusual focus on the psychological aspects of the game, as opposed to the players physical statistics. As the player manager, there are many mental gymnastics for you to perform. The twists of the game include the degree of anger involved in the pep talks you give the players. Are you a guilt-tripper? Do you use anger to bring out the competitive fire? Will building the players’ egos become a self-fulfilling prophecy and make them play with all of their abilities? What about public relations moves? Here is a great place to develop some real soap operas within the industry, liven things up, and add an interesting element to this game. Not only are these aspects fun and unique, but they also directly effect the performance of the team, so some thought is required before partaking in these mind games.
The goal of the game is to win as a team and also make a profit, since professional sports is also a business. The game is measured by a composite score based on these two factors, and the user has a target score that he will be expected to reach by the end of the game. Whether or not this goal is achieved is a testament to your managerial skills. Of course, the user will have to actually manage the team as a physical machine as well as all of the above listed items if he wants to succeed. As a whole, On the Ball: League Edition is a pretty fun managerial simulation for soccer. It has a many facets to it, several of which are absent from other more popular games. Despite its commercial failing, it still is a good offering and will provide some fun and challenges that can’t be found in the more popular Championship Manager and the like. Ignore the average, cheesy graphics and give On the Ball: League Edition a try based on the game itself. Let the head games begin.