Oh, so this is another "treat something real as a video game" thread? How many times does this have to be done before people realize it stopped being funny years ago?
Heh, seconded. But I'll bite.
European Spanish football is where it's at unless you have teams who treat it like entirely serious business and make the game boring as fuck with 2 hours of passing the ball and occasionally shooting just to miss.
Fixed that for you. I love football and all, but honestly, these days, it's more about winning than actually having a good game. Too many of the 'best' teams that win the trophies are about defensive playing.
Watch a good team, it's fun. South American and English teams are great, though South American football has had a bit less wacky instinctive moves and more strict tactical formations in the past few years. The English teams have a great flow, and despite Manchester United being overrated, they play some beautiful football and goals.
The rules are all very simple, but the beauty is in watching a creative midfield combine with an accurate forward. There's a lot of emergent gameplay, and all the great games are unique.
And yeah, pretty much anyone who thinks it's safe hasn't played it. I've avoided playing it since a friend of mine broke his arm playing shortly before a major exam. Injuries are very common and few players go through a season without being injured. The reason you see so many people rolling around after a tackle is because if they stiffened their body, they'd most likely break something.