Ted Lasso is certainly out of his element in the British Isles. For reasons that are revealed in the first episode, FC Richmond, an EPL football club decided to hire this stereotypical American Football coach to manage the team. The move appears to be a pathetic attempt to draw attention to the club, which had fallen into mediocrity in recent years.
Lasso has the enthusiasm to be a good manager, but knows absolutely nothing about soccer. The coach struggles to adapt to British lifestyle, which provides plenty of moments for viewers to enjoy. On at least seven occasions, Ted Lasso has made himself look like a complete idiot while trying to understand the basics of football — and here are those moments below.
7 Opening Press Conference
Less than a minute into Ted's first press conference, he states that the team will give "all they've got" for four quarters. Soccer is played in two 45 minutes halves, unlike American Football, making Lasso's statement inaccurate at best.
Shortly thereafter, Lasso claims the team will give it all they have, "win or lose". In American college football, there are no ties, only winners and losers. However, in the National Football League, teams can still have tie games. As soon as the overtime clock runs out, the game is labeled as a tie. In light of this difference, Lasso's statement is confusing, though his heart is in the right place.
6 Can You Name Any Footballers?
When asked the question, Lasso responds, "Ronaldo and the fellow that bends it like himself". Ronaldo is a good answer, but "Beckham" is literally in the movie title he is referencing. Even people that do not watch soccer at least know who Messi, Neymar, Mbappé, and Ibrahimović are.
Lasso should have at least guessed Messi, who has been an international superstar for more than a decade. There are also several household soccer names in the U.S., like Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Every American that was alive in the early 2000s knows who Landon Donovan is.
5 How Many Games Are In A Premiership Season?
When someone asks if he knows the answer to this question, Lasso states "Not off the top of my head, no." There are 19 teams in the EPL, and each of them play both a home and away game against every club in the league for a total for 38 games.
While the exact number is not exactly common knowledge in the states, a quick Google search would have revealed the answer and helped Lasso save some face.
4 What's A Goalie?
The only answer Lasso could come up with in response to this question is "The fella with the big Mickey Mouse hands and the, uh, by the net."
While technically not wrong, Lasso probably needs to hire a PR assistant. There are gloves in American Football and goalies in Hockey, a popular sport in the United States. Perhaps Lasso is jesting, but after the other responses, viewers must assume that he is actually that clueless.
3 The First Practice
Lasso confuses the players' boots for cleats during his first practice as head manager. He quips that if one gets arrested putting cleats in the trunk of a car, "you can say that they got the boot for putting boots in the boot."
Next, Lasso assumes that 7 on 7 is a drill that works in soccer. The drill only works in American football, because there are five skilled positions on the field at any time. In soccer, all of the players on the pitch can touch the ball over the course of a play. Despite his lack of knowledge, the players oblige.
2 Crystal Palace
When asked how he feels about facing off against Crystal Palace, Lasso remarks "a palace made out of crystals seems mighty fragile to me". It appears that Lasso is joking, but he actually makes an intuitive remark. While diamonds are "hard" they can be easily broken with blunt force. While the Crystal Palace Football Club has been a contender over the past few seasons, they are hardly a team to shrug off.
Lasso reveals he has no idea what the offside rule is in his second press conference before the match. Viewers will not want to miss the hilarious press conference scene where Lasso deflects the question. The quote is not safe for work, so readers will have to check it out for themselves.
1 X's And O's
Positioning and strategy is a bit different in in soccer than it is in American football. Lasso's attempts to draw the team's offense on the whiteboard could not have been more inaccurate. He drew lines between the center backs and fullbacks, which is not the correct movement for either position.
Additionally, Lasso set up the offense as a 4-4-1-1 staggered, which is very uncommon in the EPL. Midfielders should have interchange play as well as one-two passes with the strikers. Lasso is so out of his league that he uses the shy equipment manager's offensive strategy.