Classic LEGO sets: Soccer
Posted by Huw,
This week's classic LEGO article has been contributed by Allan, SprinkleOtter:
With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, I will be doing a review of LEGO Soccer or, for those of you not in America, football sets.
There have been a lot of great Soccer sets released under the Sports banner over the years, starting with a few promotional sets in 1998, with the first Soccer Field released two years later, featuring new spring-loaded Minifigure stands that allowed the figures to actually shoot the ball as part of the gameplay.
A host of expansion, stand-alone, team busses, and stadium sets were released to accompany the field, making Soccer into a legitimate theme. Two years later, special tracked baseplates and stands that allowed the minifigures to slide to the left or right, to provide more shooting options during gameplay were released.
The theme went mostly dormant for the next four years, until an underwhelming trio of sets was released, with the only innovation being solid molded nets (which can be either good or bad, depending upon your viewpoint). LEGO seems to have discontinued the Soccer line, with the only thing resembling a Soccer set being in the Friends line (which I know from pictures only. :P)
Promotional Set: 3303 Goals and Linesmen
The first real Soccer set, and the one that started it all was the Shell promotional Goals and Linesmen. This was small set containing two nets, three figures, and some penalty flags and cards. The selection of minifigures is somewhat strange, with an odd number of figures (referees, I believe), and no players. I suppose that's what the other two promotional sets were for, though. The image on the front of the box is somewhat funny, with (if my interpretation is correct) a player getting a red card, and smiling all the while.
Take-Along Set: 3568 Soccer Target Practice
Way back when, before smartphones really existed or gaming consoles were widely available, LEGO decided to try something new: a set that was completely portable, with the case actually being part of the set- the "net", in this case. The first of this type was the Shoot'n'save set, which is obviously the inspiration of this set. Soccer Target Practice included a shooter and stand, target, and goal with goalkeeper, so that two could play with the set at a time. The whole set could fit inside the "net", with its storage lid. The lid had a clip on it, so that one could clip it to their belt for travel (peculiar, I know).
Stand-alone Set: 3422 Shoot 'n Save
In my opinion, Shoot 'n Save is the best stand-alone set of the theme. Instead of shooting as targets, in this set you shoot at an actual goal, with an actual defender. The defender is motorized, so you can practice by yourself and still have the goalie move. A wonderful ball hopper is provided to feed the shooter with balls to pelt the poor goalie with. If you were so inclined, you could probably hook up the motorized defender to your own goal, to defend it while your attention is focused on your shooters.
Buses: 3411 American Team Bus
While Team Buses are virtually the same, including 6 figures (a little short of a team...), about 130 pieces, and a generous number of stickers (ick :P), two do stand out as having a promotional LEGO soccer ball packaged with them. The ball is a smaller than regulation, but is still functional. Several of the pentagon sections on the ball have advertisements for LEGO, LEGO Soccer, or depict a (as far as I know) non-existent minifigure kicking a soccer ball. The ball is very well made, the only wear on mine is some cracks in the outer coating.
Stadium Set: 3408 Super Sports Coverage
Super Sports Coverage is, in my opinion, the best stadium set, featuring a first-aid station, recording tower, stadium entrance, shop, seating, and stretcher car. The First Aid station includes an X-Ray machine and viewing screen depicting a set of Skeleton minifigure legs with a broken knee. The stretcher car is a little strange, being a simple car base, with a stretcher and steering wheel on it. The recording tower seats one minifigure above the First-Aid station, overlooking the soccer field below. Above that is a crane, with room for a minifigure with a camera. The crane swivels, tilts, and extends for better viewing angles. The stadium entrance is a detailed archway, with a ticket booth on either side, and a turnstile in the middle (though minifigures could easily slip through... Well, maybe not Bombur. :P). Above the arch are two flags, and a light. The shop is unfortunately small, with a very limited selection of hats, flag, and a tape. A cash register is included, but its positioning is very awkward. Seating is scattered across the set, in front of both buildings, and over the shop (how the minifigures get to them is up to your imagination :P). All have railings in front of them, either holding signs directing fans to the shop or First-Aid station, or holding a light. Five minifigures appear in this set, to provide lots of play options.
Small Soccer Field: 3421 3 vs 3 Shootout
3 vs 3 Shootout takes the prize for this category. A nice little mid-sized set, 3 vs 3 Shootout provides the feel of a larger field, with three fifths the price. The players are so close together in the center of the field that a skirmish is doubtless to ensue any shots. With a little creative reworking and/or an expansion set, the 3 vs 3 Shootout can get even better and bigger.
Soccer Field: 3420 Championship Challenge II
The Soccer Field I chose for this slot is the Championship challenge II. This set sports several improvements over the first Champion Challenge, my favorite being the sliding Minifigure stands, which add another level of playability to the field. The nets are also new, extending to the back of the goalie's basebrick, and fit much better, though the ball can slip through the back sometimes (no arguing if that was a goal on those shots :P). Two flip-up scoreboards are included, one on each side, counting up to five, so there can be no confusion on the score. The advertisements on the walls are about the same, with Adidas being the only real company, but I don't know if that's on purpose or not (though I do think the LEGO ads have a bit of charm to them).
XL Soccer Field: 3425 Grand Championship Cup
Unfortunately, there is only one contender for this category (well, two, but the only difference is a set of stickers...), the Grand Championship Cup (alternately, US National Team Cup Edition Set). With eleven minifigures on each team (a full team plus reserves, I believe), this set allows for some pretty epic gameplay. The four sliding minifigure bases are located to the sides of the field, with a row of figures on stationary bases in the center, leaving absolutely no room for those annoying (or awesome, depending upon who just scored) goalie-to-opposite-goal shots.
(It's a shame that the illustration on most of the instruction covers does not really show the set very well, isn't it -- Huw)
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29 comments on this article
It's odd that the popularity of football in Europe didn't keep these sets coming through the years, and at least every 4 years in time with the extra World Cup interest. There has even been a clone brand massive football stadium recently released in Australia in time with the World Cup, so interest is still around...
There were obviously a lot of units sold over the years if all the balls in all the LEGO Great Ball Contraptions are anything to go by!
@ Huw.
I think you're right- most instructions covers devote less than a quarter of their cover space to the set. Would you like images of the boxes instead?
@Huw, is there a reason clone brands show up in ebay listings?'
http://brickset.com/sets/3303-1
is it the set numbers it looks for?
Such a shame that these sets were brought out in the late 90's which were undoubtedly dark days for Lego in terms of design and thought. Just imagine how great some of these sets could be with a new wave of newly designed products from the creative team and new components that Lego now have.
Like OuterRimTradingCo. I'm amazed that Lego have not continued the Lego Soccer theme, given the global appeal of football and the way that it can be integrated with City sets, it could even give the many hordes of Lego City Police something to attend for crowd control!
@KLF - close. Top of page 56:
https://www.bigw.com.au/offer/catalogueview=catalogue2&saleId=6585&page=57
(copy and paste if the link breaks up)
Can you imagine LEGO producing iconic football stadiums from all around the world?
@SprinkleOtter, if you have them, yes please!
@Brickley: Good idea about integrating this into Lego City. I'm not really a big City collector but can imagine this impacting it, though some large stadiums might fit better into modular building...
I really loved the team buses. Particularly the black-and-white bus. It was the same colours as the Metroliner (kind of), so it really fit with my city's public transport system. And they were great designs, too.
@ Huw.
I make no guarantees, but I will look for mine. :)
@ Yuffie.
Ah, thanks! :)
Whoa... I somehow never paid attention to these before. Some of these are pretty epic. How, exactly, does the gameplay work?
@ Mr. PicnicBasket.
I'm glad you asked! :)
The game works just like regular soccer. The players are mounted on spring-loaded stands, so that when you push down on the tab in the back and release, the ball will be launched. The goalies are on somewhat different stands (without the springs), and are placed at the ends of sticks, which in turn are connected to turntables with Technic pieces, allowing them to be moved both up-and-down and side-to-side. The goalie can also shoot to a limited extent, with a rubber band providing the propulsion.
"An odd number of figures (referees, I believe), and no players. The image on the front of the box is somewhat funny, with (if my interpretation is correct) a player getting a red card."
Not sure how a player can be getting a red card if there are no players in the set. As yuffie said, and as the set name says, and as you yourself say, these are all referees.
Of course this only makes the image on the box funnier still, as it depicts a linesman getting a red card. For stealing a corner flag, no less. That's a first.
I only ever got the original Championship Challenge (the only field set not to be featured here) and must say it was one of my favorite models. The build was just okay, but the playability factor was great, much better than some of the other sports themes that would follow IMO, (And that set was also the last release of my favorite minifig headband head, but I digress.) I would be totally into a re-release of the sports line of football. Thanks for the article that brought back the memories!
@ Schwallex.
I meant "a player getting a red card, and [the referee] smiling all the while". :P
@ xccj.
Not the only field not to be featured- the latest one wasn't, either.
Yeah, Soccer was such a great theme for minifigure heads.
You're welcome! :)
Waitaminute... THAT's what the original purpose of the Ultimate Lightsaber Duel turntables was!
Thanks, Sprinkleotter!
3303 was not the only "first" set since it was part of a large number of sets released as promotional offers by Merlin in the UK and Shell in other European countries. As you can see in the picture, it has a red number 2 as well as a Dutch player logo on the bottom left. The nationality of the player changed depending on the country; England, The Netherlands and Germany, Austria (at least). Number 1 was the Field Bases, 3302. The team players came in small polybags, the country stickers separate. I have an unnumbered (apart from a number '1') boxed set that was released by Merlin and contained Merlin cards, 3302, 3303, 3306 Goal keepers and several 3318 English players and 3324 "World" players. The sticker sheet had Scottish and World stickers though... Other sets (numbered from 1 - 12 plus various polybags) had stands, medics, lights, TV towers and, my favourite, riot police, 3314!
@Mr. PicnicBasket: Also, the stands for Anakin and Obi-Wan in 7257 are a modification those used for hockey in 3578 and 3579 , the only difference being the lack of the hockey-stick part.
The lego football pitch for France '98 was the better owing to the markings and stripes to the pitch.It was a better scale and allowed far more flexibility with the action.
I managed to acquire two at the time and have recently obtained the set from 2000 with the spring loaded players. Although I prefer the '98 one overall the 2000 set is a good stand alone game to play with my brother or nephews..... ;-)
The 1998 World Cup sets were fantastic. I was lucky to find a great guy in Germany who bought me a complete set for US$320 and I don't regret it for a moment. The bleachers were wonderful, the scoreboard and light fixtures were really outstanding, and I went through every minifigure I owned to put together 11-man teams with blank torsos and matching legs. I still have all 18 country teams and the LEGO team I put together and made custom scoreboard pieces for out of 1x3 white bricks.
The 2000 sets were fun for playing, and with some expansion pieces you could put together a full 11 v. 11 game. I need to dig them out of the basement some time now that my son is old enough to play it.
As SO won't like or understand my opinion, I'll give it any way. I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the Lego Sports. I never got any of these sets as I had little interest them. Lego Soccer was certainly the best of subtheme out all the Sports. I liked the almost modular nature of the '98 and '00 sets. What I don't like (and this is about Lego Sports in general) is the attempt to made a Lego fussball game. For that reason I think I like the '98 sets better, but there are far too many promotional or limited sets and needs for multiples to get a full "set." There's the same problem with the Coke sets from '02.
Overall this seems like a good list. 3303 is the one I would object to and that's only because SO clearly doesn't understand the set. As all ready stated by others its a referee with two linesmen (see 3302 for full details). I would say that 3314 should have been gotten an honorable mention. This is a set I can't believe Lego released. Its just too funny not mention.
Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I had so many of the soccer sets growing up, from one of the variations of the team bus to that carry along one. The shoot n' save one in particular, I have fond memories of playing that with my dad so often. That team bus with the soccer ball was a good value; the bus was a great set, and I got a lot of use out of that soccer ball in real life. I wish LEGO would do modern soccer sets again, they were a blast back in the day! It was always the one thing all my minifigures got together for too.
Is there a chance Lego may produce sport themes again? I would buy soccer/football and basketball/NBA sets if I had the option. May we create a petition and send it to Lego?
What a fantastic article. Wonderful way to reminisce a unique subtheme of LEGO Sports. I have two sets and enjoy them with my son: the Championship Challenge and the Grandstand with Scoreboard. I wish I had a few of the sliding minifigure bases--such a neat feature.
@ Mr. PicnicBasket.
Yeah. :)
@ jpeg68.
Actually, it is the first true set to contain a soccer ball. The others are good, but this stood out to me as the first soccer set.
@ lusifersam.
Wow... So many contradictions...
What is so funny about 3314?
Yes, I'm contradicting myself. I guess it's a bit more stream of consciousness writing.
3314 is a soccer riot (all be it a small one). If memory severs the major European tournaments were marred by large scale riots in '96 and again in '98. I would think Lego would distance itself from that image.