Football (not American Football): Which system do you prefer - Possession or Counter Attacking?

@abe182 But when you only control the ball then you don't get many chances to score a goal because the opposite defence is not disordered.

@schorschlandmann I don't watch soccer/football I'll admit that right off. Just an American perspective.
You would give up the ball to disorganize the defense so when you get the ball back you can exploit that to your advantage? Am I following

@abe182 Yes possession game is the philosophy when you try to keep the ball without letting the opposite team getting the ball. If you as a team can pass the ball in a good quality the opposite team is forced to run more than you. So the opposite team loses more strength and endurance. You can pass through the opposite till you can score a goal.
The other system is counter attacking. In that system you let the opposite keep the ball and stay in a good defence order. Whenever the opposite team loses the ball which you get then you run as fast as you can (counter attack) to the opposite goal. The pro in that philosophy is that mostly the opposite defence is discordered and when you counter attack perfectly you get a big chance to score a goal.

@schorschlandmann thank you for explaining that! Now the game makes some sense to me whereas before I grew tired of the mass amount of ball turnover and low scoring. It's a highly popular sport I always felt like I was missing something.
American football fan.

@abe182 Yes I know in the US European Football/Soccer is not that popular. One reason is that in that sport many players/teams try to play unfair and deceive the referee. Many Americans hate it so they don't like that sport.

@schorschlandmann yeah we get that enough in basketball.

@abe182 Most of us Europeans don't know the rules of American Football. It seems too complicated for us. :)