players on a team (as is usually the case) you play just one of them, who you'll guide through the most important parts of the game. These key moments include a variety of situations: penalty kicks, attacking, creating plays in the middle of the field, defending, etc.
In between games you can improve the attributes of your player. And you'd definitely better do this, as at first your bird's skills won't actually be all that good: you won't shoot very well, you'll run very little, and you won't have much accuracy in general. Improving those skills, though, will make your bird much more effective on the pitch.
Just like in New Star Soccer, Angry Birds Goal! lets you manage all aspects outside the games themselves. You'll need a good relationship with the manager, your fans, and the rest of the team. And to improve these relationships you'll have to do different activities that will definitely take important energy away from your next game.
Angry Birds Goal! is a very entertaining soccer game. That said, Rovio's game is simply not as good as other titles you can find on Android ... which is frankly quite surprising when you consider the resources they have available.