As an American from Texas it's easy to pick sports teams to support... teams from Houston > San Antonio > Dallas > everywhere else. I'm trying to get into European soccer/football but how do you pick a team to support, and in each of the various national leagues? It'd be easy to pick Barcelona for the Spanish league, ManU for the EPL, etc, but I usually like to support underdog teams. Also what about the Bundesliga and Italian leagues? How should a foreigner pick a team to support in European soccer leagues?
I wanted to get into diveball and I have adopted Man U. Didn't really put much thought into it other than they're really popular.
Back during the Beckham days Man U would be a no-brainer. Now who do they have? Rooney, Mata, Schweinstiger, Fellaini? Not enough star power for a new fan and none of those guys stand out to me.
Go with Manchester City... Aguero , Be Bruyne , Sterling etc... Dont become a casual ManU fan. Cant get any lower than that in the football world..
You could choose a team that has a prominent American on it (not many unfortunately). Everton in the Premier League has Tim Howard and they would be considered an underdog imo.
Wrong. Now is when you want to become a Red Devil. I have zero respect for all those glorylickers who became a fan of United during the peak Ferguson era, when they crushed everyone else in England most years. In fact I have negative respect for anyone who jumped on the bandwagon then. The only United fans worth a damn are the oldsters who followed the club in the Ron Atkinson era and prior (or at least during Ferguson's first few seasons, before the glory), when Liverpool were kings. Right now they're third best team in England at best, possibly 5th or 6th. They're back to that Ron Atkinson era status. Now they're underdogs whenever they go up against Arsenal or Chelsea or City. Hell, they're underdogs whenever they face Swansea. Now is the perfect time to start following United. Becoming a Blue now would be the worst thing you could do.
Isn't Howard still on hiatus? Dempsey played for an EPL team I think but now he's with Seattle in the MLS. I can't think of any top Americans playing in any of the European leagues besides those two. What's a "Blue" though? I'm not a big fan of Rooney or any of those others on ManU. I watched the Swansea game this past weekend and ManU was clearly outmatched like you mentioned. I also don't like the Chevy logo on the ManU shirts. I prefer the Vodafone logo they used to wear.
So you "usually root for underdogs" but current Man U doesn't have enough star power? Work on your GED first, then get into soccer.
A few things to consider: 1. Do you want a team that will compete for the Champions League (the Super Bowl of Europeon soccer)? If so your choices are down to about four teams at the moment, that will change unless you choose an English team. England has the most money in their domestic league (by far) but teams haven't been competitive in continental competitions recently. I don't see that changing any time soon. 2. Do you want to be respected by other soccer fans? If so don't choose Man U, Real Madrid, or Barcelona. Rooting for them is easy and most of their American fans are clueless. If you want a team that will win but won't be as shameful to root for look at the Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, and Tottenhams of the world. 3. Consider rooting for a team in a city you are likely to visit. Could you ever see yourself spending thousands of dollars to visit Liverpool or Leverkusen? 4. Don't root for Arsenal, 92% of their fans are convicted sex offenders. No joke, Osama Bin Laden was a huge Arsenal fan. 5. English teams are the easiest to follow in America, all Premiere League games are available on the NBC sports app and you can easily find their games on TV. Like I said, don't expect them to win games outside of their domestic league but it makes being a fan easier. 6. Again, DO NOT ROOT FOR ARSENAL. I can't be any clearer on this. Just say no.
I recommend Real Madrid ( Spain ) and Manchester City ( England ). Spain has the best competition and England has a fun competition. FC Barcelona ( Spain ) is excellent, but their refined passing can be boring. Just like Bayern M
I disagree. If you have self respect you choice an excellent team just like Real Madrid and Manchester City. FC Barcelona and Bayern Munchen are also excellent, but can be boring.
You're just telling him to root for one of the richest clubs. American fans who do that rarely bother to learn the intricacies and nuances of the game. They look up the score on weekends over breakfast, maybe watch a CL game if it's convenient. But they don't know what goes on outside of whoever is on their team, unless they show up on a SportsCenter clip. Savoring the joy of small victories lends itself to cultivating a more intelligent soccer fan. American fans of the aforementioned teams are largely just diluting the remedial nature of soccer analyses in America.
bundesliga is prob the most organic league in europe. -stable finances -teams are not owned by billionaires but by fans (club members) -full stadiums -tons of young talent
