European football: how to pick a team to support?

[Rum]

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.

City supporter. Chelsea is just as bad.

Those clubs are the playthings of billionaires. They were nothing until some evil mega-magnate decided he wanted a toy football club he could buy some glory for. They have some good fans - especially City, whose supporters suffered for decades - but if you're jumping on now they're already flying you're lower than dirt.

If you're going for an English club it should be red. Liverpool are heartbreakers but have a long legit history of glory. Arsenal are frustraters but are also 100% legit. Ferguson built United's legacy from the ground up - on kids from United's academy - at a time when the pundits were saying that was a crazy idea.

If you had any balls at all though you'd support The Hammers of West Ham United.

 

[Lustercross]

La liga is on bein sports. Unless you don't have that channel, they are easy to follow. Also la liga has 5 teams that qualified for champions league this year. Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Sevilla. That is on fox. If you want to follow the best league in europe then follow la liga.

 

[Da Speeit]

Your team has Sergio Busquets on it, dapsy.



I mean we're talking about Busquets, man.

His dives are art, so is the rest of his play.
I don't watch soccer to puffer my chest out and say so and so is such a GOAT awesome man like you Arsenal Voyeurs have to. I like watching the best play and he's the best in his position and has been for about 7 years now.

That's why you lot are constantly trying to lure him away

 

[Ragnarocker]

Supporting Barca is the wrong move if you want to avoid diving pieces of crap.

Ahaha that's fair. I wanted Neymar to die in a fire after I saw him dive a few times during the last world cup. I'm also not a big fan of that biter Suarez. But watching that video De Speeit posted, man it's hard to root against Messi and that passing attack. Those give and gos and returns were amazing. I've been on the side of teams on the losing side of that kind of possession and passing and it sucks.

 

[fetalpuzishun]

A big part of it is figuring out what all these national leagues and champion leagues are and who qualifies for what. I only recently got the hang of tournaments for CONCACAF and the regional divisions like CONMEBOL and UEFA. I'm still not sure which championships matter and are worth watching, as the CONCACAF Gold Cup was a bit of a letdown for US fans but didn't seem to matter much. Then they had some champions league games in the US featuring European teams playing MLS teams, but Messi and Neymar didn't play for Barcelona because they had played in the Copa America for CONMEBOL. It's all such a mess, it makes it even harder to pick a team instead of just going with national loyalties, but then which team do you support when national team members play on opposing teams in league play?

Being able to watch a team is an important factor, of course. With FS1 and 2 playing UEFA and Bundesliga games and NBCSN playing EPL, I'll probably stick with an EPL team. I don't care about seeming like a bandwagon fan either. I appreciate amazing skill and talent, and will watch any team that consistently has that on display in lieu of any more concrete reason to support them.

The Gold Cup matters the least of almost any tournament. It doesn't guarantee a World Cup entry, and the big dogs (USA, Mexico, Costa Rica) rarely send their best players because it's played right after the Euro season ends. Players only get two months off so they aren't spend that playing in a meaningless tournament.

He other continents take great pride in winning their continental championship. Europe and South America have to most talent, and likewise are the most prestigious.

The African Nations Cup is also a strong source of pride for African countries. Also, Africa produces a lot of talent which makes for a pretty high level of play. Also they troll the Europeon clubs by holding the tournament smack in the middle of the Europeon season. All these huge clubs lose of their best players and the most important part of the season.

 

[Ragnarocker]

You should rename this thread, "suggest soccer teams for me to support so I can tell you why I won't support them."

Nah, I was never looking for anyone to recommend a particular team to support, it's more for ways to pick a team, not looking for specific recommendations on what team to support or reasons to hate a team. Most of my exposure to these players is during World Cup so I got to see a lot of the divers and not a lot of the skill you see in league play with guys they are used to playing with.

 

[Chules]

It's funny that Arsenal fans seem to be the most adament anti-diving fans but their players fly around the pitch more than any other team in the PL

he could've killed him!

 

[Ragnarocker]

That was a preseason Tournament.

Soccer season in Europe is roughly from mid august to mid may,except for some scandinavian and eastern european countries with horrid cold winters.

If you choose an EPL side you have these competitions to care for:
-EPL
-FA cup
-League cup (or whatever the name is now)

If your Team qualified for European competition:
-Champions League: Features all the top teams along with some no hoper Top teams from irrelevant countries (Greece,Russia,Kazakhstan,Israel)

-Europa League: Features Teams who didnt qualify for the Champions league but qualified for this.In England for example 5th-8th place EPL Teams qualified for the EL.2 are already out during EL qualification though

Ahh that makes sense then. I really wanted to see Barcelona on full display against the Galaxy so people could see the difference in skill level though I'm sure a lot are aware of the disparity between the best MLS has compared to a lot of the European teams.

Really it's down to an EPL team or a La Liga team just based on availability and mainstream appeal. It'd be great to have them participate in a lot of tournaments too.

 

[Da Speeit]

Ahaha that's fair. I wanted Neymar to die in a fire after I saw him dive a few times during the last world cup. I'm also not a big fan of that biter Suarez. But watching that video De Speeit posted, man it's hard to root against Messi and that passing attack. Those give and gos and returns were amazing. I've been on the side of teams on the losing side of that kind of possession and passing and it sucks.

Saurez is a good lad and even his victims agree.
Neymar had a come to jesus talking with Messi and is diving much less


There's also the nicest guy in the sport, Ivan Rakitic on our squad

Not to Mention Saint Jordi

"He would tackle anything"
Gary motherfucking Neville

And finally

GOAT comeback. Brilliant. Beautiful. Stunning.

I rest my case.
Vote for the best football bro.

 

[Ragnarocker]

The Gold Cup matters the least of almost any tournament. It doesn't guarantee a World Cup entry, and the big dogs (USA, Mexico, Costa Rica) rarely send their best players because it's played right after the Euro season ends. Players only get two months off so they aren't spend that playing in a meaningless tournament.

He other continents take great pride in winning their continental championship. Europe and South America have to most talent, and likewise are the most prestigious.

The African Nations Cup is also a strong source of pride for African countries. Also, Africa produces a lot of talent which makes for a pretty high level of play. Also they troll the Europeon clubs by holding the tournament smack in the middle of the Europeon season. All these huge clubs lose of their best players and the most important part of the season.

Well that sucks, considering how well the US typically does in the Gold Cup. I think if you win 2 gold cups in a row then you automatically qualify for the WC. The US won the previous one and then Mexico won this latest one so now they have a playoff to see who gets the auto bid to the WC (I think). Sucks that it's such a meaningless tourney in the bigger picture.

 

[Lustercross]

Well that sucks, considering how well the US typically does in the Gold Cup. I think if you win 2 gold cups in a row then you automatically qualify for the WC. The US won the previous one and then Mexico won this latest one so now they have a playoff to see who gets the auto bid to the WC (I think). Sucks that it's such a meaningless tourney in the bigger picture.

Ignore that post. USA and Mexico do send their best team to the gold cup.

 

[Rawex]

Manchester City

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Hopefully not all soccer fans are as dickish as you seem. A team can have star power but not be favorites or even a winning team. I support the NFL's Houston Texans and they have JJ Watt so it's fun to watch them on defense. See how that works? Also you ignored how I wrote "usually" as in not always.

Relax, your post smelled a bit like a troll so I had to fuck with you.

But since it seems like you're genuine, I'll give you my advice: don't pick any European team. Support your MLS team.

Part of being a legit fan is rooting for the team you can and have gone to see play. You can have a few teams in Europe that you like more than others (I like Barcelona because of their sweet style, PSG because they have Pastore, etc) , but to get real, legit soccer respect, your hometown team has to be your main chick.

 

[Ragnarocker]

Saurez is a good lad and even his victims agree.
Neymar had a come to jesus talking with Messi and is diving much less


I rest my case.
Vote for the best football bro.

That was inspiring to see Neymar battle and stay on his feet. It's hard not to root for Messi. I think he was one of the first notable players I saw when I watched my first WC in 2010.

Seeing Jordi throw the ball into Robben's face was priceless :icon_chee.

I don't get BeIN sports as a part of my current package (AT&T Uverse only offers it with their biggest package) so I'll have to find a way to watch La Liga games regularly.

I guess there'd be nothing wrong with picking a team from each of the European leagues to support.

 

[Ragnarocker]

Relax, your post smelled a bit like a troll so I had to fuck with you.

But since it seems like you're genuine, I'll give you my advice: don't pick any European team. Support your MLS team.

Part of being a legit fan is rooting for the team you can and have gone to see play. You can have a few teams in Europe that you like more than others (I like Barcelona because of their sweet style, PSG because they have Pastore, etc) , but to get real, legit soccer respect, your hometown team has to be your main chick.

I think we're all a little too quick to give each other shit and not realize sometimes we post under less than ideal conditions like while we're in line or on the bus or in class, so we don't say exactly what we mean or what we wanted to convey and end up sounding like trolls or idiots.

I appreciate the suggestion about supporting MLS over European teams, but I want to see the best soccer and MLS still lags for talent and skill. It doesn't help that I'd most likely support the Dynamo but I'm not in Houston and from what I've seen of FS coverage they tend to show a lot of Galaxy games and other major market teams, so it would be hard to follow the Dynamo. I will watch MLS games as they're on but actually supporting a team via buying memorabilia, going to see a game, etc, might not have the zeal of supporting a well established European team.

 

[TronSpecial]

Bundesliga - underdogs would be dortmund, leverkusen, wolfsburg, schalke used to be cool.

serie a - underdogs are at the moment AC Milan (used to be huge), Inter (used to be awsome), Roma. If you want to include Fiorentina and Lazio sure, but they're a bit weak.

EPL - probably most well known league and very competitive. Underdogs in EPL right now include the spuds (I mean spurs), Liverpool, Man U, and I might catch some flak for this but Arsenal.

 

[GracieNutHugger]

Premier League - Swansea City, or Crystal Palace if you're feeling adventurous

La Liga - Valencia, Atletico Madrid, or if you like underdogs, Eibar

Bundesliga - Dortmund or Wolfsburg

Serie A - Fuck Serie A, boring ass Italian twats. Roma if I was forced to pick one.

 

[matburn H]

First of all what channels do you get? English, Spanish, and German leagues are all in different channels and you may or may not get them.

Next, ask yourself if you want to support a "big" club or a smaller one.

I recently decided to pick a team to support after watching the premier league for years without having a team. Makes the season a bit more fun when you have a team you are genuinely interested in. If you have any questions ask away.

 

[$uperman]

I you're average then choice an average team.

If you have class choice Real Madrid or Manchester city.

Real Madrid last weekend Highlight.

 

[Sebbe]

Borussia Dortmund,obviously

This.

Look for a team that plays offensive minded fun to watch football. Or a team with great fan culture.