A New Soccer Fans Guide to European Soccer With lots of threads springing up from new soccer fans post World Cup asking about where to start with European leagues, I threw together this very quick and dirty guide to some of the top European leagues and teams. If you want to know more about the structure and rules of league soccer outside the US you can read THIS post by /u/scaryberry. I designed this guide with the World Cup watcher in mind and highlighted the players that each featured team sent to the World Cup. If you had a player that you loved to watch feel free to Ctrl+F his name and learn a little bit more about his team and league. The English Premier League (US TV Schedule) Generally the most followed league, especially by fans outside of Europe, the English Premier League is the top tier of soccer in England. The EPL is considered a rough and physical league and is home to most of the teams that you have heard of before, including: Manchester City - Last years Champions, Manchester City is the home of Belgiums Vincent Kompany, Spains David Silva, Brazils Fernandinho, Ivory Coasts Yaya Toure, and Zabaleta, Agüero, and Dimechelis from Argentina. The club is on an upswing after being bought by rich investors in 2008 and took home their fourth title last year in a really close season. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Liverpool - Liverpool took second in last years EPL, and boasts a fair bit of the English internationals from their roster, including exciting young scorers like Daniel Sturridge and the legend that is Steven Gerrard. They are a storied team that are back on the rise with the help of a new coach and a focus on a pass/possession heavy playing style. They recently sold infamous biter Suarez, but picked up Emre Can who will be a future prospect for the German national team. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Chelsea - Chelsea was bought by a rather frightening oligarch in 2003, and since then has spent an ungodly amount of money and sit consistently at the top of the league. They are coached by Jose The Special One Mourinho who is quite possibly the most polarizing coach in the history of modern football but has the trophy cabinet to back up his perceived insanity. Chelsea is filled with players from the World Cup including Spains Fàbregas, Torres and Diego Costa, Brazils Oscar and Willian, Nigerias Jon Obi Mikel and Victor Moses, Belgiums Hazard, Lukaku, and Courtois, and German assist hero André Schürrle. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Arsenal - Finishing fourth last year, Arsenal are a perennial top club and champions of the 13-14 FA Cup. They are coached by Frenchman Arsène Wenger since 1996 who has a talent for consistently finding amazing young players, turning them in to super stars, and then selling them to other clubs. Arsenal sent several players to the World Cup including Germanys Mertesacker, Podolski, and Özil, Frances Olivier Giroud, Costa Ricas Joel Campbell, Englands Wilshire and Oxlade-Chamberlain, and they have recently purchased Chiles Alexis Sanchez. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Manchester United - So Man U finished seventh last year but I would be remiss not to mention one of the most popular clubs in the entire world (sorry Everton and Tottenham, if I had more time Id get to you guys too). After losing their talisman of a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, after the 12-13 season, Manchester United hired former Everton manager David Moyes. Unfortunately for Moyes, the teams perfomance was very poor and failed to qualify for European competition for the first time since 1990. Moyes lost his job and will be replaced by the man who just coached the Netherlands to 3rd place at the World Cup, Louis van Gaal. Man Us roster boasts Englands Jones, Welbeck and Cleverley, Belgiums Fallaini, Vermijl, and Januzaj, Portugals Nani, Mexicos Javier Chichirrito Hernández, Netherlands Robin van Persie, and Spains Juan Mata. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Spanish Liga Primera Spains top league gave birth to the rise of the famous tiki-taka style of passing and possession until your opponent cant run any more and finally let you walk it in to their goal. Spanish teams dominated European and world competitions up until 2012, but their performance in the world cup may signal a change in the meta-game of soccer. Due to some very strange methods of doling out TV rights cash, Liga Primera is EXTREMELY top-heavy competition wise, but the amount of talent in the league as a whole is astounding. Some of their top teams include: Atletico Madrid - Winners of last years Liga and runners up in the Champions League, effectively making them one of the best teams in Europe last year, Atletico stopped the domination of Real Madrid/Barcelona with a truly fantastic and solid season. They lost their top scorer from last year to Chelsea but have managed to replace him with Croatias Mario Mandžukić who they hope will be able to fill his big shoes. Players from Atleti that featured in the World Cup include Uruguays Godín, Giménez and Rodríguez, Spains Juanfran, and Belgiums Alderweireld. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Barcelona - The most successful club in Spanish history, Barcelona has accrued 82 titles across all competitions in their history and will always be challengers for more. After winning pretty much everything they could win between 2008 and 2011, Barça are on a slight downward slope but are always a threat to become a dominant force again. Their roster is brimming with World Cup talent including Spains Pique, Xavi Hernández, Pedro, Andrés Iniesta Busquets, and Jordi Alba, Chiles Claudio Bravo, Croatias Ivan Rakitić, Netherlands Ibrahim Afellay, Brazilians Adriano, Dani Alves, and Neymar, Uruguayan cannibalism enthusiast Luis Suárez, and Argentinas Messi and Mascherano. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Real Madrid - Another team loaded with star power, Real Madrid is always in the fight for trophies, beating out Altetico Madrid for the Champions League but dropping to third in La Liga. The roster is chock full of World Cup stars including Spains Casillas, Sergio Ramos, and Xabi Alonso, Frances Raphaël Varane and Benzema, Brazils Marcelo, Croatias Luka Modrić, Argentinas Ángel di María, and Portugals Pepe, Fábio Coentrão, and of course Cristiano Ronaldo. Also a part of the team are two of the most exciting young players to watch in Jesé and Isco who show all the signs of being superstars on the rise. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) German Bundesliga Germanys top league is the competitive machine that churned out this years World Cup champions. Bundesliga rosters are largely dominated by homegrown German players and games can be wildly thrilling with lots of goals for the neutral fan. Teams to watch include: Bayern Munich - Perennial Champions, Bayern Munich has dominated Germany recently winning the league AND German Cup title six out of the last ten years, including a first place finish last year by an obscene amount of points. One of the more international line-ups, Bayern sent Brazils Dante, Spains Javi Martinez , Netherlands Arjen Robben, Switzerlands Xherdan Shaqiri, and the USs Julian Green. In addition to those players, Bayern also sent Manuel Neuer, Jérôme Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos, and Mario Götze to represent the Cup Winners, Germany. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Borussia Dortmund - Always around to challenge Bayern Munich and a team that is excellent at finding and grooming talent, Dortmund is extremely good at getting positive results without world-renowned superstars. They were represented at the World Cup by Italys Ciro Immobile, Columbias Adrián Ramos, and Germanys Mats Hummels. Their roster also includes the extremely talented German Marco Reus who had to be left of the international roster at the last moment due to an ankle injury in their final warm-up match. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Portuguese Primeira Liga The Portuguese League is one of the best at signing and developing talented players from all over the globe. Many players will make their name at one of Portugals big three clubs before moving on to siren song of higher wages in other leagues. This top division of Portuguese soccer has been in existence for 80 years, and 78 of those 80 championships of have been won by one of three teams. Benfica - Benfica won a domestic triple last year (1 league championship, and two association cups) to add to their 72 total titles. Their World Cup players included Uruguays Maxi Pereira, Argentinas Garay and Perez, and Portugals Almeida. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Sporting Clube de Portugal - Also known as Sporting CP or Sporting Lisbon, this club came in second in last years league and sent Argentinas Rojo, Portugals Carvalho, and Algerias Slimani to the World Cup. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Porto - Perennial title contenders and formerly Jose Mourinhos favorite feeder team, Porto managed a third place finish in last years league but still hold the Portuguese record as holders of 74 total total titles. Portos World Cup players included Mexicos Héctor Herrera and Diego Reyes, Columbias Juan Fernando Quintero and Jackson Martínez, Uruguays Jorge Fucile, Frances Eliaquim Mangala, Portugals Silvestre Varela, Algerias Nabil Ghilas, and Belgiums Steven Defour. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Italian Serie A A high quality league that has seen a fall from grace due to scandals and corruption, the Italian soccer league is still fantastic to watch. The parity of competition is actually one of the best in Europe, but only in the fight for second place. For the sake of brevity, well look at last years top two teams. Juventus - Juventus just dominate Italy, its what they do. They could be caught cheating, fined a ton of money, and demoted to Serie B, and then climb right back up to the top. Last year they won their third title in a row with a record 102 points. Insanity. They were represented at the World Cup by Uruguays Martín Cáceres, Frances Paul Pogba, Chiles Arturo Vidal and Mauricio Isla, and the Italians Gigi Buffon, Chiellini, Marchisio, Barzagli, Bonucci, and the man, the myth, the legend, Andrea Pirlo. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) AS Roma - Home of the great Totti and roommates with fellow Italian club Lazio, Roma finished second in last years Serie A after a stunning start that saw them score 24 goals in their first ten games while conceding only one. Romas representatives at the World Cup included Brazils Maicon, Greeces Torosidis, Ivory Coasts Gervinho, Italys Daniele De Rossi, and Bosnia and Herzegovinas Miralem Pjanić. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) French Ligue 1 (Wiki - Subreddit) When I first started watching European soccer, Ligue 1 was essentially Lyon and some other dudes. Thanks to an influx of a little bit of money and the gutting of Lyon, the league now shows a fair bit of parity all the way through. Again, for the sake of brevity well discuss the top two teams but note that anyone could mount a title challenge at most points. Paris Saint-Germain - Known affectionately as PSG, Saint-Germain are the nouveau riche of the French league after a takeover by a Qatari investment firm in 2012. Since then theyve been throwing money everywhere. They have made weird signings, like loaning underwear model David Beckham for six months, and amazing signings like Swedish God Zlatan Ibrahimović. Their World Cup representatives included Brazils Thiago Silva and Maxwell, Italys Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti, Uruguays Edinson Cavani, Frances Cabaye, Matuidi, and Digne, and Argentinas Lavezzi. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Monaco - Techinically a principality that plays within the French League, Monaco also managed to get a Russian sugar daddy in 2011 and will probably be trading top spots with PSG for a while as each try to out-insane the other with astronomical transfer budgets. Monacos most notable player at the World Cup was Golden Boot winner and Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez but they also sent Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero, and Portugals João Moutinho. (Wiki - Website - Subreddit) Hopefully this will get you started! Also, if you are from the United States and want to watch soccer in your own back yard, support your local MLS, NASL, or PDL team. You can even watch many of the 2014 games on national television, just check the MLS broadcast schedule.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 20:31:52 +0000
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