I want to start watching soccer. I know absolutely nothing about it. I have Hulu, Peacock, Prime, Paramount Plus. Where do I start? Who should I root for? What leagues should I follow/watch?
How do you feel about the torture and killing of Washington Post journalists because buddy you may be in luck
probably the best way to dip your toes in with the Euros is to follow the English Premier League (once it starts back up), it's by far the most popular on this board so you'll have a ton of fan interaction, and it's also the highest level of the sport so you'll know soccer's not for you if you can't enjoy watching it
find someone you can watch with that knows something about the game. It helps a lot with the learning curve.
I used to tell my friends they could be a fan of anyone but Chelsea because their owner really, really sucked, but he’s gone now.
THEBLUERAIDER just don’t hop on the bandwagon of a big club where they cry when they only come in the top 4 of their league…….u really need to embrace a Club with tradition, culture, and current mediocrity to really get the full gambit of emotions…….but don’t choose Everton you will be a miserable asshole
How do you feel about Bin Laden? Do you feel like you had anything in common with the man? Answering that can eliminate a English club.
I would try to pick at team with at least an established identity and style of play which will make it easier to try to follow tactics and formations. Otherwise it just looks like 22 people running around in circles.
"Mussolini did some good things" Spoiler Lazio, Juventus, Inter, Lyon, Real Madrid, Chelsea "I'm a big fan of what Cromwell did to the Irish" Spoiler Rangers "I have 1488 tattooed on my arm" Spoiler Millwall, Dynamo Dresden
Imagine telling yourself you would write these words 12 months ago. Also, very excited to look up all the players we are linked with this summer on SoFifa to see who they are and what the potential is.
unless you choose to follow like one of four or five clubs this will generally be a miserable experience
THEBLUERAIDER after much prayer I have assigned the Nottingham Forest icon to this thread. Watch them play Huddersfield on Sunday (winner gets the third promotion spot to the PL). Forest were one of the storied clubs of English football until the '90's when they fell on hard times. If they gain promotion it's going to be a tough campaign next season but there's a lot of history and spirit behind them. At least do some reading on them and give them a shot, and if you also need a Big-6 team to root for to make it interesting, well you're a bad person.
if they go up forest might be absolutely fucked next season though unless they can make some of these loan deals permanent garner, spence, zinkernackel, and davis are some of their best players. and if johnson leaves they might do worse than derby did
they absolutely are, but you never know they could work some loan magic and make it entertaining at least.
they could probably get zinkernackel and davis relatively easily. garner will definitely go through preseason at united and spence will have options way better than forest sounds like forest are for sale so their owner has to be shitting bricks this week. their valuation will swing by like 125m based on the game on friday
You should start watching the Bundesliga. Every match is sold out, great fans and every team starts the season with the same record. Some years there’s even a battle for second place! To help you choose a club to follow:
funny that answering yes to 'Interested in Winning' can get you to Schalke Also missing 1860 which I've learned from colleagues on my work trips to Munich is the purest form of fandom. But talking purity in any context in Munich is not a great look...
1859+1 is so pure they default on any and all financial obligations and get to languish in regional leagues for years.
This is our idiot sporting director right after 1860 welched on paying their part of the Allianz Arena loan
I got into soccer watching 2009-2012 Barcelona which is generally considered the best team of all time. It was art. Hard to explain a decade later, but they were playing a different game and it was beautiful. And it was all possible because they had Lionel Messi who I assume you’ve at least heard of. Im not religious, but if there is a god, Messi is the surest sign I know of or have ever seen proving it. Watch that and know that that’s a supernatural version of the sport you want to learn about and watch. And there are more, like even ten minute videos of his best “almost” goals half of which would slot in his all time video, and none of which are less impressive because they didn’t go in. Classic Barca games are available on YouTube too but they might not mean as much to you until you know more about the game. Once you do though, watching Messi until about 2020 in a full game is somehow even better than clipped highlights. Alright with that over, I would just say watch the Prem next year and don’t worry about a team but just who you like watching play. Learn about formations (4-3-3, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1), tactics (possesion, counter attacking, direct, Bielsa Ball lol, etc) and patterns of play (short passing, pressing, wide play, etc). If you like a team learn their history - what part of England they are in, what culture the club has - the culture and history of the club and city is a much more important of defining the current iteration of the club than it is in American sports. Learn the players, I loved Gerrard and that was part of why I started watching Liverpool more to begin with. If you enjoy it, all the above will be fun. After a season you’ll probably have an idea. And it’s ok if they are winners. Just don’t pick them because they are winners IMO. Enjoy it and welcome to TSB.