UEFA CL

[olympicoscar]

How do you guys follow international soccer? Also, what is it about soccer that gets people so excited? Trying to get into it but need some direction.

Summary - WC Qualification Europe - Europe - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway

This is the website I mostly use.

ESPN also has a soccer section.

The game is a lot better if your a spectator in Europe. I've seen 2 games live in Europe and one World Cup game in Dallas in 1994.

Watch England play sometime in a big international match. The crowd starts singing and the atmosphere is wild.

The buildup to a goal, corner kicks and set pieces make this a very fascinating game. Also the refs take no crap. Nothing like it in the USA.

 

[Yoshi]

Summary - WC Qualification Europe - Europe - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway

This is the website I mostly use.

ESPN also has a soccer section.

The game is a lot better if your a spectator in Europe. I've seen 2 games live in Europe and one World Cup game in Dallas in 1994.

Watch England play sometime in a big international match. The crowd starts singing and the atmosphere is wild.

The buildup to a goal, corner kicks and set pieces make this a very fascinating game. Also the refs take no crap. Nothing like it in the USA.

Unless you're talking about Mike Riley, who always succumbs to Man United.

 

[Yoshi]

How do you guys follow international soccer? Also, what is it about soccer that gets people so excited? Trying to get into it but need some direction.

Not sure if you have Gol TV, ESPN Deportes, or Fox Soccer Channel where you live, but those are good channels to get a heavy dose of soccer and analysis afterwards. Also, there are books out there that you can read up on the sport in terms of tactics, players, formations, etc. Here's one for you:

Zonal Marking | Football tactics, formations, diagrams, chalkboards and graphs

Also, unlike the olympics, the best of the best players in the world compete for club AND country year round, which means they are either in friendlies, world cup qualifiers, or euro cup qualifiers.

Futbol has a growing littany of fans in the States and I know that the majority of people here care less about soccer as opposed to football or baseball. Truth of the matter is that the number of people worldwide who watch the world cup final dwarfs the number of people who watch the SuperBowl. Add to the fact that futbol rivalries are not just about the teams (a la Giants vs Dodgers or Yankees vs Red Sox), but their are often political, social, and historical clashes in club and international rivalries which adds to the flare of these competitions. Case in point - Celtic vs Rangers and their religious differences; England vs Argentina and their rivalry over the battle of the Falklands in 1982, Germany vs Holland and their history in WWII, and my favorite of them all - my team, Blaugrana aka FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid with Catalans vs Catalonians and the history of Franco persecuting supporters of FCB because Madrid was his team.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Nice Yoshi! A Zonal Marking convert. Michael Cox is the #1 football brain out there.....he's starting to get a lot of recognition, now writes for ESPN.com and the Guardian, which are probably two of the main sites.

Agree with all of your picks too. A couple of great matchups, with Real-United as big as it gets, and Dortmund-Shakhtar the soccer nerd's dream matchup full of technical players, attacking lineups, and two superb coaches.

 

[ciprian]

Can't wait for Champions League to return. A lot of great matches in the last 16.

 

[olympicoscar]

I think Barca is playing lights out and I would be really surprised if they lost.

 

[Yoshi]

I think Barca is playing lights out and I would be really surprised if they lost.

They're issue right now is getting Villa back into full form. A lot of teams will be hacking Messi in this tourney and Villa would relieve el Ballon D'or of some pressure. Also, defensively, Barca could be better, since Valdes is not a world class keeper. Having Mascherano back there is a good backup plan for Puyol/Pique but from what I know of Song, he just plays too far forward if you ask me. Granted, Barca's game is about La Masia, but they're issue, besides Villa, is not scoring but on defense.

 

[trancemeister]

FORZA JUVE!!!!

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Just saw that Willian left Shakhtar for Anzhi for an almost $50 million transfer. Just bad news all around, but the worst news is for Shakhtar's Champions League chances, this almost ruins the matchup with Dortmund.

They'll be able to replace him eventually, with all that money, they're very smart, they'll buy 2 or 3 more Brazilians. But for now they're kind of fucked.

 

[ugafan6612]

How do you guys follow international soccer? Also, what is it about soccer that gets people so excited? Trying to get into it but need some direction.

I just watch good teams in good leagues. (Spanish, English)World Cup is the best soccer you'll ever see though. 1.5 yrs away from it
Personally I love UEFA, EPL, and USA international soccer

 

[Yoshi]

Not sure if you have Gol TV, ESPN Deportes, or Fox Soccer Channel where you live, but those are good channels to get a heavy dose of soccer and analysis afterwards. Also, there are books out there that you can read up on the sport in terms of tactics, players, formations, etc. Here's one for you:

Zonal Marking | Football tactics, formations, diagrams, chalkboards and graphs

Also, unlike the olympics, the best of the best players in the world compete for club AND country year round, which means they are either in friendlies, world cup qualifiers, or euro cup qualifiers.

Futbol has a growing littany of fans in the States and I know that the majority of people here care less about soccer as opposed to football or baseball. Truth of the matter is that the number of people worldwide who watch the world cup final dwarfs the number of people who watch the SuperBowl. Add to the fact that futbol rivalries are not just about the teams (a la Giants vs Dodgers or Yankees vs Red Sox), but their are often political, social, and historical clashes in club and international rivalries which adds to the flare of these competitions. Case in point - Celtic vs Rangers and their religious differences; England vs Argentina and their rivalry over the battle of the Falklands in 1982, Germany vs Holland and their history in WWII, and my favorite of them all - my team, Blaugrana aka FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid with Catalans vs Catalonians and the history of Franco persecuting supporters of FCB because Madrid was his team.

I take it back, it's not Gol TV anymore - it's BeIN sports. They actually have soccer from other nations outside of Spain there.

 

[olympicoscar]

Quite a stunning result in the Champions League. It's not so much that Barca lost, but 7-0 aggregate is unbelievable.

All German final. Deutchsland Uber Alles. Hope I spelled that right.

 

[BUCCS469]

Quite a stunning result in the Champions League. It's not so much that Barca lost, but 7-0 aggregate is unbelievable.

All German final. Deutchsland Uber Alles. Hope I spelled that right.

bayern will run riot...what dortmund has done is fantastic...but much like when my bantams played swansea in the league cup final there can only be 1 winner.....


then again i said that when we played wigan...i really said it against arsenal....and was adamant that we couldnt possibly beat another premier league team...especially over 2 legs...

 

[ugafan6612]

Supposedly weather will postpone this game?

 

[Mr.Pickles]

Supposedly weather will postpone this game?

What ?? Is that real?

I will be in Munich ready to watch this game and enjoy the ladies as bayern murders dortmund !!!!!!!


Tell me you lie

 

[tabascojet]

GOAL!!

 

[TexasMan]

1-1!

 

[bksballer89]

How didn't he get sent off?

 

[bksballer89]

Holy shit how did he prevent that goal

 

[bksballer89]

I hate Ribery