MMCB: The Christmas present that is European soccer

Good morning folks. I know we're short on numbers at this time of year but I figured at least a few of you are stuck working on Christmas Eve and just might be looking to talk soccer.

I will post an Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind before noon and may have a post on the latest candidate to join the race for the Chicago Fire coaching job, so keep an eye out for those things. For now I want to talk about Sunday's amazing slate of European games and what it means on the grander scale.

If you watched Sunday's games you had a chance to see the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Frank Lampard, Sergio Aguero, Ronaldinho, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Carles Puyol, Samuel Eto'o, Robinho and Wesley Snjeider just to name a few.

   

Think about that. Think about how lucky we, as American fans of soccer, are to see these stars playing in key games, and live no less. Imagine what it was like 10 years ago, when trying to see top-quality European soccer was a real chore. In short, I don't think we realize how good we have it.

Imagine having to watch Italian channel RAI just to see whatever Serie A game it showed in a given weekend instead of the long list of games AND highlights show you can now see. Imagine if the only way you could see the best EPL matches was by trekking to a New York City pub?

Nowadays, we don't have to rely on the writings of European-based journalists to tell us how special players like Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo are. We can see it for ourselves every week. We dont' have to wonder just how intense derbies like Inter-Milan and Arsenal-Chelsea are. We watch the drama live (and on HD if we're lucky).

It isn't just about the treat of seeing the best teams and players, it is about watching the beautiful game on the highest level. Watching as many of these games as you can will not only help you develop a strong foundation of knowledge of players, it also helps you understand the game on a deeper level. If you pay attention to things like tactics, team shape and player roles you soon begin to develop a greater understanding of the game. No, watching Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV non-stop won't get you ready to be a professional head coach, but it will help you understand the game you love so much like you never have before.

I know, I know, some of you are labeling me a Euro-snob for putting the European game on a pedestal. I'm just being honest. Games like Arsenal-Chelsea, Man U-Liverpool, Inter-Milan and Real Madrid-Barcelona are played at the highest technical and tactical level the sport can offer. I'm not talking about bottom-feeders like Birmingham, Cagliari or Levante. I'm talking about the world's best teams, which we can now see on a regular basis.

If you are an MLS fan and love soccer then how can you pass on the chance to see the game you love played at its best, by the world's best players? I know it sounds crazy but there are folks who just don't watch European soccer.

It shouldn't have to be a choice between MLS and Europe. You can watch MLS AND European soccer. One thing that is helping is the growing numbers of American players moving to Europe and succeeding. It's funny but players like Dempsey and Freddy Adu are drawing more American fan to the European game than stars like Messi and Kaka. Want to know the most popular European team in the United States? Try Fulham (at least among SBI readers). A struggling team in England is more popular than Man U, Barcelona and Real Madrid because of the four Americans currently on the books, especially fan favorite Clint Dempsey, who has been highly successful for the Cottagers.

   

So what's your take? Are you a relatively new fan of the European game? Are you an MLS fan who doesn't spend much time following European Soccer? Do you follow both religiously. Tell us how you came to follow European soccer, or tell us why you don't watch it. Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[SpikeFC]

I'm a combo fan... diehard Arsenal supporter and equally diehard DC United Barra Brava nut. At the moment, they're at different levels but I'm just as passionate about each team. I'd even say the atmosphere in the Barra outdoes the atmosphere at the Emirates... still love both though!

[Dannyc58]

I don't get AT ALL how some people that love MLS refuse to watch European football. Its idiotic. If the MLS becomes a feeder league for the top European leagues (like so many solid leagues are, Super Liga, Everdise (sp?) & Lique 1)--I think that will definitely help create more interested, as you eluded to.

And I should be more thankful for all the TV options we have, seriously you take it for granted!

[Dannyc58]

Oh, and I'd say I'm more diehard West Ham fan, but I love the Red Bulls (partial season ticket holder)

[Longshoe]

I have NEVER heard an MLS fan say that they won't watch European soccer. I have heard PLENTY of times a Euro fan say they won't watch MLS. I don't think you have to work too hard to sell the virtues of high level European soccer.

I love watching the big games. You're dead on, it improves anyone's understanding of the game to see it played at its highest levels. However, I'd always rather watch Chicago v. Kansas City than Birmingham v. West Ham. I don't have the emotional attachment to the games from overseas as I do to MLS.

I was just talking to somebody recently about how far soccer in the US has come over the years. When I was 9 and first got into the sport, you couldn't find games on TV. Everyone once in a while, the financial cable network would show a Serie A game on Saturday afternoon. You could catch a MISL game on ESPN, but that was it. Now, you can watch games 24/7. It's amazing.

[Dannyc58]

Longshoe, Keep watching these message boards. People mock the European game/updates by Ives.

[Dannyc58]

And Longshoe settle down lumping West Ham with Birmingham. Clearly you don't follow the league much.

[BK (the artist formerly known as Brad)]

How I ever lived without FSC is incredible to me. I've been a lifelong NFLer with a lot of fantasy football under my belt, but soccer's always been my favorite sport. These days, I'm much more likely to turn off an NFL game for a European soccer match. Do I doze off during a Derby-Sunderland game? Sure. But I'll also go absolutely ape $hit when watching the Gunners score a goal in the privacy of my home. I take it for granted I think.

I wonder if FSC and the ESPN Champions League broadcasts do real well? I'd love to see what their ratings are like for a Man U-Chelsea match or something.

I should also note that I'm pretty thankful for SBI. It helps me get through the lull in my workday every single day and I feel an obligation to thank you, Ives, for consistently updating us. Being a blogger myself (albeit a crappy one), I know it takes a lot of dedication to get on here everyday and write, and we certainly appreciate it.

Working on Christmas Eve sucks by the way.

Hope all is well with the entire SBI community. Enjoy your holidays.

[BK (the artist formerly known as Brad)]

Danny C defending his team like Elijah Wood. Classic!

[Dannyc58]

Being 11th in the league with a game in hand(that could move them up to 9th with a win & with injuries to Kieron Dyer, Julien Faubert, Craig Bellamy, & Scott Parker/Dean Ashton until recently), and I have to read them lumped with Birmi when there is so much crap in the league!

Darn right I am going to defend them!

Though that movie is a disgrace to the West Ham name! Haha

[George]

When I was a teenager in highscool, Fox Soccer Channel had not been created yet, instead Fox Sports World was where I tuned in for Serie A and Bundesliga.

I still remember watching Ronaldo at Inter and being amazed at what he could do. I also remember seeing Frankie Hejduk come on for Bayer Leverkusen. However, it was the legendary George Weah at AC Milan that sold the European game to me.

I am an Arsenal Gunner for LIVE, but I also support MLS as a whole. Watching European games helps me understand how great the beautiful game can be, which also gives me the patience to understand that MLS is a young league that needs its fans to stick with it as it matures.

If you watched Fulham vs. Newcastle last week, that match was not very beautiful, so “Euro-Snobs” also need to realize that not every European game is amazing, but when you love the beautiful game you stick around for those moments of sheer brilliance that come to live during a match regardless of the league.

[Tom]

I am a huge AC Milan supporter who also likes to follow Barca. I occasionally will watch an MLS game and am fine with it, but once I put on European games am blown away by the difference in quality of play. I respect MLS a lot, but if you are a true fan of soccer how can you not watch yesterday's games. You would never see a beautiful free kick goal like Pirlo's for Milan yesterday in MLS. The technical ability is so much greater in Europe than America.

[George]

Live = Life

[eshad15]

I don't think he was necessarily lumping in West Ham with Birmingham but I mean I think his point is important. People here in the US are Fulham fans because they can have an emotional attachment to the team because of its American players. Whereas teams like Birmingham do very little in the way of getting a fan excited to watch a game.

Ives, I think your point about watching the top teams in Europe holds a lot of weight. I mean those teams are simply the best, and they are the most fun to watch. However, I think it is important to distinguish between those teams and the leagues that they play in. So many people think going to Europe is great because they get to play at that high of level all the time, when in reality it is only those very few teams that are that good.

So yes I enjoy watching the top teams in each league as well as Champions League but I mean have you ever watched a team like Bolton or Birmingham play? How about lower table teams in Serie A? I would have to say that there is very little quality of play and it is truly hard to watch. So is European soccer fun to watch, well yeah if you are watching the top teams, but for my money I would much rather watch MLS (I'm a Fire fan, looking forward to your update on the coaching position) because I have an emotional attachment to the games.

[Ives]

Um, Tom, there's this guy named David Beckham who I'm pretty sure could convert a free kick like Pirlo's. I'm also pretty sure there were a few non-Beckham free kick goals this year that could rival Pirlo's (which really was in an ideal spot). I recall Scott Sealy having a beauty late in the year and Dwayne DeRosario has hit a few.

[BK (the artist formerly known as Brad)]

That movie is terrible. Elijah Wood is about the least likely hooligan I've ever seen.

I find myself rooting for the MLS as a league and specific teams in Europe, which I find to be odd. I rarely have a preference in who wins an MLS game, but I find myself screaming at the TV for them to make a quality cross, take a defender on, or avoid the long ball. In Europe, I realize that the technical ability and team tactics are superior, so I come to expect the things that MLS lacks. It's really like watching a completely different sport, but I love them both for their own pros/cons.

[Ives]

Eshad, I actually think Bolton plays a good style. They played well under Allardyce and despite the early struggles this year I think they can still put some good soccer together.

Poor Birmingham, I probably picked them because there were no Birmingham fans in the roll call. That and because they're terrible.

[Jim]

I root for Red Bull as my team and MLS to advance the American game. If a MLS team is playing in a international club competition I'm rooting for them.

I also root for Celtic and those EPL teams with Americans, especially Fulham. I'll cheer on other euro teams with Americans.

[tyler]

thank you for this, Ives. I hope all the people who called me a Euro-snob for not agreeing with the majority who said that RBNY-Galaxy was the game of the year are reading this. You put this into words better than I could.

Oddly while I follow the Revs in MLS, I don't have a particular favorite in Europe. Obviously Fulham has a special place in my heart as Clint Dempsey is my favorite US player currently. I also tend to root for Barcelona, Celtic, and anyone playing against Manchester United, although I'm no diehard.

[George]

It seems strange to me that some SBI members will only root for a European team if it has an American on it. There isn’t a single English man in Arsenal’s starting 11, but the Emirates is almost always packed.

In soccer/football you either pick a club, or you inherit a club, but you never desert the club.

So when Fulham gets relegated and Deuce transfers to Tottenham, will Tottenham become America’s favorite EPL side?

I hope not (because there is only one team in London, ARSENAL !!)

[madison]

OH HAI
(liar wheres mah AA)

just wanting to wish erryone of SBI a happy christmas, and a big happy birthday to jesus.

also; dongz.

[doug]

Im just a soccer whore. You put any kind of professional game and Im gonna watch it. I was around in 90 to check out RAI at 9am 10 years ago, or watching the MSG game of the week, which was always 1 week late. We really do have it better than anyone else in the world.

[EssEff]

Yes, Merry Christmas everyone. I must say, I'm a fan of Goff's blog (like most here I'm sure), but, Ives, your blog should have been voted best. You have better scoops, more postings, and more interaction, imho.

As for this weekend. My Tivo box had smoke coming out of it it was working so hard. I must say the best matchup was AC/Inter, followed by Manu/Everton. I thought Cambiasso did not have the best match despite his goal, but he announcers were calling him man of the match. Did I miss something here? He seemed to disappear. Same for Ibra, not his best match. That guy Jimenez, though, all over the place! From the looks of Suazo, he needs to get more time. Very dangerous.

I seem to have become an Inter whore lately, but they play such a beautiful style.

Me, I'm for MLS and Euro football. Just as long as there is some of the magic displayed that we all, as fanatics, want to see.

My earliest soccer tv memories. Alan Fountain on Soccer Made in Germany and some team named Moon-chen-glad-back. ;-) "Does he have the nerve?? HE DOES!!!" Loved that guy.

[Lee]

Aye great weekend of soccer. I tend to follow Fulham due to the Americans. Will I care when they have moved on? Probably not.

I just wish Messi wasn't hurt , would have made the Barca/Real game that much better.

[Dominghosa]

I'm lucky.
I'm a relatively new soccer fan, my obsession sparking just before World Cup '06 though I've always stayed up to watch the two previous World Cups.
So as far as accessibility goes, I don't know any better.
Being able to watch FSC and catch as many good EPL and Italian league matches as possible along with Fox Soccer Report and the Premiere League Review Show is normal to me. As is catching La Liga and Bundesliga matches along with Ole: La Liga (the La Liga highlights show).
So really, I think I picked up the sport at the right time. It not only has enhanced my knowledge of players and the sport itself, it has fueled my passion and obsession even further.
As for MLS, I'm a general supporter. I want the league to succeed and get exceedingly better with every season. I'm even contemplating catching the Galaxy in Hawaii in Feb. Though I'll be in Oahu around that time anyway.
So this has been the best and maybe perfect time for me as a soccer supporter.
I just wish I was a fan long enough to enjoy Ronaldinho, Zidane, Ronaldo and the rest of the more recent greats at their peak instead of just catching them on youtube.

[PKTaker]

i don't understand people that can't just be fans of the beautiful game. if there's a soccer game on tv i'll watch it. i love watching mls and games from different countries and seeing the different styles of play.

kids today have no idea how lucky they are. i'm 27 yrs old and as it's already been said the only soccer we could find growing up was on the italian channel and the world cup every 4 yrs. then in my senior year of high school we started getting a weekly epl game every sunday night and i discovered michael owen. the first world cup i ever watched was in '90 and i still have tapes of some of those games.

thank you fsc, goltv and espn.