so i watched a decent amount of the world cup last year and quite enjoyed it. i get the fox soccer channel with my comcast cable, which looks like thats about as good as it gets over here for tv viewing.

im not the biggest sports nut plus as most over here we dont hear much about what goes on with this sport. can anyone enlighten me to some of the basics of the different leagues and stuff like that? i'd like to start watching and find a team i enjoy watching and try to start following it. i dont know how many live games im going to get to watch over here, but it looks like the manchester vs aston villa game is going to be live on sat afternoon. im mainly just going to watch what goes on with the epl.

so i get that the premier league is the best of the best teams in england correct? i hear beckham is getting recalled to play for england. how does he get recalled and can it interfere with his games he has scheduled with his team in LA? also is this team just formed each year by pulling in the best players from europe and they play for a different cup than the epl teams?

dumb questions i know but this is new to me. there is a ton of info about all of this on wikipedia, but it is a bit of information overload...

:o:

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

This is not a personal dig, I just happened to have a friend send me this link moments ago.

"Many white people will tell you that they are very into soccer. But be careful, it’s a trap. If you then attempt to engage them about your favorite soccer team or talk about famous moments in soccer history, you are likely to be met with blank stares. This is because white people don’t actually enjoy watching soccer, they just like telling their friends that they are into it. In fact, the main reason white people like soccer is so they can buy a new scarf. As you may or may not know, many soccer teams issue special scarves, and white people cannot get enough of them! Most white people choose a favorite soccer team based on either a [URL="http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/22/72-study-abroad/"]study abroad experience[/URL] or a [URL="http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/19-travelling/"]particularly long vacation to Europe or South America[/URL]. When they return, they like to tell their friends about how great “football” is and that they are committed to ‘getting more into’ now that they have returned home. Some white people take this charade so far as to actually play in adult soccer leagues or attend a [URL="http://web.mlsnet.com/index.jsp"]local professional match[/URL]. The best method for exploiting this is to ask a white person who their favorite football team is and how they came to be fans. This will allow them to tell you about their time abroad and feel as though they have impressed you with their knowledge. Once they have finished talking, it is acceptable to ask for favors. [I]Note: Europeans are actually into Soccer and are exempt from this entry, however they are free to use it to their advantage when in North America."[/I]

[I]Taken from:[/I] [I][url]http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/80-the-idea-of-soccer/[/url] [/I]

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

hahah. actually im trying to check it out more since i have my own place and am able to watch it on my own tv and dont have a roommate anymore who will be a pain in the ass about it. so i'll be at home by myself most of the time checking it out ;)

the above does sound probably on point though... :)

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

ok . so you get the fox chanel witch is only epl. epl is the profesional league for soccer in england .. like the nba and then there are other leagues bellow this one. if you want to get a feel of the soccer world youll need to get GOL TV, witch you can get from comcast. on gol tv you get german, spain, colombia, i think on fox you also get italian soccer.

every country hires a coach for the national team. hes job is to look for players to make the rooster. every player. mind you every player wants to be on the national team , the greatest thing a player can achieve is win the world soccer cup with his national team , so everyone wants to be in it. it does not matter where you play, if you make yourself available and the coach wants you your there.

there are different tournaments depending on the country , but everything is ruled by FIFA, i think the only league thats not in FIFA is the MLS, im not sure. so every country has a league , for eample spain, theres the main league with the professional teams, and a league bellow. the top teams of this B league go up to the main league and the bottom teams of the professional league are demoted. the number of teams vary within each country

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

then, the top 2-3 or 4 teams of the top league plays a tournament against the top teams of other countries in the same region. in europe is the champions league witch is now in semis, and in america is the copa libertadores witch just started a few weeks back.

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

ahh thanks for some useful info. :)

so does the epl play for a different trophy than the national team? also each of these happens every season right, but the world cup is just once every 4 years.

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

National teams representing a whole country and local football (I will NOT say Soccer to it :lol:) clubs related to a city are 2 seperate things and the trophies are different as well. In national league competitions you have the 2 biggest events World Championship and European championship all four years and certain smaller events in South America and other countries where national teams play against each other.

Local football teams play in their relative country league against clubs from the same league and the best teams per season can enter international competitions like Champions League and UEFA cup where they play against teams from other leagues and countries (local football teams as well, no national teams). How many slots your league gets is depening on past successes..the more the teams from your league have won, the more slots are available for international tournaments.

In local football teams, any nations are allowed. You need to have some native players though and can only add a certain amount of foreign players. On a national team, only citizens of the relative country can play.

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

^^ or nationalized players that have not played for any opther national team before ....

[QUOTE] so does the epl play for a different trophy than the national team? also each of these happens every season right, but the world cup is just once every 4 years. [/QUOTE]

^^ each league is a tournament, teams in said league compete for this tournament ....

maybe i missled you ... players want to be on the national team on a personal point of view , thats not the point of the league

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

[quote=Miguel;582043]^^ or nationalized players that have not played for any opther national team before ....[/quote]

Yeah if the player is good and interested, they always find a hidden great granny from Germany to convert the player to a proper German citizen. :lol:

Going to watch Switzerland vs. Germany now. :partypeople: That's national football for the honor and to revive silly stereotypes and prejudices. We are already qualified for the EM but beating Switzerland is always a good thing. :lol:

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

watching arg. egypt .. pretty lame .... spain italy should be good

france england also good

colombia honduras later on here in miami ... was gonna go , but sasha is playing later tonite along mr. nick warren this i cannot miss

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

Hey the USA won yesterday in their friendship game in Poland..nice work guys. Sadly the Netherlands did not put the icing on the cake after our 4:0 win against Switzerland...end of 1st half they were behind with 3 goals but in the end won 4:3. What a pity. :lol:

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

I am not into football very much but I still find it amusing that someone doesn't know everything there is to know about it... Its weird, but I forgive u and understand your predicament:)

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

dont blame me, its because im american.

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

Supposedly the US is an up and coming team? Or so they say here in the states, but maybe thats just to drum up interest as currently the WNBA gets more of a following (women's basketball).

Re: soccer breakdown for a dumb american

i think soccer its growing in usa .... it was a mistake to host the world cup back then ... they should host it again soon and it will make it grow faster now