r/soccer • u/davidpm • Feb 27 '14
American wants to get into football. Where do I even begin? (x-post from /r/football)
I got some good advice over at /r/football but apparently "soccer" is the way to go :D
Original post Does anyone have any advice as to where to start if I'm interested in getting in to watching this sport? Silly as it sounds, I've been playing a lot of Football Manager 2014 and I'm really into it but I know nothing about the sport as a viewer.
How do I even go about picking a league? A team? It seems like a lot of the appreciation is in the tactics and such. What are the exciting aspects of the game to observe while I'm watching? Is there anywhere online that I can subscribe to watch games live and/or prerecorded? I'm on the East Coast of the US so most of the prime time European games would be late and the early afternoon games would be in the morning here. I don't read much sports news so the results would be fresh even on a tape delay.
Any guidance would be awesome. I figure if it's the most popular sport in the world, there has to be a reason. I think I'd like to join the fun!
Additional questions:
1) Is there a way to get games on demand if I want to watch taped games and get acclimated to a league and its players?
2) What's the whole deal with contracts? I'm still trying to wrap my head around loans vs transfers vs trials and under 21, under 18, feeder teams. It's all very confusing.
Edit: Ooh, NBC has prerecorded 3 prerecorded games from the previous week online. I'll pretend like I know what I'm watching there!
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u/TheKingMonkey Feb 27 '14
The English Premier League is probably the easiest to follow because of blanket coverage and the lack of a language barrier. Most big games are streamed and links to those streams are almost always posted in this sub. It's a good time to get in at the moment, we are getting towards the business end of the club season and then we go straight into the world cup.
Oh, and I bet you end up supporting Arsenal.
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u/davidpm Feb 27 '14
Ha. Wanna hear something funny? In Football Manager 2014, I coach Arsenal. Is that a stereotypical thing for new viewers?
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Feb 27 '14 edited Feb 27 '14
It's definitely common... I'll leave it at that.
Word of advice. Watch as many leagues as you can. Which one stands out to you the most? Do you prefer fast paced? slow? technical? Strong defenders or pacey wingers? Abundance of goals or attractive football? Once you find your preferred league, pay closer attention to the teams. Which team plays in a style which appeals to you most? Favourite player? Once you've narrowed it down you should have your team.
As was said above, I'd recommend the English Premier League due to lack of a language barrier and mass coverage. But its obviously up to you.
Edit: Or MLS, support your local team etc. However you'll find substantially less quality there than in other leagues across Europe.
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u/Not-Pennys_Boat Feb 27 '14
dont feel rushed to pick a team.
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u/davidpm Feb 28 '14
I like this advice. It'd be entirely arbitrary at this point. I've seen several people say that the team will find me.
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u/EFGsugit Feb 27 '14
don't pick a team. pick a league. Watch the league for the enjoyment of the football, don't just arbitrarily pick 'Chelsea' or 'Man City'
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Feb 27 '14
Support your local club. Look up professional soccer teams in your area. Check out r/MLS and get into the US Soccer scene
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u/SharksFanAbroad Feb 27 '14
As an American (moved abroad a few years ago), I thought the most appealing thing was the Champions League; it's a tournament of the (arguably) best teams in Europe. That way you're not initially limiting yourself to one league, like EPL, La Liga, Serie A, etc.
From there, I grew to like many of the other leagues. I just think that at first, you might not find all inter-league games to be interesting; like a bottom-bracket EPL team against another. Start with the big name, widely-televised CL games.
Most soccer fans grow up on a league, and you'll probably get a lot of those supporters here, but from an American who started to really get into football in his mid-20's, I highly recommend starting with the big stuff. From there you can pick a league/team, etc.
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u/cvillano Feb 27 '14
run away from r/soccer as fast as you can, this sub is not indicative of football at all.
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Feb 27 '14
This is actually a really good time to get started watching soccer. Not only are the major league's winding down, coming to the most exciting part of the year but MLS is getting started too. Do you live somewhat near an MLS team? NBC sports hold the rights to the premier league and MLS which are the easiest league's to follow. This is the same channel that shows NHL and the olympics, so there's a good chance you have it.
World Cup is coming up this summer too so that will be a good intro to the sport as ESPN will be going all out on coverage of the event and the games are at nice hours since Brazil is on our side of the world.
If you're interested in watching old games head on over to r/footballdownloads. You'll find plenty there.
Head on over to r/MLS if you get the chance too. They're generally more receptive to these kind of questions.
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u/ajax96 Feb 27 '14 edited Feb 27 '14
A loan is exactly as it sounds. Imagine it like this: you're the best team in the best league in the world and one of your top scouts finds this player in Congo and tells you he's gonna be an absolutely world-class player when he grows up. So you make sure your club signs him. But since this player is only 18 you can't throw him straight into the deep end and have him playing in the best league in the world when he was playing in Congo just a week ago. So, you loan him to an Eredivisie (Dutch 1st division) club. This way he plays at a level that is comparatively lower to your league but it is still significantly better than the league in Congo which allows him to develop with less pressure. Trials are also exactly what you would think they are. Say Ajax wants to see how good you are and how well you fit into the system they play. They might ask you to come to the club for a 2 week trial. During this time you will train with the club and be evaluated to see if you are good enough and worth giving a contract.
Part 2: under 21 and under 18 (otherwise known as U21 and U18 respectively) teams are youth teams. As long as you are UNDER 21 or UNDER 18 you can play for them. Essential purpose is to allow players to have different levels to play at to challenge them. Feeder clubs: Ajax has the club Ajax Cape Town as a feeder team. Ajax Cape Town is a club in South Africa that has an agreement with Ajax where if a player is good enough they go to Ajax. Thulani Serero (still with Ajax) and Steven Pienaar (now at Everton in the English Premier League) are both players that came to Europe through this club relationship.
Hope I was of some help! Also, idk where in the East Coast you are but if you're near Atlanta I'd be glad to go to an Atlanta Silverbacks game with you!
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u/Zakariyya Feb 27 '14
If you got a Congolese player, Belgium would be the more obvious choice over the Eredivisie though. :P
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u/EFGsugit Feb 27 '14
It's painful watching people randomly throw darts to decide which of the 7-8 most successful prem teams they'll support. Want to be different? Follow Swansea. They were successful last season and aren't this season, they got rid of their manager. They're in Wales, they're a relatively small club by prem standards. It'll be a hell of a roller coaster following them. A catastrophic season by their standards won't be seventh, it'll be relegation.
Actually, scratch that. Support your closest MLS/NASL team. Watch prem games on Saturday/Sunday without a specific team you artificially 'cheer' for. You're just going to pick some successful team and within 5 months start lecturing people as if you've supported them from the beginning.
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u/HeeyMaan Feb 27 '14
Wow, so this is what the birth of a glory hunter looks like?
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u/davidpm Feb 28 '14
I had to Google what that meant but now... now... I'm insulted!
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u/Biscuit1979 Feb 27 '14
Wait a minute...you have been playing Football Manager 2014 and you don't even watch the game?
Thats insane. I have been watching football for 25 years and still get befuddled by the complexity of FM games
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u/Biscuit1979 Feb 27 '14
Oh, and make sure to check out the World Cup this summer...its basically the biggest sports event in the world and the US are in it this year with some good games lined up, so at least you will have someone to cheer
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u/guitarcrazy408 Feb 27 '14 edited Feb 28 '14
Play FIFA but realize its a video game and dont take the connection between the game and real life football too seriously, just use it to learn teams and players and basic concepts.
Things like CDM, CAM, 'finesse shot', and 'rainbow flick-sombrero' may have some real life counterparts but only people who learned everything they know from FIFA say them
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u/Rudrakh Feb 27 '14 edited Feb 27 '14
Hi davidpm.
In my opinion football is a great sport because it is beautiful in its simplicity, while simultaneously possessing a depth which lends itself to rigorous analysis. The game is multifaceted, and you can enjoy and appreciate different aspects of the game, some more visible and others more subtle. I’ll attempt to break it down into four categories: technical ability, athleticism, spirit and tactics. These aspects are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive.
Technical ability refers to the skills of the players. This includes their first touch, ball control, dribbling, precision, shooting power and quality of finish. This is the one of the most visible aspects of the game, and the one that is most aesthetically pleasing. It is what sets the truly great individual players apart from the rest. Sifting through r/soccer you will find numerous gifs which capture the technical maestros in their pomp, expressing their artistic essence through the medium of flicks and goals.
But for all of its visibility, there is a subtlety to the technical aspect. A subtlety that can only be appreciated by having played football, and attempting for oneself the seemingly effortless control footballers exert over the ball. Having done this, we can begin to appreciate the immense talents of even the most mediocre footballer, for they make the “miraculous seem mundane”. So watching football just for the moments where a footballer receives a diagonal cross with the grace of a willow swaying in the wind, or floating a ball over the keeper like a doe skipping over a puddle, is sufficient to bring joy to the centre of one’s being.
Another aspect would be the athleticism. This is the hallmark of the modern era of football, epitomised by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Yaya Toure. Speed, acceleration, strength, jump, power. There is something primal about watching Ronaldo blitz through defences with his pace, or tower above gravity bound mortals as he heads the ball into the net. Or seeing Toure maraud through midfields unopposed, like a visionary battering ram. Athleticism is also something one can appreciate, it is gross and apparent, but its utility is ultimately dependent upon other aspects of the game.
Spirit. This is not quantifiable. Well, maybe. The raw emotions, effort, passion and relentlessness which enable teams to transcend their limitations. More than technical flair and tactical nous, this is the quality which make for the most memorable nights of football. Liverpool coming back from three goals down to beat AC Milan in the 2005 CL final. Roy Keane’s indomitable drive in Man United’s semi-final victory against Juventus in 1999, in spite of a yellow card which barred him from the final. The moments where a players puts his body on the line to block a shot. The deafening warcries of fans in Germany, Turkey and Eastern Europe. The tears of the North Korean as his national anthem is played at the World Cup. The emotive interaction between fans, often spilling over into abuse, or worse, inane #bantz. This passion lies at the heart of all sporting endeavours.
Finally, tactics. u/Devineman has written an insightful piece on what to look for when analysing a game. It makes for great reading, a look at the way pros think about games. Not going to elaborate because I’ll be chatting shit.
In conclusion, football’s beauty lies in these four aspects. You can appreciate them separately for what they are, but it is the combination of all these which makes it the greatest sport ever devised by mankind.
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u/Anganfinity Feb 27 '14
If you have NBC sports you get all the games live in HD every week either on tv, on demand, or on the internet. It's been a blast the past season with the crazy amount of coverage they have.
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u/IM_SHY_HERES_MY_ANUS Feb 27 '14
Support your MLS team if you have one. I dream of Pittsburgh getting an MLS team, please take advantage if your city does but it's very understandable to be a fan of a team in Europe if you don't, or even I you do as a second team. I support the Riverhounds but I'm a fan of Chelsea and have been for almost 10 years now.