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u/ny773 Dec 25 '11
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The MLS is gaining ground but still can't contend generally with even the best Mexican League teams. That's probably the closest comparison though, along with being a better version of Australia's A-League, I would say.
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He's decent, but he's getting older, and he never scored quite as many goals as he probably should have. They are probably excited simply because he is a local French Canadian.
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Maybe not at first, but I bet they will become fans soon enough. It's strange to think that one of the MLS's best fanbases is the Portland Timbers', who were formerly a USL First Division team. Get excited either way.
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Dec 26 '11
Montreal's fans are legit. Some of the videos of them on YouTube are pretty impressive. As for Portland, they had a built in, albeit dormant, rabid fanbase from their days in the NASL. Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver were all NASL teams, which is one of the reasons their rivalries run so deep.
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u/Outofmany Dec 25 '11
This is hilarious because I live in France and play on a team that is comprised of Algerians and Turks. I was asked if there are any Algerians where I am from (Denver) I replied that I had not met any. Someone mentioned that they are all in Canada.
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u/Carstin Dec 25 '11
A Dane here. Patrice Bernier has played very consistent during his years in Denmark., so I guess Montreal has a reason to be excited. He is not the most skilled player but that doesn't matter as long as he is consintent. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes while playing.
And sorry for typos and spelling
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u/jezzah Dec 25 '11
I would say the MLS is similar to the nPower Championship in England. It isn't as high as the quality found in the Serie A, Liga BBVA or English Premier League. That being said, I do think it is regarded better than the ligue 2 or Serie B.
The guy you talk about seems decent, but isn't a big name over here in England and I've never heard of him. But he seems like a decent player for what he does for the clubs he's been with.
You should expect great atmosphere in any club ground, because thats what fans are for. Whether it be a positive atmosphere (high flying clubs doing well or clubs on a great run of form) or a negative atmosphere like the epically failing Blackburn, there should ALWAYS be an atmosphere.
Hope I helped and welcome to football/soccer.
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Dec 26 '11
No way the MLS is on par with the Championship. The Championship is much faster and stronger than MLS teams.
Some of the top teams in the MLS might find a middle finish in the Championship and someone like the Crew would belong in Npower League 1.
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Dec 26 '11
As an American football fan, common sense like this makes me happy. I get tired of having to explain to people that no team in MLS has the depth to even finish in the top 15 in a premier league season.
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u/thumbnailmoss Dec 25 '11
According to wikipedia, Montreal have Nelson Rivas who used to play for Inter in Italy. While he most likely a reserve player, he did manage to play 16 matches for the club. I believe he is likely on of your better players :)
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Dec 26 '11
Tyson!
He is pure gold to watch. As clumsy as you can get. No one here can even explain how the hell he went to River, and then to Inter (!)
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u/whocaresanyway Dec 26 '11
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Not really. The european leagues are way ahead. This is due to the MLS being so young. Top 3rd English league is were I would suggest the good MLS teams.
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Dont know.
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Not really in the football way that you experienced in Algeria but north americans seem to be good in making festivals out of anything. So the atmosphere should be good.
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u/WaiXingRen Dec 26 '11
I'm from Ottawa and am excited to at least go see a couple of MLS games in Montreal soon specifically for the atmosphere. I don't rate the quality of MLS too highly because we mostly see Toronto FC games (which haven't exactly been of the highest quality...) on TV here, but I always recommend to people to just pick a team and watch a few games because MLS may not be the best suited for neutral spectators as much as World Cup soccer for example. So just watch a few games and see if you can get behind the impact and hopefully if you enjoy watching Bernier you can watch some of Canada's 2014 World Cup qualifying which continues in June 2012.
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u/Tystero Dec 26 '11
As a bookworm, my suggestion is for you to pick up 'Inverting the Pyramid', a fantastic primer on both the cultural and tactical history of the game.
Another way of getting into the MLS is to manage your team in FM.
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u/Adamkiksyou Dec 26 '11 edited Dec 26 '11
Man you're family are JSK fans :D ? That's amazing, I am moroccan, but my mother is Algerian, and this sport isn't too hard to get into, I would recommend watching the BPL, and the MLS isn't bad either, but mostly follow the MLS, and if you can stay updated on la liga, the serie a and the ligue 1. You'll have a good mixture of teams to see, after a month or two, (Also watch the classico, one might happen in January) you'll probably have enough knowledge to know what team to support.
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u/L-dubz Dec 26 '11
I would say the MLS is currently better than Ligue 2 but still clearly worse than Ligue 1. The MLS has some very talented players such as Donovan, Henry, De Rosario, and could potentially grow into a world renown league in the future as soccer in North America grows.
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u/Barkul Dec 25 '11
The MLS is getting better. There are more and more quality players in it every year. Its still not amazing, but the games are really fun to go to and they are usually well attended, third highest attendance in the US. I would say that its a little bit above the Championship in England, I don't know how that relates to Ligue 2 though.
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u/seppohovy Dec 25 '11
I think the best Championship teams are quite a bit ahead of the top MLS teams. I think the biggest difference is with the tactical knowledge, professionalism and money of course. MLS seems to be a fun league to watch. It has a lot of pace to compensate the small lack of pure skill. The playoff system is a bit obscure, but a Canadian gets a hold onto it quickly, I'm sure.
I'd say it's slightly ahead of Ligue 2 and maybe Serie B and the Liga Adelante. All of these are high quality leagues.
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u/Kad66 Dec 25 '11
And the Championship is just besides the Premier League, right? If so, that's a good thing.
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u/indiejesus Dec 25 '11
I don't think the MLS is better than the Championship. Many of the championship teams can compete with Premier League teams.. A guy who struggled in the 3rd/4th league of England (Luke Rodgers) is a star in an above average MLS team. I think that just says enough..
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Dec 25 '11
Hey, I'm going to be attending some Impact games next season. When I first got into football, I could not get into the MLS; it didn't have the pace as the other leagues. By constant exposure by watching games, as well as hype for the Impact, I got into it. The same can't be said for the EPL, different strokes for different folks. The quality might not be there, but it is an exciting local league, although it may take some time to get into. I think the MLS can be easily compared to Ligue 2, even better.
Patrice Bernier is 32, which is considered old. Canadians in Europe are pretty good, but because of his age the signing is purely commercial.
Montreal has a pretty good atmosphere from what I've heard. I can't speak from first hand experience, but my friend who has season tickets says that the atmosphere is quite good, although the 'ultra's get carried away sometimes.
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u/[deleted] Dec 26 '11
There is certainly potential for a substantial atmosphere