Soccer fans... Question

[DeputyDodge]

I have gotten where I really enjoy watching the pro soccer from Europe. Can someone explain the leagues to me? Is English Premier the best of the best? What is Bundesliga? What leagues are teams like AC Milan and Barcelona in? How does it all work? Are they like major and minor leagues that you have on baseball? Thanks
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[Naught-Nole-Buc]

Each country/region has its own "Pro" league. Within each league there is a top division which is the highest level teams with the most recognized players. Then there are lower divisions below those. What's cool is that the bottom 3 teams in the standings at the end of the season get relegated down to the next lower level division and the top 3 from the bottom move up.

English Premier (United Kingdom), La Liga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany) are considered the top leagues.
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[Fijimn]

Each country has had a league. Within that league there are minor leagues. The English premier is the top in Great Britain. There are no playoffs the bottom three team in Epl get relegated to the minor leagues and the top three in the minors get promoted. Barcelona is in Spain's la ligament. Ac Milan is Italy. The clubs are playing each other right now for the UEFA cup championship, but other than European tournaments the clubs from different countries do not play each other

 

[FSUdawg]

Barcelona is in Spain so they compete in La Liga.
AC Milan is in Italy and they compete in Serie A.

As previously mentioned, each country has their own league(s). Those noted are the top tier and are the best of the best. France has multiple leagues as well and their top tier is Ligue 1. Depending on who you ask, just about everyone will have a different opinion as to which is the best and how they all rank. Personally I have them ranked as follows.

- La Liga (Spain)
- EPL (England)
- Bundesliga (Germany)
- Ligue 1 (France)
- Serie A (Italy)

Note: EPL is falling down the rankings as their teams are performing dreadfully in European competitions this year. Also of note, EPL is the only league who does not have a Christmas break, and they actually have a busier holiday schedule than normal scheduling, so it wears down teams, especially those who are smaller and don't have the depth.

In addition to playing in their own leagues, the top teams have a chance to play in the UEFA Champions LEague. This is the top teams from all leagues from around Europe. Below that is the Europa League (I think that is what it is called).

Lastly, each of the countries have their own Cups, which are mini-tournaments. England has the Capital One Cup, or the League Cup, and the FA Cup. Some teams take these cups more seriously than other teams, so they are always entertaining and filled with upsets.

 

[Naught-Nole-Buc]

Serie A (Italy) and Ligue1 (France) are the other top leagues as well.
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[DeputyDodge]

Thanks guys, that was a lot easier than google. So you win your league simply with the best record. No playoffs?

 

[LesClaypool]

OP:

Several of us on this board have a pinned thread in the Pro and General Sports Forum that we frequent. Feel free to come join us!

PGSF Futbol Thread

 

[FSUdawg]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
Thanks guys, that was a lot easier than google. So you win your league simply with the best record. No playoffs?

Correct, the team with the most points wins the league. If there is a tie you go to goal differential.

No playoffs, and you can tie at the end of a game.

 

[Naught-Nole-Buc]

Originally posted by FSUdawg:

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
Thanks guys, that was a lot easier than google. So you win your league simply with the best record. No playoffs?

Correct, the team with the most points wins the league. If there is a tie you go to goal differential.

No playoffs, and you can tie at the end of a game.

Also, top 4 teams in each league through Europe qualify for the Champions League which is a table-style (like World Cup) tournament to decide the champion of Europe.
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[nynole1]

I'm a Bayern Munich fan (they play in the Bundesliga) but I do enjoy watching games from the other European leagues as well. The EPL and now the Bundesliga have major TV contracts in the US.
One thing about the Bundesliga that separates it from the other leagues is that it's teams have to be financially solvent whereas other leagues teams go bankrupt and drop out of relevance after being a top team.
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[West Duval Nole]

Originally posted by Naught-Nole-Buc:

Originally posted by FSUdawg:

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:

Thanks guys, that was a lot easier than google. So you win your league simply with the best record. No playoffs?

Correct, the team with the most points wins the league. If there is a tie you go to goal differential.

No playoffs, and you can tie at the end of a game.

Also, top 4 teams in each league through Europe qualify for the Champions League which is a table-style (like World Cup) tournament to decide the champion of Europe.

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And the Champions League is awesome. That is really the best. Although it is more like a long tournament than a league.
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[NoleInBama]

Additionally, in England, where the Premier League (BPL/EPL) play, there are two "Cups" they play for.

FA Cup - the oldest Trophy in which virtually every team, from every league in England can compete for.

Capital One Cup (formerly Carling Cup) another Trphy to compete for.

Heres a suggestion, pick a team from each league, say, Arsenal from the BPL, Bayern Munich from Bundesliga, Juventus from Serie A, Real Madrid from La Liga. And then you have a vested interest in each match and the tables for each league.

 

[DeputyDodge]

So the regular season is almost over and then the Cup play begins? I don't know who to pull for in BPL so help me out. I'm a 48 year old lifelong Red Sox fan. I like history and old stadiums. What's the equivalent? I don't want to root for the Yankees!
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[Naught-Nole-Buc]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
So the regular season is almost over and then the Cup play begins? I don't know who to pull for in BPL so help me out. I'm a 48 year old lifelong Red Sox fan. I like history and old stadiums. What's the equivalent? I don't want to root for the Yankees!
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Oddly enough, cup season plays along side the regular season... as does the champions league. The regular leagues will take a weekend off here and there for the cup season matches to take place - right the FA Cup just finished their quarter finals.

I'm a Manchester United fan and will follow other leagues but they're my only team and I don't really root for others. If you're into history and old legendary stadiums, Manchester United would be an ideal choice for the English Premier League. Watch a little in the upcoming weeks and one team may just stick out to you. Man City partners with the Yankees so steer clear... and the Fenway Group own Liverpool so that may be the clear choice for you.
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[LesClaypool]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
So the regular season is almost over and then the Cup play begins? I don't know who to pull for in BPL so help me out. I'm a 48 year old lifelong Red Sox fan. I like history and old stadiums. What's the equivalent? I don't want to root for the Yankees!
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Though I LOATHE them, the obvious answer to your question, given your disclaimer, is Liverpool.
Theyre owned by the same owner as the Red Sox, and they play in an iconic stadium called, Anfield.

And to your other question about Cups, no they run simultaneously throughout the season as the regular league does. I know, it's a bit hard to understand at first, but after watching a full season, you'll get it down.

 

[DeputyDodge]

Ironically, I've watched a few Liverpool games this year. I think that's who I watched beat Manchester City or Leicster last week. They were in red? I can't remember. I'm out doing some work stuff now so I can be back by the time the 11am game comes on. Reckon I'm a Liverpool fan.
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[GwinnettNole]

I watch the MLS, because it's 'merica's league

The thing about the champions league is it's based on previous seasons results, as to who gets in correct? What happens if a team losses a bunch of players to free agency between the two seasons? Is it possible they will not resemble the same team that they were? CONCACAF also does a champions league--- so this problem wouldn't be unique to Europe...
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[Naught-Nole-Buc]

Originally posted by GwinnettNole:
I watch the MLS, because it's 'merica's league

The thing about the champions league is it's based on previous seasons results, as to who gets in correct? What happens if a team losses a bunch of players to free agency between the two seasons? Is it possible they will not resemble the same team that they were? CONCACAF also does a champions league--- so this problem wouldn't be unique to Europe...
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Yeah, that's how it works... and often there are teams that sell a lot of players after making the champions league to cash in (usually the clubs that don't have big money backing).
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[FSUdawg]

Originally posted by LesClaypool:

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
So the regular season is almost over and then the Cup play begins? I don't know who to pull for in BPL so help me out. I'm a 48 year old lifelong Red Sox fan. I like history and old stadiums. What's the equivalent? I don't want to root for the Yankees!
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Though I LOATHE them, the obvious answer to your question, given your disclaimer, is Liverpool.
Theyre owned by the same owner as the Red Sox, and they play in an iconic stadium called, Anfield.

This. Liverpool has the same ownership as the Red Sox so it is a perfect fit. Also, while Manchester City may have ties to the Yankees, Manchester United is considered by many to be the Yankees of the Premier League...because they just throw money around to buy whomever they want.

 

[TexasGooner]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
So the regular season is almost over and then the Cup play begins? I don't know who to pull for in BPL so help me out. I'm a 48 year old lifelong Red Sox fan. I like history and old stadiums. What's the equivalent? I don't want to root for the Yankees!
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No, they are all played simultaneously.

Also, I agree with the other about Liverpool. They are owned by the same group that owns the Red Sox and Lebron James is a minority owner as well.

 

[TexasGooner]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
I have gotten where I really enjoy watching the pro soccer from Europe. Can someone explain the leagues to me? Is English Premier the best of the best? What is Bundesliga? What leagues are teams like AC Milan and Barcelona in? How does it all work? Are they like major and minor leagues that you have on baseball? Thanks
Posted from Rivals Mobile

Here's how the Leagues go currently, in my opinion:

Spain's La Liga
England's Premier League
Germany's Bundesliga

Italy's Serie A

France's Ligue 1
Dutch Eredivisie

Also, each league has a promotion-relegation system where the bottom 3 teams swap with the top 3 teams from the league below it. For example, England's top four leagues, in order: Premier League, Championship, League 1, League 2. Hypothetically, a team in League 2 could get promoted to the top league in England in 3 seasons. And for the record, England has a lot more than just four leagues that compete in the promotion-relegation system.

Another thing, Barcelona, who plays in Spain's top league, also has a reserve team, named Barcelona B, that plays in Spain's 2nd highest league.

 

[TexasGooner]

Originally posted by West Duval Nole:

Originally posted by Naught-Nole-Buc:

Originally posted by FSUdawg:

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:

Thanks guys, that was a lot easier than google. So you win your league simply with the best record. No playoffs?

Correct, the team with the most points wins the league. If there is a tie you go to goal differential.

No playoffs, and you can tie at the end of a game.

Also, top 4 teams in each league through Europe qualify for the Champions League which is a table-style (like World Cup) tournament to decide the champion of Europe.

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And the Champions League is awesome. That is really the best. Although it is more like a long tournament than a league.
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Also, just to clarify, it's not simply the top four teams in each league through Europe. There are coefficients based on each leagues performance in the Champions League that determine how many spots a league gets. Germany, Spain, and England currently get 4 each, then Italy, France, and Portugal have 3, etc. Then, of course, there's the UEFA Cup for the next 1-3 ranked teams in each league.

 

[TexasGooner]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
I have gotten where I really enjoy watching the pro soccer from Europe. Can someone explain the leagues to me? Is English Premier the best of the best? What is Bundesliga? What leagues are teams like AC Milan and Barcelona in? How does it all work? Are they like major and minor leagues that you have on baseball? Thanks
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They are all major leagues, the leagues that you've mentioned. Soccer is simply popular enough to support multiple major leagues with great teams.

 

[TexasGooner]

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:
Thanks guys, that was a lot easier than google. So you win your league simply with the best record. No playoffs?

The team with the most points wins the league(Win = 3, Tie = 1). Every team plays every other team home and away, then the season is over. It's pretty simple, and you don't get the "strength of schedule" BS since everyone plays each other home and away.

This post was edited on 3/14 12:28 PM by TexasGooner

 

[nynole1]

Originally posted by FSUdawg:

Originally posted by LesClaypool:

Originally posted by DeputyDodge:

So the regular season is almost over and then the Cup play begins? I don't know who to pull for in BPL so help me out. I'm a 48 year old lifelong Red Sox fan. I like history and old stadiums. What's the equivalent? I don't want to root for the Yankees!

Posted from Rivals Mobile

Though I LOATHE them, the obvious answer to your question, given your disclaimer, is Liverpool.
Theyre owned by the same owner as the Red Sox, and they play in an iconic stadium called, Anfield.

This. Liverpool has the same ownership as the Red Sox so it is a perfect fit. Also, while Manchester City may have ties to the Yankees, Manchester United is considered by many to be the Yankees of the Premier League...because they just throw money around to buy whomever they want.

This is true about Man U. Also, Man City is owned by arab oil barons who spend at basically the same level as Man U does now.
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[DeputyDodge]

I really enjoyed watching the Premier League for the rest of the season. I was fascinated by the relegation battle. Found myself pulling for Hull City to stay but I'm not sure why. I really enjoyed watching Couthino for Liverpool and I gathered that Gerrard was a big deal. Why is he going to MLS? Is he passed his prime?

What are some good sites to follow the off season trades and such? I'm looking forward to following a whole season.

 

[kc78]

The US MLS is also getting better. I currently rank them as a top10 league worldwide. I think in the next 10-15 years there is a good chance that the MLS will become one of the top 5 leagues as well if they keep growing as they are now. The MLS is different in that they do have a playoff at the end of the season. So teams can win both the Supporters Shield which is the team with the best record all season (Same thing as winning the league in the European leagues mentioned) and then also the MLS Cup which is the winner of the playoffs.

 

[Noleguy06]

I really enjoyed watching the Premier League for the rest of the season. I was fascinated by the relegation battle. Found myself pulling for Hull City to stay but I'm not sure why. I really enjoyed watching Couthino for Liverpool and I gathered that Gerrard was a big deal. Why is he going to MLS? Is he passed his prime?

What are some good sites to follow the off season trades and such? I'm looking forward to following a whole season.

I suggest twitter more than a specific website.

 

[DeputyDodge]

I hate to admit it but I really liked watching those games a lot more than I like MLB anymore. I finally have a handle on offsides too.

Btw, have any teams that have been promoted to EPL in the last few years moved up the table at all? That bottom of the league deal is really interesting. Do teams like QPR hang on to most of the roster when they go down? Seems like they would have no problem finishing in the top 3 of the second tier next year and moving back up. I expect the same 6-10 teams stay at the bottom of one and the top of the next.

 

[fsugrad06]

I really enjoyed watching the Premier League for the rest of the season. I was fascinated by the relegation battle. Found myself pulling for Hull City to stay but I'm not sure why. I really enjoyed watching Couthino for Liverpool and I gathered that Gerrard was a big deal. Why is he going to MLS? Is he passed his prime?

What are some good sites to follow the off season trades and such? I'm looking forward to following a whole season.

Agree with the poster above, twitter is a good source. Also, there are not trades, per se, the parts of the year where players change clubs (unless they are unattached) are called transfer windows in pre-season and mid-season(June-August and January, typically, although exact dates vary by league). Players are sold from one team to another for a price, and then wages for the player are negotiated with the new club. Some times, players may be exchanged but usually someone young with money for a veteran. Also, once a contract expires, then it's basically just free agency.

 

[fsugrad06]

I hate to admit it but I really liked watching those games a lot more than I like MLB anymore. I finally have a handle on offsides too.

Btw, have any teams that have been promoted to EPL in the last few years moved up the table at all? That bottom of the league deal is really interesting. Do teams like QPR hang on to most of the roster when they go down? Seems like they would have no problem finishing in the top 3 of the second tier next year and moving back up. I expect the same 6-10 teams stay at the bottom of one and the top of the next.

Not necessarily. Depends on ownership. When a team gets promoted, they get a bigger piece of the pie and more revenue shares. When they get demoted, they will get less. If ownership can afford it, they'll spend and likely get promoted soon. QPR has been bouncing around the past 5 years or so. Swansea and Southampton were promoted around 2011 and have moved up the table. It helps to have solid academies, which Southampton's is great but a lot of talent has been poached in the last decade, including Gareth Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw, and Theo Wolcott. Academies are true development squads of players signed by the club and then play at u-18 levels and other groups. Many clubs have academies/leagues in the US. I'm not sure how the affiliation works because I don't think the players are signed to and belong to the clubs. Chelsea has an academy in metro-Atlanta that I know a couple people who's kids play for.

 

[GwinnettNole]

I hate to admit it but I really liked watching those games a lot more than I like MLB anymore.

Damn communist.

Soccer is fun. I got on board at the 2006 WC. It's now tied with football as my favorite sport. The concussion crisis that football has may propel soccer to being top notch for me.
But as I said above I follow MLS and Team USA more than anything else. I also loved that the FSU ladies won the women's college cup last Dec.

For those that aren't aware-- the US has the US Open Cup which is the equivalent to England's FA Cup. The US Open has been played for over 100+ years and is a tourney that has pro teams (top tier and lowers) playing a mix of amateur teams, etc to determine which US club is the best. It's pretty cool. Think about the Durham Bulls in baseball getting a chance to play the NY Yankees to determine a tourney champion-- pretty neat. Same concept.

The US has a deep history in soccer as I've come to learn. I think the worst part, however, is that the USA missed the world cup from 1950-1990. Couple that with no solid first rate league and you can see why soccer was always buried in the countries sports market.

Link to US Open Cup:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Hunt_U.S._Open_Cup

 

[GwinnettNole]

I guess I get the fascination with regulation. But there are "Euro snobs" as they are known on a soccer message board I visit (that are Americans that will only watch European soccer) that will never take US soccer seriously until regulation is implemented. Ha....

The interesting thing is the infrastructure is now there. The MLS is the top league, with many considering NASL and USL the next best. So I would assume regulation wouldn't be that tough to do. But all three are completely separate entities right now.

 

[DeputyDodge]

I need to watch more MLS. I will be hoping to see Gerrard's debut with LA on tv. Sorry for being a pathetic soccer newbie fan but isn't that what soccer fans want? More fans?

 

[daveynole]

There's also a little tournament north of our border that's starting tomorrow, and the USA is a favorite in that one.

 

[GwinnettNole]

There's also a little tournament north of our border that's starting tomorrow, and the USA is a favorite in that one.

Is Alex Morgan going to play?

 

[fsugrad06]

Is Alex Morgan going to play?

Yes, she has been held out in hopes of being fully healthy and ready for the WC. She likely won't start in the beginning, but will gradually be worked back in to more minutes. Wambach may be similar in minutes and may not start all the time either.

 

[kc78]

I guess I get the fascination with regulation. But there are "Euro snobs" as they are known on a soccer message board I visit (that are Americans that will only watch European soccer) that will never take US soccer seriously until regulation is implemented. Ha....

The interesting thing is the infrastructure is now there. The MLS is the top league, with many considering NASL and USL the next best. So I would assume regulation wouldn't be that tough to do. But all three are completely separate entities right now.

I highly doubt there will ever be relegation in the US. The only reason anyone likes it is because it makes the teams at the bottom interesting, but it really just guarantees that the teams towards the bottom will never compete with the few teams at the top who have the real money. Quite often relegation can be a death spiral. Its not uncommon to see a team drop a few levels quickly as all of their players get poached off and their money dries up.

If we were to ever see it in the US, I highly doubt that the NASL would have anything to do with it. Just as the New York Cosmos, they are convinced they're the greatest soccer team in the US and they absolutely despise the MLS and its control. The USL Pro is becoming very tied to MLS however as almost every MLS team now either has their own reserve team playing there or are affiliated with a team who is treated like their reserve team. I think what we're going to see more and more is the MLS growing in power and the USL Pro being treated like the farm teams in baseball are. I think the NASL is going to slowly be squeezed out.