How to follow professional soccer? Soccer Noob in need of help...

[humpasaurus rex]

So I went to a FC Barcelona Vs. Chivas Mexico game on Wednesday, the game was 

I only knew who Messi was, but he didn't even play. Needless to say this play made me a fan and I want to start following soccer, what leagues should I watch and what teams and players should I look out for? If the NBA is locked out I'm going to watch a lot more soccer. Any classic games you'd recommend? Good looks!

 

[caerus]

Well....if you seen Barca in person I would follow them. Their a great team to be a fan of. (Even though I'm a Real Madrid fan).

If you want to see their games, go watch old games on espn3.com & get familiar with the players and team.

You have many leagues to follow Premier, Liga, Serie, German league, so many!



P.S. Watch Madrid games though, I'm sure you would become a fan within the 1st half of play

 

[shaunhillftw49]

I would say start with the English Premier League, it has many of the best players world-wide and, more importantly easiest to follow with many games on ESPN2, their ESPN3.com streaming site and Fox Soccer Channel (games are usually on very early, but FSC has replays) as well as being in English. The new season starts next week. Some American players in the EPL are Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Tim Howard (Everton)

Next to that is the Spanish "La Liga", which also has games broadcast in those channels. Following it is easy, as well and they have a different style.
ESPN has a list of the games per day:
http://soccernet.espn.go....s?league=all&cc=5901

 

[humpasaurus rex]

Good looks guys, how do I know if a soccer player is good?  Should I look at their goals?  I don't really have a feel for the sport yet and I've always felt smothered by the amount of teams and leagues out there.

 

[jonfarr]

It takes time. Its not gonna happen over night. I started off by following Man U after watching the movie "Euro Trip" and just thought it was funny. I wasn't even into soccer, but every time after that movie I saw Man U playing I would watch. I started to follow players such as Wayne Rooney and enjoyed kind of finding my love for the game that way.

I then started watching team USA games, because that was my closest actual influence as my home city didn't have a major team. The last World Cup really sold me on soccer, along with Portland joining MLS. I decided to get season tickets to the supporters section and bam. Now I appreciate football a heck of a lot more. I like it better than a lot of other sports I used to feel were far better.

It helps having friends that are big into soccer and big into certain teams or leagues. Thats how I found out about what games were on and what teams were good and what not. Watch all the big tourneys.

 

[dlo13]

1. Make sure you have Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV as part of your cable package.
2. Start waking up early on Saturday/Sunday.

Just watch as many games as possible...you'll figure out the rest from there.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Stuff to follow:

1. Champions League

2. Premier League (English League)
3. La Liga (Spanish League)
4. Serie A (Italian League)
5. Bundesliga (German League)



74. Mongolian League







578. Kids playing at a local park

































33434673426734. Major League Soccer

 

[caerus]

Originally Posted by humpasaurus rex

Good looks guys, how do I know if a soccer player is good?  Should I look at their goals?  I don't really have a feel for the sport yet and I've always felt smothered by the amount of teams and leagues out there.

Never take goals into determining if a player is better or not. IMO its the impact they have on the game.

 

[cronicmolemolereturns]

Originally Posted by Caerus

Originally Posted by humpasaurus rex

Good looks guys, how do I know if a soccer player is good?  Should I look at their goals?  I don't really have a feel for the sport yet and I've always felt smothered by the amount of teams and leagues out there.

Never take goals into determining if a player is better or not. IMO its the impact they have on the game.

not sure if srs.. stats matter

 

[abovelegit1]

Originally Posted by Cronicmolemolereturns

Originally Posted by Caerus

Originally Posted by humpasaurus rex

Good looks guys, how do I know if a soccer player is good?  Should I look at their goals?  I don't really have a feel for the sport yet and I've always felt smothered by the amount of teams and leagues out there.

Never take goals into determining if a player is better or not. IMO its the impact they have on the game.

not sure if srs.. stats matter

Not really, no. Unless of course you're evaluating a forward, then looking at his strike rate would be appropriate, but even then that doesn't really give you a great idea about his abilities and performance. 

There are many things to take into account when assessing a player: passing ability, touch on the ball, vision, dribbling ability, etc. First off, you need to know and understand the various positions and their general roles and functions within the team, as well as individually. Keep in mind that there are many different formations, and different positions that go with each formation. It's best to start there, but once you understand what, for example - a right back's role and function are, then you will eventually begin to see differences in skill and quality between the various right backs you'll watch. 

 

[imnacho]

Start with Champions League, then transition to follow La Liga but just don't focus on Barça and Madrid, se Valencia, Villarreal and the always fun 'descenso'. If you wanna get the real feel of it just don't follow the big dogs....

also if you want some fast fun soccer watch the mexican league, it just started and you have the 'cantera' teams like Chivas and Pumas and the big dogs Cruz Azul, Tigres and AmÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]rica fighting toe to toe... also in mexican league you have playoffs so it makes that aprt of the year a lot of fun...

 

[noskey]

Like others have said, EPL is the top league and the most fun to watch. And since the season starts next week you can get in right at the perfect time 

Dont worry about feeling the need to choose a team, just watch whatever you can and get a feel for who you like the most.

And the MLS isnt that bad anymore. It's a good place to learn the basics about the game since you can watch the games in primetime, opposed to waking up at 6am on Saturday to catch EPL matches. The quality of play isnt great, but the games can get intense and there are still some playmakers over here, and a couple teams have amazing support (Portland especially

)

 

[jonfarr]

Originally Posted by Noskey

And the MLS isnt that bad anymore. It's a good place to learn the basics about the game since you can watch the games in primetime, opposed to waking up at 6am on Saturday to catch EPL matches. The quality of play isnt great, but the games can get intense and there are still some playmakers over here, and a couple teams have amazing support (Portland especially

)

He isn't joking. Tetris.

 

[dman14]

when and how long are the seasons? how many gms are played? do ya wake up early to watch the gms live and what channels?

 

[caerus]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Originally Posted by Cronicmolemolereturns

Originally Posted by Caerus


Never take goals into determining if a player is better or not. IMO its the impact they have on the game.

not sure if srs.. stats matter

Not really, no. Unless of course you're evaluating a forward, then looking at his strike rate would be appropriate, but even then that doesn't really give you a great idea about his abilities and performance. 

There are many things to take into account when assessing a player: passing ability, touch on the ball, vision, dribbling ability, etc. First off, you need to know and understand the various positions and their general roles and functions within the team, as well as individually. Keep in mind that there are many different formations, and different positions that go with each formation. It's best to start there, but once you understand what, for example - a right back's role and function are, then you will eventually begin to see differences in skill and quality between the various right backs you'll watch. 

Exactly my point.

 

[acbboyz84]

Real Madrid or Barcelona. You can't go wrong with either team . It's like following Lakers or Heat

 

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by Caerus

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Originally Posted by Cronicmolemolereturns

not sure if srs.. stats matter

Not really, no. Unless of course you're evaluating a forward, then looking at his strike rate would be appropriate, but even then that doesn't really give you a great idea about his abilities and performance. 

There are many things to take into account when assessing a player: passing ability, touch on the ball, vision, dribbling ability, etc. First off, you need to know and understand the various positions and their general roles and functions within the team, as well as individually. Keep in mind that there are many different formations, and different positions that go with each formation. It's best to start there, but once you understand what, for example - a right back's role and function are, then you will eventually begin to see differences in skill and quality between the various right backs you'll watch. 

Exactly my point.

Yep, pretty much nailed it here.  I remember when Becks first made his move to the MLS, all the non-footy media talked about was how many goals he was gonna score.  Sure, he'll score the odd free-kick here and there, but he's a distributor... a setup guy... he passes the ball and gets assists.  
I'm biased, but I do believe the EPL offers a faster-paced brand of football, which IMO is more entertaining.  I'd got with that first... then the La Liga.  The Champions League is a must, but their matches are spaced out quite a bit, so keep that in mind as well.  

 

[boys noize]

Like others have said, start off with the English Premier League. The top teams in the league are Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool. All of these clubs have world class talent.

 

[henz0]

Play FIFA, seriously.

 

[the sauna]

Originally Posted by henz0

Play FIFA, seriously.

Exactly.. you'll learn team, players, and how to play the beautiful game from playing FIFA... and its fun as hell and you'll get hooked real quick.. But like others have said, just start watching FSC and Gol TV, premier league starts next week so thats a good place to start.. Don't let others influence you on who to follow/like, it'll come naturally... 

 

[black chiney]

Start by watching the Champions League and Premier League. Premier League starts next saturday. The Champions League is the club competion in the world. You can watch the playoff round which starts on the 16th.

 

[supervi11ain]

i also suggest getting into fifa or pro evolution soccer. playing the game actually helps you understand the game

 

[ham city]

1. Don't associate with Euro snobs like Xtapolapacetl unless you need an outlet for your inferiority complex.

2. Pick up FIFA 12 when it comes out September 30th.