I've never been a club supporter in soccer, just always had favorite players I followed from club to club...

However, I've been looking to change that. I was a ManU supporter because of Rooney and previously Ronaldo and I used to support Barca due to Ronaldinho and still kind of do because of Messi...

However, and I know I'm in the minority here, I've always enjoyed Italian soccer quite a bit more... In fact, I find it even more enjoyable now that most of the major teams have more international flair than they do Italian flair... Maybe it's because I'm like 1/25th Italian, I don't know lol..

With that said, I really caught on to F.C. Internazionale Milano the last few seasons. In fact, I may be going to Italy in 2 or 3 years and was thinking about catching a game as well.

Anyway, who's your favorite club and why? Or do you just follow certain players?

It's definitely a bit different, because for the most part, these are international teams. You don't really feel the same connection as you do with your hometown teams here. Part of the reason I never really clung to a team.

Love Aston Villa, mainly got into them because of the connection to Randy Lerner. They're also reeeeaaally fun to play with in fifa haha

Chelsea is my favorite club team.
Never was really into soccer until this past year when I transferred to Akron/made some foreign friends who are really into soccer. I'd say I sort of picked them just to play devil's advocate because they didnt like Chelsea. Other reasons were because I love how Drogba and David Luiz play. One of my friends is an Arsenal fan and the other is a Liverpool fan..so I enjoyed giving them a hard time when we bought Torres, even though he hasn't done shit since joining Chelsea.

Funny you like Inter for being kind of international. That is the exact reason why most Italians HATE that club lol. They dont have enough/ANY Italians.


Anyway, I love Barcelona, and have since I can remember (1994). Favorite player has been Messi since he was 16, and before that, Carles Puyol.

I think the reason I like them is because of the way they win. They have that style and they wont sway from it. Short passing, flair, attacking, etc. They always take the match to their opponent.
Then you take into account the WAY they do business. It is truly the epitome of small market. Not that they dont have the money to spend, because they do...and they do spend it. But no other club in the world can come close to the amount of homegrown talent that Barcelona produces. The famous La Masia school has produced so many great players, Barcelona cant even hold on to them (Pepe Reina, Liverpool; Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal; Giovanni dos Santos, who recently killed the USA lol...to name a few). Just look at the team this year. They are arguably the best of all time. This is how the starting 11 played out:

Valdes - Homegrown
Puyol - Homegrown
Pique - Homegrown
Alves - Bought
Abidal - Bought
Busquets - Homegrown
Xavi - Homegrown
Iniesta - Homegrown
Messi - Homegrown
Pedro - Homegrown
Villa - Bought

The bench is about 50/50, pending on who makes the squad for a given match. That is remarkable. 8/11 Homegrown players. Think about that in baseball or something. They are the Yankees of soccer in terms of titles...but the Twins in terms of how they do it. You cant ask for much more, to be honest. Completely different style and approach than anyone else in the world. The Barcelona style is so unique, they have to groom their players at a young age, and most recently, under Pep Guardiola it has REALLY shown.

Liverpool, mainly because playing with Torres and Gerrard in Fifa was awesome.

Manchester United. They've been my favorite ever since I saw Fabian Barthez between the pipes with them. I just got watching soccer on tv and I saw him...I "sort of" thought him to be me in the future (as in, he was bald and a goalkeeper -- which was what I was when I started watching them). Sorry, it may be lame, but what can you do when you are in a VERY poor soccer area and are first introduced to professional soccer. It was probably the first professional team non-American I ever saw play.

I also have started supporting Derry City FC. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They are the only Northern Ireland team in the League of Ireland. I have a former player that lives in Derry City. I got to go to a game in September, so I just kind of have a connection there. I know a coach within their academy also. Has some sentimental value to it.

More on La Masia. Here is a video done by ESPN...I encourage everyone to watch it and see what I mean by homegrown. They know how to find talent at an insanely young age and develop them. This is a great insight to the "Barca Way"

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/blog/_/name/martin_james/id/6690484/la-masia-where-magic-happens

Celtic FC is my favorite club. Not sure how it started, since I've followed soccer I've like them. I like the Timbers in MLS too. Wish I was part of the Timbers Army, but I like to see how most former Zips are doing.

In the Premier League I follow Aston Villa. That started for the same reason as S&L mentioned.

I used to follow Nottingham Forest, but with the limited ability to watch them online, and the fact they haven't moved up to the premiership, I've gravitated to Aston VIlla once Randy Lerner purchased them. I used to like Chelsea as the scrappy London underdog to the bigger teams of Tottenham and Arsenal, but once they became Chelski, it's hard to watch.

As for the U.S., Columbus Crew, obviously.

I am more of an international soccer guy. USA first, but I also like to see the Italians and Turks succeed as I am 50/50 in italian/turkish blood and I lived in both countries. As for club, I really have no team, because it's hard to gain a connection with any team. I like the Italian Serie A league though, and I typically root for Serie A teams to succeed in the champions league tournament.

As for the U.S. not that much into the MLS yet, but I have been to a few Crew games, and I suppose I have adopted them as my U.S. team.

Arsenal.

Henry is my favorite player ever. I enjoy their style...total football. Until recent years I was a huge fan of Arsene Wenger, but he is starting to wear on me. I also lived and studied in North London for a time.

I'm also a casual supporter of Fulham, mostly because of Dempsey and I've been to a few of their matches. Craven Cottage is a really cool venue. Other than that I just pull for US players abroad.

Likethat, you like any Turkish club teams? Besiktas? Galatasaray? Fenerbache?

I like galatasaray, "Hell" is pretty fricken awesome

I forgot to include the Crew! How dumb of me?!

I am a HUGE supporter of the MLS though. I will watch, attend, and/or purchase any MLS team's merchandise/apparel. I believe in supporting our domestic league. My goal is to collect a scarf and jersey of each team. I only have 3 jerseys, but I have 6-7 scarves now.

I also will support the USLPro, particularly the Charlotte Eagles, I worked for them for a couple of summers and know many of the players. I also have taken a liking to another USLPro team, the Dayton Dutch Lions. I went to a game and thought they were doing a lot of good things for the family/supporter atmosphere. A buddy of mine plays for them too.

SportsAndLady;814242 wrote:Likethat, you like any Turkish club teams? Besiktas? Galatasaray? Fenerbache?

I like galatasaray, "Hell" is pretty fricken awesome

I like Galatasaray as well. Have their jersey, and went to a couple games when I lived in Turkey.

I'm an Everton fan, mostly because of Tim Howard. When I first got into the EPL, I was looking for a team that wasn't part of the Big Four but could be expected to stay up in the top flight, so I went with the team with the American goalkeeper. They have given me fits, especially towards the beginning of the season because they never start well. I also enjoy playing with them on FIFA.

I also root for Barcelona as well, when it comes to the Champions League and such. Like Laley, I enjoy the way that they've built their team, I have mad respect for them for that, especially when their rival attempts to buy any and every player possible. Also, their style of play is just awe-inspiring, and it's quite amazing just see them play.

Laley23;814098 wrote:More on La Masia. Here is a video done by ESPN...I encourage everyone to watch it and see what I mean by homegrown. They know how to find talent at an insanely young age and develop them. This is a great insight to the "Barca Way"

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/blog/_/name/martin_james/id/6690484/la-masia-where-magic-happens

Definitely a fan of how Barca does it. A keen eye for young talent. It's basically a factory not only for Barca, but a lot of the other top teams as well. lol

OSH;814243 wrote:I forgot to include the Crew! How dumb of me?!

I am a HUGE supporter of the MLS though. I will watch, attend, and/or purchase any MLS team's merchandise/apparel. I believe in supporting our domestic league. My goal is to collect a scarf and jersey of each team. I only have 3 jerseys, but I have 6-7 scarves now.

I also will support the USLPro, particularly the Charlotte Eagles, I worked for them for a couple of summers and know many of the players. I also have taken a liking to another USLPro team, the Dayton Dutch Lions. I went to a game and thought they were doing a lot of good things for the family/supporter atmosphere. A buddy of mine plays for them too.

I buy a scarf at a new stadium I've been to as well (for each year). Been to Columbus (CCS), Colorado (DSGP), Dallas (PHP), Kansas City (CAB), Real Salt Lake (Rice-Eccles), and MLS All-Star Game (Rio Tinto). KC was sold out of scarves when I was there as it was summer and they didn't plan to stop them late into the season.

I hope to get to Portland, Philadelphia, Chicago, new stadium in Kansas City, once the new stadium is built in Houston, and HDC. Had planned for a few games this year, but so far the only game I've managed is Crew vs. Red Bulls at CCS earlier this year.

Sykotyk

MLS = Columbus Crew
Other teams, Chelsea

Loved Arjen Robben when he played for PSV and then he switched to Chelsea. Started following them and have followed them since. Don't really care for PSV anymore, really only liked them bc of robben. Try to watch as much Bayern as I can these days

MLS: Crew
EPL: Chelsea

Was just reading about some potential moves in the EPL so I thought I'd bump this.

Regarding Arsenal...

There reports that Fabregas is pretty much gone...off to Barcelona. Clichy to Man City and Nasri is expecting to get a big offer from United to replace Paul Scholes.

I'll be really sad if Cesc is gone, but I know its iniveable. Gervinho should be signed soon from Lille.

Arsenal fan here in the EPL.

Really like their style of play; although that hasn't translated into hardware...and I agree, unfortunately Fabregas is probably all but gone, although a move to Barca will be good for all soccer fans who enjoy watching quality soccer...the Gunners really need to bring in a top flight keeper and shore up the defensive game a bit. Would be almost as concerned to see Nasri go as Cesc. Arshavin is a non-factor and continues to be an enigma and inconsistent offensively. Supposedly a striker from French League is on the radar. Arsenal must retain Jack Wilshere, RVP, and Theo for the foundation of the future, IMO.

Follow Barca in La Liga for the same reason as above...that ball-control, passing mastery is awesome to watch. They are currently head and shoulders above everyone else...and adding Fabregas would only see them getting stronger.

Really don't follow the Italian League or Bundesliga much.

Crew in MLS.

I'm beginning to lose confidence in Wenger. He's all talk and no action. In recent years his teams have been so inconsistent its sickening.

Automatik;819638 wrote:I'm beginning to lose confidence in Wenger. He's all talk and no action. In recent years his teams have been so inconsistent its sickening.

I can't disagree with that. If you look at their collapse this year, their defensive let-downs late in games, and failing to gain in the table against teams they clearly should be taking points from...that all has to come home to roost on someone, and eventually that will be Wenger, I'm afraid.

killdeer;819645 wrote:I can't disagree with that. If you look at their collapse this year, their defensive let-downs late in games, and failing to gain in the table against teams they clearly should be taking points from...that all has to come home to roost on someone, and eventually that will be Wenger, I'm afraid.

That 4-4 draw to Newcastle was the final straw for me. They were in decent shape for the league title and then blew up.

Wenger leaving could bring big changes. Maybe changing their style of play? Maybe spending more? Its obvious their current strategy isn't winning trophies.