Don’t Stop Watching Soccer Just Because the World Cup is Over

July 13th, 2010 | by: Daryl |

This post is addressed to everyone who didn’t consider themselves full on football fans before June 11th 2010, but tuned in to watch the World Cup because it’s one of those unmissable global events. I’m not exclusively talking to Americans here. I could be talking to Australians or New Zealanders, or anyone really. But if I’m honest I am mostly talking to Americans. Because that’s where I live.

If you watched the World Cup but didn’t really care for what you saw, then move along. This post is not for you. If you watched the World Cup and thought you might want to get into this soccer thing year round (as opposed to quadrennially) then read on. Because we in the football loving world have some advice for you…

The good news is that the football season is much much more than one month of football every four years. It basically never ends.

International tournament football will be back next summer with Copa America 2011 (like a World Cup for South American teams) and before that the European teams will begin the process of qualifying for Euro 2012 (like a World Cup for Euro teams). But aside from all that, there’s the bread and butter of club football.

Here’s a half decent analogy, using basketball: The World Cup was like the Olympic basketball tournament, where every nation sends their best players. Club football is like the NBA. Except instead of just one all-powerful league filled with all-star players, there are several.

Good news is that we have a whole other website – a sister site to World Cup Blog – that’s focused on club football. It’s called The Offside, and you can find it by clicking that link.

On the front page you’ll find informative posts like this list of kickoff dates for every European league, as well as plenty of news, humour and opinion from the wide wide wide (that’s three wides, so you know it’s wide) world of club football.

As well as the front page, we also have 250+ team specific blogs for clubs large and small. So if you want to read about Man Utd, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Internazionale and many many more, then it’s all there. Most of these teams can be found on television (or somewhere on the internet).

Choosing which of these leagues to watch and which of these teams to support is a personal decision. Most agree that the big five leagues are (in alphabetical order) England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. So if you have family ties or a cultural affinity with any of those places, then maybe that’s a way to start. But choosing a team to support from amongst those leagues is another matter. Maybe a topic for another post.

If you like the flashy tournament angle of the World Cup, then you’ll be please to hear about the UEFA Champions League, in which the very best teams from around Europe compete against each other for a big trophy and big money. Good news is that this tournament happens every single year.

As well as watching the big leagues and reading The Offside, you may want to get out of the house and find a team see live in the flesh. If you’re in the US then find your nearest MLS team, or a team from the lower divisions of US Soccer. Football’s great on the TV, and discussing it on blogs is a lot of fun. But nothing beats seeing it happen right in front of you.

International Football News – World Cup Blog RSS Feed

Bense235

Finally it's not an earsore anymore to follow tv footie again…
Stuart

Amen, brother.
Hana

Great post, Daryl, and a really important one, especially to people in the States who have been exposed to the sport for the first time. I had always liked soccer growing up, but WC 2006 was certainly what elevated me from a casual fan who played the sport, but never really watched matches before to full fledged fanatic. It's just such a wonderful time to get immersed in it from all sorts of different perspectives, and it makes me happy that it can serve as a springboard for further interest in the beautiful game.
http://www.facebook.com/halynaiscoolerthanyou Halyna Svitlynets

Thank you for this post! I've been confused as to where to go from here. The concept of club football scares me because I know I'm kind of late in the game… most people are born with a club chosen for them and have someone to guide them through the ins and outs of football. Figuring it out for myself will take some time but I'm excited. :) I'm already planning to see LA Galaxy and Chivas with my dad soon.
http://japan.worldcupblog.org/ Aidan

International football tournaments will be back before next summer's Copa America – the Asian Cup is in January.

I know this gets far less global attention than the Copa America which is understandable, but it also gets way less attention than the Africa CUp of Nations which is a bit annoying since Asian teams have consistently done just as well if not better than their African counterparts on the global stage, just with less fuss made about them.

It presumably won't be on any US tv station though, so Daryl's point probably stands from that point of view, but those of us who blog on Asian countries will certainly be covering the Asian Cup come January.
LaMar

Indeed, WC 06 is what converted me and I've been trying to digest as much soccer-related content since…
Stuart

Question for those with actual experience regarding any of the paid online streaming services of European football to the US, what are the better choices? Is there clearly a best option? I'm most interested in the Bundesliga and SPL, but EPL and La Liga would be a welcome bonus. I'm tired of messing with the various free P2P choices, and TV (cable/satellite) isn't an option for me. Thanks in advance for any help.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/JE6IWKWLW7YMUBBBD5CZ7NG3BM haymain

looking forward 2014…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=645626499 Ryan Fruto

Hello. Is that a Dutch or Russian name you've got? I don't know much of the Russian Premiership, but the Dutch Eridivisie have some of the best leagues around. Of theirs I like Ajax of Amsterdam, just for shallow and sentimental reasons actually. Luis Suárez from Uruguay, of Hand Ball at the Goal notoriety, is one of their Strikers. Formidable competitors include PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord. Hope you can tune in online!