Crazy thread for me to read since i´m from Germany and it´s still by far the sport Nr.1 here and everybody learns to play at their young ages, boys or girls.

I might be an even more die-hard soccer fan than i´m at hockey.

The problem about that thread is that there isn´t one strategy that can be explained.

At best would be you watch some and note the questions you have left i gladly will take my time and answer you all of them.

I would strongly suggest if you want to become a fan go for club soccer. It´s way more intresting and enthusiastic than the national team cups, as fun as they are.

There isn´t one team in particular to pick and there isn´t one route to go. It might be easy to be a Barca, ManU,Chelsea,Real,Bayern fan but those teams get a lot of hate cause there is no salary cup and they simply spend way more money on players than the teams a step beyond. For example there were years were Bayern spent as much money on their players than 15 other clubs in the same league combined.

In the Champions league there will be a kind of salary cap involved called financial fair play in the next seasons. THis will hurt mainly Spanish and English soccer teams cause they have by far the most debts.

In the future i would guess that French and German soccer will make a huge step back at the top since those teams are financially healthy.

Without drafts it also important to have good junior coaches and developing teams from within. If you find a smaller club that has that and is on the verge to become a contender this might be way more fun to follow.

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Each league has its dominant teams and teams that struggle. I watch mostly EPL games so keep that in mind with my suggestions.

I find myself bored with Italian and French games because they play a much more slower, methodical pace to the game. They play more defensive strategies than offensive.

The Spanish, German and English leagues to me are the most entertaining for me to watch.

In Spain there are a few teams that dominate each year in Barcelona and Real Madrid. They seem to have record signings from year to year and attract the top players in the game. If you have never watched Messi, Xavi, or Ineista play for Barca or Ronaldo, Ozil, Kaka fro RM then you are missing out on an experience. Especially Messi, if you catch a Barca game, dont watch the game, just watch Messi if you can. Trust me you will catch the best of that game. The man is amazing, i swear he has the ball attached to a yo-yo thats tied around his foot. Spain has some other exciting teams to watch though, teams like Sevilla, Athletico Madrid, Valencia.

Keystolife can give you a better breakdown of the German leagues.

In the English leagues you have the top 4 or 5 teams consistently battling for the title. Man U, Cheslea, Arsenal, and Liverpool. This year has seen some other teams like Man City (who got a new owner and opened up the wallets and bought a contending team and they are in a battle for the lead against Man U), Tottenham, and shocker Newcastle up towards the top of the table. Anytime you see these teams play its usually an exciting match. Of these teams i prefer to watch Man U (my team of 21 years), Arsenal and Tottenham. Man U and Arsenal play a up tempo possession game who constantly attack (sometimes confused of being too fancy).

The best suggestion i can tell you is to look at the table when seeing teams play, and i dont just mean watch if they are close to the top. Although those top table games are exciting, some of the more exciting games are the relegation battle games towards the end of the season.

If your not familiar with the structure over in Europe its quite interesting and makes it exciting. In the EPL the bottom 3 teams are demoted to the league below, and their top 3 teams are promoted. This makes the battle to be above the top 3 at the bottom of the table very exciting. Teams give it their all. There is no playoffs, the team at the top of the table wins the league and the 3 at the bottom of the table get demoted at the end of the regular season.

Bottom line is, dont get caught up in not wanting to watch the blue jackets when every team in the EPL plays with way more heart than the Blue Jackets ever had.

The best advice i can give you is watch as many games as you can and pay attention to the games within the game and identify which teams and their styles that you like the most. Watch those teams a few more times.

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If you want to pique interest, watch Barca and Real Madrid. Messi and Ronaldo are gods.

Also, you might try kicking the ball around with your daughter, if she'll permit. It may give you insight into the actual skill/athleticism involved in what you see on TV.

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1-Year 12-team H2H: G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, GWG, HIT, SOG, FW - W, GA, GAA, SA, SV%, SO

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I've been watching soccer lately myself. Mostly the UEFA (playoffs i think?)

What frustrates me most about soccer is their damn offsides rule! I kinda know how it works, but I'm not 100%. Can anyone enlighten me?

The last 2 men back on the defensive team form an invisible line.

The offensive player must behind that invisible line prior to the ball being struck.

After the ball is struck, he can run past.

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1-Year 12-team H2H: G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, GWG, HIT, SOG, FW - W, GA, GAA, SA, SV%, SO

C: Crosby, Koivu, Kopitar
LW: Elias, Benn, Ott, Pacioretty, Landeskog, Lucic
RW: Kessel, Clarkson
D: Byfuglien, Burns, Phaneuf
G: Niemi, Hiller, Bobrovsky