That's interesting. In Brazil it seems to be that the national team seems like a brand extension of Nike and it is little more than a stage to sell their best players to foreign leagues. It doesn't help that Brazil rarely plays friendly matches at home, because they are just interested in making money abroad. They also resent it because many of their players have spent most of their lives outside Brazil and they feel they are not truly represented. In Italy's case it seems to be more of a historical/cultural thing. I noticed you've put Napoli twice there... I take it they are not liked very much by the rest of Italy... do they have any friends at all?
mere coincidence to be honest. There are thousands more of those bilateral comparisons I made. Even at smaller level of towns you have never heard of. Shit in my town of Montecatini Val Di Cecina the guys would disapprove if a girl from town even dated a dude from Saline di Volterra. love Juve. Love Italy.
I don't like any international competition at all. Some places use if for political gain. Some places just pump people full of jingoistic bullshit to distract them from whatever corrupt shit is going on behind the curtain. Mostly, though, it's an excuse for horribly corrupt FA's to make money hand over fist for putting the most talented players at jeopardy for mostly meaningless matches. Then you have the World Cup which is staged just to make sure that FIFA gets HUGE sums of money after going places where they don't have to pay taxes, and get tons of luxuries. Plus, let's not forget all the money that gets pumped into the bidding process, which is also unbelievably corrupt. (See Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, as well as the mockery of the why they had 2 bids in one year in 2010. I'll give you a hint: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) Plus you have the confederations that have to make sure they get their cut. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is hosted in the US every 2 years. Ever wonder why? Because that's where it makes the most money for the confederation! It's all one big smokescreen to make sure that FIFA, the confederations, and the FA's get paid, and all on the backs of your favorite and talented players. Fuck 'em all. Club 10,000x before country.
No question about FIFA corruption, but don't you think you are being a bit naive if you think this doesn't happen at club level as well?
u do know that one of the reasons for CLUB popularity is international competitions right? people of a country will follow a club that has their player from the national team....for ex, because of vidal now juventus probably has a huge following in Chile. I know me and alot of other iranians follow every single iranian player in any league. And if they stay there for a while...then u become a life long fan of that club....I would've never watched an Osasuna match, but now i do. Personally i love the world cup and euros....sure it affects players at clubs BUT so does every freaking game. You cant say just cuz it was international duty that they got injured or whatever...injuries happen everywhere and any time. Not only that but its these competitions that unknown players get noticed and get picked up. Sure the game is corrupt but thats at every level...and yes FIFA and the football associations DO need to make large amount of money so we can keep this a popular sport. If there wasnt money in it they we wouldnt have world's biggest event.
I know what happens at the club level, and the shit's about to hit the fan regarding that real soon. For me, club has been around much longer than country. It's what we stand by. If the World Cup ceased to exist (as is my hope), club soccer would continue. Club soccer will always be around, no matter what. Plus the rivalries are better in club soccer. Who is Italy's main rival in international soccer? Now, who are Juve's rivals? Who are Milan's rivals? Who are Real Madrid's rivals? See what I mean? The only kind of international sports competition I like is ice hockey. While I am aware that players come from club teams, the IIHF isn't corrupt like FIFA is, and that's kinda how I like it.
Landon Donovan is an American sports icon. He earned that title by scoring that goal against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup. Clint Dempsey is a great player for the US National Team, and for his club team, Fulham. Tim Howard is an amazing goalkeeper for Everton. I respect Landon. I respect Clint. I respect Tim. However, I don't give a flying ******** about the LA Galaxy, Fulham, or Everton. Just like I don't give a shit about Giuseppe Rossi. Is he a Juventino? No. Why do I care what he does for Villareal? I would never root for any filthy Interista, and I don't care if he was on my national team. I don't care if he was an American hero. A filthy Interista is still a filthy ********ing Interista. The national team doesn't change that. My hatred for my opposition is greater than my love for my national team. This year, 3 of the Philadelphia Union's best players were taken away and put on the U23 roster for Olympic qualifying. That hurt our team a lot. I don't give a shit about the U23 Olympic roster. I care a whole lot about my Union which suffered because these 3 players were off riding a bench somewhere when they should have been training with the their new teammates, and getting acclimated to them. I support two teams. Neither of which are a national team because national team soccer is pointless.
i also think juventinos are more likely to dislike the azzurri (as an arm of the figc) for the whole farsopoli scandal, relegating us and taking trophies and giving them to ppl who didnt earn them, without any proof juve did anything different than the rest of serie A. altho i hate the figc and the fact that the azzurri is their creation, i also see gli azzurri and juve as almost arm in arm, we consistently provide the backbone of the team and were more than major contributors for each wc title, so in that sense i thnk of the azzurri almost as a manifestation of juve, a juve plus a few others taking on national teams, and in this sense they have my support. international football may be corrupt, and unhealthy for club teams, but as of now i still greatly enjoy it.
yes i get that but YOU dont get is...this sport would NOT be as popular as it is if it wasnt for international duties. The reason its world wide and u see so much diversity in every league is because of that.
What came first? Club play or international play? The World Cup didn't begin until 1930. Association football was brought from Europe to North and South America at the turn of the 20th Century. The World Cup didn't exist at that time. The first World Cup was held in 1930. The first European Championship in 1960. Hell, America had teams dating back to the late 1890s. Soccer's popularity comes from the game itself. Not from international competition. Also, what do you think is more popular in Asia, the fastest growing soccer market on the planet? The World Cup, or Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, and Real Madrid? How about the World Cup vs Manchester United? It's not because of the World Cup. It's because these clubs reached out to the Asian markets and began marketing their clubs heavily. FIFA didn't market to them. The individual clubs did. The World Cup and the Euros are month-long tournaments. International competition means nothing to people who don't have a team in the competition, but they'll get up at ungodly hours to watch Manchester United vs Manchester City, even if they don't have a horse in that race because it's more exciting, and more entertaining. If the World Cup, Euros, and other confederation tournaments never existed, club play would be around, and it would be as popular as it is now. Remember, there is no World Cup without club play. You can have club play without the World Cup, and I doubt many people would miss it. Club play will still be here after FIFA collapses under its own stupid corrupt weight.
you're missing the point....both are important...and on different levels...and they both contribute to each other When you mention Asia...thats a big continent and aside from a handful of countries, the rest cant make world cups. So yes some guy from malaysia will care more about Man U. than malaysia NT. But at the same time, take it from a guy who was raised in that part of the world, everyone has a favorite national team. The big teams like brazil, england, italy, germany, argentina, holland, france, spain....all have huge fans all around the world. Everyone watches the world cup, even those who are not that much into soccer. I will tell u this, more people follow that than clubs....clubs are only supported by people like us who are hardcore fans. Alot of people might like Man U. but they will probably watch 3 matches all year....i know many people like that. They are a fan of some club but when u ask them if they watched the game, they say No. All they do is follow the score lines. Hell they'll even drop the team if they go thru a slump like juve has now at the same time...becuase someone is a club team, he will support the national team that has alot of those players. Like how barcelona or madrid fans will follow spain....or a CR7 fan will follow portugal. i guess u have to be part of that world to understand...the national teams have huge followings
