Which La Liga club should I support and why?

You should watch a few games of different teams and see their style of play and learn about each team's unique history.

Then you will find yourself subconsciously leaning toward a particular team.

I'm a firm believer that true fans never consciously choose to support a particular team.

 

It's simple Catfish.FC Barcelona is more then a club.That might sound like a cliche that every Barca fan uses but if you read up on the club's history and the bad times during Franco's rule and why we were always underdogs and have to fight through hard times to make the club what it is today.But best of all Barca is about the people that support the club.
Politics played a big part in the history of the club as well.
Club President executed by Francoiste troups in 1930's and so forth.

For me seeing my first Champions League matches in 1998 and saw this team FC Barcelona I just knew this is what I want! With Rivaldo my hero.

The Barca supporters is the most passionate supporters u will find and all share a love for the club.
One last thing what Johan Cruyff said in an interview was that after Barca won the league the first year of Cruyff playing for Barca was an old woman coming up to him and said not 'Congratulations' for winning the championship but 'Thank you'.

So for me it's about 'heart' and passion and emotions.
And afcause if you become a supporter of FC Barcelona u must learn to dislike RM.
Not because we're jealous of them but in the history of the club their represented the enemy of the Catalan people and playing RM at Camp Nou awakes all sorts of emotions in our fans.
So if u cannot make your mind up between Barca or RM watch the SuperDerby on 7 December 2003 at our home Camp Nou.I cannot wait.

Regards

 

Real Zaragoza - because in the 1970's Juan Carlos used their young owner as an analogy for the oncoming democratic revolution. In this analogy Real Madrid supposedly represented the stifling conservatism of Francoism. So if not RZ, then at least learn to dislike RM and go with Barca. But if you choose that path, it very well could be like rooting for the Red Sox and watching the Yankees ruin your dreams every october.

 

Let it come Naturally. Watch some matches.



































A true test if someone is Evil or not is if he decides on Real Madrid!

 

Typical Barca fan logic.After so many years -they still ranting about Franco.In another words-nobody should support Real madrid because of Franco,Bayern because of Hitler,Marseille,Chelsea(because of Russian Mafia????) etc.I hate Barca ,because of their claim to be Catalans people club,because they say that Real always has advantage.This is *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#.Even in Catalunya a lot of people hate Barcelona-that's why there is Espanyol.Smarter Catalunyan's invented Espanyol to show support idea for ONE AND ONLY SPAIN. Real Madrid,Valencia,Betis,Espanyol,Deportivo etc.-make your choice after watching some of their games-but please don't be associated with Barcelona.

 

Yeah, I'm getting kind of fed up with the Franco remarks every time as well.

 

It's not about Franco.I don't want to get to political but drawing comparison's between Nazi's and Bayern - Munich is way out of line Sir.
RM was Franco's club no one can dispute that.
I'm not a Catalan I'm African living in South Africa.In a way I can relate to what the Catalans went through under Franco's regime.
Apartheid thought us to channel our anger as well.
That's how Catalans expressed their political sentiments through supporting Barca.

The way the stole Di Stephano from us to ref's supporting RM.
And Figo is a traitor.How can he go from heaven to hell for money.Would u want someone like that in your family?
Minduchio to me Real Madrid represent inferno.Real Madrid is all about glory and not much else
.Look how they treated Hierro.

So we do not feel inferior to RM we have pride in our club and above all a love which I cannot talk enough about.
We have real fans not glory hunting people with money to buy Beckham 23 shirts.
Oh and forget about Espanyol those loosers were pro-Franco and sucked up to Madrid.
U don't want that mate.


Catfish: Last year the fans almost caused Figo to have a nervous breakdown at the Camp Nou.
I read somewhere there was even a real pig's head slinged at him.
It's hard 'cause we really loved Figo.

 

Still talking about Franco when he's been dead for years, is out of line if you ask me, moreso for someone who isn't even Catalan and tries to pretend what happened to the Spaniards under his rule even affected you whatsoever at all, because now all of a sudden that person has become a Barça 'supporter'.

I've seen no proof at all that Di Stephano was 'stolen' from Barcelona, only people saying it who weren't even around back then, or are Spanish for that matter. Parrots if you will.

It's a good thing Franco also bought all those refs for Madrid's european champion's cup games eh? UEFA must have put up a blind eye for all those years or something.

Yeah, he's totally different from all the foreign players that go playing in England, Italy and Spain. Playing for the money? Perish the thought!

Which is of course why you support Barcelona instead of Athletic, or a club from South Africa for that matter, one would think you'd relate even more to what they had to go through.

 

Even through I am a Real mMadrid fan, I still think you should support FC Barcelona.

Why? Because you are a Chicago Fire fan. Stoitchkov played for Barcelona and remained loyal to Barcelona. I know he no longer played for the Fire, but he was still an important part of the franchise for years. DMB is a Barcelona supporter.... probably because of Stoitchkov's influnence.

You should support a team that you can somehow find a connection.

I am leaving the poltical discussion back to the rest of the guys. The rest of the Real madrid fans.... please forgive me for posting this!!!

 

Stoichkov also screwed the Fire over the last year he was there.

 

This thread is great and once again shows the inferiority complex Barcelona fans have. Catfish you asked about how Figo was treated when he returned to Barcelona as a Madrid player, well he was abused and not just standard abuse sent to a player who once played for your club but lot's of debris, including famously a pig's head, were thrown onto the field making it practically impossible for Figo to take a corner kick for Madrid.

I'll tell you what's the big difference between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Madrid treats it's players well and respects tradition. The great stars who have played for Madrid over the years have either ended their careers as Madrid players (Amancio, Puskas, Santillana, Sanchis, etc.) or left at the very end of their careers (DiStefano, Hugo Sanchez, Hierro) while at Barcelona the players have left in the prime of their careers (Cruyff, Romario, Guardiola, Ronaldo, Stoitchkov, Rivaldo, etc.) because of the club's unstable directors and unappreciative fans (what have you done for me lately mentality).

Yes, Madrid buys star players but it is also known for producing many young players and the current team has plenty of players who have been developed in the club's own youth team (Raul, Casillas, Pavon, Portillo, etc.). You watch, amongst the current stars on Madrid's team they'll either retire as Madrid players or finish the last few years of their careers at a smaller club meanwhile Barcleona's current stars will eventually move on to another big club.

The bottom line catfish is as we say in Spanish you don't pick a club, a club picks you. Something about a club's tradition, playing style, fans, etc. will catch your attention and you'll be hooked for life! I've been a Real Madrid fan since my youth as I always admired their exciting style of play and the club's tradition.

 

I'd have to agree that we shouldn't ask someone who isn't familiar with La Liga to choose a team based on politics and nationalism. Give me a break, let it be decided by how each team plays on the field or the individual players that are exceptional, and there are so many in La Liga!

Most Spaniards have some baggage associated with either Madrid or Barcelona because of the division those two clubs represented for Spanish society during the 30's-70's. We are in a new century, so let's allow new fans of the league to discover Spanish soccer as a true form of the beautiful game, and choose teams that best represent that ideal for them.

Here's a key to La Liga and the teams (if you don't want a long read, skip it now...)

Real Madrid - Holders of 9 European Cups (Champions League since '93) and winner of the league competition more times than any others. This is a team of all-stars and they are fun to watch. Raul, Luis Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Guti... The list goes on. Lots of fans in this forum.

FC Barcelona - Along with Madrid, the most recognizable Spanish team in the world. Tradition and excellence, Barcelona has won the King's Cup competition (similar to FA Cup) more than any other team and has won the league more than any other team besides Madrid. They represent the Catalunya region of Spain and have always been an extension of their culture. Some of the greatest players ever have worn the blaugrana colors: Johann Cruyff (player and coach), Maradona, Romario, Ronaldo.... and their current side is a mix of Dutch, Spanish, Brazilian and other internationals. I've always seen Barca as the most stylish club, the most cosmopolitan. Both in the way they look, their player make-up, and they way they play soccer. Lots of fans in this forum.

Atletico Madrid The other team in Madrid is far from an also ran. They boast young talent like Fernando Torres and won La Liga as recently as 1996. They also have one of the most corrupt presidents in the league. I don't know if he still is president or not, but Jesus Gil (mayor or former mayor of southern coastal resort town Marbella) is a classic representation of Spanish machismo, complete with gold chains and bravado. He may be serving a prison sentence right now for embezzeling funds from Marbella's treasury to finance his team, but Atletico will succeed whether he is involved or not. They get solid support in Madrid. Don't know of many Atletico supporters in this forum.

Espanyol The other Barcelona club, has been around for a century and still receives solid support from many catalans. They play in the 1992 Olympic stadium of Montjuic and won the King's Cup a couple of years ago. Their most recognizable player may be Raul Tamudo, an underrated striker who hasn't seen much national team duty because of the prominance and excellence of players like Raul, Morientes (formerly of Real Madrid), Ismael Urzaiz (Bilbao - think Spanish Brian McBride) and the young Fernando Torres. Don't know of many Espanyol supporters here.

Athletic Bilbao A club that represents the Basque country that occupies the Spanish/French border, they may be the most nationalist club of all, with a tradition of only using basque players. Despite the limitation of no foreign talent, Bilbao has enjoyed success in La Liga for years, winning a couple of titles in the early 80's and contributing good talent to the Spanish national team through Urzaiz and Joseba Exteberria. Talk to Bilbao2Brooklyn for more info on this team.

Real Sociedad Basque rivals to Bilbao, la Real has experienced a renaissance lately with the acquisition of Russian midfielder Valery Karpin, Turkish forward Nihat Kahveci and Serbian international Darco Kovacevic. Challenged Real Madrid for the title through the last week of the season last year, playing attractive, attacking soccer. Won La Liga in the early 80's. Talk to Pmoliu about these guys.

Real Betis Sevilla's green and white team, a team of midfield stars that seems to overachieve when no one expects them to and underachieve when they look to be stacked. An enigma with another controversial owner/president (Lopera) who named the stadium after himself (well, he's loaded). More the working class team of Sevilla, boasts midfield stars Joaquin and Denilson and should be very good this year. Talk to Pichi to learn more.

Sevilla FC A team that represents the old money of Sevilla, they won La Liga in the 40's. Have moved up and down between the first and second division during the late 90's, but look to be solid this year with recent transfers Dario Silva (from Malaga) and others. Juanele and Qdog are fans of this team.

Malaga CF My team, what can I say. They are looking to have a tough year this year, but last year had the most successful year in the history of the club, making it all the way to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. Unfortunately, the successful run in Europe left them financially stretched, and the team was unable to resign the core of the team. Contreras (Spain's 3rd keeper) left for Betis, Silva to Sevilla, Dely Valdes (striker) "retired" to Nacional of Paraguay, and Joaquin Peiro, the manager who took them from the second division and brought them to Primera for keeps. He's now managing Real Murcia. The one thing I always loved about Malaga was their fighting spirit and always playing attacking, winning soccer. They always look to attack (even though this year has been tough) but are going to have a tough time with new personel this year. Will be fighting to stay in the first division.

Real Mallorca The current holders of the King's Cup are an interesting team, representing the Balearic islands just south of Barcelona. (Think Ibiza.) Made the Cup Winner's Cup final in '99, the now defunct European competition that pitted the winner's of each European nations' cup competition against each other, losing to Lazio. Mallorca is always in the mix and should finish well again this year, with the talented Cameroon striker Eto'o as their most recognizable player. Not too many supporters on these boards though.

Real Murcia Will be looking to hold on to their spot, having just been promoted this year. Don't know of any Murcia supporters on these boards.

Albacete "El Queso Mecanico" (The Clockwork Cheese) has to be one of the coolest nicknames of any team anywhere, so named because Murcia is located in the heart of Manchego cheese making country in Spain (try the stuff, it's phenomenal). Will be looking to stay in La Liga and establish their identity. Represents Castilla-La Mancha region, think Don Quixote. Don't know of any supporters here.

Real Zaragoza Proud club representing the Aragon region, recently promoted from the second division, but are a fixture in La Liga throughout its history. Won the King's Cup a couple of years ago and looks to be solid this year. Has the best chance of the three recently promoted teams of staying up in the first division. Again, not many supporters on these boards.

Celta de Vigo Making their Champions League debut this year, along with Deportivo La Coruña they represent the excellence of Galician (northwest Spain, think Seattle and Portland) soccer. Always a great team to watch, their best player is the Russian Mostovoi. Hopefully, we might catch one of their games in the Champions League on US tv. Don't miss it if you do. Their club symbol is the Pilgrim's cross representing the Camino de Santiago, Europe's 2nd largest Catholic pilgrimage (after Rome) and a Spanish cultural experience unlike any other. There are a couple Celta fans on this board, like me, although they are usually a second or third favorite team.

RCD Deportivo La Coruña Won La Liga a couple of years ago, and along with Valencia, are the team that can consistently challenge and beat Real Madrid and Barcelona. Boasting one of the best managers in Spanish soccer, Javier Irureta, they play great soccer. Valeron is a creative genius, Tristan another excellent striker and Spanish national teamer. This team is one of the hidden gems of La Liga, although with all of their success, not so hidden anymore. Champions League team this year and will again challenge for the title. Nutmeg and DSC05 can tell you more.

Valencia Representing Spain's third largest city, this is a team to watch. They made the Champions League final twice in the past 5 years, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich (on penalties) but like Deportivo, consistently challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid. Should be great again this year with Argentine Pablo Aimar, Spanish midfield international Ruben Baraja and keeper Santiago Cañizares (shares national team starting duties with Casillas of Madrid). Ask the Double more about these guys.

Osasuna Honestly, don't know much about this team. They represent Pamplona (city of the running of the bulls, of course) and will be fighting to stay in the league this year. I'm not sure who supports them on this forum.

Villarreal A string of good signings and a birth in the UEFA Cup (through winning the Intertoto Cup) have this team dreaming big this year. They should do well with Riquelme on loan from Barcelona and Brazilian Sonny Anderson who just scores goals. Look out for the "yellow submarine" (team nickname) this year, but they don't have many supporters on these boards.

Real Valladolid Seem to always finish between 10th and 15th every year in La Liga, without too many stars or big names. I really could tell you much more about this team, but their longevity in La Liga speaks to their toughness, this is a team of survivors. No known supporters on these boards.

Racing de Santander Black and green horizontal stripes make this team recongnizable, but it's hard to know how they will perform this year. Not many supporters on these boards.

Well, I think that wraps it all up, sorry for the lengthy diatribe, but that's La Liga in a nutshell. Choose a team that fits your style.

 

malaga CF...great post.

Nice to read something informative and unbiased.

Gets old reading the same old crap from posters about who is better blah blah blah blah.

We all love our teams for various reasons, we all dislike team(s) for various reasons.

Do we really need to rehash this over and over and over again?

 

Catfish,

I'm a Madrid supporter, but I've been that since I was a kid and my uncle would take me to home games; thus, I really never made a conscious decision.

I would advise against choosing Real Madrid just because of their superstar players, lots of league championships, European cups, etc. Let's face it, you'll just be called a glory seeker by lots of people on the board - and well, you would be wouldn't you?

I'd advise the same thing with Barcelona. In addition to mega-club status you'd also have to deal with the Catalan nationalist political crap, the bitter whining, and the inferiority complex. True, many Barça fans aren't like that but what you've seen posted in this thread is all too typical.

Athletic Club Bilbao: they have great history and lots of tradition; however, their Basque only policies and their identity with Basque nationalism adds lot of political and cultural non-football baggage that makes it a pain in the a$$ for a casual fan who is non-Basque (I'm assuming that you are) and doesn't even live there.


Atlético Madrid: they are the second team of Madrid with some historical success. However being a Real Madrid fan, I can't bring my self to recommend them Besides, you can probably imagine the inferiority complex their fans have versus Real Madrid!

I would recomend either Valencia or Deportivo La Coruña. Both have attractive playing styles (as do most teams in the Spanish league), lots of history, and have seen recent success (winning leagues, cups, making the European cup final, etc.).

If you want a less successful club but one that has great passionate fans, you might want to try Real Betis from Seville. Also Real Sociedad from San Sebastián is a good alternative to Athletic Bilbao if you want to support a Basque club.

Let's face it, you don't want to torture yourself with a club always facing relegation/promotion from 2nd div. like Rayo Vallecano (although the relegation battles do make compelling football).

 

I used to be barcelona fan, a realmadrid fan, depor fan, and valencia fan, but when we start we all this nationalism crap makes me sick. What it has to do futbol with politics. We have this new president from Barcelona that wants all his player to speak catalan, i don't get it, is he retarded? He needs to understand that 80% of the players at BArsa are foreing and they love their countries and culture, they don't need to be harrash by the clubs president to learns catalan. 75% of the fans from Barcelona are in different countries (spanish speakers) Do you really think that they like his fascist ideas.............A message, if the club administritaiton wants to hire catalan speakers, thats good, but please let be demopcratic and let the people choose if they want to speak catalan or kiss the catalinean flag. I wish Cruift was here. He is more catalan than dutch, because he choose to be that, but when you push it; democracy and liberty goes down. If he keeps like that lots of supporters will be lost. I AM ONE OF THEM.
THANKS

 

I completely agree with you about figo He is a Fu*king traitor, I can not imagine Raul leaving to Barca!

I WILL NEVER FORGET OR WILL FORGIVE THEM TO WHAT THEY DID TO HIERRO, OR EVEN EL MORO FOR THAT MATTER!!!
I am even thinking to stop supporting the team that I was born to support, the team that my father and family supports, But its hard cause its deep in my heart and mind.

I hope Real Madrid Crashes and burns this year it may wakes up and maybe go back to the how we where in the late 90s witch was my favorite.

I HATE BEKAM
I HATE RONALDO, bring back El Moro we won 3 CL with him none with Ronaldo, WTF!!!!!!

 

Im not going to post my take, i just want to thank Malaga for his unbiased effort on posting that great post!

 

So your Mexican friends look at you funny because your 4 years of high school Spanish courses, in Chicago, provided you with a Castillian accent? If that's what you believe, then I most definitely suggest you make the effort to get to Spain.

The answer to your question can only truly be found by going over there to experience it for yourself.

 

Buy the book Morbo by Philip Ball and decide for yourself. More than most places, the team you support has a lot of history behind it and even political implications.

 

Actually, if you want to rail against some facists, you'll have to direct that anger at Real Madrid. ;-)

 

sometimes I get very passionate about these things.
But it makes it more fun.
Thanks Merengue.