loz Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 If you could pick one team from each country to win the main domestic title who would it be and why? (the leagues I am thinking of are English, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Russian and Scottish (I have thrown in Scottish as I am up here and also I know we have a few old firm fans on the site) however feel free to throw in other ones if you want to. Mine are: English - Chelsea, obviously Italian - Sampdoria - always had a liking for Sampdoria without there ever being a proper reason for it. Then I lived in Genoa on and off for about a year and saw them playing a few times. It was only when I went there that I discovered that Sampdoria are the team supported by Southerners who came North for work' whereas the 'true Genoese' support Genoa (or so I was told) French - Bordeaux - Bordeaux are the nearest top flight side to where my Dad lives however that isn't the reason I chose them. Years ago I saw Bordeaux play a pre-season friendly at Ibrox and Tigana tore Rangers apart with ease. Ever since then I have been convinced Tigana was a finer player than Platini but few agree! Spanish - Villareal - For no other reason than I think they do remarkably well for a side that is based in a such a small town. Dutch - Ajax - Outside of the English league this is the only time Ihave gone for a real big name within the context of their domestic league. For me Ajax have produced some of the finest players of the past 30 years and have done so time and time gain whilst having to accept that all of them will move on. German - Schalke 04 - Purely because football clubs who put their fans first and a dyinf breed. Schalke 04 are one of the very best for it. Russian - None - just never got interested in Russian football - probably because we see so little of it. Scotland - Dundee United - I don't really have any great affection for Dundee United however I think Scottish football is crying out for someone outside the old firm to win the title. I would have probably opted for Hearts prior to the Romanov era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_Boy Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 ENGLISH: :) ITALIAN: Lazio-I like to watch Pandev and Zarate play, whole team fights for every ball. FRENCH: Marseille-There are alot of amazing young players there (Ben-Arfa,Taiwo,Mandanda,Valbuena) and they play great attacking football SPANISH: Atletico Madrid-I always liked them because of a great mixure of young and experienced players (Aguero,Forlan,Simao,...) DUTCH: Ajax-Becuse of their great acadamy GERMAN: Wolfsburg-Their attack is amazing (Dzeko-Grafite) RUSSIAN: CSKA Moscow- Alot of great players playing there (Dzagoev,Zhirkov,Wagner,Akinfeev,Carvalho)-I hope that three of the listed players will be playing for Chelsea next year SCOTLAND: I dont watch scotish football that much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueBeard Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 English - Chelsea, obviously Italian - Inter - followed them since my parents went to Italy for a holiday in the 60's and brought me home an Inter pennant, back in the days of Mazzola (the player, not the cooking oil - well, both actually) French - no interest Spanish - Atletico Bilbao, always liked their policy of only signing Basque players - probably explains why they're crap, too Dutch - Feyenoord. Always liked their strip, plus their fans kicked the crap out of Spuds in the 70's. Besides, when I was a kid one of my obnoxious 'mates' had Ajax as his Subbuteo team. Plus, Ajax & Spuds fans are very friendly towards each other - need I say more? German - Bayern, liked them back in the early 70's, they had some great players. Don't like them so much now... Russian - None, really, though I used to look for Moscow Dynamo's results when I was a youngster Scotland - the mighty Gers of course! Also like Hearts & Dundee + Portugal - Maritimo, just cos I love Madeira Bulgaria - Levski, because CSKA Sofia tried to kick us off the pitch in 1970 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gem Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 England - Chelsea Spain - Espanyol - We holiday in Catalonia EVERY year and have done for the past 10 or so years (due to us having a house out there to be fair) and its a very Barcelona-fied area. However, me and my dad decided to support the other Catalonians - Espanyol, just to wind up the locals. Over time I've grown to actually have emotions about their results, something only Chelsea has over me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loz Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 England - Chelsea Spain - Espanyol - We holiday in Catalonia EVERY year and have done for the past 10 or so years (due to us having a house out there to be fair) Really... You don't leave a key under the doormat by any chance do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maksimov Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 (edited) English - Chelsea - Who else? Italian - Torino - They used to be absolutely huge and it would nice to see them hit the big time again, if not for any other reason but to put Juve supporters in their place French - Auxerre - Guy Roux is a football legend and even though he's not at the club anymore, it would be nice to see them win the title as I'm sure it would mean a lot to him. Spanish - Atletico Madrid - There's just something tragic about the club and the way they underachieve reminds me of the Chelsea of old. And it would be great just to have the Real Madrid fans eat a bit of humble pie. Dutch - PSV - Because of their connections with Chelsea German - FC St. Pauli - That club is simply of a different breed. Russian - Zenit St.Petersburg - They're geographically the closest team to me and it's not a Moscow club. It's always nice to see the title go outside the capital. Scotland - Hibernians - I don't really watch all that much Scottish football, but Mixu Paatelainen(a Finnish legend) is managing them, and I wouldn't mind seeing him get some success. I probably should say Rangers because of the Chelsea connection, but I want to see some other team win it than either of the big two. Edited April 26, 2009 by Maksimov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maksimov Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 French - no interest Now there's a surprise! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moos Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) English - Liverpo.......sorry, I mean Chelsea! Italian - Juventus. My favourite team. French - No real interest in that league but if I have to pick on it'll be Marseille Spanish - Athletic Madrid, but I kinda like Villareal too. Dutch - Has to be Ajax. Great at developing young talents and they really treat the young kids like professionals (according to a friend of mine who played against their youth team once). German - I don't know too much about the teams in Germany. Perhaps Bayern Munich even if I hope Wolfsburg wins the title this season. Russian - I think I know perhaps two teams in the russian league. CSKA and Zenit. And since Roman has connections with CSKA I have to pick that team. Scotland - Have to pick Celtic since Henrik Larsson played there. + Sweden - Have to add a team from my country. Here I support IF Elfsborg who actually almost got a draw against Valencia a couple of years ago. Edited April 27, 2009 by The Moos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWestwayWonder Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Good idea for a thread. Loz, out of curiosity, I have to ask. Is your dad an expat or is your family French? Anyway, mine are: Spain: I never had anything against Barca and was happy to see them be the only team standing up to Madrid's dominance, but then we played them in the CL......yeah. Since that time, my favorite team there has been Valencia. I know from our away ties there they have good, welcoming fans, great attacking players, and just generally a proud tradition. Plus the Claudio connection (although alot of their fans dont like him). I hope they can turn around their financial fortunes and get back to challenging for the title. And sell us David Villa :) Italy: believe it or not, I dont really prefer anyone here. When Lazio were getting into financial trouble, it was them. When Sheva and Milan were producing some memorable CL victories, I was glad to see them win. Now, I dont really like either club, and want to see Jose do well at Inter. Thats about it France: PSG are my favorite team there. When I was first getting interested in football, I got one of their tops in Arnotts in Dublin because I thought it just looked cool. Not really much more to say than that, but I just started looking out for their results after that. Again, another club that is really underachieving recently, but I hope Maka and their revived team can bring success under Le Guen Germany: I used to love Rosicky before he became a gooner (I would buy him in almost every football management game and he would end up world class) so I started watching Borussia Dortmund. I know they were in a bit of financial trouble so I started hoping for the best for them. I cant say I have been following closely in recent years though, and have developed a bit of a soft spot for Werder Bremen because they seem to be capable of some great football, despite selling all their best players every summer. Holland: I cant really claim a favorite here, but I loved seeing PSV do well in teh CL under Guus a few years ago, and I like our association with them. Portugal: I like Sporting Lisbon but dont follow them closely, mostly just because they seem the unsuccessful, younger brother of Benfica and Porto. Cant really claim more than a passing interest in any of the other European leagues. I watch a bit of Scottish football, but no team has really grown on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loz Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 My Dad retired to France - he is a Londoner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkw Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 English - Chelsea, obviously Italian - Parma. loved watching football italia on channel 4 when zola and asprilla played together. France - PSG prbably. not really got an interest. Spanish - Real Betis. used to lve watching denilson (the real one) Dutch - Ajax - Outside of the English league this is the only time Ihave gone for a real big name within the context of their domestic league. For me Ajax have produced some of the finest players of the past 30 years and have done so time and time gain whilst having to accept that all of them will move on. German - Borrussia Munchengladbach. my mates a massive fan for some bizarre reason. he once took me out there for a match. their fans are mentalists... Russian - None Scotland - always had a soft spot for stirling. i worked near there for a few months and a coule of the lads adopted me as a stirling fana nd took me to games. as with the geramn team, their fans are mentalists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 England - Chelsea Italy - Inter, lived there had a season ticket for the 4 years mostly during the vieri,rolando era France - No interest either.. liked Lyon a bit in recent years, always hoping they will upset a big team in Europe, apart from us that is Germany. Munich, just know a few supporters through work and they always make me feel very welcome and get me tickets etc. Spain - Barcelona .. I know it is shocking, ditto the Munich thing, plus I love the city and the shirt sponsor, and Messi and Ronaldo when he was there... Didnt enjoy the Rikjaard era obviously. Portugal - Benfica, got a really good friend who is Benfica mad, and we swap shirts and scarfs all the time, so I got a large collection of Benfica stuff Scotland - Rangers About it really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergeyMS Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) Thewestway, a typical comment for the man who changed homeland Russia for USA. (no politics, of course) Loz, you include Russia, it means you feel guilty for banning me for no good reason, don't you? :) Good call, though. England - Chelsea mixed with Arshavin flair, obviously. Spain - it seems the most beloved country by regulars here. Atl. Madrid. Forlan, Aguero - excellent attacking players, the team interesting to watch on. Italy - Udinese. Qualiarella. Di Natale. Inler. France - In youth I support PSG with Djorkaeff. The player whose intelegence on the pitch influenced my very much in youth. That's why I never quit playing football, that's why I'm typing from the hospital now, awaiting double surgery on my left knee on Tuesday. Russia - no answer. A protest against Loz decision. Netherlands - Twente. I love McLaren. Portugal - Sporting. Izmailov is playing there, but it seems New Mourinho doesn't hurry to become a king. Hakuna-Matata. Edited April 27, 2009 by sergeyMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkleyblue Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Oh dear Sergey - you wonder why you got banned - you were doing so well in rehab and then you say I love McLaren Wot a tit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virosh Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) Great thread, Loz. I thought I would extend it a little and include the teams in each country that I actively despise, if there is any. English - Chelsea, apparently. Can't imagine following another team now. - Hate Livepool in my guts, for obvious reasons. I actually developed a dislike ever since the Houllier years. Italian - Juventus - I remember in the 90's I was watching a game on a Sunday afternoon - Juventus vs some other team. I must have been around 10 or 11, so I didn't know players or teams, but Juve were falling behind 0-3 at HT. A long-haired guy came on, scored 4 goals for Juve (or scored 3 and made an assist, either of these) and I was impressed. Have been passively supporting them since. I guess the long-haired guy must have been Del Piero, but I've never bothered to find out. - Inter - can't stand them. No explanation, just a strong dislike. - Lazio - Hate them in my guts and always will. The reason - the 99/00 CL campaign. I watch Chelsea, who have by then become my favourite team, go 1-0 up at HT. I had to go to bed, so I couldn't watch the second half. Imagine my bitter surprise to hear we lost. Because of that loss, we had to face Barca in the next round and the rest, as they say, is history. Their recent infamy of fascist supporters hasn't helped much, either. French - Marseille - Don't really follow French football, but I guess I have a soft spot for them. Could be because I would play some amazing football with them on FIFA :) Spanish - I used to be fond of Barca, with the Stoichkov link and all that, but since our last few encounters that has died. I've always liked Deportivo - your typical underdog club, which for many years terrorised top teams, winning the La Liga with largely homegrown talent. Even when they played in the CL's knock-out stages, their captain was still a guy who's been with them since second division days. - Hate Real Madrid - For all the hollier-than-thou attitude. Dutch - PSV - For the 2006 campaign, when Guus was their manager and they played some of the best football I've seen against Milan. very unlucky not to go through, but they made it into my footballing heart that night. German - Bayern - The time that I started watching football seriously coincided with Bayern's best season in a while. They got the CL, beating both ManU and Real to the final (always a good thing) and Effenberg was at his best. - Schalke - Three years ago Levski was living the dream of UEFA cup, reaching the quarter finals, only to face Schalke. In Sofia, we take the lead (yours truly was at the stadium). Then Mike Riley decides he really doesn't like teams in blue and gives a red card to one of our players. Schalke proceed to beat us 1-3. After the match, the president of Levski authored the now infamous phrase, spoken in English for all the press to hear : "This British homosexual broke the game." Can't stand them since. Scotland - Celtic -Don't kill me for this, but I prefer Celtic. The reason is quite simple - the long-time captain of Bulgaria, Stiliyan Petrov, made his name in Celtic. All Bulgarians would naturally stand behind him, I made no exception. I don't hate Rangers, though. Edit: Here is a shout-out to BB: Edited April 27, 2009 by Virosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjd Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 England - Chelsea, obviously Scotland - Rangers, obviously Spain - Rayo Vallecano Brazil - Corinthians (because i have a close Brazilian friend in California and we swap shirts every time i see him) The Rest - couldnt give two sh*ts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWestwayWonder Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) My Dad retired to France - he is a Londoner ahh, forgive my nosiness but as an American with an interest in the EU I always wonder about relations within europe and the mobility of populations over there Sergey, I dont really know what you mean. I am not Russian, I think you have me confused Edited April 27, 2009 by TheWestwayWonder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) English Premier League: Duh! Scottish League: Celtic (well, I am Catholic). La Liga: Valencia (they play fair). Ligue Un: Nantes (having a bad time of late). Bundesliga: Schalke 04 (see Loz's comments -- they are just a fun team and have the best fans in the World). Russian League: Zenit (they play a wonderful style of football, and even with the loss of several great players over the past two years, they still play a splendid style of football (i.e., attacking). Eredevisie: AK Alkmaar. Serie A: I just love Lazio, which I know is a bad thing to say on a Chelsea forum. When SGE brought them to the title a few years back, after many years of not having won it, it was just magnificent. Kind of like Chelsea, in that they had a very long spell of not winning the Scudetto. Forgot two: Japan League: Urawa Reds MLS: DC United (nice 10 year history). Oops, one more: Argentina League: Newells Old Boys and River Plate (I hate Boca Juniors) Edited April 27, 2009 by Phillip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezer Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 England - CFC - no explanation needed Scotland - Inverness Caledonian Thistle - family connections Spain - Real Mallorca - second home to me Italy - Cagliari not because of Franco but because I was given the Cagliari team in my first Subbuteo kit France - St Etienne because I remember them as a very good team in the 70's Germany - Hanover because it's one letter away from what I will have the morning after we've won the CL Russia - CSKA Moscow because there aren't many others to choose from Dutch - Feyenoord because they beat Celtic in 1970 Eagle Bitter league - Irchester United because they are total sh*t at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts