Where’s been the best place to watch football this season? The Leagues in England, Spain and Italy have the lion’s share of the money, almost all the best known players and, between them, seven of the eight semi-finalists in the Champions League and UEFA Cup.
But from the point of view of the fans there are other, more modest leagues with competing claims. Below, I set out a case for the Bundesliga, while soccer editor Mike Collett says you have to dig a bit deeper to find the real drama in England.
What do you think? Where do you get the best combination of quality and excitement? Where do the fans get the best deal? Read the two pieces and let us know what you think in the comments section on this post.
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16 comments so far
The Premier League seems more and more to me like the NBA — all the glitz, the celebrity players and fans and somehow all a bit unreal. Give me Bochum beating Schalke any day of the week (Or, as you say, Derby losing to Crystal Palace).
- Posted by KevBayern doing so badly has been a nice novelty but I can’t say I’ve seen much of the Bundesliga. I’d say the Spanish league gives you the best football.
- Posted by JakethepegThe Premier League title is between three clubs, four at a push. The best league this season has been the Championship where the lead has changed more times than Beckham’s haircut.
- Posted by TuckskiThe Premier League is all about money now, not football. Why else would so many Americans get involved with a sport that generally means nothing to them?
How about the Dutch Eredivisie. Loads of goals, better players than in germany, exciting finish to the title race (for psv fans; if you like ajax, not so much)
- Posted by jonboyhttp://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/ kind=2/newsid=533197.html
You’d have to go with which is the most watched football league around the world, which must be the English Premiership - it’s the most lucrative as well.
It’s a romantic premise that lower division leagues are home to football’s beating heart, but in reality the gates are usually low - many loyal fans do stay, but just as many lose interest when glamour and success are on the wane.
- Posted by Welsh GothI agree that the lower leagues are the ones likely to provide a more exciting end-of-season finish than the premiership (except for fans of teams scrapping over 5th and 6th position with their promise of European glamour).
Was it last season in League One (the 3rd Division, in old money?) when at the last game of the season there was only Oldham Athletic who had nothing to play for - every other team could either be promoted or relegated?
- Posted by fionaI’m not sure if the Bundesliga is always the best, as Bayern tend to dominate and bore far too often. But this season has been full of surprises and great upsets. Many of the half dozen teams still fighting to avoid relegation have at least had the satisfaction of beating Bayern. Schalke and Werder at the top lost to teams at the other end of the table at the weekend in two entertaining matches. Unlike other leagues, it looks like the Bundesliga championship won’t be decided until the final minute of the final weekend — what more could a fan ask for?
- Posted by erikChanging tack slightly, one of things that cheeses me off about the premiership is that tickets for the top clubs are so hard to come by that you have to plan the games you watch weeks in advance. Tickets are far too expensive and results are often very predictable.
The beauty of the championship is that you can wake up, draw the curtains, recognise it’s a wonderful day for watching football, phone a few mates, walk past the ticket office on the way to the pub for a few pre match ales and then watch what is most often a very entertaining game.
What a shame the season is over.
- Posted by JimThe Primera Liga will have an exciting finish with the top three separated by two points with six games left.
But it has been a very poor season. Barcelona have had flashes of brilliance and Sevilla are impressive but the only reason why it is tight at the top is beacuse all the teams have been inconsistent.
Barca and Sevilla are the only two teams who play genuienly eye-catching, attacking football and should be praise for trying to do so. Zaragoza do try. But for the rest of the league the priority is to defend and hope to nick a goal.
The Primera Liga is going backwards.
- Posted by MarkI’ve been saying the Spanish league has been crap all season, but right at the end things seem to be picking up. There’s an exciting title race, but more importantly Real have finally found some form, and it looks like that will be enough to raise Barcelona from their lethargy. Ronaldinho looked pretty good again in that deeper role against Real Sociedad.
- Posted by RafaI agree entirely. I’ve grown to be a big fan of the Bundesliga. The fans are amazing, the games are good, the rivalries intense without the play growing dirty. The Bundesliga has some of the toughest forwards out there, and their goalkeepers are second to none.
- Posted by JulietYou’re spot on about the goalkeepers — Enke, Kahn, Neuer, Adler, Rost, Jentzsch, Hildebrand, Wiese, etc, etc, etc. The list of top class goalkeepers is amazing this season and it’s no surprise that no Bundesliga club felt the need to break the bank to sign Lehmann.
- Posted by KevI would rather disregard EPL as the best league in the world. Yes, it can be said as the most competitive in the world. It is also the league with the highest total salary paid at the moment. However, the competitiveness has somehow diminished the real beauty of football. Players are more efficient and effective with the ball such that they tend to lack in creativity. For this, I have to utterly agree with what Valdano said recently regarding EPL clubs.
- Posted by KakaFor this, also, I prefer to watch Spanish La Liga, where players holds the ball longer, shows creative moves, does no-look passes, does flip-flaps, does back-heels. It’s all about creativity and beautification of the world of football, and no mere strength nor passion. Passion itself is boring.
Moreover, I couldn’t understand why ppl like so much watching long ball passes and long range shoots that are performed by EPL top players like gerrard or lampard. Honestly, it’s so boring.
Interesting point, Kaka. I’d certainly say the Spanish League has got a lot better over the past few weeks as the title race has got closer.
- Posted by Kevin FylanThe English Premier League is definatly the best. It has the best of all the other leagues!
Strength
Skill
Money
Glamour
Amazing Fans
Rivalry
Competition
Fair Play (no diving)
Wonderful Stadiums
And most importantly no racism…
No other league can boast this!
- Posted by rory o'callaghanto be honest with you i think the american league this season (well last season) has been brilliant
- Posted by jamie