NFL Fan Reacts to Understanding European Soccer in Four Simple Steps: A Guide For Americans

[@Brookspirit]

The disappointment of your team going down is terrible, but of course, the joy of your team going up is amazing. Relegation and promotion is vital.

[@CoL_Drake]

my team went from 1st league and semi finals of europe league and winning the cup vs munich, to now 5th league ... so dude it hurts so much xD

[@alinadornieden8411]

also...its not that your team isnt there when you turn on the TV, you just have to turn on the 2nd Division League to watch them from now on :D

[@Aliquis.frigus]

​@@CoL_Drake which team?

[@timpeterjensen2364]

@@CoL_Drakemy team went from the premier league and getting points against Bayern M. In the Europa league, to being in the 4th tier. Yeah it can suck, but i will say, that in recent years its been a much more positive story following them.

[@deepthrow-jn8ij]

​@@CoL_DrakeBayer Uerdingen

[@fbiopenup6534]

Luton Town (my friend's favourite team) was in the English 5th division 10 years ago. Now they're in the premier league, the top tier of English football.

[@streamtec88]

And they’re playing really good this season. I hope they stay in Premier League next season too

[@markpodlesak7204]

As a Leeds follower (2nd level) Luton are my favorite team in the Premier league this season, fantastic story.

[@mikeantonio3163]

Used to be owned by Elton John

[@kobo-kanaeru]

Hopefully Lutown is still in the Premier League

[@MrWolfy08]

Ironic, rhwy are in the relegation zone

[@101steel4]

It's not just Europe, its a world sport. The biggest sport in the world. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Lostouille]

Yes they even do this from Asia to Africa and SA. For Oceania I don't know tho

[@BlueFlash215]

Is it? I'm not sure on how big Badminton and table tennis is.

[@Real_MisterSir]

@@BlueFlash215 In terms of how many teams exist, how many active players exist among those teams, and how many specators follow the sport and gather to watch and support their teams - Soccer is so far above every other sport it doesn't even compete. Yes Badminton, Tennis, and Table tennis are played in most parts of the world, but they're no where close to being as big from a player and spectator and price pool pov as soccer.

[@knutvoberg4236]

​@@Real_MisterSirYou are wrong when it comes to active players worldwide: here is Volleyball by far the #1 (800 Million on a weekly basis; Football less than 500 Million). But when it comes to supporters, no other sport can compete with (european) football.

[@liborsysel2234]

​@@knutvoberg4236do you know how ridiculous that 800 milion sounds?

[@diegocrespo5625]

“Actual football” Respect, this guy gets it.

[@MrLaizard]

There is also Rugby Football in the Americas and the yanks are quite horrible at it

[@saltybommel7905]

In Germany there is a saying "The cup has it own rules" - in this year only one 1. division team is in the top 4

[@homerp.hendelbergenheinzel6649]

thats what i always liked about our cup, underdogs showing up and then you suddenly become somewhat of a fan of a team you have hardly had hearded about before xD the underlying dynamics are insane, football is the best sport (:

[@ohseb.]

Another fun aspect not mentioned in the video is that cup winners get a chance to compete on the European level. So, potentially, a lower div. team can win the cup AND consequently end up competing in Champions/Europa League. Right now, my team, Wisła Kraków is two matches away from hopefully playing in a European league this season (despite being in the 2nd tier of national football at home). It's unlikely to happen, sure, but even a sliver of potential makes every match exciting!

[@daneden2172]

Nothing greater than a cup game where a semi professional team knocks out a big team!

[@Bjowolf2]

Except when you are a fan of the big team of course - then it's super embarrassing for you 😂 But everyone else will laugh at and scorn the big team a lot - many of them secretly hoping that their big team will never end up in that most embarrassing situation. 😉

[@PeterWilliams-p8q]

Better still when its an amateur team.....against a tier 1 team and really give the professionals a beating

[@willybauer5496]

Yeah, like Saarbrücken kicking out Bayern Munich in this years [German] cup competition☺

[@thomastom4693]

And the funny thing is, it absolute possible that an amateur can make it to the final. It unrealistic, but may to many tier 1 team lost against a lower class.

[@James_150]

English FA cup 🍻

[@owenhershey13]

The lack of playoffs during the regular season just means that every single regular season game is that much more important. Matchups between two top teams absolutely have a playoff atmosphere.

[@pajo1654]

Not just playoff most of them have a Final's atmosphere

[@wads80z]

more than the atmosphere - they can have have playoff significance. In a theoretical league with two perfect teams that always win, then the season games between them decide who is champion. Then add historic rivalries to that mix and the atmosphere becomes clear...

[@christg6301]

But the lack of playoffs at the end is kind of boring tbh

[@armaddreadchronicles116]

​@@christg6301naah,, the League is perfect the way it it.

[@ryan1111111555555555]

@@christg6301 You've probably just never watched a league that goes right down to a final game decider, it's boring when the league gets won with 3 weeks to spare, but when it goes down to literally the last game then it gets tense, play-offs are unfair to the team that finished top at the end of the regular season

[@christianf.6807]

Bayern munich was kicked out from the DFB Pokal (CUP) by a third division team this season

[@finsterforst1]

We in Bremen always lose against third division teams 😅

[@CornelisvanLonkhuizen]

Ajax Amsterdam also lost from a amateur team Hercules this season...sensational!

[@ThomasKnip]

Not for the first time. ^^

[@prouvencau6343]

As a Marseille supporter, i can relate too 😅

[@solidsteel3634]

1.FCS 😆

[@mikeoxlong5568]

You have found a goldmine here mate. Everyone in the world (except Americans) enjoys watching an American learn about sports outside the US (and realise that they are better)

[@SanBorondon1]

Watching north americans learn about sports,outside the US is hilarious😂😂

[@ForceOfWill100]

Not biased at all, are we? I enjoy football (soccer), tennis, and American sports, and all have their pros and cons. For example: you have relegation (awesome system), and we have a salary cap to prevent Saudi royalty from ruining our domestic leagues by drowning clubs in oil money. See? Pros and cons.

[@frensj]

@@ForceOfWill100 Football in Europe also has financial rules, but it's more complicated than salary caps and honestly quite recent. There were basically no rules so they're slowly turning the screws more and more tight. Offending teams are getting punished more recently (punishing is you can't buy players for x amount of time, you can't play European leagues etc...).

[@mr.brutus1369]

lmao, he is pandering to your bias and you're lapping it up. the reality is, most americans view soccer as a peasants game. the only people in america that play it are band nerds, immigrants, first or second generation americans and those who couldnt cut it in baseball, basketball nor football. if america cared about soccer, we would dominate that too. sorry to wake you up from your dream! 😂😂😂😂

[@randomone4832]

I’m American and I really enjoy his content.

[@paulie4450]

The reason it is called "The Beautiful Game" is often down to its David vs Goliath nature. Relegation brings out the best in smaller teams fighting for their lives, vs big teams trying to win the title. Also each country has multiple levels of league, to accommodate all the relegation and promotion. Small town clubs have slowly morphed into underdogs fighting with the big dogs in just a decade, while traditionally reputable clubs have fallen into near obscurity.

[@Tommy-he7dx]

American sports are structured towards entertainment, while the rest of the world (in the main) their sports are structured towards competition.

[@kaimodo1366]

Nope they are structed in making money. Competition is only to the point when you get in a too tier team. Than it's over. You have made money for life with your first contract and that's it.

[@Tommy-he7dx]

@@kaimodo1366 That's what i was inferring when i used the word "Entertainment". Entertainment is an industry and like all industries it's there to make money. There is no "Competition" industry. Maybe I was a little too subtle with what I said.

[@klepto5596]

Nope, they are a vehicle to make loads of money of advertising . For example , an average American football game lasts 3 hours 12 mins with an actual playing time of only 11 minutes !! That’s over 3 hours of adverts and huddling. I’d hardly call that entertainment .

[@Tommy-he7dx]

@@klepto5596 See my above reply about "Industry". The Entertainment industry goes hand in hand with Advertising.

[@pedroh.6886]

The NBA has already changed the rules so as not to make basketball games more boring, the referees allow some mistakes to pass so as not to have to stop the game so many times

[@omarsheriff51]

Relegation means you're going to 2nd division, 3rd division etc etc... Your team doesn't disappear, it just gets relegated to a far less prestigious league until they climb back up to 1st league.

[@DraigBlackCat]

Or the team goes bankrupt!

[@omarsheriff51]

@@DraigBlackCat yes

[@franciscociruela8177]

or the players disband because you are not going to pay them good good just average and you have to rebuild a team with rookies every season because you went 2ns div `1 year 😢

[@meko98743]

@@franciscociruela8177 That doesn't happen because they're contracted to the team. So even in the worst case scenario, where all your best players leave, you at least get a lot of money by selling them to other teams which you can use to buy more players.

[@j3mixa]

​@@meko98743But when you sell the best players you usually can't buy same level players to replace them. The revenue of the next year will drop dramatically so you'll have use some the money to pay other things than just the paychecks of the players. It will have a big effect on how strong your team is.

[@MrJoromekiq1]

You are correct. The top teams in Europe play in The League, The Cup and the Champions League simultaneously.

[@jasonwales6502]

Many have two cups a FA and a league cup

[@trorisk]

often the best players don't play many minutes in the cup and easy league matches if they have a Champions League match the same week.

[@Isleofskye]

Plus THe League Cup in England.

[@TheMightyHams]

Then the players will often play international games as well throughout the season, be it international friendlies, the world cup, or any of the other international competitions (Euros, Asian cup, AFCON, Copa America etc.). There's always football to be watched somewhere in the world.

[@nachosc18]

​@@TheMightyHamsor nations league and qualifiers also

[@senseiadam-brawlstars9465]

One thing: Teams in the first 4 divisions in England are considered "professional." (And teams in 2-4 division still have very big budgets / salaries.) The 5th-6th are semi-pro. 7th and lower are the ones that are "Amateur"

[@javierv.g.6429]

In Spain only 1-2 divisions are pros. My team, my hometown team Málaga CF, has just promotioned from 3rd to 2nd division and for now it has 23.000 subscribers and going on (limit 29.000, the stadium cappacity).

[@alexmartin7495]

Torquay United is a professional club and is currently in the sixth tier. I am old enough to remember them in the third tier. 😢

[@okpearce]

Right now (23.55 hrs) in Spain, we are watchin the "Copa del Rey" (King's Cup) finals, between Athletic Bilbao and RCD Mallorca. Regular time is out. They are even 1-1. So they go to extra time (two times of 15 minutes). Big hug from Madrid! :)

[@fredshred5194]

This is why league games that have a 0-0 result are not really boring if your team is in the relegation zone and you need just 1 point to avoid relegation but you are playing a team at the top of the league. A 0-0 is one roller coaster of a game hoping the top team doesn't get a goal to send you down a league and good bye cash and goodbye to any decent players you have.

[@24magiccarrot]

And conversely the top team that's trying to score getting a 0-0 against a bottom team could be the difference between winning the league or qualifying for the Champions League/Europa, the set up is such that almost everyone in the league is fighting for something. by the end of the season, there are maybe only about 3 teams that have nothing to play for.

[@loganleroy8622]

Yes, but that requires you to actual know anything about the teams. If a random American turns in to watch Burnley v Everton and they have no knowledge about the current table, it's very boring. It would be just as exciting as watching a 0-0 finish in the Slovakian First Football League between Skalica and Michalovce. So Americans should be forgiven for thinking the sport of Soccer is boring, because it is, unless you understand the context. It's the same reason Europeans think American Football is boring, they don't understand the league standings or the strategy.

[@fredshred5194]

If maybe USA Soccer structured the league on the same basis instead of same teams no relegation promotion ect.. it would be more exciting. That is my point, but your point is valid but an argument with someone else that disagrees with very wise pov. @@loganleroy8622

[@voidroad]

not really bad* they're still boring

[@allexanderchristian3873]

Yeah because americans tend to simplify things games, relations everything. To an europeean that local te-am is his ancestors his ancestral home. Us lost this feeling. Mixes of people front worldwide tend to lose that "i fight for my people" to "lets make ut common ground lets .ale IT entertaining". In europe There are borders, customs traditions etc America is a melting pot. And that is viewed in the game​@@loganleroy8622

[@amsiizluerta1837]

As a Brazilian American, it makes me proud how much the sport has grown in this country. I used to have to reach out Europeans or my family in Brazil too be able to just talk about the sport with people

[@alvarodeazevedo3933]

Se você é brasileiro, você é americano. O continente continua sendo chamado de América.

[@johnbattle7518]

That's because of illegal 👽

[@XRioteerXBoyX]

​@@alvarodeazevedo3933He means someone that was born in Brazil but moved to the U.S. and gained citizenship there. That would make him a Brazilian American.

[@han5551]

Actually, the Brazilian league is the best in America without a doubt For me watching this league is like watching the premier league Super cool dude

[@lemondropzs]

aww

[@BodkinArrow]

Cudos for actually being interested and just learning. Very honest and open minded reaction video right here!

[@MaxandJacqueline]

So glad to see such a nice genuine reaction. Sport just brings everyone together.

[@GuyChapman77]

Just started really following soccer after the World Cup and I’m learning a lot. Didn’t know any of this. I love it!

[@WaldiDA]

A example for the cup thing with the underdog from lower leagues. In the german DFB Pokal this season plays the team from the city Saarbrücken. They play normally in the 3rd league. In the first cup round, they won against a league 2 team. In the 2nd round they won against Bayern München, the german record champion who were the german 1st league champions in the last 11 seasons! In the 3rd round Saarbrücken won against another 1st league team. And now the are in the quarter final!

[@NicholasCorvin]

*But Saarbrücken plays on a pitch, that is in such a poor shape, they should not be allowed to play on it.*

[@Souru_TV]

​@@NicholasCorvin Exactly

[@whattiler5102]

​@@NicholasCorvin But with the financial reward of winning can't they invest money to improve it? It is certainly a feature of English football that if a low or non-league team has a 'Cup run' and gets to play a big side or two it is great for their fans and their finances.

[@EvieWillNotDie]

Always nice to see an American learning about the beautiful game, especially seeing as the copa America will be hosted there this summer and of course, the world cup in 2026 being hosted there too.

[@josh-kr1vh]

the 2020 world cup is what got me deep into soccer, became an fc cincinnati fan (mls home club) and inter fan

[@EvieWillNotDie]

@@josh-kr1vh there wasnt a "2020" world cup tho, so, uhh, you mean 2018? Or?

[@telgrupos6143]

@@EvieWillNotDie Or maybe he's referring to the Euro 2020.

[@EvieWillNotDie]

@@telgrupos6143 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@samuelkaindi1]

@EviewillNotDie I agree.

[@montxogandia]

You should watch the TV documentary series "Welcome to Wrexham", where Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a 5th division british team to promote it as far as they can. 2 seasons already, it's a reality show, and it's very good to understand how football works in europe and where the passion from the community comes.

[@johnberry5296]

Came here to say this

[@maxg1834]

It´s good to understand England-football. It doesn´t really show how it works here in Germany, as we have 50+1 which makes a club way more dependent on its on-pitch-performances (apart from a few rule exceptions like Hoffenheim or RB, which kinda destroy our football culture).

[@GoodLookingGentlemen]

12-0 against US female FB team. They get Wrext

[@blessingoni342]

​@@GoodLookingGentlemenwait a minute, those women, are they professional US national team players??

[@adergas1]

LOL🤣@@GoodLookingGentlemen

[@DanielIbanez]

It is also great that each team and each country have unique styles of play that get to be tested against each other at all levels (league and tournament). The dynamics of the game really come to life as you learn the stylistic goals of each team and how they try to assert control of a such a free flowing game as soccer. Learning the positions and what each player is supposed to do is also crucial to understanding what is really happening on the field. The goals are amazing, but the strategy and build up is equivalent to a boxer landing punches as they work toward a knockout. As you learn the game you feel each attack and counter attack like fighter testing each other. When the goals come they are monumental! The funding of stadiums and financial dynamics are also very interesting. Teams take big risks and there are definite winners and losers. It is fascinating to see a mega club go play a game at a pitch (field) that is not much bigger than a high school stadium when the top teams play the minnows in cup play. There is so much... like seeing a young Argentinian kid getting a chance to play in Europe... and seeing if or how this might work out... the fact that it is a global game with scouts crawling around every field in the world... it is just a magical thing to see all that effort come together...

[@igcetra]

big sports guy here - just discovered this video and dont even knwo what your channel is about.. regardless, im already hooked and your demeanor, energy, reactions are great.. subscribed!

[@josecrodrjgues]

It happens all over Europe, sometimes some underdog semi-pro team eliminates a very big team in the Cup, and most of the semi-pro players just go work normal full time jobs the day after 🤣 It’s rare but it happens, mostly because the big teams underestimate and start the game with youngsters (to rest the superstars) and then shit happens 😅

[@BobDude65]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXrcl6OPo6tkebc Perfect example from this season. Saarbrücken have now beaten 3 Bundesliga teams (3!!!) to reach the semi final of the DFB Pokal where they play the 15th team from Bundesliga 2, so they have a real shot of making it to the final. This is what football is all about 🤩

[@radup.888]

It's not just that the pro teams starts with the second team because they understimates the amateur teams, they do that because they prioritize the league games and the europe cup games, there are simply too many games and no matter how big of a club you are managers can't use their main players all the time otherwise they'll get exousted at the end of the seson and bottle their main objectives.

[@control2XS]

4:25 so a small correction, you said "the next year you're watching, and they're not there?". They aren't there IN THAT LEAGUE, but they do still exist, they just drop to the league below. With that comes smaller crowds, smaller teams, smaller revenues etc etc etc. Imagine being a Raiders fan, and after a dismal season you CAN still watch the NFL, but if you want to keep watching the Raiders you have to travel around the country watching them play in small towns against local teams. And yes, "small" teams in lower leagues can absolutely claw their way up (although usually it takes a lot of money). If you're interested in those kind of stories I would HIGHLY recomend the documentary series "welcome to wrexham", which follows the story of the Wrexham team that was bought by Ryan Reynalds and Rob McElhenney. It's a great way for Americans to start learning more about football (not just the sport, the whole culture!)

[@edmundoboyle6822]

Also important to note, he calls the 'small' teams amateur. There are teams in our second division that are absolutely not amateur and would beat most MLS teams easily.

[@youngmarius5875]

@@edmundoboyle6822not just that but in England 4th division is still considered pro.

[@reececlarke4813]

@@youngmarius5875majority of 5th division teams are pro these days as well

[@shanwyn]

Something else to be considered: in Europe all teams are local based. And often when certain teams play against each other, old rivalries, often which had nothing to do with football but are rooted in historical facts, give an even heightened emotion. I grew up in Zurich, Switzerland, and there are two teams in that city: FC Zurich and the Grasshoppers Zurich. When those two play against each other, most fans don't even care about the league, it is all about beating the rival. And you can see those all over europe. And that is on the local level, but you can scale it up to the national level. When a french team is playing a spanish team, a dutch against a german or simply england against everyone else in the UEFA Champions league. On the darker aspects of this are the hooligans. Violent team supporters who love to beat each other up before and after certain games.

[@mariokuppers5686]

You are Swiss so your Rivalries don´t count they are to peacefull. They are nothing like Lazio vs. AS Rome, red Star vs. Partizan Belgrade, Cologne vs. Mönchengladbach, Shalke vs. Dortmund, Ajax vs. Feyenoord, Legia vs. Polonia Waarsaw, Napoli vs AS Rome, Athletico vs. Real Madrid and all the others the international one not even countet. Your Grasshoppers vs. FC is there Miles behind. Even the Faroe Islands have hotter Rivalries than Switzerland

[@knutvoberg4236]

​@@mariokuppers5686Dude, Barça was founded by a swiss guy - that's global football history. Show some respect! BTW: I'm not swiss - but know that ...

[@leaderofthegang3771]

Not only hools my friend. The political left Ultras are very aggressive too.

[@loganleroy8622]

In American sports the comparison is to our college athletics. All the critiques I hear Europeans make about American sports "lacking passion" is because they don't understand how important college athletics is. They only have a frame of reference for professional leagues and expect the way fans at in American professional sports to be the same as the way Europeans act in their professional sports. Of course Europeans only seem to care about Soccer and maybe Rugby or Handball, but in the US the sports cycle gives you a Football, Soccer, Baseball, Hockey, and Basketball team to support over the course of the year. College sports have been around since the 1880s, so some rivalries go back a long time. Especially compared to the professional leagues which are much, much newer by comparison.

[@JPindanga]

Sometimes beating your rivals are more important than your league final position.

[@Hurricane2k8]

It's actually very fun seeing your genuine interest in things you didn't know so far. One addition that might be interesting to you as well is that teams in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th division aren't really amateurs either. 2nd division players are most certainly pros, though usually not quite on the same level as 1st division players - but a lot of them actually make the jump to a higher division team if they're really good. And in Germany, even 4th division players are usually paid to play, as in it is their full time job.

[@CollideWithTheSlope]

If you have netflix i recommend watching Sunderland 'Til I Die to further understand/immerse you in the European football culture, especially in the English leagues. That documentary has everything; drama, the passion of fans, the tactics, the derby matches, the club itself fighting to avoid relegation & earn promotion to the Premier League etc. It is such a good series.

[@IamKvothe]

Promotion/Relegation system is what makes difference here in Europe with football. It gives the opporrunity to EVERY team in the country, no matter how small is, to reach the top division and play against the best tems. Also the European Championship for big teams is really important, you have to earn your ticket to play against best teams from other countries. Football is something else. "The beautiful sport".

[@MatthaisUK]

To be clear you mean continental club competitions like the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, not the actual "European Championship", which is the competition between UEFA national teams, like the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

[@ALKEBULAN678]

Not just in Europe it’s all over the world

[@HenriqueErzinger]

That’s not an European thing, South America works the same, and I believe other continents do as well. In Brazil each state has its own league on top of that as well, and as we are much bigger and have much more teams than any place in Europe, the strongest ones are as competitive as countries.

[@krzysio53a]

Ian, for you as an American I would strongly recommend watching a Disney+ show " welcome to Wrexham" , it's portraits the level of enthusiasm and importance for the local community and what it means to be at the bottom and have a chance to grow up.

[@monicacarolina6480]

Disney? I boycot them for many years, my kids don't watch woke Disney shit😂

[@Rasarel]

You could watch coach Lasso instead 😂

[@timpeterjensen2364]

@@monicacarolina6480you USians are so weird with your cult behavior.

[@cecilialeitet2794]

It is a VERY good show. On top of learning a lot about football, you also get an understanding of why it is such an important part of society, especially in smaller towns across the world.

[@natelung]

It’s on Hulu in the US. Not Disney+

[@finsterforst1]

There is also the Europa League, which is often referred to as the losers' cup. There, the third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage are relegated and play with some seeded teams from the various leagues until one ends up winning the cup and, you guessed it, getting a parade

[@arthur_p_dent]

this "parachuting" bas been abolished, though. The current season is the last one where this was the case. Starting next season, instead of 16 teams advancing to the CL round of 16 and another 8 parachuting imto the Europa League, 24 teams will advance to the CL knockout stages; 8 straight into the round of 16, the other 16 into another KO round whose winners progress to the Last 16.

[@definitelynotatroll246]

Then there’s the conference cup lol

[@philipmcniel4908]

@@arthur_p_dent Wow, I knew about the CL restructuring (I'm not a fan unless they use an _actual_ Swiss system where matchups are decided by point totals, in which case I'm *kinda* OK with it), but I had no idea about the impact it would have on "parachuting."

[@philipmcniel4908]

The Europa League was the thing this video was referencing at 7:50 when it said that Europe has its own version of the NIT.

[@arthur_p_dent]

@@philipmcniel4908 an actual Swiss system would mean that the fixtures of the next matchday are only known after the current matchday is complete. That isn't feasible for tournaments like these, you normally want more than 2 weeks of notice in advance. Plus, it would cause major problems in case a match needs to be postponed for some reason. however, the system as it is isn't all bad. Teams are divided into 4 pots and everybody gets to play against two different teams from each pot including their own. The advantage is that teams in Pots 1 or 2 no longer have an intrinsically easier schedule because they will avoid some of the stongest teams, while Pot 4 teams have no chance of playing against some of the weakest teams. So everybody has the same chances pre-draw of getting a strong or a weak schedule irrespective of which pot they're in and that's a good thing in my book. Of course, they also play more matches than before (8 league stage matches instead of 6 and then an additional KO round for most teams) and that sucks. At the same time, more matches is exactly why the new format was put in place to begin with.

[@christianmiranda8571]

This is how futbol (in spanish) works all over the world, not only Europe. Each continent follows the same pattern, tournaments and cups, they just have different names. .. and.. every four years theres the World Cup where the best national teams of each continent battle it out to become world champion. The first Word Cup was held in South America in 1930 where Uruguay won. My team was funded in 1901 here in Peru .,...This is why futbol is the king of sports....

[@polifemo6816]

You're right. Because of what you say and because football is the most beautiful and magical sport that exists. 🤩

[@alexxjaa]

You got a competition at the top for first, a competition at the bottom to not be the last 3 and a single elimination March madness style tournament in between. That's why it's amazing.

[@KingoRichie1990]

My club (Blackburn Rovers) were once Premier League champions, now we're struggling in the second tier.

[@CahalMcgirr]

In England more than 780 teams play in the Cup competition.

[@youtpfpm6097]

Only ? Are you sure ? It doesn’t seem a lot for England. Because in France, they are more than 7300 in the Coupe de France.😮

[@YannLHC]

​@@youtpfpm6097"An application window is open to clubs before entry lists, round byes and scheduling are announced in July. All clubs in the top four levels (the Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League) are automatically eligible. Clubs from Level 5-9 (non-league football) are also eligible provided they play in either the FA Trophy or FA Vase competitions in the current season. All participating clubs must also have a stadium suitable for the competition and The Association may reject applications at its discretion.[2] Previously, Level 10 clubs were a prominent feature in early qualifying rounds. The gradual remodelling of the National League System to a 'perfect' 1-2-4-8-16 system, with a first phase in 2018-19, a final phase in 2021-22 (which included the promotion of 107 clubs), and played to a full quota in 2022-23 has resulted in a larger number of teams playing in Level 7-9.[7][8][9] Consequently, for the FA Cup, entries equal the number in tiers 1-9 and is cut off to those below.[2] Though still able to apply, Level 10 clubs are used as alternatives "subject to availability" in the event of a non/rejected applicant (with vacancies filled by Level 10 applicants with the best PPG in the previous league season).[2] "

[@B-A-L]

​@@youtpfpm6097That doesn't include Sunday League clubs though.

[@youtpfpm6097]

@@B-A-L It’s a shame they can’t all participate in the same competition.☹️

[@mats7492]

in germany, its thousands!

[@markaitcheson3212]

Football is crazy, the tension is 2nd to none, relegation battles and underdogs beating pros in cup tournaments is some of the most intense sports you will ever see, go watch Leicesters story, they came up from the league below to the top league, nearly got relegated again but pulled off 2 miracles, first they managed to stay in the league and then at odds of 5000-1 they went nuts and won it, craziest underdog story of all time.

[@siviunative5241]

Yup, from my part of the world i wske early in the morning to watch their matches and they won the league

[@FSousA7X]

Kinda like Leverkusen this year, but Leicester feat is very hard to beat

[@jorgeotero3181]

Best underdog team ever, winning the most difficult league in the world, what a team with vardy, mahrez, kante, all in their prime

[@viniciustib]

It's like that not only in Europe but all over the world, just the name of the competitions changes.

[@hexusG4Z]

I always love seeing these videos, I am sure after learning to read and write and tell the time, this may have been one of the first things I learned as a kid.

[@albertstevens4896]

My local club Maidstone United who are a SIXTH tier club (semi professional) are on a run in the FA Cup, the English cup competition. They are in the last sixteen and have beaten I think, one fourth tier teams, a third tier team and a second tier team. At the end of the month they will be playing another second tier team to see if they can get to the quarter finals. If they do, there is a good chance that they could be playing a Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United or Liverpool who are first tier teams

[@LM_28035]

Coventry fan here, just want to say I’m impressed with Maidstone especially when they beat Ipswich and hope you come up in the leagues

[@albertstevens4896]

@@LM_28035 I have a confession to make! Maidstone are my local club, but I actually support Gillingham (I live about half way between them, slightly closer to Maidstone). I am not a bitter Gills fan, and they have done well there is no doubt about that. The irony of it is that George Elokobi the manager had been hoping during their cup run to play Wolves, because he had played for them in the Premier League. You beat them, and who do you have next in the cup - Wolves!!!!

[@motionpictures6629]

My hometown Club Fortuna Düsseldorf went from the first division down to the fourth division and back up to the first division in the last 30 years and is now in the second division. The ups and downs are what makes soccer special. BTW, we are in the cup semifinal this year as a second division team.

[@Isleofskye]

. One team LUTON in The Top Division has done THIS for over 25 years.....1st then 2nd then 3rd, 4th OUT to 5th BACK to 4th, then 3rd then 2nd, and FIRST again! lol

[@bikash8984]

You beat St. Pauli to get semis, I love that❤️

[@Azabaxe80]

When I was a kid there used to be a show on Public (non-commercial) Television called "Soccer Made in Germany" that showed shortened Bundesliga matches. For someone like me, it was the only European ball that I could watch regularly in the US. For some reason I found myself liking Düsseldorf a lot (FC Köln as well, don't ask). It helped that two German kids spent a year in my high school as exchange students and they were both from Düsseldorf. Years later, as an adult and huge fan of the English band Bauhaus, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the club was sponsored by something called BAUHAUS, which one of the German au pairs we had told me (in between giggles) that it was a kind of a German Home Depot. Anyway, for all those weird reasons, I still love Fortuna Dusseldorf, regardless of whatever division they're in.

[@anatoliypankevych4853]

@@bikash8984der echte Norden? 😅

[@markjones127]

in 1992 4th tier Wrexham knocked first tier team Arsenal out of the FA Cup, it was amazing, they were about 72 places apart in the league at the time, everyone loves a giant killing, except for the losing team of course! That match is on KZbin. Wrexham had a bit of a rough time dropping into the fifth tier, and got stuck there for about 15 years, but Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought them and got them promoted back into the 4th tier where they're now in fifth place and fighting to be promoted yet again, it's a real rags to riches story and there's a documentary called 'Welcome to Wrexham' on FX following their progress, they're gaining lots of fans in the US because of it and are even nicknamed Hollywood FC in the UK now, the documentary explains in detail how the leagues and cups over here work.

[@Isleofskye]

Not a Gooner(hate them) but that was never a free kick for Micky's winner lol Watch it again..

[@markjones127]

@@Isleofskye Micky's freekick wasn't the winner, it was the equaliser, Steve Watkin scored the winner, did you watch it?

[@Isleofskye]

@@markjones127 The reason I remember the equalizer that dragged you back in the game was that 32 years ago I was having a ridiculously long argument over years about the OBVIOUS benefit ALL home teams enjoy and I said watch this weekend's MOTD Highlights and you will see examples and I remember saying to him that this was a perfect one. lol

[@johngaudy]

On the non top tiers, there actually is also a promotion playoff where the 3rd through 6th place teams do a 4 team playoff to determine the 3rd and final team to get promoted into next tier, which does occur after the regular season ends. The top two teams gain automatic promotion. Some leagues at top level also have an elimination playoff for one of the spots. These are legit and tense games!

[@Floxxoror]

i apprechiate your enthusiasm. my team will go down to league 4, but soccer will forever be the greatest thing ever.

[@hansmeiser32]

4:41 "you could claw your way into the big time" yes, this is possible but of course you need money to do this and the higher you get the more money you need. Nevertheless, here in Germany TSG Hoffenheim 1899 is an example of this. In the season 90/91 the played in the Kreisliga (9th Division, there are thousands of teams playing on that level here in Germany). In the season 08/09 they for the first time played in the Bundesliga (1st division, 18 teams in the Bundesliga). So in less than 20 years they managed to rise through the ranks from the button to the top.

[@denniskrenz2080]

Of course this wasn't alone about skill or talent, but also about a billionaire who wanted his own football team. Its similar for the VfL Wolfsburg, which at times felt like a department of Volkswagen. Without a good sponsor, going into a higher league is actually a bad and short thing. If you don't, your best key players get bought by richer teams and you get handed down. Which is good for the players, less for the team.

[@suffern63]

Luton Town, which is in the Premier League in England this year,was in the top division in the 80s then dropped all the way down to the fifth tier before gradually making its way back up.A journey like that gives football fans a great appreciation of the good days,they game easily disappear.

[@KaitoSchmidtOfficiial]

i am a Hungarian but the Team i support is Betis Sevilla from Spain. Became a Fan as a 13 year old back in 1998

[@Cinetrivial]

VIVA EL BETIS

[@samirasamira1186]

I bet Denilson was your favourite player

[@AleexRome]

Honor

[@karadanos2883]

Viva el Betis manquepierda 🇳🇬🇳🇬

[@ceb2738]

This must be some kind of masochism, they are called the "elevator" team, allways Up and down in first and second division

[@jurajvivana]

4:00 haha that's interesting, thank you for learning me (Croatian, from a European country) about your NFL system😮😅

[@GermanBeardGuy]

Due to the different Cups (National Leagues, National Cups, Champions League, Euro League, Conference League) you can see a professional Game 6 days each week from March to May - and the games are getting better and better.

[@sharonesdale1637]

Hi Ian - I’m a new watcher of your channel. I’m a Tottenham fan (premier league in the English league} A few years ago we were drawn against Marine FC. We are in the 1st tier and Marine are in the 8th tier. We beat them 5-0, but they earned £500,00 in FA (football association) revenue and a further £300,000min virtual tickets sales ( coronavirus epidemic). My name is actually etched in one of their stands, where the Tottenham fans paid for the tickets to help them raise money for the club

[@thepurplesband]

As a Gooner I bought a £10 ticket for that match too. BTW - as a spurs fan, did you understand that part about trophies ?

[@finchyan]

​@@thepurplesband😂

[@sharonesdale1637]

@@thepurplesbandoh dear, a typical Arse supporter bringing down the tone 😁

[@wesleylang172]

Hahahaha ​@@thepurplesband

[@Cbart23]

Stay away from Tottenham lad.

[@MrJonas1995]

Its always amazing when lower league teams kick first league teams out of the cup tournament. You see pure joy in the players and fans faces. Fun fact: in a lot of countries the cup winner qualifies for an international tournament for the next season (there are 2 other international tournaments beside the Champions League). Usually (in the big countries) about place 1st-4th qualifies for the Champions League, 5th and 6th qualifies for the second best international tournament called Europe League and 7th qualifies for the third tournament called Europe Conference League (which is relatively new). So yes indeed it is possible that a second league club qualifies for an international tournament (which already did happen)

[@almostyummymummy]

Not gone. In a division below the one they were in. And even if they were relegated, you'd still support them. Because they are your team. England's top four tiers (of a 24-tier system) are all full professional teams. 5th/6th tiers are semi-pro officially, but most of them are also professional. 7th tier down are semi-pro to amateur. With 40,000 clubs in England alone. Germany has 25,000. Spain has about 13,000 (if i recall). The relegation aspect has been overly simplified here. England 2nd tier (Championship) the top two teams gain automatic promotion to the Premiership. Teams 3-6 have a mini-playoff. 3 plays 6. 4 plays 5. The winner of 3/6 plays winner of 4/5. The winner of that match gets the third promotion spot. In slightly more detail, OnDeckCircle has a video explaining the game itself to a decent degree. Some mistakes, misinterpretations, but a fairly decent thing to watch.

[@user-em1ig7xo9d]

Video doesn’t mention that countries have more than one national cup tournament. Often some kind of super cup for the winners to compete for an extra trophy. Europe has the Europa and Europa conference alongside the champions league. And a super cup for that too. Then of course the very exclusive Club World Cup, which is often overlooked but it surely has to be the hardest competition to qualify for in world sports.

[@Yankee-Football]

Really great reaction. We need more content of Americans reacting to football, its a great sport and I think many would love it if they gave it a chance!

[@jadr3123]

In Spain, Copa del Rey tournament is called also the “KO Tournament”, because big teams sometimes are knocked out in a single match by amateurs teams from small towns. Pretty crazy.

[@zu_lo]

You should watch the Ted Lasso series. A great comedy about an American who knows nothing about football (soccer) and comes to coach a club in the top English league (Premier League).

[@user-em1ig7xo9d]

It’s not really a proper insight of the game tho, they made all the crowd chants and fans very cringe and Americanised. The show steers from the sport to more relationship and crap storylines too. If he wants a comedy, watch it. If he wants to actually learn about football then don’t.

[@robertmcmurtry6252]

Was that jesse marsch?

[@zu_lo]

@@robertmcmurtry6252 😂😂😂

[@gesucastello1986]

Lame show: All the men are goofy and weak while the women are super smart and all powerful. Is not about football. it is more of a lame soap opera

[@user-em1ig7xo9d]

@@gesucastello1986 not to mention the race mixing propaganda that is a requirement in all mainstream shows. Like you say, weak dumb men that need strong independent women to guide them. Gay man comes out and the intimidating black guy becomes the gentle understanding one. Strong rich old woman falls in love with young african boy. Super popular celebrity girl is a dumb white w***e and turns down two men to have fling with another woman. The shows a cesspit of propaganda.

[@iferid58]

I love your cat in the background. Also I love how openminded you are.

[@rairei]

This was Soccer in Europe (city teams based). #5 would be worldwide, country selection vs country selection. Each 4 Years World Championship appears, within the 2 years before selecting the country teams who will join. And the other 2 years the same, but on local level, for Europe > European Championship (as well all 4 years). Yes, some players are quite busy during the season, and the audience too 🙂

[@andresj361]

As a MASSIVE soccer fan my entire life, thank you for this video. Finally a great breakdown so Americans can understand. Thank you!!

[@leri7222]

Mad props dude, your enthusiasm about learning the game is great to see

[@vfifty9182]

The 1. FC Kaiserslautern raise from second league to First League and won the championship in the same year. Famous Trainer Otto Rehagel which later trained the Greek-Football Team who won the European Championship in 2004. He was called King Otto after that.

[@finsterforst1]

In Bremen we have called him king Otto since we won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in '93

[@CosmicGate184]

He was called Rehakles (in relation to the old-greek god Herakles)

[@arthur_p_dent]

and 2 seasons prior, Kaiserslautern got relegated fro Bundesliga 1 and then won the Cup a week later. Incidentally, as of right now, 28 years after that cup triumph, Kaiserslauern are AGAIN in the cup semifinals, and in serious danger of relegation from the league. Except they are in the 2nd division and could drop to Liga 3, if they don't start winning a few more league matches.

[@dwarfbard]

I love watching your videos. If you don't like something or say that it's not for you then what actually matters is that you always keep an open mind. This makes your videos enjoyable to watch. For some reason this quite a rare quality these days. And this is something I value in people,

[@craigoliver8712]

Well said sir,i 100% concur

[@Mise22]

3:30 the best feeling in the world is not when your team wins trophies it's when they finally after years and years of trying get promoted from second tier to the first tier

[@hen-double-r]

it's so much more fun once you understand the tactics of the game so you know when moments in a game are important. As in what could have been if a player would have just made that one pass, if the defender would have done one little thing differently, or if there was more pressure on the opposing team what could have happened. Understanding the tactics makes it much more fun to watch rather than just watching without knowing. Hope you enjoy the sport!

[@lizrobins85]

There are games being played almost every day during the season: national league games, usually on a Saturday or Sunday; national cup games, usually midweek, and, for clubs who have qualified, UEFA league games, also usually midweek.

[@Prof.Dr.Diagnose]

Footbal really is a sport you've got to get into, but once you're in, it doesn't let you go. One of the biggest legends in football history, Bill Shankly once said: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." And he was absolutely right.

[@Bisstoro]

one of the biggest legends?? wtf you smoke man, that random is not even top 5 british imagine the whole world xd

[@AFNacapella]

on the top end: each nation selects players for their national teams which are sent to the international tournaments. nationality counts, not which team they play for. the world cup qualification for example is also played during the season, so these players have to train, travel and play for their national teams as well and might be missing in the league. that usually happens in stronger teams and their teammates are often happy they get a chance instead. on the lower end there're the local teams which have county and regional leagues and where the battle is often to _not_ be promoted to the higher league because that means longer travels for less fun playing and these are mostly working people who want to play the next village for fun.

[@MrLarsgren]

biggest health risk in football is calling it soccer. unlike america we dont have a sponsor called world or worlds to make sport events sound like you are king of the world.. our world championship is a genuine world championship with teams from around the world competing.

[@gallowglass2630]

In ireland we call it soccer all the time to distinguish from gaelic football

[@DraigBlackCat]

The name soccer is a diminutive of Association and it originated in England to differentiate Association Football from Rugby Football . Many teams include the term Association in their official name, like Sunderland Association Football Club so you will often see names written like Sunderland AFC or an abbreviation like SAFC. After ~1900 we started calling the two sports Rugby and Football, so the term Soccer disappeared from our everyday UK vocabulary

[@filipburic5194]

​@@DraigBlackCat that is technically only half right. The term was first used in public schools, mainly Oxford in 1880, where it remains in use to this day, it was indeed initially a differentiation from rugby, but that was very short lived, by 1888, most of the working class called it football. Back then, towns were usually footy towns or rugby towns, on the occasion they have both, football clubs used the AFC tag to distinguish themselves from RFCs, but most people never called them "association clubs" or even more, used the word soccer. Whereas public school boys still say sockers or "ruggers" for rugby.

[@mericusta1988]

drafts system is super interesting in my opinion, and it has a balancing factor against monopolies

[@ItsLucha-tt7ec]

The world of football is MASSIVE there’s still more to mention and talk about

[@Obenfiquista81]

Here in my hometown, we have a very small team in the 4th division. In the last 10 years, we had 2 1st division teams come here and play against us for the cup. There is even one team which was at the same division as us, that is now in the 1st division! Cool, right?

[@davidrobinson970]

I have a family link to football, where a distant cousin played in goal for Tottenham Hotspur and England! His name is Paul Robinson, and did give me a buzz of pride to see him playing.

[@TheAlexmata1]

Paul Robinson, I remember him, buzz cut, great goalkeeper

[@flo2677]

Paul Robinson? Really? I remember him he was OK

[@gallo162]

did he play for leeds aswel? he lived near me when i lived just outside York.

[@Obi-J]

I live just down the road from his home town of Beverley, East Yorkshire.

[@jsauraes]

Hi! I just wanted to take the time to thank you for your content and to put some thoughts. I'm a 32 year old spaniard who grew up playing football since I was at least 5, and since then has been continuously following it. I think im not alone when I say that it's great to see someone discover something you already love and that makes me appreciate these kind of videos a lot. I want to start by saying that the greatest thing with football, and I guess this is true for any sports, is your personal emotional connection to it. Many times I find myself being down without knowing why and after reflecting on it I conclude that: "Hey, it must be because "we"(it' s always we when we talk about the team we follow) lost this weekend". Its also true for that lingering feeling of euphoria you get when "we" get good results. In my opinion there`s two key elements that make football such a thrilling sport. First, because of the system in place with relegation, the fact that wins are 3 points, and the fact that its a low scoring game, the stakes are always high in almost any moment of any game. This is true not only for the teams but also for the players. Being in a team that gets relegated can start a downwards spiral that takes you out even of pro football. And secondly, the fact that there's thousands of teams per country if you count down to amateur level and all of them are part of the same league system. Sure, there's a big number of tiers (I think in Spain as an example it`s around 11), but having the sense of progressing if a club does well is encouraging for the players and gives a sense of connection with the whole sport, up to professional level. Also playing as kids you are part of a team with multiple squads (normally 1or 2 per age group for the smaller clubs) and you can be called to upper age groups if you do well, giving the possibility of quick improvement for those really talented.

[@savagesounds]

im a arminia bielefeld fan.. we got from first division into third division in about 2 years :D and right now we are fighting to barely stay in the third division.. its horrible haha

[@jeremyhndy]

In England when a lower league team beats a team that is significantly more prestigious, it is refer to as a “Giant Killing” which is pretty badass.

[@Robalogot]

Relegation is brutal and amazing at the same time. When you go down, you literally have an entire stadium in tears.

[@Jee123123]

In the knock-out cups, there's also the financial benefit to a club from a much lower league facing off against a top club. in the past the smaller club would give up playing at their home ground (if the fixture was drawn up that way) to play at the bigger clubs larger stadium so that the smaller club would get a much bigger gate receipt.

[@Gekkor255]

In Germany right now in the DFB Cup is a Team called 1FC. Saarbrücken from the 3rd league wich kicked out the biggest teams in germany and is still competing xD alway fun to see

[@Froskru]

I love this video it’s so real. You’re doing football justice for Americans.

[@alexanderabata8957]

Man this format is happening in the whole world! Each Continent has their own Champions League, Libertadores soccer is a real passion🤯🤗

[@sneekylinux]

For context we have low level teams this year like Maidstone and Bristol who have progressed to the top of the cup games here in the UK and will earn them a lot of cash even if they don't win the next games

[@prouvencau6343]

I never understood how this system isnt present in "the Land of Opportunities" 🤔 Its totally possible to buy a team from the bottom and , year after year, if you are the best, you can challenge a superior division and go to the top of your country and even challenge other teams of the continent That's a system designed for opportunities ! 👍🏻 And for dreams ! ❤

[@xergiok2322]

It's 'the land of protecting investments'. American sports teams are not associations like in European sports, they're franchises. They would never accept a system where there's such high risk of revenue loss. Besides, the whole system is set up differently, where young athletes train in high school and college rather than in actual teams, so there are fewer teams overall, making relegation and promotion less viable.

[@Brookspirit]

Americans buy their way into the top league, everywhere in the world you have to earn your place in the league. The league is owned by a company, the whole thing is totally different and inferior.

[@philipmcniel4908]

It's important to realize that the _first-tier_ league didn't even exist until 1996, so our pyramid hasn't had that much time to grow. (That, and we're used to having 4 other sports leagues, so it's not like soccer is the be-all end-all of many US fans' sports viewing.) Considering the pre-MLS history of top-tier leagues going bankrupt (see: NASL) there was already plenty of jeopardy of failure even without relegation when MLS was in its infancy. (That's also why in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was common for one owner to own multiple MLS teams, because it was that hard to find people who were willing to risk their money on soccer club ownership.) It's also important to take into account the difference in size and travel requirements: At least here in the western US, each team covers a major "footprint" (e.g. the fandom of the Seattle Seahawks isn't just the city of Seattle, but also the entirety of Washington and most of Oregon and Idaho as well). Most people inside that catchment area live way too far away to see their favorite team play in person (except maybe on an annual road trip), so they're entirely dependent on TV. Combine this with the fact that we have so many major sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and now MLS) that TV sports coverage is already too busy to cover a second-tier league, and relegation--for many people--would mean no longer having access to watch their favorite club. They would basically have to find a new club to support if that happened...or just continue supporting the other four teams that they support in other sports.

[@Ace-mw9pm]

How would we do relegation in American football and have a playoff. You can’t get rid of the playoffs and superbowl, Americans would hate that. As well as determining a winner of a league by how many touchdowns they score would just not work in American football and definitely not in basketball. And you would have to destroy the way we do everything with high school and college sports because there would be no draft. And Pro teams would have to develop players from a young age. It’s way too late in American sports history to do that now. And why would they the NFL,NBA,MLB are the most successful sports leagues in the world. Europe even tried to copy our model a few years back but fans outraged because you guys are used to your old way and we’re used to ours.

[@prouvencau6343]

@@Ace-mw9pm when does that make a point ? 😂 We also make children "in our old way", is that a problem too ? 😂😂

[@Exodon2020]

4:28 - Relegation just means being demoted to a lower league. Being relegated from First to Second Bundesliga doesn't mean the team disappears. It'll just play in a lower League Division for the next season and if they are among the top three, they'll get promoted back into the First Bundesliga. But of course this system does allow for its very own kind of heartbreak. My local team, Holstein Kiel, narrowly missed promotion into the top-flight twice within a few years of one another. Schalke, a team that has been one of the main contenders for the Championship only a few years ago, was first relegated, then promoted back, then relegated again and is now on its way to be relegated out of 2nd Liga, too. Germany's league system is organized into 12 tiers with the top three ones being considered Pro and being Nationwide. Therefore, getting kicked out of 3rd Liga is usually a much bigger deal than being relegated within the big three. Also, since 3rd Liga marks the entry point into the Pro-Area, entry requirements (like stadium upgrades and generally professionalizing the club) can be a challenge for first-time promotees.

[@philipmcniel4908]

Yeah, but in the USA, leagues outside the top tier are essentially sixth-tier leagues in terms of media coverage, because they're behind five first-tier leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS), so relegation in _any_ American sport would mean the end of TV coverage. It's hard to picture it being different in other countries unless you've actually followed the sport.

[@vinny1010]

The flip side of a team being so good and involved in numerous cup matches (side-by-side the league) is players are prone to a lot of injuries as they don't rest well. This adds to the entertainment value as top teams slide on performance and those not involved in cup matches have a slight advantage as they get to rest their players more

[@pablo_discobar8846]

The connection you have with your team is tested to the next level when you're on the verge of relegation, Leicester City's story is legendary from a fan perspective where they see their team nearing the chopping block one season& then winning the title the very next season❤

[@joelewis9627]

Ian Real Madrid is the biggest team in the world . And its Santiago Bernabeu stadium will host the first NFL game in Spain. It will be spectacular!

[@Ohlsemann]

The leagues are strongly regulated independent organizations, not owned by club owners. In the big European countries first, second, and most third-tier clubs are professional. The UEFA Champions League has a second tier too

[@t-hai-land]

You should take a Look att Welcome to Wrexham 💪😊

[@YoloMenace001]

Welcome to Notts County

[@juanfigueroa6172]

Sunderland 'Til I Die

[@MadnessQuotient]

One thing that you mentioned about American Football that isn't present in Soccer is the idea of a draft. Players are traded between teams (for money) during the transfer window. Getting better players is about a combination of reputation, play style & philosophy, but ultimately how much money a team has.

[@wild4fp]

It's pretty easy to understand the game and the league and cups. It's called the simple game but also the beautiful game.

[@kevanwillis4571]

Soccer comes from Association Football the game rules set in 1863. English Public schools, which are actually expensive private schools, referred to football as soccer and rugby as rugger.

[@panamafloyd1469]

Ian!! Oh, my goodness. I've loved this game since the first time I ever saw it as a teen. Guys in the US didn't have many chances to play if you lived out in the countryside, IMO the reason the US Womens' team found success were before the 'girls got to play it first'. Law called 'Title 9' passed in the '70s, it said that girls had to be given more opportunity to play sports. Most high schools chose soccer, since it was so cheap. Real football does for the rest of the world what basketball does here in the US. A ball, a place to send it..yeah. Not much expensive equipment required. 1.) "Soccer" is actually English slang from the 19th Century! Football and rugby were both created in the late 1800s, they were distinguished in the newspapers back then by being called 'association football' and 'rugby football'. From what I can figure out, American football came from rugby, and "soccer" is the old slang for 'association football'. My friends from the UK get a bit PO'd at me when I point it out that "soccer" is actually their original term for the game. 😁 2.) When you know the rules, you'll see it. Even though it's a 'low scoring game', most of a good one is spent with either team damn near about to score. That's why we go crazy when we score, and moan when the opponent does. All that built up tension released in one way or the other. 3.) From an American POV..soccer is 'basketball for the feet'. Tactics are similar. On offense, try to pull the defense apart to create passing lanes, on defense just try to close them. 4.) Apologies for the 'novel' I'm about to write. Here's all the rules you need to know to see what's happening in a game. First, the whole ball has to pass over the whole line. There's no 'breaking the plane' here. Things that look like out of bounds (or even a goal) sometimes aren't. Ball goes out of bounds on the sideline, change of possession. Whoever kicked it out loses it. Ball's thrown back into play by the other team, player throwing it back onto the field with both hands, and both feet on the ground. Ball goes out over the baseline (we call it the 'end line'), if the offense kicks it out, the defense gets a kick back upfield from the small box in front of the goal. Usually taken by the goalkeeper. Ball gets kicked out by the defense - the offense gets to kick it from the corner of the baseline. The bigger box is actually the only space a goalkeeper can use the hands, outside of it they have to use their feet just like any other player. It's also the area where if the defense fouls the offense coming in..penalty kick. And now, the offside rule! Yeah, this one's a little difficult to explain. It's kind of like the 'blue line' in hockey, except that it *moves*. There must be at least two defensive players between an offensive player receiving a pass and the goal. But the rule is that the player on offense is OK as long as the pass is actually made *before* that threshold is crossed. The tactic is to keep an eye on whoever's shooting the ball further upfield, keeping your defender in front of you when your teammate lets it fly (and they'll try to kick it into any empty space behind the defender in your face), and then 'making a run' at full speed to get past and get to the ball. I wish we were having a beer at the local tavern & grille, I could demonstrate it in about 45sec with the condiments as 'stage props'. Welcome to the world's game, sir. My own friends from the 'rest of the world' have often been astonished to meet an American who actually GAS about it. Ask Danela and Pedro about their own favorite clubs, and watch some games. You're a smart guy, you'll 'get it' pretty quick, I think. Oh, and for everyone else..ATL! UTD! Atlanta is the club for me!

[@jameshumphreys9715]

Liechtenstein clubs play in the Switzerland league but they do have their own Cup, Liechtenstein Cup which the winners usually (Vaduz) play in the Europa Conference league, 3rd tier of European football Premier league might have a play off 4) if the Champions, relegated teams, or qualified teams competition cannot be determined by 1-3 1) Points 2)Goal difference 3) Goal Scored Then 4.1) Points gained in H2H 4.2) Away goals in H2H 4.3) Play offs What I don't why he picked the Bundesliga as the bottom 2, 17th and 18th 16th plays the 2nd of 2 Bundesliga There are play off depending on which league you play The Championship the 2nd tier of English Football has a play off for the 3rd promoted place, this is the same for most league below the Premier league Play off Championship, (2nd English tier) League 1, (3rd English tier) Segunda (2nd tier of Spanish football) 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th League 2 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th National League, National league North and South 2nd and 3rd advanced in the semi final 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Quarter Finals Cymru premier and NIFL top tiers of Welsh and Northern Irish football European Conference league Play offs Promotion/ Relegation play off Ligue 1 vs Ligue 2 France Bundesliga vs 2 Bundesliga Scottish Premier league vs Scottish Championship The FA Cup the oldest cup and was created before the football league isn't what we consider a play off.

[@user-em1ig7xo9d]

Hey man good explanation. Seems you guys have had the same problems as us. The sports we grow up loving are massively influenced by what’s actually available as kids. So here in the UK we don’t play American Football of course, and Baseball neither. To play these you’d have to really really search out, certainly not something available easily to kids. Basketball we play a bit at school but it’s one of those things that kids don’t really care for but it’s fun, tho we are all just waiting until it’s soccer lessons in PE instead. Basketball has a fan base in Europe tho that’s for sure, just not anywhere close to Soccer. I’d have loved to have played American Football and Baseball growing up, I love them now, I feel like baseball could be more popular than cricket if they really pushed it over generations, it’s certainly more fun in my opinion. So one thing that gets me, I’ve been to MLS and MLB games. You guys tend to show up to sports wearing random jerseys of teams not playing, and the fans of the teams playing often sit in the same sections together. People arrive late and leave early, some folk are more interested in going ti the food stands than the game and some people will be wandering around the merchandise stores while the game is being played. That really bugged me, I felt like the atmosphere was so flat and non existent, it really felt more like an entertainment event than a sport. The MLS game I went too was way back in 2012 tho so maybe that’s improved, I know you Atlanta supporters are probably the best in the whole league from what I’ve seen so that’s credit to you. I get the feeling like college and high school football has more passion than actual nfl. Also, teams moving locations is wild! Can’t imagine how a fanbase feels having it’s team ripped up and taken a few 1000 miles away. Jeez! Glad you’re loving soccer tho, hope the 2026 World Cup will ignite a flame for it in the US.

[@jameshumphreys9715]

@@user-em1ig7xo9d UK do have American football teams, I knew 2 players who played for South Wales team

[@panamafloyd1469]

@@user-em1ig7xo9d , thanks! I think the things about Americans not really 'getting behind' their professional teams has to do with how mobile we are. Bored of your hometown? Move. Better job 3000km away? Move. When I first moved to Atlanta in the '80s, the Braves (MLB) were actually pretty awful. There'd be games here where more supporters of the other team would show up than the home team - because there were so many people living here who'd grown up in the opposing side's city. I think you've got it right about colleges & unis here playing American football. It's the closest thing I've seen to a Euro/UK style "..this is my club, and I'm with 'em no matter what!" kind of feeling. Here in the Southeast, college ball may be more popular than NFL (and the schools here are very good at it!). I often use it as a comparison to how the rest of the world feels about their local football clubs. When I explain it like that, most folks 'get it'.

[@user-em1ig7xo9d]

@@jameshumphreys9715 I know they have a very small league that is competed in. But nothing is recognised or even known about by anyone unless you really search out, or you happen to know someone who knows. I’ve looked into it myself and I can only find one team that competes in my entire county. American football really isn’t a thing in the UK. That’s the bottom line.

[@gustavgustav2670]

It is theoretically possible in the UK in the FA Cup for a pub team comprised of a bunch of overweight 40yr olds to play all the way through to a final against say Manchester City and win.

[@101steel4]

Sounds like the superbowl 😂

[@UKJesterVids]

that'd take care of paying for the beer for a couple of years :)

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

I'd love to see that. Especially against Man City.

[@famousmwofficial8046]

I'm not American and this was helpful. Never been a soccer fan or know much about it but I do know it's a fun game to play in person

[@olliolson]

I have been to the states for a year as exchange student and I know it’s easy to act high and mighty when it comes to football in europe (and South America for that matter). But one thing I have never seen is the ridiculous amount of support, passion, and love college and even high school teams receive. In europe it‘s „pro or gtfo“. In the states I was a bad kicker that got ran over by the linemen but I was doing it in front of 3000 people. Still crazy, so never forget how great of a youth development system you guys have.

[@papalaz4444244]

I have to be honest. Not knowing ANY of this is really strange for the biggest sport on the Earth.

[@101steel4]

Yes even by American standards 😂

[@rairei]

Even if USA females got World Soccer Champions already 4 times en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Women%27s_World_Cup#Teams_reaching_the_top_four

[@SonOfBaraki359]

do you really believe those reactors ? it's always "I NEVER HEARD OF THIS"

[@rairei]

@@SonOfBaraki359 well... on the other side I couldn't answer anything about US football, baseball, basketball leagues. papalaz was a comment writer 🙂 I guess soccer mostly never appears in US news 😞

[@papalaz4444244]

@@rairei you can't count this as the US Women's team played a Dallas team of under 15 boys and were beaten 5-2. They also played a charity match against a team of middle aged Wrexham players and were beaten 12-0

[@HeimirTomm]

EDIT: You're right guys, it's home and away until the final. Don't really know what I was thinking... nothing probably. Regarding the Champions cup, you were wrong. Only in the group stage (4 teams together) is it home-away deal. After that it is a knockout game. Also, in order to make the game "more appealing" to Americans, american TV stations suggested splitting the halves into three 15 minutes parts each. Europeans are still laughing about that one. Thing is, we DO have more attention span than Americans - and just imagine what that would do to the flow of the game. Remember, American football is a bunch of guys padded like motherfucking astronauts doing comittee meetings. In a typical 3 hour game you possibly have 20 minutes of actual play.

[@xergiok2322]

You meant: in order to make the game more appealing to *advertisers*. The many breaks in American sports is to accomodate commercials, not because Americans lack the attention span.. however the commercial breaks themselves might be causing shorter attention spans, what do I know.

[@almostyummymummy]

Average attention span of a US citizen is 8.2 seconds (as of most recent available data). A goldfish has an attention span of 9. Speaks volumes, I think. Given most American movies/TV shows have a maximum scene length before cutting to another is just a touch on five seconds. American football - actual ball-in-play time is a touch under 12 minutes. Not even a full quarter.

[@mattsmith5421]

No you're wrong, every match up to the final is played home and away

[@martinkasper197]

Only the final (at a neutral place) is one game...🤓

[@HeimirTomm]

@@mattsmith5421 Right, I have edited my comment.

[@MrFreezeYo]

ok. Now only german music reactions like Rammstein or Electric Callboy are missing and your channel is perfect for me haha. Please dive deeper into the soccer/football thing, this sport is so much fun.

[@renevaanhold]

Yes, what a good idea! Ian should react on Rammstein in Paris with the song "Du Hast" kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2arcniwetBrh68si=0bpfLd7p4F5qJ-bh

[@FoxtrotBravoRomeo]

8:05 this champ league structure is about to change- good luck learning and enjoying it!

[@northernmonkey7924]

American football, which the foot never really touches the ball, should be called american rugby✌️