i've recently gotten interested in pro soccer, and i do not understand the whole european stuff. how does the champions league work, and are the smaller leagues, like spanish segunda and the uk leagues under premier separate form the bigger leagues, or are they like a minor leagues system owned by the premier teams, or is it a little of both?(what nice grammar i have) any help would be greatly appreciated.

The top teams in each country's top league qualify for the Champions League the next season. The number of teams from each country depends on the strength of the league, with the highest rated leagues getting 4 places and the lowest rated leagues getting 1 place. There are three qualifying rounds for the group phase. Depending on a league's rating, a team may or may not have to go through the qualifying rounds. For example, the top two English teams get automatic entry into the group phase, while the other two English teams start in the third qualifying round.

The group phase consists of eight groups of four teams. They play each other home and away, and then the top two teams from each group advance to the round of 16. From that point on, each round is a knockout tournament where the two teams play home and away, with the winner advancing. The exception is the final, which is just one game played at a neutral site.

As far as the lower leagues go, the teams are independent of the teams in the top division, so it isn't like the minor league system. At the end of every season, the best teams in a division are promoted to the next division up while the worst teams in a division are relegated to the next division down. There are some business arrangements that may make it seem like a minor league system. For example, a big club may loan a young player to a lesser club for a few months to get him some experience before throwing him into games at the highest level.

"I feel like we have some unfinished business." - Chris Walker
On the bandwagon since birth. Raised in the bleachers of Kyle, Olsen, and G. Rollie White

thanks, that clears up a lot. is the scottish league by itself, or do its top teams get promoted?

I'm not very familiar with the Scottish system but this might help answer your questions:
http://www.answers.com/topic/scottish-football-league-system

I think their promotion/relegation requirements depend on more than just wins and losses. Stadium capacity is one issue. I think they changed the minimum from 10,000 to 6,000 to get promoted to the SPL. But i could have that wrong.

[This message has been edited by sixiron (edited 7/6/2005 2:52p).]

Short answer...the Scottish league is its own entity (i.e. even the top team in Scotland can't get promoted to another league like the English Premier League). As a whole, the Scottish league doesn't have a very high level of play at the moment. It's more similar to the Dutch or Belgian Leagues at the moment (in fact, the Dutch League is probably of higher quality) but back in the day it was pretty formidable.

thanks. i knew rangers and celtic were fairly potent squads, but wasnt sure if that was b/c maybe they were demoted from a higher league or something. you cleared up a lot, now i just gotta figure out who i do and do not like and a lot of the jargon

[This message has been edited by HeyMoe (edited 7/9/2005 11:23p).]

a team you might be interested in is Fulham of the EPL. They have two Americans: Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra. They'll be in Columbus on July 30 (on ABC) to play the MLS all-stars.

I would recommend following Chelsea, but if you do, everyone will call you plastic, etc. for picking the team that just won the English Championship. You'll hear how Chelsea bought the title (like Arsenal and ManU. players work second jobs to make ends meet) after Russian billionaire Roman Abromovich bought the team two years ago. And you'll have to endure following a team that still appears on the way up.

If you want an American connection, the Glazer family (think Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner) just acquired control of Manchester United. British fans hate it, so the Red Devils could use a few new fans right now. ManU has been very good for a long time, so you probably won't be too disappointed in how they fare.

Arsenal is too French.

Look around, pick some teams to follow and have fun.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho

I never could bring myself to support chelsea or arsenal(even though henry is a total badace). I've always been a big man u fan, mainly because scholes and I have similar playing styles..and when I was a youngun I got an Aston Villa jersey for a birthday so they have a place in my heart, even if they suck.

Thierry the great



"I feel like we have some unfinished business." - Chris Walker
On the bandwagon since birth. Raised in the bleachers of Kyle, Olsen, and G. Rollie White

If you like the Yankees or Boston Red Sox then I'm sure you'll like Man U, Arsenal, or Chelsea. I suggest you watch 5 or 6 teams closely and pick which team's playing style you like to watch the best. I follow Ajax mostly. People might say this is on par with the teams I've mentioned beforehand, but they live and die by their distinctive style and consistently produce high quality players through their youth system rather than buying most of their players a la most top European teams.

quote:

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Arsenal is too French.

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I was reminded of this by something I saw in the whole Vieira transfer saga. Newcastle expect Arsenal to bid for Jenas and want more than £12 million pounds for him. He's a good player, but not that good. Here's the problem with English players. They're always overpriced. Equally good foreign players are available for less.

I'm not saying Arsenal isn't "too French," although I don't really care. (Are Chelsea becoming too Portuguese? Liverpool too Spanish? After all, both new managers signed a few players from their homeland immediately) I just find it annoying that if Arsenal want to sign Jenas or Wright-Phillips, they're gonna have to pay a lot more than they should.

"I feel like we have some unfinished business." - Chris Walker
On the bandwagon since birth. Raised in the bleachers of Kyle, Olsen, and G. Rollie White

It's true about the English players being overlooked. One of the biggest new signings in the EPL could be Jared Borghetti from the Mexican league. He's the first player to make that switch and did it for a small sum, but I think he's going to show himself as a world-class striker. Peter Crouch has similar skills, obviously taller, but is from England and has only two national caps but will not be released for under 8M pound. I think Borghetti took 1-2M and is equally impressive with about 6 years experience behind him.

what team is Borghetti on?

Borgetti signed with Bolton. He's a badass and has become one of my favorite players to watch, even despite the fact that he plays for Mexico and looks like Lou Diamond Philips.

i finally picked my team. as much as i at originally hated man u, i came to realize that a team with 3 lunatics(glazer, keane, and rooney seems like and intense guy) is the team for me. i feel kinda dirty, but it seems these are my guys

well...good luck with that. this is a very interesting time for ManU and its supporters. i don't know what to expect, especially long term, with Glazer at the helm now. and Rooney needs a kick to the nuts. my Gunners will take care of that.

If you want the american connection, fulham would be the team to root for, 2 american players/starters.

1 word...

tosser.

ManU may be subject to a takeover but the Gunners look to be subject to an exodus with their undoubted captain and maestro in the midfield of 9 years leaving to join the slower and more methodical Serie A. Could be an interesting year this time around.

BTW I'm a liverpool supporter and we'll all be chasing chelsea for the hardware this year. All hail the Evil Empire bought with commie money.