What Are Your Soccer Dreams?

International breaks give me a chance to be a bit more reflective than usual regarding what’s going on in the world of soccer. And other than the Liverpool ownership saga, there isn’t a lot going on. I have to admit that while I have a life outside of EPL Talk and the sport of soccer, the past week has been agony. I’ve been craving the need to watch quality soccer and what’s been on display has not satisfied my quench.

So while we await the mid-week international games to be over before we rev up for the return of the Premier League, I wanted to ask you, the readers, what your soccer-related dreams are. What’s on your bucket list of things you want to do before you die? What teams or tournaments or players do you want to see?

Share your stories in the comments section below.

As for me, my dream wish-list changes quite often, but here are the latest dreams I have that I want to accomplish:

Go on a guided tour of Craven Cottage. I last visited Fulham’s beautiful Craven Cottage ground in 2006 (view my Craven Cottage photo collection) but there were no tours planned, so I walked around the inside and outside of the ground snapping pictures and taking in the sights. But I wasn’t allowed to enter the Pavilion, which is the beautiful building in the corner of the ground. The balcony usually features a famous guest or two. And downstairs the players slip out of the changing rooms and down the narrow path to the pitch. The pavilion, built in 1905, is however part of the guided tour. And one of the reasons I would love to walk around inside it is because I love history. The building was created by football architect Archibald Leitch as a compromise because he forgot to include changing rooms in his original design of the Johnny Haynes Stand and he had to develop a different solution which was the pavilion.
Visit the Main Stand at Ibrox. Archibald Leitch’s crowning achievement was the Trinity Road Stand at Aston Villa’s ground, which featured stained glass windows, Italian mosaics and a sweeping staircase. It’s criminal to think that Villa destroyed the stand in 2000. With it gone, the Main Stand at Rangers’s Ibrox Stadium marks his finest achievement which is still standing. The listed building features the famous red brick and classic Rangers FC sign. Behind it is the modern stadium, but the brick facade is a triumphant example of how majestic this stand looks and is unrivaled anywhere else in the world. While I don’t support Rangers or Celtic, it’s one ground I would love to visit.
From Vetch Field to Liberty Stadium. I’ve seen Swansea City play in countless matches at Vetch Field, their old ground near the waters of Swansea Bay, but I still haven’t had a chance to watch my favorite club Swansea play at their new ground. Each time I’ve been in Wales recently it’s either been during the summer or when the Swans have been playing away from home. One of these days I’ll finally get a chance to see the Swans play in their new home. It’s been too long. Who knows, at this rate, maybe it’ll be a Premier League match?
See “The Temple Of The Yellow Wall.” Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park features the largest free-standing grandstand of its kind in Europe, housing 25,000 fans. The entire capacity of the stadium, which has one of the best atmospheres in Europe, is 81,264. I can’t even begin to imagine how incredible it must be to see a game at this stadium. And it’s definitely on my list the next time I visit Germany.
The return of a top flight team to South Florida. I’ve followed soccer on the local level in South Florida since I moved here in 1984. I watched the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and then cried tears of joy when the Miami Fusion debuted. And shed tears of pain a few years later when the club closed its doors. But my dream is that top flight soccer will return to South Florida. For a region with a population of more than 5 million, it’s unbelievable that there’s no MLS team here.
See a World Cup Final. I’ve been to a World Cup game in 1994 as well as a Euro Championship match in 2008, but I’ve never been to a World Cup Final. Just once I’d like to be there to take in the spectacle and to watch a final with two of the greatest footballing countries.