<a href="http://epltalk.com/fifa-12-or-pes-2012-which-to-get-35564/fifa-12-vs-pes-2012" rel="attachment wp-att-35565"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-35565" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/FIfa-12-vs-Pes-2012.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="268"></figure></div></a>
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Initially, I didn’t plan on getting <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050SYCJM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B0050SYCJM" target="_blank">PES 2012</a> but after playing around with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z4ZJZS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B004Z4ZJZS" target="_blank">FIFA 12</a> and noting the upgrade from last year to this year and also wanting to find out why there are so many mixed feelings on the two, I broke down and bought PES anyway.
I will preface by saying that I have not gotten a chance to completely go through both games to see all of the differences. While I did play FIFA 11, I did not play PES 2011 so I have no way to compare last year’s game to this one at this time. I have not finished a season nor have I really had a chance to play online and quite frankly I am not an online player. Now if I can get more of my friends into these games I would play online more. I did however play mostly with the modes and options that mattered to me and for anyone else; I will say that your miles may vary with your own personal experience.
For starters, let’s just come out and talk about licensing, since that is what matters to some. FIFA has it. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050SYCJM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B0050SYCJM" target="_blank">PES 2012</a> doesn’t. However, one thing I do like about PES (let me add that I am playing both on the 360) is that as long as your team is not licensed, if you have that kind of time on your hands, you can go in and tinker all you want until you have your team. For example, only Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are licensed in the English League therefore you can’t edit them. You can go to town with any other team especially if there are some kits that you think are just hideous. You can make to your liking and that’s something I may do if time is available. PES of course has rights over the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup competitions as well as Copa Santander Libertadores. People who really want these competitions may lean towards this title.
Next up, since we are talking about visuals, I have to say that PES does lean a little more towards authenticity in terms of static graphics as far as dynamic lighting and even the crowd. I noticed that game crowds happen to wear the home team kits and while the animations for them are a little too uniform (when will people start taking notes from 2K Sports about crowd animations?) it’s surely a lot better looking than the cardboard cutouts in FIFA. Another small thing I did note is that stadiums tend to be empty or full depending on the type of match or popularity of your team in PES. If you’re playing a friendly and your starters aren’t in, your stadium may just have enough people in the lower levels. Play your rival and it’s packed. Small touches like that can sell me on a game. As far as in-game animation, I would say that FIFA has PES beaten in some areas as there are more animations when players collide on each other or play on the ball and this is in part due to the new physics engine. For player likenesses, I lean more towards PES as some of the faces and skin tones look closer to actual players than FIFA does. Also, some players in PES tend to be more animated in PES than FIFA in terms of missed shots, fouls or even just warming up on the field.
As far as the game play itself, which a lot of people put a lot of emphasis on, I can see why people say that FIFA feels more ‘arcadey’. In PES, I felt that you really had to have more skill to maneuver the ball down the pitch and build up the play before you can just let one fly. The controls in both games seem to be very precise and even though you have a sprint button in both (as well as a speed burst in PES), it doesn’t guarantee that you are going to beat defenders downfield as sometimes will occur in FIFA 12. And actually giving credit where it’s due with the tactical defending, push/pull system and the ability to call in a 2nd team mate, FIFA has almost eliminated sprinting abuse. PES also has some of these elements built into the game already and although I didn’t play last year’s iteration, it makes me wonder if this is something that PES has done for awhile and EA Sports just caught up to this, added it in and is selling FIFA 12 based on this feature. I wouldn’t be surprised. Both games also have the ability to allow you to tinker around with your on-the-field playing style and tactics so you can manage the game how you want. I do feel however, that the games are neck and neck as far as game play especially as far as defense is concerned.
Well, so far it may seem like PES has an advantage, but where does it fall down? By the end of the week this may change, but the rosters are not 100% up to date out of the box and I think that there are a few players whose stats are overblown. But I did read yesterday afternoon that a patch is due out to address some of these issues. One glaring thing I saw was that Cesc Fabregas was still playing for Arsenal (North London) and Tom Cleverley was still out on loan. Again when this patch drops, hopefully this will be cleaned up.
There also is no substitution animation in PES. When you make changes you simply get an alert as to who is in and who is out. It may not mean much to some (refer back to my stadium crowd issue) but that was a touch I like in FIFA. The biggest issue I have with this game is the commentary. I am sorry but Jim Beglin and Jon Champion are in need of No Doz. There are many stretches of the game where they may barely say the players’ name or nothing at all and build no excitement to watching the play unfold until a shot is attempted. This is one area that FIFA shines in that no matter which English commentary team you get, you will feel immersed in the game.
This year’s soundtracks on both games are pretty hit or miss to me and really if I had it my way, I would find a way to put in my EA trax from last year on both.
Time sinks
Both of these games have something outside of the normal modes that may keep you busy for a long while running. FIFA 12 did add on a somewhat deeper, managerial mode this year but PES’ Football Life feels like it has more meat on the bone (I heard that last year’s was deep also) because there is so much more to do than on FIFA. You get to run more of the team aspects such as sponsoring, training, transfers and so forth. You can hire staff for various parts of your operation and there are animated scenes that guide you along the way. While all of this feels nice and good, my only complaint is that this late into the life cycle of the 360. It may have been cool to have some voiceover work to go along with it instead of all the reading that comes along with it.
This is something that I wish FIFA had and if anything keeps me from playing FIFA 12 for a stretch, this would be it. It’s a crime that most sports games nowadays don’t have, as a standard, a deep franchise/GM mode to allow you to hype up or mess up your team any way you please! It seems like if companies want you to go behind the scenes, then you will get (insert sport here) Manager (yes you, EA Sports!). If FIFA 12 had as deep a Player Manager mode as PES, then the war between these two would be won, but it’s not. EA, take a hint, take FIFA Manager, chuck it and put it into the FIFA franchise and people would kill to get the next iteration.
My time sink on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z4ZJZS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B004Z4ZJZS" target="_blank">FIFA 12</a> is the Ultimate Team. I didn’t get a chance to play with it in FIFA 11 because I got on so late in the gaming cycle. But gosh, this is fantasy football on steroids. It takes all of the elements of a CCG (collectible card game for those I lost there) and mixes it with the game playing elements and you get all kinds of crazy recipes! You can get rare players, equipment, cards that gives you stat boost and worst of all, it will cost you some coin. I won’t lie, I spent about 10 bucks last night buying some packs to get a better team that what was given. And hanging around the auction house? It’s bad news because you will drool over the player cards that you want but don’t have enough coin to buy. Also I like how the strength and chemistry of your team may be based on team mates, nationality or other factors. I think I spent about 2 or 3 hours on that before I remembered that I still had a career mode to play and never got to!
What I am looking forward to seeing is how PES handles transfer deadlines as I have reached that point so far on FIFA 12 and I like the way they handle the last day so far and I am also interested to see how aggressive the AI on PES is when trying to lure your players away. I am also looking forward to see how players grow on both and compare notes to see which ones last and which don’t.
So, to wrap this up, in so many ways, this year’s futbol war reminds me so much of 2004 when both Madden 2K5 and ESPN 2K5 games came out. Whereas Madden had all of the bells and whistles, 2K5 had more for it under the hood especially with the ESPN style presentation and became a benchmark game (that the Madden series still have yet to realize) that people still talk about today.
Right now as it’s only been a few days since I have played <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z4ZJZS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B004Z4ZJZS" target="_blank">FIFA 12</a> and a day that I had with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050SYCJM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B0050SYCJM" target="_blank">PES 2012</a>, it’s too early to call either a clear winner. It’s easy to see why gamers take both sides because what one has, the other doesn’t and what one may do, the other does better and it’s a shame that we can’t magically merge both games together to have the perfect game. As a first Impression of both series, it’s a tie with PES having a slight edge over FIFA in the career mode as well as gameplay and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z4ZJZS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B004Z4ZJZS" target="_blank">FIFA 12</a> having the advantage in presentation, on field graphical animation and Ultimate Team time sink.
You can’t go wrong with either one.

FIFA 12 or PES 2012: Which To Get?

FIFA 12 or PES 2012: Which To Get? - World Soccer Talk

<a href="http://epltalk.com/fifa-12-first-impressions-its-the-small-stuff-that-counts-35523/fifa-12" rel="attachment wp-att-35524"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-35524" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fifa-12.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="250"></figure></div></a>
There is always that love/hate that people have with EA Sports games. People love it because they know that when EA makes a game, you are going to get almost everything you could ever imagine in a sports game. The license, the players and so on. And then, there are the things that you hate about EA games. With them scooping up licences, they tend to break their competition down (yes Madden, I am looking at you) and make their games unplayable. They change game elements and sometimes they even take small things out. For example, how much is it to ask for to get a decent halftime show? Ask 2K Sports to educate you on how to make a proper sports presentation hat will really immerse you into a game.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z4ZJZS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B004Z4ZJZS" target="_blank">FIFA 12</a>, like Madden 12, represents all of the love/hate that fans have had for the franchise over the years. Because truthfully, most of the changes in this year’s iteration are small tweaks.
Let’s start off with the fact that if you bought EA’s Season pass (20 bucks) you get the entire game downloaded to your PS3 or 360 for nothing extra. The entire game. Not a demo. You are then free to go in and start your career mode, download your game face etc. It lasts right up to the point of the actual day of release. If you are a hardcore EA Sports gamer, this will be up your alley because for one year you can get any EA Sports title and if you feel like it sucks, you lost nothing except money for the access and a few hours. Your miles may vary.
As for the game itself, the presentation screens remain largely unchanged from last year’s presentation short of the menu bars scroll at the bottom as opposed to the left side like last year. And for some it really feels at this point that you paid money for a roster update. But wait, here is where the small stuff kicks in that will determine your value of the game.
The EA Sports Football Club has been implemented that gives you XP for things you do within a game and it levels you up accordingly. Also if you support a particular club, everything that you and all of those supporters does goes into the pot and everyone levels together. Another side of this is that you get challenges to complete that earn you XP and unlockables. The challenge this week was to bring Chelsea back from their 1-3 deficit against Man Utd which started you off at the 49′ mark. After three tries, I still haven’t gotten past it because there is so much else I want to see and do.
The Career mode was where I really enjoyed myself on this game and again it looks largely unchanged except now, if you choose to be a player-manager, it’s a little bit more involved. Some of the transfers are indeed a bit more realistic (not to mention that the rosters are already updated to current status). And as an added touch, you get tips and warnings similar to FIFA Manager about how to go after players; if you go after players that play with your rival, you will get told that it will cost you a bit more. Also, the AI is a bit more aggressive about coming after players and that is one thing that was lacking from last year’s iteration. You may receive more that 3 or 4 offers for a particular player, but what I wished for is that if a team really wanted my player, is that if they were denied, they would come back with a higher offer.&nbsp;Also during the course of the season, players will tell you when they are unhappy or feel good about the team so pay attention to the morale of your side.
One other like/dislike I have is that because news articles are highlighted, you can click on them to read the full story but you can’t pick and choose which ones. You have to wait for it to be highlighted to bring up the story. Nice touch but sloppy in execution. Speaking of the press conference, it is a bit forgettable whereas a question may be asked about a match, you answer it, and that’s it. Nothing else. FIFA Manager handled this a bit better by showing you if morale went up or down or if your popularity with fans went up or down. The press conference is just another tacked on extra that should have been fleshed out to be as good as if not better than FIFA Manager.
So with all that said, how is the gameplay? It’s fine but one last bug I have to talk about and then I can get to it. The biggest little bug I have encountered so far is that the AI may have the game scheduled at one time but the lighting effect shows another. I had a game scheduled for 8pm. Once the game started up, the lighting effect was 1pm that afternoon which threw me off simply because it was a minor annoyance, but after seeing this happen two more times, it was irritating.
Gameplay itself is mostly unchanged but one thing I did notice is that there are additional sliders in the game settings you can set to control the pace of the game. You can change yours or the AI’s sprinting speed, pass control, shot power and more. Otherwise it’s the FIFA game everybody knows. As far as the tactical defending, it’s definitely a game changer.
I have seen possessions won and lost based on how hard players play on the ball. There is definitely a lot more jostling and shirt pulling this year and it’s not simple to just take a ball away from someone like last year’s edition. Also I do like that if you hit a bumper button another player can be called over to help contain an attacking player. If you don’t like the tactical defense, supposedly it can be turned off but I haven’t attempted to yet because it feels a bit better.
I haven’t experienced any of the graphical glitches so far that has been reported to have cropped up but one thing I have noticed that a lot of player models haven’t been changed or aren’t 100% correct. Patrice Evra is still a bit too dark considering his skin tone and David De Gea is clean shaven and I wish I had a way to edit that! Wayne Rooney of course is sporting his weave and Bacary Sagna sports his two-tone short locks. There are of course many new animations added because of the new engine involved and yes, the game does move well and the dribbling has improveed also. I feel like I do have a little more control over moving the ball around and not losing it simply because someone got close enough to swipe it away from me.
This year you have two choices for your commentary team and I have used both and so far, they’re not bad but EA still needs to take notes from 2K Sports on how to do commentary. 2K games such as NBA 2K11 had a dynamic system where the commentators could take stats from a previous game you have played and inject them into the game that you are currently playing. Why for the life of me can’t EA do this for Madden and FIFA franchises? Laziness? Wouldn’t it be nice to know that your player who shot 60% on target on a team he faced twice last season could do it again today and you know this because of the commentary? Wishful thinking, I know, but then I won’t rant on about the static looking and sounding crowds either.
I have not played any games online as of yet, nor have I been able make time to try Football Ultimate Team but I will do so upon release of the disc on Tuesday, so obviously I cannot comment on that aspect.
In the end however, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z4ZJZS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=et00d-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=B004Z4ZJZS" target="_blank">FIFA 12</a>‘s minor changes especially those in the Career mode and tactical defending will keep you playing. There are a lot of minor additions to the GUI and menu interface that gamers wanted. But, the only ones who will be hard pressed to buy this are the same ones, who like myself, get sick of the minor updates for 60 bucks (like Madden Football) and are hoping for more. At least for futbol fans, you do have an alternative: PES 2012. As long as you can live without the licences, you are OK.
Rating: 8/10.

FIFA 12 First Impressions: It's the Small Stuff That Counts

FIFA 12 First Impressions: It's the Small Stuff That Counts - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_33403" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33403" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33403" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/4275376832_968c1de3701.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="335"></figure></div>Photo by daniel.antunes</div>

First, a disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be the ultimate list for any new soccer fan (which is properly called ‘football’ everywhere else in the world). This is enough to get your toes wet and hope that anything else you need you will research on your own. Please note that your mileage may vary with your fandom and as with all things, your experience is what you make of it. These tips could also apply to any sport, but there may be a few that are specific to this one.
So, after sucking down years of the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB, you want to try and give soccer a go?
Ask the average American fan about world soccer and our knowledge, if we are lucky, may begin and end with either Pele or most recently David Beckham or the USWNT. Well, here are a few tips from a new fan that may help along the way to help increase some of your knowledge. As for you veterans reading this, feel free to let me know what recommendations you have (in the comments section below).

Tip 1: Unlearn all that you have learned
Start off by reading up on the basics of the game including the <a href="http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/federation/lotg_en_55753.pdf" target="_blank">rules and regulations</a> and also learn the lingo such as: What the difference is between a penalty kick and a goal kick, what’s considered a tackle, when do red and yellow cards come into play and so on. In my opinion, the game itself is easy to learn because it’s very free flowing as opposed to American football with all the stopping and starting and the massive rules to understand in between.
Another thing to consider is that after learning some of the basics of the games, you need to be mindful that there is no draft in soccer. The teams outright pay a sum for players that they can afford. Think of it almost as when the NFL had no salary cap and teams won or lost based on their payroll; similar principal applies here. Some teams that can afford to buy players can do so and sometimes will buy players from other teams (rivals included) within their own leagues. This is something that doesn’t happen very often in American sports divisions or among rivals. Alex Rodriguez playing for the Red Sox? On a cold day in hell. Ray Lewis in Pittsburgh Black and Gold? That snowball in hell has a better chance. Kobe Bryant in Celtics Green? Red Aurbach would roll in his grave.
Something else that really keeps fierce competition going on is the idea of promotion and relegation. It’s a system that truly divides the best from the worst. In American sports, losers are rewarded by being first to pick the best talent in hopes of making their teams better. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t (Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning in 1998 anyone?). Soccer doesn’t work that way. Because of the millions of dollars, pounds, euros, or whatever the local currency is on the line, what happens is teams who prove they can play with the best get to move up into better leagues whereas teams who played in the big leagues and have done poorly move down. The rewards of staying in the running is of course money from endorsements and other revenue, which allows you to buy better players which then may help your team get better.
Can you picture how this could work in American sports? How something like this could force teams like the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Wizards, or Toronto Mapleleafs to step their game up or how this would push teams like the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, or Detroit Red Wings to constantly push to stay at or near the top. It’s a very different system to get used to but the way it drives teams to stay in competition keeps perennial losers from reaping all of the rewards. If you want the money to thrive, you HAVE to win.
Tip 2: Watching the games; Picking and following teams
Of course, if you are going to be a fan, you have to watch some of the games to follow along. If you are in the US, the majority of the games are broadcast on <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer" target="_blank">Fox Soccer Channel</a>. Although ESPN doesn’t carry as many matches as Fox does, there are still some good matches to watch. For the tech savvy readers, if you have smartphones, tablets and/or iPads, then I would highly suggest getting the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/watchespn/id429009175?mt=8" target="_blank">WatchESPN app</a> and as long as you are a cable subscriber (unless your cable company, like Comcast, doesn’t have a deal with ESPN), you can watch any ESPN event for free and that includes any of the live and replayed events they have loaded on their sites for that week. <a href="http://epltalk.com/fox-soccer-iphone-app-product-review-25686" target="_blank">Fox Soccer also has an app</a> out at the moment but in order to watch games there is a subscription fee you have to pay.
As far as what’s in print, I downloaded the Flipboard app on my iPad and the Pulse news app on both that and my iPhone. I have them both linked up and customized with various RSS feeds which helps keep me in the loop with news and updates going on in my favorite leagues and teams.
If you are a gamer, it also doesn’t hurt to pick up the FIFA games and giving it a go. It did help me some more understanding of the pacing of the games…what happens, what events trigger what and so on. Treat it like it’s a tutorial to help you at your own pace but still YOU MUST WATCH actual games and talk to others to know exactly what’s going on.
That last point is a big one. Talk to people who are already fans! This is not the time to be shy. If you have friends or co-workers who are deeply entrenched in this sport (as I am with the NFL) then take some time to talk and ask questions (what is offside, explain what different formations do, what are some of the teams’ playing styles, and how many points do you get for a win, loss or draw). And also, if possible, watch a few games with them. Some of them, like my two co-workers here, are glad to have someone to be able to talk to about the game and if they are good people, they are even happier at explaining the nuances of the game. Of course, if there are supporters in your area, check them out.
And duh! Go read and join in some <a href="http://www.bigsoccer.com" target="_blank">soccer forums</a> also!
As far as choosing your teams, that is something that is a choice that you have to make as a new fan. Some people will follow a local team which is good because you get to interact with fans in your area. Others will get behind a team that is popular or well known. There are still others that get behind the underdog.
I say the same thing with this sport as I do about American football in that there is no one way to know how to choose your teams that you want to follow, except don’t do it for just one player. You will be surprised how quickly some of these players who have exceptionally long careers can play for many teams. And just like American football, what if you get behind a team this year because of a player and then next year he is gone? Will you still follow the team? And please, please please…no bandwagon hopping! It’s at its worst here in the States after the NBA Finals or the Super Bowl. People who have never cheered for the Steelers, or the Packers or the Lakers or the Mavericks all of a sudden became new fans. Granted, winning teams brings out new fans but it’s the retention of those new fans that’s the problem. I have met more than my fair share of fans who when teams that won in a particular year do dismally the following years. they disown them. So this, like everything else, pick wisely. Do some research because you have many leagues and divisions to choose from, such as La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, the EPL and if you are an American, you also have MLS right here in your own back yard. Don’t forget your local teams and also it helps to follow your national team. Many of the players on the US national team are playing throughout the world in some of the best teams in the world.
A word on kits (jerseys was we call them here). Here in the States, many of us who are into sports at one time or another may have jerseys of various teams and players in our closet. It’s not common for one of our friends to sport a Kobe Bryant jersey today and have a LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers (see what I did there?) on the following day. Myself, I have a few current players and a number of throwbacks. Since I am primarily a Baltimore Ravens fan, I have three Ray Lewis jerseys, an Ed Reed jersey and one of our first receivers from 1995, Michael Jackson (I can hear the jokes now). I also have a Jerry Rice 49ers jersey, Randy Moss Patriots jersey, a Reggie White Eagles jersey and so on.
One thing that I found out very quickly is that if you are planning on being a fan, and a serious fan at that, cherrypicking kits is usually not a wise idea. While there may be diehard fans in US sports, none can say that they are as diehard as some of the soccer fans that I have met and talked to. Many fans live and die by their teams. Many of them will stop you on the street and dish out a comment, or just drop something derogatory into your lap.
And what if you are wearing the wrong kit? Well, be prepared. This is a sport where wars have started and ended because of games. People have killed and been killed over games. This is a sport where fans have gotten into bloody fistfights over their teams and choosing to have a kit in your wardrobe because it looked cool with a pair of Nike sneakers is certainly not a bright idea if you have no idea about the team you are wearing. Case in point, I saw a guy a few weeks ago with an Inter kit on. Looking at him, I could almost tell he had no clue what he had on and I nicely asked him where he got it from and he replied that “some girl hooked him up with it” at which point I asked if he followed the team to which he said he didn’t, but he watched car racing. Now just imagine if it was a dyed-in wool Inter fan or AC Milan fan! It could have escalated.
Bottom line is, don’t settle on merchandise until you find a team you will follow for a long period. For myself, I haven’t settled on too many players whose kits I will willingly wear as of yet, so keep this in mind when buying your team gear. Also please note, if you are like me and you are taller than average, or larger than average, be prepared to get some of your orders custom made or remember that a lot of what you may want may not be available in your sizes. Kits are not made like American football jerseys, which can be oversized. Kits generally are made to fit and if you find a few really nice ones, they can be wearable in your place of business.
Tip 3: I found a team. Now what?
As I stated before, watch the games, follow the news. Have fun and enjoy them. Once you are watching a game, be prepared in knowing that the clock never stops in soccer, so take a bathroom break and get your snacks before the game starts. Then relieve, refresh and refill (my 3 R’s) at the half. Why? Because you don’t want to miss that cool header that slid by the goalkeeper because you just HAD to have your Cheetos, especially if that was the only goal of the game.
Also remember that most live games are televised from 6 to 10 hours ahead of our schedule so sometimes you may find yourself doing a lot of DVRing of some matches. And don’t spoil it for yourself or other fans if they haven’t watched yet be peeking at the scores because it really ruins the watching of the game even if it’s recorded. Also, if you like ‘quick games’ it’s good to know that on average, a game can be done in under two hours. Games rarely ever drag on because as I stated before, there is no clock stoppage and if the game is extended it’s due to either extra time or penalty kicks.
One of the coolest aspects in this sport is that there is ALWAYS something going on. There is a cup contested here, a qualifying match there, and a tournament elsewhere. This is something you don’t see enough of in American sports. Most American sports teams play for one championship occurring at the end of the season. Soccer is similar but there always seem to be other trophies that can be won during the course of the season. And of course there is the World Cup which occurs every four years and is played on an international stage. In a sense, this is the ultimate All Star game. Don’t forget to use your friends as a resource to ask about how tournaments are set up, what the difference is between knock out play and round robin, what point modifiers are used to determine the winner and so on. If you like to see different types of contests and trophies won in the course of a year, this is the sport for you.
Then there is the all important part. GO TO GAMES. Go as often as your pockets will allow. If you follow a MLS team, it’s not expensive at all and you should get in a good game for less than $100. It’s considerably cheaper than any American football game I have been to. If you get really lucky and a national or international tournament or team is coming your way, it doesn’t hurt to invest a little more to go.
Just recently, some of you may have <a href="http://epltalk.com/man-united-2-1-barcelona-seen-through-the-eyes-of-a-new-fan-33320" target="_self">read my article</a> about going to the Gold Cup semifinals, international friendlies between Everton v DC United and the Manchester United v Barcelona friendlies. As a new fan, what makes these games worth seeing is that the Gold Cup is played once every two years and I got lucky that the US qualified for that match. And Everton, Barcelona, and Manchester United — all of which are huge teams in Europe — made appearances here stateside and no one knows definitively when they will return. So it was a wonderful once in a lifetime experience to see teams that many of us will only get to see on TV play live. However, if you are truly a huge fan and your pockets run deep, make a trip overseas and go to a game there.
This game is a great game to get into if you are a new fan. It’s played all over the world in every country available so there is no shortage of choices to make with who you choose to follow. As stated from the very beginning, it’s a sport where your mileage as a fan will vary and it’s up to you to figure out your dedication. All I can say is, don’t be afraid to jump in, the water here is fine. Take some time and you too can get into deep discussions as to why some think that Lionel Messi is over or under rated, if Evra is better than Abidal, how did Diego Maradona put Argentina on the map or if Roberto Baggio is the best Italian player ever.
Thanks for reading. And with that, any grizzled old timers who would like to share some advice can do so in the comments section below.

Helpful Advice For New Soccer Fans Getting Into the Sport

Helpful Advice For New Soccer Fans Getting Into the Sport - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33321" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/barcelona-man-united1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="364"></figure></div>
Let me start off by admitting that I am a new fan to soccer and I think, as a new fan, if the last five months are any indication, they’ve seriously gotten me interested in the sport.&nbsp; I am almost your typical American who has been deeply entrenched in one or more of our major sports (for me, the NFL) for the past 20 years and soccer never really crossed my radar much until the World Cup comes along every four years.
Fast forward to October of last year, when I was newly married and traveled to Istanbul for our honeymoon. The funniest thing about travelling abroad is that whereas here in the US I could be mistaken for a basketball star, anywhere else in the world, I could be mistaken as a soccer star (maybe it’s the dreads) which happened more than enough times while I was there.&nbsp; While out and about in the Grand Bazaar, a typical conversation struck up as to whether or not I played soccer. “No, but I look like one.” “Nope, I should play,” etc. I wish I could but my knee and age says otherwise. and next thing I know, I am inquiring about soccer shirts.
As a habit, when I travel, I like to buy shirts of wherever I am. It’s very difficult to find some shirts in the United States. To make a long story short, with my limited knowledge and hopes that I wouldn’t be steered wrong, I asked the sales clerk to direct me to who he thought were some one of the best players right now. I wound up with a Lionel Messi Argentina jersey, which he swore up and down was the best player in the world.&nbsp; Very rarely do I put my trust in strangers but hey, it could worse. I could have a bum player from a remote corner of the planet. Of course he was right as I learned that Messi was one of the most recognized faces in sport and it became more evident the few times I wore the kit back home in the States.
Next thing I knew I was slowly becoming hooked. Once I got home I started watching a few matches hoping to learn and gain an interest in the sport. I even grabbed FIFA 11 game and then got the ear of two of my co-workers who are both from Europe (one is a Manchester fan and the other an Arsenal fan) and just drilled them with questions.

Before I knew it, I was hooked. I would rush to get home to watch matches on TV and if there wasn’t anything on, I was playing FIFA more that I was playing Madden. I would go to work the next day and drill my friends again. And in the meantime, I was also on the Web reading all I could on the games being played. I think I got caught up on Manchester United because of the news surrounding Wayne Rooney and also with my co-worker being a supporter, it just fascinated me how much he really knew about the ins and outs of the team.
Also around this time, I started paying more attention to the local team, DC United, and the last time I checked in on them was when Freddy Adu played here. In the short time I have been educating myself about soccer, I have gotten the idea of what a state Major League Soccer is in compared to the rest of the world. The one thing I have learned is that the biggest reason why it’s hard for football to penetrate the USA is that there are four other major sports here, and it’s really hard to woo NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL fans away. Honestly for me, with the impending NFL lockout at the time, it wasn’t becoming hard as I was becoming frustrated at the bickering going on between the two sides and how they really didn’t care about the fans, but of course that’s another story.
With so much going on between all of the FIFA scandals and so on, when was I going to my first game? After all of the hype and excitement of the UEFA Champions League, I made a huge push to get tickets to the Manchester United against Barcelona game. And as hard as I tried, my friends at work who wanted to go waited until the last minute and could not get tickets.
However the Gold Cup had just started and the semifinals were in DC. I made up my mind to go and felt it would have been even better if the USMNT was in it.&nbsp; My wish came true when the USMNT beat Guadalupe 1–0 in one of the ugliest wins I have seen in my short time as a fan. Ticket in hand, I set out to RFK Stadium and I could not believe the atmosphere. In short, I don’t see fans getting this excited at American football games and it made it an enjoyable experience. USMNT won the first game against Jamaica. And in the second game, the atmosphere got even rowdier between Panama and El Salvador. After that game, I could only imagine what could be ahead in July.
I also took an opportunity last week to go see Everton push around DC United. And even though the stadium wasn’t jam-packed similar to Man Utd’s match in Chicago earlier that day, there were a ton of supporters there. People I talked to came from all over the country and Europe and followed Everton on their tour. It’s just such a shame that RFK Stadium is such a sorry state of a stadium to showcase this kind of match.
That following Monday, I could tell that there was a buildup amongst fans to the Barcelona against Manchester United match. Most of the fans that work in my area were breaking out their respective kits. We all took time out during lunch to talk about the Copa America and watch the MLS All Stars v Man Utd game that was played that Wednesday.
Of course I was disappointed that Lionel Messi wouldn’t play against Manchester United even for a few minutes but it was understandable since he didn’t have any time off. By then I understood that Saturday night’s match for many was a once in a lifetime match regardless if it was a friendly. And if you were a fan and didn’t have a ticket, well there wasn’t much hope for another game like this. To equate this game for Americans, the best analogy I could come up with was watching a pre-season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers who just played the Super Bowl back in February.
Amazingly Friday evening when I went to the Manchester United and Barcelona practice session, there were STILL people trying to get tickets to the game. The practice session had a stadium filled to half capacity. One of the small surprises was that even though he didn’t play, Xavi did make an appearance.&nbsp; For myself, with the seat that I had, I was able to see some of the players such as Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra up close without the need for a TV. In short, this session whet the appetite of everyone wishing that the next 24 hours would hurry along so the game could begin.
I spent Saturday morning shopping for a better camera because, although I had a good seat, my little point and shoot wasn’t going to cut it. That done and out of the way, I grabbed lunch in DC with a few friends and was just excited to see how many fans were already out and about with their perspective kits on excited about the upcoming match.
Fast forward to 5pm and I was on the Metro packed to the gills with fans on their way to the game. I haven’t seen the Metro this packed in a long while (maybe this happens for Redskins fans but since I am not a fan I couldn’t tell you). Thankfully I didn’t live far from the stadium, so I managed to get home and got changed and went back to the stadium by 6pm. By this time, there were fans as far as the eyes could see. Tailgaters were out in full force. A band was playing and yup, I even saw a Mariachi band playing too. This would be the closest this city would get in terms of a Super Bowl type atmosphere.
With my merchandise and drink in hand, I found my seat (surrounded by a ton of Barcelona fans no less). I was thankful that the weather was nice, and then settled in for the game with a sold-out stadium.
By the time the game was over, I made a ton of new friends and came home happy for this experience that I have really enjoyed all summer. Now I am looking forward to watching a full season to see where this takes me, not to mention I can take some time to support the local team. But one thing is for sure, I can only imagine what will happen next summer and in 2014.
If there was ever a time to get into world soccer, I picked the right time and appreciation for it.
Here are my collection of photographs from the <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc43/afroloq/Manchester%20United%20v%20FC%20Barcelona/" target="_blank">Manchester United against Barcelona</a> match, <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc43/afroloq/MUFC%20and%20Barca%20Practice/" target="_blank">Friday night’s practice session</a>, <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc43/afroloq/Everton%20v%20DC%20United/" target="_blank">DC United against Everton</a> and the <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc43/afroloq/2011%20CONCACAF%20Gold%20Cup%20Quarterfinals/" target="_blank">2011 Gold Cup</a>.

Man United 2-1 Barcelona: Seen Through The Eyes of a New Fan

Man United 2-1 Barcelona: Seen Through The Eyes of a New Fan - World Soccer Talk

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Harry Cee

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