Introduce Yourself

[Ceremony]

With various sub-forums on HFBoards with a dedicated userbase having introduce yourself or similarly named threads, I figured it was a good time to get one for this board, given the wide scope of football fandom that's present on a hockey board.

Feel free to include as much personal info as you want, how you became a football fan, what team you support, if you play(ed), if you coach(ed), or any other relevant footballing memories/relevant information. Have fun with it.

Click to read more...

 

[Ceremony]

Me, well, I am the single worst football player I have ever seen. I live in a country that is largely terrible at football but where it has always been so always will be. I became a fan of a team who were my then best friend's biggest rivals, purely based on that fact. They were killed in 2012 and since then I don't have a team. I never thought I'd ever be able to follow a sport without having a specific team to follow, but that's where I am now. It's not as weird as I thought it would be.

 

[Wee Baby Seamus]

Chelsea is my team. Started supporting them for two reasons: my grandfather was a Chelsea fan, and on the FIFA 08 demo they were the first team in alphabetical order. Favourite player is David Luiz. Currently play here in Halifax, play on the left wing or up front. I coach a junior high school team. Have a large kit collection: Luiz Chelsea, Germany Euro 2012, Germany WC2014, Fiorentina Jovetic, BVB, Milan Pato (don't like the team, but found it cheap), Real Madrid.

 

[vsk92]

I was born into a 'football family' and I grew up in Spain so it's always been there. My dad and older brother are Barça fans so there wasn't much consideration. Tried to complete the panini sticker books every year

I played for teams when I was really young and I play with friends pretty much weekly now. I'll play any position but I prefer defending.

I did have a season ticket for Celtic in 2008 but I stopped caring about Scottish football a few years back now. Went to the Wembley Cup in 2009.

I will watch any football in my spare time thanks to streaming sitest doesn't matter about the quality

 

[ProPAIN]

Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium to Indian parents. Went to university in Southampton. Never saw a match at St. Mary's though, they weren't that good back then. Work in Paris now.

Started playing football since I was six at a local football league. Played for my school at the JV and Varsity level. Captain of the team when we won a school tournament at Cobham (yes, where Roman's son used to go to school). Started of as a left-back since I was the only lefty on the team and was ok at defending. Shifted up to LW and ended up playing either LW, central midfield or false nine as I was usually taller than the opponent.

The first team I started rooting for (and still do) is Anderlecht. Local team and my dad is a huge supporter. My earliest memories was watching Enzo Schifo and then Pär Zetterberg. I remember watching highlights on RTBF every weekend (equivalent of MOTD)

Euro 96 is my earliest international tournament memory, but I remember WC 98 more. Rooted for Belgium of course and then France in the later stages because I loved Zidane.

Started watching CL football with Anderlecht when they had the likes of Koller, Radzinski, Baseggio, Dindane, Goor and current RSCA coach Besnik Hasi. Coached by Aimé Antheunis. I remember they played Leeds when they Alan Smith, Mark Viduka, Ian Harte and Harry Kewell. I also remembered that I hated that team with the passion. We had Real and Lazio as the other teams in that group but Leeds were good enough to go through at that time. Hell, they went all the way to semis.

Watched a lot more football from around Europe after that. Watched MOTD and came across this little Italian magician called Gianfranco Zola. There were so many great players at that time but for some reason he stuck out. Started following them a bit. It was 2001/2002. They had the likes of Desailly, Lampard, Hasselbaink, Petit. I was not a hardcore fan, but always followed their results. There wasn't much coverage of the EPL back then. Liverpool got a lot of coverage when they were in Europe. They won the UEFA Cup in 2001 against Alaves. Players that stood out were Owen, Gerrard, McAllister, Hyypia, Fowler and Smicer.

Then Chelsea went all the way to the semis of the CL in 2004, I started following them more after that. That summer...well you all know what happened

 

[Baarle*]

Dutch born, Canadian raised. I remember flipping channels one day when I was quite young and stumbling across Chelsea rasing the league trophy in 2005. Was given a FIFA game a year or so later and recognized the logo. They've been my team ever since. Wasn't really a hardcore supporter until 2007/2008 or so. First international tournament tournament I really remember is Euro 2008, although I have faint memories of the Holland-Portugal match in WC 2006. So I mainly support Chelsea and Ajax, and quietly root for TFC but won't be going to a game until they show some kind of improvement. Most of my undertsanding of the football world originates from FIFA 2007. It was where I first learned about transfers, clubs/leagues, competitions etc. Until this year football coverage in Canada has been quite ****, so I've relied on streams for the most part.

Played football as a kid, mainly keeper but occasionally as a CB. I was never the most skilled guy on the pitch but had a good understanding of the game and basic tactics which helped me do well. Didn't have the dedication to play a higher level so played in the lower leagues here, which was essentially hoof ball.

Nowadays I really only watch any English soccer, CL and the Eredivisie. As well as International matches, of course.

 

[S E P H]

I was never born into a football family so I do not have tradition as many of you do, but being from Poland, and after moving to the states. My cousins and I would spend every Sunday after Church playing the FIFA games on Gamecube. It would was always my cousin and I, versus my brother and my other cousin. We played international tournaments with us being either Spain, Italy, or Brasil with our rivals being France, England, or Brasil. And these were the FIFA verisons where you could have tackled the goalkeeper and get a red card, which my brother would always do...pissed us off every time.

After the international tournaments, we always played with EPL teams (do not know why) most specifically between Arsenal and Man United (when they had Ronaldo) with some AC Milan (with a prime Ronaldinho) thrown in there (and I think Inter as well, when they were a beast of a club, prime Kaka). As much fun FIFA was, I wanted to start following a team and it was down to two of the teams I played as a kid throughout my whole life, Man United or Arsenal. When I saw Arsenal, it was just love at first sight. Nothing about Man United ever appealed to me except their 5 star ranking in a stupid game (please forgive me, I was just a kid). Unluckily for me, I started following Arsenal after their invincible run of just obliterating any and all EPL teams. My first game is when we had Fabregas as Captain, RvP on IR, Arshavin in actual good form, and Djourou in our starting XI. So even though Arsenal had probably their poorest team any longtime Gunner fan has seen in decades, I was still hooked and became a huge fan. Besides any of the other teams I mention, Arsenal is by far the best passion I have besides hockey.

When I went on our family trip across Europe, my Mom's best friend lives in Milano, Italy. We travelled from Milano to Venice to Rome to Florence. When visiting Florence (which IMO is still the best city I've ever been too), I got the chance to watch Fiorentina whom I think lost 2-1 or 2-0 (was a kid at a time), but again was hooked. So they had a great deal of influence on who I watched in Serie A, but after all the match fixing, poor stadiums, and just lack of buzz concerning Serie A, I stopped watching for a lot of years. I still do not watch a lot of Serie A, though this is due to lack of time because of school. But I still cheer on Fiorentina and IMO they some of the best looking kits in all of the World (perhaps not this years).

Concerning international competition, my only true feeling goes to Poland and since their lack of success at practically any major/non-major tournament, I do not have a deep enough passion when it comes to World Cup, Euros, or others. I still love and watch the events, but more as a neutral than anything (I do go against certain teams). Lately and weirdly enough, I've been able to watch a couple of Africa Cup of Nations fixtures and I have really enjoyed it.

As for the actual football is concerned, I was always a goaler in hockey, so whenever I played football with my friends I was always a goalkeeper in the game. But once I get some of my life back from school, I was thinking of joining a beer league and starting up as either a CDM or BXB guy. And haven't played since I was 14ish, I probably majorly suck.

So....all in all, even though I got hooked to the game of football by a stupid game and many of you have been watching for twenty years or more, depending on your age, while I have only watched for 8ish years. I hope my story doesn't make me a fake fan or anything along those lines. Because I truly do love football.

 

[ProPAIN]

After the international tournaments, we always played with EPL teams (do not know why) most specifically between Arsenal and Man United (when they had Ronaldo) with some AC Milan (with a prime Ronaldinho) thrown in there (and I think Inter as well, when they were a beast of a club, prime Kaka).

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this, but this sentence is really confusing. Ronaldo joined Real in 2009, Ronaldinho joined AC in 2008 and Kaka never played for Inter.

And I wouldn't say Ronaldinho at AC Milan was prime Ronaldinho. If you didn't watch him at Barça, you've missed true magic.

 

[kingsboy11]

Born in Wisconsin, but raised in southern California. Dad started me in ayso when I was about 6-7 years old. Really started to get into soccer when my dad brought me to a Galaxy game around 2005 and ever since then I became a Galaxy fan. Around that same time, my dad found Fox soccer channel and saw Manchester United play and saw Rooney score a really nice goal and ever since then, MU became my favorite European team. I'm primarily a Galaxy fan though. I'm also a big supporter of MLS and US soccer. Favorite player growing up was easily Landon Donovan. And it makes me really sad to see him retire this year and I can't imagine what MLS would be like without his contributions.

Recently just stopped playing soccer because I really wasn't that good and I lost the passion to play.

 

[S E P H]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this, but this sentence is really confusing. Ronaldo joined Real in 2009, Ronaldinho joined AC in 2008 and Kaka never played for Inter.

And I wouldn't say Ronaldinho at AC Milan was prime Ronaldinho. If you didn't watch him at Barça, you've missed true magic.

Sorry I got all my dates wrong. I meant I started playing FIFA when United had Ronaldo. Inter had Cambiasso, Cesar, Córdoba, Adriano (who I got mixed up with Kaka), and Zanetti, I think they had Ibrahimović as well. Then in the later versions when we played, Ronaldinho was on the games cover in AC Milan shirt. I definitely remember that.

Yeah he was much better at Barca, one of the few Brasilian players I love and very respectable IMO. But I still think he was in his prime at Milan, I think he was coming off as the best player at the World Cup (Golden Boot) if my memory serves me right.

 

[Virtanen18]

Whole family loves soccer, lots of family from UK to Canada. Always played FIFA as a kid, but never really watched that much or cared for any team. But everyone has a team so I was forced to pick one and I had no idea. My uncle told me he'll get me a super nice Chelsea jersey and it's all nice and blue, if I become a Chelsea fan. So I just agreed, whatever. Started watching the games, really enjoyed them and the team (around 02-03 I think). Glad I made the decision. Never got the jersey then, but currently have many. Blank one, Lampard, Essien, Drogba, Deco, Ballack, Diego Costa, Ivanovic, Mata. Die-hard fan.

Whitecaps I got into when they joined the MLS. I'd catch a few games here and there and root for them to win, but it's especially this year that I've grown to love them.

Not sure how I became a France fan internationally. Must have just liked how they played. Zidane, Henry, and co.

 

[NyQuil]

I grew up in Hamburg and Bonn, so I've always had a soft spot for HSV, F.C. Koln and Bayern Munchen.

I've cheered for the German national team since 1986.

I got into the Premiership when they started showing games on Sportsnet back in the early 2000s. I'd been a big Gianfranco Zola fan and enjoyed seeing Frank Lampard blast goals in from outside the box, plus Chelsea tended to be on TV more often.

I still try to catch Bundesliga matches but not with the same frequency as the EPL. A lot of my friends follow the EPL so it makes for a lot more discussion.

 

[ProPAIN]

Yeah he was much better at Barca, one of the few Brasilian players I love and very respectable IMO. But I still think he was in his prime at Milan, I think he was coming off as the best player at the World Cup (Golden Boot) if my memory serves me right.

The Golden Boot is given to the tournament's top goalscorer and the Golden Ball is given to the best player in the tournament. Ronaldinho didn't win any of those awards in '02, '06 or '10. Before joining Milan (so 2006 I think you mean) he was great for Barcelona, probably the best player in the world, but Brazil were no where near a great team.

When he joined Milan he was still a very good player, I'll give you that, but prime for me means top of your game and he was not in his prime at Milan.

 

[Cassano]

Started watching a bit of Arsenal because I always liked the prestige associated with that club and because father was a fan. Really caught on in 2008 when Fabregas was tearing things up in the CL/EPL (Milan goal won me over). He remains my favorite player.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

I was born in Barcelona, so in my case the weird thing would be not to play football

A very good friend of my father who is a die-hard fan of Barcelona made sure that Barça were the team I would support all my life, also making an emphasis that Madrid are the crap of La Liga

Some of my first football memories are Figo playing in FCB, Kluivert hitting the crossbar about every time he touched the ball and Rivaldo with the amazing goal against Valencia.

I played as a forward, preferibly RW, it didn't last long tho... roller hockey grew up on me more

 

[ZeroPT*]

Grew up from a family of City fans. Got a gift from a family member which was a Scholes UTD jersey. My dad had some words with my uncle and we switched it for a city kit with Anelka on the back. I watched every game with my dad but I never really watched until the 2006 world cup which was the first time I truly paid attention. My favorite NT (apart from Egypt and Algeria, my home nations) was the Oranje.

From a playing standpoint I was very good. I was a CM and very aware defensively. My coaches would put me at CB in a pinch too. I was called try out for an academy and blew out my Achilles tendon. Lost a few steps, lost about 8 months of training and gained weight. I got back into shape and played competitively but in a more light hearted manner. The more I got into it I thought I might be able to get a scholarship, maybe. And I blew out my heel again. That was this summer and it sucked the life out of me. I'm back on my feet though and I'm playing for my high school.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Born in NYC but have lived in NJ most of my life to Croatian-born parents who immigrated to the US. I have been a soccer from the beginning really, even before it became 'mainstream' and 'hip' to follow in the United States. People find it hard to believe, but I remember when the European Championships and EPL matches were on PPV! Imagine having to pay like $19 for a single match

My first exposure was the Serie A games they used to show on Sunday mornings on WNYE (NYC public access channel) and the highlights show they showed after the game, which was why Serie A was the league I enjoyed most. I also watched whatever the Spanish channels showed as well. My first major tournament exposure was the 1994 World Cup but I only remember the final, I was in Croatia for Euro 1996 where Croatia made a run to the quarterfinals. What really cemented my passion for soccer was Croatia's run in the 1998 World Cup when they finished 3rd place. My first exposure to the EPL was in the late 90s when they had a highlights show on MSG like at midnights on Sunday. By the time I got the internet it became much easier to follow all the leagues.

As for teams I support: Croatian national team and Hajduk Split. I really haven't developed a rooting interest for any club from the top European leagues but I pay attention to most of them. I'm actually one of the few these days who seems to like international tournaments more than club competitions. I get super excited for World Cups and Euros more than the Champions League these days.

I played all the way through high school, mostly as a winger, wasn't really a great player in all honesty, good enough to make the HS team and start there but not good enough to play/get a scholarship at college level

 

[Laurent]

Name is Laurent, favorite team is Arsenal. Don't know how I started following them, I used to find Football boring as hell, but started watching it more and more and slowly but surely got myself attached to Arsenal. Favorite player is King Henry 14th

Being French, I'd like to say that I am leaning towards supporting L'Equipe de France internationally. Father has a place in France, so I'm thinking of heading over there for Euro 2016. I guess that's when I'll decide weather or not I really and truely like the FFF deep inside me or not

 

[Baarle*]

Name is Laurent, favorite team is Arsenal. Don't know how I started following them, I used to find Football boring as hell, but started watching it more and more and slowly but surely got myself attached to Arsenal. Favorite player is King Henry 14th

Being French, I'd like to say that I am leaning towards supporting L'Equipe de France internationally. Father has a place in France, so I'm thinking of heading over there for Euro 2016. I guess that's when I'll decide weather or not I really and truely like the FFF deep inside me or not

If you are French, you root for France. That's how international football works

 

[Kakko]

Pretty much all my fandom comes from my dad, and most of his, from his dad.

Playing
In terms of playing, I started pretty much when I could walk. Kicking it about in the backyard and what not. Started playing for the local team as a kid, in goal. This again, I take from my dad. Thing is, it's a really small town. Half my class was on the team. So, competing against teams from tows 50x our size, we had a bit of a disadvantage. Still, we did pretty well for what we had and I loved it. Last year in Austria, I switched to CB because another kid wanted to play goalie and I wanted to try something new. To this day, I'm not sure what I prefer.

When I moved to New York, I started playing again, for one of the best teams around as a goalie. In the second year there, there once again another goalie. So, I rotated between CB and GK again. During these two years I also played a lot of indoor, which I started to enjoy a lot more because I got much more involved. After the second year, I just kinda lost passion and got fed up with some coaching and the incompetence of refereeing at that age level. And a year break followed.

Final two years of middle school we had our school team, and I started playing again. Stuck to my usual rotation between CB and GK and really had a great time. In the final year, I found myself one of the 3 focal points of the team. They stuck someone else in goal and had me more involved up front, and was either an attacking mid or CB depending on the opponent. Also wore the armband quite often. After those two years, I took another break, before slowly getting back into playing. Problem is, soccer is the main sport at school, so there's a lot of good players. I had no hope of playing the last two years. Now, in my senior year, I probably could have made JV, but didn't see a point. Meanwhile, our varsity team won the league again, so that's nice.


Watching
I support three teams. In order of most to least important: Austria Wien, VfB Stuttgart and Chelsea

The Wien support goes back farther than people in my family remember. In Vienna and the surrounding area, you're either green or violet. We just happen to be violet. Have been to a few games. Good times.

Chelsea comes from when I was a little kid and my parents went to a game with me. This was in the years leading up to Roman. Building a connection here has simply been easier due to the accessibility of games. Not much to say here really.

Stuttgart comes from my dad. Not sure where he got it from. Have gone to multiple games through the years. Probably have the deepest connection to them. The memories start with Die Jungen Wilden: Hleb, Kuranyi and a loaned Lahm. The departure of those guys, followed by the next generation: Gomez, Kheidira, Tasci. Watching the title win in 2007 is still by far my greatest sports memory, including Hitzlsperger's legendary title winning goal. The sale of Mario and Sami, and now Serdar still hurts. The **** show roller coaster ride of the past few years? I don't really know. We've got great youth again, so that' nice.
Oh, and how could I forget my idol growing up, Timo Hildebrand

And the legendary goal on the last day of the season:

 

[Karma]

Don't have any experience playing, only watching. Pretty new to the sport. Never was a fan of it when I was younger. Could never understand how people liked it honestly

Got Fifa in 2012 after seeing it on youtube. Figured I would watch some actual games since I didn't understand much about the sport then. Saw some of the BPL that season and watched the games from the Summer Olympics. Don't remember how I found out about Neymar but he became my first favorite player so I started liking Brazil.

Around that same time I found out tickets were being sold for a game here in Philly. A World Football Challenge 2012 thing between Real Madrid and Celtic. That was the first and only game I've attended in person so far. I hadn't really heard of many players at that point but I knew who Ronaldo was. Had a fun time and bought a Madrid kit. Pretty much been supporting them since then. Although I do enjoy watching as many games as I can but they really only show BPL and CL here. I'd love to able to watch other European leagues on TV.

 

[Ugmo]

The Wien support goes back farther than people in my family remember. In Vienna and the surrounding area, you're either green or violet. We just happen to be violet. Have been to a few games. Good times.

This makes us natural enemies.

 

[Laurent]

If you are French, you root for France. That's how international football works

By french I meant French Canadian, sorry for forgetting to emphasize . Living in Canada you just say French and people understand French-Canadian

 

[Power Man]

(apart from Egypt and Algeria, my home nations) .

Some games must have been really tense for you


Me?

Born in Algiers, lived in different countries (parents were diplomats)

When I was a kiddo, Marco Van Basten was my idol, so Milan was my team; when he wasnt playing, I realized I didnt like Milan as much, so I was more a MVB fan than a Milan one.
That Milan squad still has a special place in my heart (that defense, good Lord), amazing team and those "Mediolanum" kits were awesome

Lesson learned: it's dangerous to root for a team because you like 1 particular player.


In the meantime, I was watching a Copa Del Rey final between the 2 giants (I was living in Casablanca at the time, where La Liga is popular).

I became a Real Madrid fan, even though Barcelona won 2-0
IDK why, I think it was because Madrid looked like the good guys due to wearing white jerseys and Barca the bad guys due to their darker kits

Those who think today's Clasicos are nasty, try to catch older games between those 2 teams; damn it was physical.

Soft spot for Porto because of fellow countryman Rabah Madjer, who helped the club win its first Champions League title; even Mourinho said he wrote the club's history

I also try to catch PSG games whenever I can, because I remember going to PSG's last game in 2001 (vs Lille) when I was living in France, at Parc Des Princes and it was fun; Anelka and Luis Fernandez said hi to me , and they introduced Ronaldinho to the crowd (he was just acquired)
I also saw coach Vahid ! (he was coaching Lille)

 

[East Coast Bias]

I was born in NY, never much of a player. I really only avidly follow the EPL though I'll casually watch any league on. Huge US supporter nationally, and always pull for Ireland as I'm a dual citizen.

Had a cousin my age that lived in Ireland, and starting at age 14 in 1997 (for about 8-9 years), he would come live with us in NY for the summer. He was a rabid United fan and first time over he brought me a Roy Keane top, and worked on converting me. I remember 8am weekend matches at any bar that would let us in to watch - back when matches weren't shown in NY on regular cable. This was in the late 90s. Lots has changed obviously.

Finally made my trek to Old Trafford in 2012 and 2013 (with my Irish cousin). Won't be making it in 2014 as I got engaged and my bank account now seems to have a leak in it. Hope to get back next year.