Champions League

Courtesy of Peña Madridista NYC 

If you have just read the article below this one about the FA Cup, the the answer to the last question is yes, it can still get better than this. What we are about to get into is some of the best Football that planet Earth has to offer, The UEFA Champions League. Picture it this way: you have already heard about some of the best teams in English Football, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and so on; we can decide who is best in England because they will win the Premier League, England's highest honor. But what about who is best in Europe? Just because you win the Premier League in England doesn't mean you are better than Atletico Madrid, who won La Liga in Spain last year, or Bayern Munich, who won the Bundesliga in Germany last year. How do we decide how is really the best of the best? Simple. We let the players play.

The Champions League is an annual competition that features the top clubs from the football associations in Europe. The tournament starts with three knock out qualifying rounds held in July. From there 10 clubs will advance and join 22 other clubs who have automatic qualification based on position in their domestic league. This is why every position in the Barclay's Premier League matters. The clubs who finish in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd in the Premier League gain automatic qualification. The 4^th place club is sorted into the knock out rounds with the hopes of being one of the 10 clubs who survive. From there the 32 total clubs are drawn into groups of 4, refereed to by letters from A-H. There cannot be two clubs from one country in one group, which makes the draw a little difficult to follow at first. The clubs play a double round robin, meaning they play each club in their group twice for a total of 6 matches, and the top two advance to the Round of 16. Every round from then on, except the final, is a two legged match and uses aggregate score rules. The winners of the groups are drawn against runners up; with the runners up playing at home in the first leg of the match. In the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals clubs can be drawn against clubs from their domestic country. The Final is one match with extra time and penalty kicks if need be.

The Champions League is a great way to watch completely different styles of Football being played at the same time. It has familiar faces like Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain, PSG and Marseilles from France, Juventus and A.C. Milan from Italy, and of course Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United, from England. It has underdogs like Ludogorets from Bulgaria, who showing astounding effort against clubs like Real Madrid and Liverpool last year. It has some golden moments too, such as the 2004/2005 Final between Liverpool and A.C. Milan which is considered as one of the best matches ever played. After going behind 3 goals in the first half Liverpool scored 3 goals in 6 minutes and then went on to win the title 3-2 in penalties. It is known to many as “The Miracle of Istanbul.”

I can't remember now if I've mentioned it, but I did name this blog Minus5 for the 5 hour time difference between England and New York City. But it isn't just English clubs who are represented here and in the spirit of the Champions League we're taking a field trip to Quinn's. Home to Peña Madridista NYC, or simply, the Real Madrid faithful. Real Madrid have recently become the first team ever to win the Champions League 10 times, completing what is known in Spain as “La Decima” or “The Tenth.” Supporters in New York City came to watch Real Madrid play Schalke 04 from Germany in the Round of 16. Peña Madridista NYC are very in touch with the club; there are autographed jerseys and footballs around the bar. Real Madrid finished with a comfortable 2-0 win in the first leg in Germany. Now it is on two the second leg and their next prospective opponents.  

The FA Cup

Courtesy of the New York Reds 

I have slowly come to realize that I only love March because I love Football. The Barclay's Premier League slowly starts to heat up. The League Cup Final is held, which you may remember is between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea F.C. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, The number of clubs playing in the FA Cup start to really shrink. They say that March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb, but in the Football calender it stays lion all the way till May.

The FA Cup (Or the Football Association Cup is you want to sound like a know-it-all) is an annual competition similar to the League Cup. It is the oldest known Football tournament in the world with it's first winner, Wanderer's F.C., taking the trophy in 1872. What makes the FA Cup different from the League Cup are two main components: Which clubs can play and what clubs are playing for. First, entry is granted to all 20 clubs of the Barclay's Premier League, all clubs in the Football League (which contains the Championship, Football League One, and Football League Two) and lastly Steps 1-5 of the National League System. In simple terms you have hundreds of Football Clubs competing; in the 2013-2014 FA Cup 737 clubs participated. This all kicks off in August, with Premier League teams entering the competition in the Third Round Proper which is normally in January.

The Winner of the FA Cup not only gets a shining new trophy to show off, but they also get the right to play in the Community Shield match and the UEFA Europa League. The Community Shield is an annual match played in August between the winner of the Barclay's Premier League and the winner of the FA Cup. The Europa League, on the other hand, consists of Clubs from all over Europe. Clubs can enter based on finishing position in their respective league or by National or League Cup victories, such as the FA Cup. Right now the Europa League is starting to heat up as well so expect so more information on that in the upcoming weeks. Which brings up a large point—England isn't the only country with an Association Cup or League Cup. They go by different names in different countries, there is the DBF Pokal in Germany, the Copa Del Ray in Spain, and the Coppa Italia in Italy. Watching these competitions is a great way to get to know clubs from all over a particular country.

While it may seem like the larger club will always win, you can always expect a few upsets when watching the FA Cup. The weekend of March 8^th and 9^th will have the Quarter Finals of the 2014-2015 FA Cup. The big match everyone is looking forward to is Manchester United against Arsenal FC. Both teams have one 11 FA Cups, they are tied for having the most in its history. Arsenal are the current holders and are looking to keep hold of the trophy another year, while Manchester United have their way with Arsenal the past few seasons. Inside the Smithfield Hall on West 25^th street between 6^th and 7^th Avenues is where you will find the New York Reds. They were in full voice for their come from behind win over Preston North End, which earned them a spot in the Quarter Final. Now they turn their attention towards Arsenal in what should be a classic FA Cup match.

The League Cup Final, the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, and every fixture in the Premier League. March is certainly all lion. Can it get better than this?

Transfer Window Shopping

NY Eagles celebrating at the Football Factory at Legends
Photo Credit: New York Eagles 

Window shopping in New York City can be lots of fun; going from store to store down 5^th Avenue wondering who and why would pay so much money for just the brand name. The majority of the people who do it can only imagine what it would be like to have that kind of money and how they would spend it. Of course living in New York City is expensive for everyone, whether you’re buying luxurious clothing or just groceries, but when certain holidays come around and sales begin it can feel very thrilling to get what you want. Window shopping in the world of Football has a completely different meaning, but the feeling of a good purchase is very similar.

The Transfer Windows in Football are just as important to the clubs as they are to the fans. This is the only time when clubs can purchase or trade players during the season. You read that right by the way—players are purchased. Yet, because there are so many different Football leagues in countries around the world the Transfer Windows may start and end at different times. However each league gets two windows a year—one in the summer and one in the winter. In England the first window, known as the “Summer Transfer Window,” usually begins June 9^th and ends September 1^st.  The second window, known as the “January Transfer Widow” or the “Winter Transfer Window” starts January 1^st and ends on January 31^st. There are sometimes exceptions where the window can remain open an extra day or two if need be. This idea is linear across many sports, including NFL, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League. All share the concept of a Trade Deadline, which is basically the last day you can trade players from one team to another. The trading does not recommence until the offseason, meaning that after the deadline day you are stuck with who you have till the end of the season. For example in Major League Baseball the trade deadline is July 31^st and teams cannot trade again until the end of the World Series in October. Making a trade or a big signing can show an ambition for teams to improve towards the end of the season.

Now about the actual trading, in most American sports players are traded for other players or draft picks in a future draft. In Football players can be bought, sold, loaned to another team, or traded for another player. The Transfer Market, similar to the stock market, is used to describe the availability and worth of a certain player. It works like this. Let’s say that Joe isn’t doing well for Team A and Team B would like to buy him. Team B approaches Team A with an offer of $10 Million Dollars. Team A finds this suitable and Joe can be transferred to Team B. Now let’s say Joe loves Team A and does not want to play for Team B, even if both sides have agreed a deal the move is ultimately up to Joe himself. Every time a player is transferred they need to sign a new contract and if they refuse to then they can stay at their current club. But what if Team A feels that Joe may be a better player one day? They can chose to Loan him out. A player is loaned from one team to another to gain experience and play more often. The two clubs involved determine who pays the player’s wage and the length of the loan, which is usally either half a season or a full year. After the loan has expired the player returns back to their “Parent Club” or the club who they originally belong to. Players can be used as leverage too. Let’s say Team A want $30 Million Dollars for Joe. Team B proposes $10 Million Dollars and Bob, their player who they value at $20 Million Dollars. If Team A likes the idea the transfer can go through, if they don’t think Bob is worth $20 Million than they can keep negotiating till they get what they want.

            The last day of either transfer window is always deemed “Deadline Day” and is covered by all the media outlets. Reporters scurry across entire countries to watch players fly in and sign a deal with a new club. Although there isn’t always a match on Deadline Day, it is still reason to frantically watch TV or listen to a radio for news of incoming or outgoing players. Fans all over the world tuned in on February 2^nd to hear the fate of their clubs at the end of this years January transfer window. One supporters group who were particularly happy were the New York Eagles, a dedicated fan base to the club Crystal Palace. On this day Crystal Palace secured the signings of Lee Chong-Yung, Keshi Anderson, and the return of club favorite Wilfred Zaha. Crystal Palace currently sit in 13^th place in the Premier League but supporters all around are confident that they can climb higher with the help of these signings. The New York Eagles meet for every game at the Football Factory at Legends and were just as happy to hear the news as everyone back home in South Norwood.