Clubs you always root against

dirtynine

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
The Brighton forum recently had a thread like this and it made me curious as to folks’ thoughts around here. (If we've done this before, I apologize.) I’ll go:

Palace - Brighton's unlikely blood rival. I didn't fully detest them until they poached Glenn Murray (he came back though).
Leeds - just seem villainous. Plus, they knifed Brighton back in the day (see Damned United). Glad they're back in the PL for the drama.
LA Galaxy - broke the Revs hearts enough times to conjure Lakers/Celtics feelings. Maybe I could pull for them in a Concacaf CL final, but otherwise, no.
Real Madrid - as far as I'm concerned, the Yankees of fútbol.
MK Dons - I don't have a dog in this fight, but they screwed over Wimbledon fans pretty good.

I used to dislike MUFC more, but their slide into semi-mediocrity (by their standards) has tempered that. I've even found myself pulling for them on occasion in neutral matchups. None of these - not even Palace - rise to the level of "hate". But I'd have a hard time rooting for any of them.
 

Senator Donut

post-Domer
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2010
5,500
This is a fun thread.

Chicago Fire - It felt like we played them every year in the conference finals from 2002 through the end of the decade. They also employed villain Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
Real Madrid - As @dirtynine put it, the Yankees of football
NYCFC - Partially owned by the Yankees of baseball, operating as the anglophone Chivas USA
LA Galaxy - Embodied the ethos of Galacticos era of Real Madrid, even stealing their nickname and colors
PSG - Soccer club operated as PR firm for autocratic nation state
Manchester City - Ditto

I never disliked Leeds because my introduction to soccer was the FIFA video game in the early 2000s, and they were always a decent club who had nice all-white uniforms. I also recently found out the Damned United was actually a novel, a work of historical fiction, so I felt scammed by the movie. Oddly enough, I share the same feelings about Manchester United. I only ever disliked them because of their success. Now that they no longer win trophies, I have no reason to hate them.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
I root against all English clubs in Europe. I don’t want to see one league become completely dominant.

Real Madrid. The Yankees, but literally with a fascist background.

Zenit St. Petersburg. When you are considered racist even by Russian standards...

Bayern, unless they are playing one of the above teams. Just easy to root against a club that wins incessantly.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
Galatasaray S.K. - Just no.
NYNJ MetroBulls - C'mon man you can't put lipstick on that pig.
Barcalona - The Chelsea early 2000 champions league grudge matches not so much hatred due to anything but intense early fandom rivalry.
Juventus - Calciopoli (though glass houses with AC Milan) but still no.
 

pedro1918

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
5,139
Map Ref. 41°N 93°W
As a Liverpool fan, I'm pretty standard here. I root against both of the Manchester teams. I find it strange that after years of disliking United more, I want United to beat City. But that, obviously, has to do with the table the last couple of seasons and United's few years of semi-mediocrity. It might never go back?

I root against Bayern too. Except if they are playing United or City!

I have never really hated Everton.
 

Bozo Texino

still hates Dave Kerpen
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
11,730
Austin, Texas
Zenit St. Petersburg, Lazio, and all the other clubs with fascist supporters. Fuck them all.

Chelsea. Fuck them, too - John Terry, especially.

Real Madrid, for obvious reasons.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Good call on clubs with Facist leanings/histories.

My feelings towards teams that wear red in England range from indiference to contemptuousness, Pigs obviously at one end of that spectrum with the Big 3. Leeds.

Don't know who I root harder against, England or Brazil. Both Spain and Italy have fluttered into that territory at times.
 

Royal Reader

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 21, 2005
2,275
UK
Any club who habitually make their league a procession, so PSG, Juve, Bayern. Healthy dislike for the usual football hipster cadre of Liverpool, Dortmund, and Barca. Red Bull anything.

I really hated Man United back in the day - the majority of people I went to school with were United, and I lived nowhere near Manchester - but yeah, it's odd how much less despicable a few bad seasons made them seem. Can't hate on City as a club. Obviously not a fan of Abu Dhabi's regime, but City to me will always be Maine Road, Oasis, and getting relegated to the third tier while their local rivals won titles.
 

Seven Costanza

Fred Astaire of SoSH
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2007
3,016
Jurgen Klopp has made it slightly more difficult, but Liverpool and Tottenham for the aforementioned hipster cadre reasons. I was rooting very hard for the meteor in last year's CL final.
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
As a Spurs fan, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Real Madrid, for the same fascist Yankees reasons as everyone else.

Any other clubs with historical right-wing political connections, e.g. Lazio.

Man Utd, both because the league is more interesting when they're not dominant and it's been highly enjoyable watching them invent new ways to light massive piles of money on fire every year.

Juve and Bayern in their domestic leagues because I'd like to see someone else win for once. I don't really root against them in Europe though.

Liverpool, because I find their holier-than-thou attitude and sense of entitlement insufferable.

Until recently, whatever team Mourinho was managing, but that one kind of blew up in my face.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,766
Pittsburgh, PA
  • Real Madrid - Yankees of Football
  • PSG - autocracy FC
  • (I can't quite gin up the same feelings about Man City because of how many awesome players play some beautiful football for an awesome coach... kinda felt the same when Zlatan was at PSG. I'll root for City in Europe unless they're playing a heroic minnow.)
  • I hated Chelsea in the John Terry / Diego Costa days. The team on the field is a lot more likeable right now, even if the fanbase isn't (Seven Costanza aside). To say nothing of the owner, who's probably had more people killed than Jose Mourinho.
  • Any team in Russia. The only player in the whole league who I'd piss on if they were on fire is Sardar Azmoun.
  • MK Dons - reasons given above. Conversely, AFC Wimbledon is an awesome story, and when they had Adebayo Akinfenwa on and won the League Two playoffs with him up front it was fuckin beautiful.
  • Man United - formerly the Yankees of English football. Wayne Rooney has a Jeterian quality to him.
  • Juventus, should be obvious.
  • Bayern. I always root against them, but as a team and club they're really not that odious, just better-financed and a little entitled. Most of the others have a little spice about my distaste. I can enjoy watching the highlights of them stomping some fools without getting angry, whereas I always have to look at the score of a Real Madrid game before choosing to watch the highlights.

I'll root for the Red Bull teams, I think theirs is an awesome story and they're doing everything right, for which the rest of Germany hates them because they're not old-guard enough. That enough is reason to have my sympathies. Definitely going to take NYRB over the Man City-backed NYCFC. Just about the only overt racism I saw in 17 years in NYC was among NYCFC fans on the way to the two matches I went to at yankee stadium, all of them schlepping in from the suburbs with their sweater-vests and their lanyards and their "jokes" about the NYRB fanbase.
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
Jurgen Klopp has made it slightly more difficult, but Liverpool and Tottenham for the aforementioned hipster cadre reasons. I was rooting very hard for the meteor in last year's CL final.
And here I thought you were going to list Sunderland.
 

Seven Costanza

Fred Astaire of SoSH
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2007
3,016
Joking aside I would have listed the Mackems if I didn't actually feel a twinge of pain for them. That was a quick and painful fall.

We can't all just switch clubs at the drop of a hat.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
I don't find myself openly rooting against other clubs. In a neutral game I will find myself rooting for the underdog, but that would happen in any sport. In soccer, because the system is so weighted in favor of the established big clubs, there is an extra element of satisfaction in seeing like, Crystal Palace beat Man U.

I don't have a problem with the Man City/PSG's of the world. The game is better with more big boys at the table, and I don't really care that the money is coming from the government of an oil-laden state (human rights issues aside, which to me, has nothing to do with soccer). The system is so in favor of the dominant establishment that I don't see the difference between a club like Real Madrid spending $100 million on a player because they get 40% of all the La Liga TV money or whatever and Man City spending $100 million because some oil sheik has an expensive hobby. Most of the complaining seems to come from fans of the established big clubs, upset that someone else is there to bid for the best players.

Any hate I have for teams comes solely down to the fans. Soccer fans, even more than most other sport fanbases, can become extremely partisan and often make for obnoxious interactions. This is especially true for Barca/Real fans, who suck. I would say in general Liverpool is my least favorite club, but I actually like most of their players and Klopp. I just happen to know a lot of Liverpool fans, so I feel like they are too numerous and too whiny, but that is probably just a symptom of happening to know a lot of them. I don't know many Man U fans, but if I did I'd probably feel the same way.

Any dislike I have for Arsenal is entirely based on Arsenal fans taking cheap shots at Spurs and egging on the rivalry. I have nothing against the organization or its players.
 

Joe D Reid

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
4,208
Listen, somebody has to list Sunderland, so I will. I'm in sort of an odd position in that over the past five years the rivals (Sunderland and Rangers) of my two main clubs (Newcastle and Celtic) have met with hilarious, prolonged, and public humiliation. This includes the 12-hour multi-season Sunderland snuff film on Netflix, which somehow includes Celtic crossing all streams for all times by beating Sunderland 4-0 in a friendly before a crowd of rioting Mackem Leave voters.

What I've learned from this is that I'm petty enough to continue rooting against the old rivals anyway.

Beyond that I'm basically the same as most above. Lazio is just about the least likeable club imaginable. Real is like if the Yankees were owned by George III instead of George Steinbrenner. ManU is still on the list even though it's sort of like rooting against Notre Dame at this point--you really need to double down on the history in order to work up a lather.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,448
Real Madrid
Juventus
Man U
Germany MNT/Bayern
Honduras MNT
Mexico MNT (unless playing Germany or Poland)
Poland MNT (unless playing Germany)
Norway WNT
China WNT
Germany WNT (unless playing Norway or China)
Any teams from NY/NJ
Walpole HS
 
Last edited:

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,766
Pittsburgh, PA
oh yeah, the CONCACAF NTs-from-hell. Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, sometimes Costa Rica too. Mexico sucks but they generally know they don't need to thug it up to have a chance.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,448
SSS for me watching Central America so I only have real hate for Honduras at the moment. Mexico is for killing HFA for LA/SD and Houston and being the USA archrival, in general.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
Oh, we're doing NTs now?

I hated Mexico more when they had more hate-able players, like the execrable Rafa Marquez and Oswaldo Sanchez. It's hard to hate Chicharito and Andres Guardado. Maybe this is bad, but I find myself wanting Mexico to do well at the WC because I like it when CONCACAF sticks it to the arrogant fans, coaches, players, and media of other confederations.

That being said, screw Honduras. I've never seen a more comprehensive team of hacks and dirty players from the senior team right on down to the U17s. For the next ten years, we're going to have to pray for Christian Pulisic's legs every time we play them.

They also throw up on themselves at every senior and youth World Cup for which they qualify. They lost to Norway so badly at the U20s that they were investigated for match fixing.
 

Senator Donut

post-Domer
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2010
5,500
oh yeah, the CONCACAF NTs-from-hell. Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, sometimes Costa Rica too. Mexico sucks but they generally know they don't need to thug it up to have a chance.
I’m not going to lie, there was some perverse pleasure when the Gutemala MNT got the death penalty.
 

candylandriots

unkempt
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 30, 2004
12,327
Berlin
Brighton, because I have to. Watford, because they are dirty as fuck. Bournemouth, because they are almost as dirty as Watford. Arsenal, because it’s funny when they lose. And any team with Dynamo in their name in Germany, especially Berliner FC Dynamo. I hate those guys most of all. I saw some fans with their jackets in for the first time like 15 months ago, for the first time since I’ve lived here and it made me viscerally angry just seeing and walking behind them on the sidewalk knowing what they were all about. May they always remain in the backwater Regionalliga. But all the Dynamos in Germany are rotten.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
I feel like adding some context to choices might make this more amusing and put things in context.

Fandom:
Club: 1. Juventus 2. Liverpool 3. Revolution, if I can be bothered to watch
Country: 1. Italy 2. USA 3. England

I married into Liverpool fandom, and the availability of EPL on TV has made it a Thing for me. It’s just easier to live the highs and lows together. I won’t split loyalties and if they ever draw Juventus, it’s going to be a rocky time in the house.

I was born into Juventus and Italy. A very specific set of my baby pictures are of me wearing all blue, given the year I was born (figure it out). It’s difficult to break with family, and that’s what landed me into Juventus. A few comments about that...

I can’t stand the current iteration of Juventus. I wish Buffon wasn’t there so I could actively root against them. Ronaldo is a cancer. He’s set the club back significantly, both domestically and in Europe. He’s stunted the growth of a superstar in Dybala (not to say La Joya isn’t still incredible). Sarri is the worst manager they’ve had in a long time: arrogant, unlikable, and not a little bit stupid.

Second, citing Calciopoli for despising Juventus is an awful lot like hating the Patriots for Spygate. As a fan, it’s exhausting to hear over and over again. I don’t have the time or the energy to get in to the thing here (nor does anybody want to read it), but the fact they’re the face of the scandal despite other teams’ participation (including the team later awarded the title in the form of Inter) is a load of horseshit.

Finally, as a fan, I will tell you that there is absolutely no pleasure to be had in following the team domestically. It’s all pain with very little pleasure. If they win, they’re supposed to. If they lose, it’s a failure on somebody’s part. On some level, I want them to hit 10 straight titles and then hit a bad streak just to reset expectations. Between that and Ronaldo, this has not been fun the past couple of years.

I was an “original” MLS fan and fell in love with the Revs. I was constantly at Foxboro, and a few of my teams had the privilege of being ball boys at home games. The Bills-like futility along with the general lack of interest from management has quelled those flames significantly over the years.

Hatred:
Clubs: Inter, Real Madrid, PSG, Man City, Man U
Country: Brazil, Most of CONCACAF

Inter are the natural rivals, Real are satan incarnate, PSG and City are bullshit blood money, and ManU is just Man U.

My Brazil hatred is relatively recent. It’s not because of the ‘94 World Cup heartbreak they visited on me, it’s because of the recent generations of players. Up to the late 90’s or early 00’s, wearing their kit was a sacred duty to entertain and win. Too many of their recent squads have acted like winning is their automatic due. They’re bratty, spoiled individuals that can’t put together any passages of team play worthy of the shirt. They’re slightly more talented versions of...

CONCACAF is the fucking worst. The majority of the teams have absolutely no desire to play a competitive game of footy. It’s all black arts. Short of draconian rule making (or clarification), I have no clue whatsoever how to reign it in. I don’t want to worry about the next American talent every time he puts on the shirt because some hack wants to make a name for himself. The refs are either complicit or fear for their lives. The utter refusal to throw cards around early for obvious aggression or play acting just enable the garbage. It’s impossible to enjoy.
 

dirtynine

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
If we’re talking NTs,
• obviously Concacaf is horrible. But I do root for them against the world, even Mexico.
• I am inclined to root against England but purely for schadenfreude. Northern Ireland beating them about 15 years ago, or Dempsey’s WC goal in 2010 is the embodiment of this. I have nothing against them doing well, it’s just traditionally been really fun to watch them stumble. As the team gets more diverse and compelling, this is kind of waning. It’s hard to root against Rashford etc.
• Brazil is interesting. When they’re on they are redeemed by pure beauty. When they’re not, they can be pretty dislikable.
• Portugal & Ghana. Seemingly always in the way of the USMNT.
 

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
I loathe Rangers with all my soul, like to the point where it borders more on nausea than white-hot anger (although there's ample room for both on my Rangers Hate Train), but I will say this: I care more about Scottish soccer as a whole than my hate for Rangers, so when it comes to Europe, I find myself sometimes rooting for the fuckers.

I freely admit it's complex. If that disqualifies me from being a True Believer, so be it.
 

eddiew112

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 7, 2005
4,732
Boston
Clubs:
Arsenal
Chelsea
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Rangers
Norwich City

NTs:
Honduras
Italy

This list used to have Mexico and England, but as others have said, I find it much harder to root against the current iteration of both sides.
 

Zomp

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Aug 28, 2006
13,942
The Slums of Shaolin
I don't mind City. I mean I don't like them but the guys on here and my friends who follow them are decent guys that I can have friendly banter with.

Now, Jurgen Klopp is such a likeable manager, and the current crop of Liverpool players are also a joy to watch, AND some of the posters on here that follow Liverpool are great guys...so currently I'm having a tough time hating them as well. Fatherhood has mellowed me out in that regards where I'm just happy to be able to watch games and appreciate nice play.

However, for a few years there, I hated Liverpool worse than the Yankees. Particularly during the time when Daglish was the manager. The fans were insufferable.

Generally, I do not like holier-than-thou clubs. The two biggest when it comes to that are Barcelona and Liverpool.
 

CPT Neuron

Got Pitching?
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2001
3,515
Biddeford, ME
Not a fan either City or ManU as an LFC supporter and will actively root for their demise. Respect what Pep has done with City, love to wattch them play, but I actively root against them despite that (usually without any success).

I have no love for Lazio as their supporters were the worst when I caught a match in Rome a few years back - they were rotten
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5: Boca.

6. Germany - Mostly out of Argentina rivalry.
7. Italy - Because it's just no fun to watch and I consider them the worst violators of shithousery.
8. Bayern - Mostly because of success.

Fandom: Argentina NT, Barca, Spurs, and to a lesser extent Inter, and to an even lesser extent, Dortmund.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,248
from the wilds of western ma
I'm a touristy, Johnny come lately, casual LFC fan, due entirely to the Red Sox connection. But as such, I have developed a nice little animosity towards both Manchester U and City. I have to say, when travel becomes a thing again, a match at Anfield is definitely on the sports bucket list. As far as national teams go, pretty neutral/indifferent. Other than hoping against hope the US makes a serious run at winning the World Cup once in my lifetime.
 
Last edited:

SoxFanInCali

has the rich, deep voice of a god
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 3, 2005
15,568
California. Duh.
Manchester United. Always and forever. Yes, football actually existed outside of the years 1992-2013, jerks.

Everton is always an emotional, physical, sometimes dirty game, but the club itself usually doesn't bother me too much. They've always been supportive of the Hillsborough families and their fight for justice, and the Merseyside clubs have worked together on a lot of social issues. Plus, their fans have been through a lot with some of the ludicrous ways they've managed to lose to Liverpool over the years.

Other teams come and go on this list like Arsenal 15-20 years ago (mostly because of their fans' extremely high opinion of themselves), the Mourinho and John Terry Chelsea teams, pretty much any team managed by Neil Warnock, etc. But those tend to change once a manager or particularly vile player leaves.

Other than that, pretty much just hate clubs and national teams where a good part of their support comes from racists and skinheads and the side doesn't really seem to mind.
 
Last edited:

OurF'ingCity

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 22, 2016
8,469
New York City
As an Everton fan, Liverpool obviously (although actually my Liverpool dislike predates my Everton fandom, as one of the reasons I chose Everton in the first place was because it seemed Liverpool was a trendy pick for new soccer fans and I wanted to go against the grain).

Real Madrid because, while I don’t follow La Liga much anymore, I studied abroad in Barcelona and so was a pretty big Barca supporter for a time and still root for them more casually now. Plus as others have pointed out they are a very easy team to hate regardless.

In terms of national teams, I generally root against European teams except for Spain (see above) and England because I know so many of the players from following Premier League and because they are so tortured as a fan base. I particularly dislike Italy, in part because I was annoyed at all the mouthbreathing Italian-American “fans” of that team that normally would shit on watching/following soccer at all but that deliriously celebrated when they won in 2006 as if they were all long-time diehards (this is admittedly a gross oversimplification as I know there were also lots of Italian-Americans who truly had been rooting for Italy for a long time as well).
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
SoSH Member
Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
Liverpool fan ..

Man U - although most of that dates from the Ronaldo/Vidic/Rooney years .. the current crop are mostly likeable.

Chelsea .. particularly Morinho V1 .. absolutely detested John Terry .. the first of the nouveau riche teams

City .. almost all of my dislike is due to the ownership. The players are marvellous to watch.

and Real Madrid of course.

Is there anyone on this board who actually likes them? They seem to be listed on everyone’s dislike list.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
I don't like Real but would root for them over Barca any time, again a likely consequence of knowing more annoying Barcelona fans. I dislike Real/Barca more than any other club, mainly due to the arrogant fanbase for each club, the insistence on trying to sign every world class player that is out there (case in point, Griezmann just HAD to go to Barca) and the general gap between those two clubs (and to a lesser extent, Atletico) and the rest of the La Liga squads, which allow the elite players to pad stats against weaker competition, but somehow La Liga avoids the title of being a Farmers League when that is exactly what it is.
 

OurF'ingCity

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 22, 2016
8,469
New York City
somehow La Liga avoids the title of being a Farmers League when that is exactly what it is.
Yeah, this is precisely the reason I don’t follow La Liga (or any European league other than the EPL, for that matter) closely anymore. Even the EPL is pretty stratified by American standards, obviously, but at least there you get a regular rotation among the top 4-5 teams as to who is the most dominant at any given time, and more regular “intrusions” into the top 5 by clubs outside of those top teams.
 

DLew On Roids

guilty of being sex
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 30, 2001
13,906
The Pine Street Inn
Yeah I'll root for CONCACAF in the actual WCFs. DLew's cries of "CONCACAF Thunder!" from 2014 will echo through history (especially CRC winning Group D).
I’m deeply touched!

You hipster haters live to talk about Liverpool and Dortmund but no one ever shits on Dulwich Hamlet and Forest Green Rovers (vegan? COME ON).

My hatreds:

Fascist clubs.

Man U for old time’s sake but it hasn’t been the same since Scottish Krzyzewski retired.

Chelsea as the OG traditionally crap club that bought its relevance with blood money. Though they were awful under Ken Bates, too.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
Yeah, this is precisely the reason I don’t follow La Liga (or any European league other than the EPL, for that matter) closely anymore. Even the EPL is pretty stratified by American standards, obviously, but at least there you get a regular rotation among the top 4-5 teams as to who is the most dominant at any given time, and more regular “intrusions” into the top 5 by clubs outside of those top teams.
Yeah, it has been disappointing seeing previously competitive leagues like Serie A and the Bundesliga be completely dominated by one club this decade. At least in Serie A, while Juve sits on top, there is a decent fluctuation between clubs 2-4, with Inter, Roma, Lazio, AC Milan, Napoli, Atalanta all getting into the mix. La Liga has been some combination of Barca, Real and Atletico for eight straight seasons.

I'd have to do a deep dive on the numbers, but I believe there is a huge gap between the amount of money spent by like, Aston Villa or Bournemouth, compared to a lower-level La Liga side is really big. A quick glance at the info on Transfermarkt shows that Bournemouth spent $160 million on players over the last three seasons, the 14th highest in the EPL. If they were in La Liga, that would put them 6th, behind the Big 3, Sevilla and Valencia. The 14th biggest spending club in La Liga over the last three years is Bilbao, who have only spent $36 million, which some smaller EPL clubs will nearly spend on a single player.

At the same time, the $560 million spent over that same time period by Real and Barcelona each, is almost as much as the combined money ($590 million) spent by Man U and Man City over that time frame.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Everton fan. I feel about Liverpool like I do about the Dead- OK as far as it goes but find their fans self-absorbed and annoying (present company excluded).

Used to dislike ManU but they've been a little humbled, which they needed IMO. More importantly they're playing some very nice-to-watch football of late and I appreciate how Ole hung in there and turned it around when he was an inch away from getting sacked.

Cannot stand Burnley. Don't know why. They just annoy me. Their crest looks like it was done on a Commodore 64 which I've said before. Watching Burnley is like watching The Blob roll slowly through that little town.

Cannot stand Watford. I just think they suck. Their fans are gnomes. Elton John. Urgh.

NYCFC. Yankees connection.

Honduras & co., yes. Also Italy. I'm of partial Italian descent (like 2/3 of us here I think) so I tried having an affinity but they and their fans are such insufferable jerks. Fun to root against.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Yeah, this is precisely the reason I don’t follow La Liga (or any European league other than the EPL, for that matter) closely anymore. Even the EPL is pretty stratified by American standards, obviously, but at least there you get a regular rotation among the top 4-5 teams as to who is the most dominant at any given time, and more regular “intrusions” into the top 5 by clubs outside of those top teams.
Ligue 1 Uber Eats. PSG and everyone else. Boring.
 

lars10

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2007
11,612
Don't like Chelsea.. mainly from the Lampard/Terry years. Hard not to want to see Pulisic do well there though.
Man City.. although I like De Bruyne and I don't mind Guardiola..
My Norwegian roots have me rooting for Solskjaer but I've never really like United.. been following Dortmund a bit because of Håland
My friends (and me by default) have followed Arsenal for about 15 years now, but I don't really hate Tottenham..although their current team is fairly unlikeable.

Never really like Ronaldo so I don't really like Real or Juve.. Like Messi, so I watch Barcelona occasionally.

It would be interesting to see if individual players made you dislike a team.. For me there's a few players that just seem to get some extra kicks in after the play or are just general all-around pricks on the field that have made me dislike the team they play for... cause I think everyone has played against players like that. I believe one of those players is Mark Noble for West Ham. Mediocre talent who always gets a little extra in his tackles...always a bit extra chippy. (anecdotal of course since I don't follow the team). John Terry as well.. etc.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,766
Pittsburgh, PA
In terms of national teams, I generally root against European teams except for Spain (see above) and England because I know so many of the players from following Premier League and because they are so tortured as a fan base. I particularly dislike Italy, in part because I was annoyed at all the mouthbreathing Italian-American “fans” of that team that normally would shit on watching/following soccer at all but that deliriously celebrated when they won in 2006 as if they were all long-time diehards (this is admittedly a gross oversimplification as I know there were also lots of Italian-Americans who truly had been rooting for Italy for a long time as well).
That reminds me... Spain's win in 2010 was one of the all-time great karma wins of all time. Nevermind their golden-generation talent, the Dutch were an absolutely odious team. The Robben / Nigel De Jong era Dutch team was among the dirtiest high-class teams I've seen (not that I've seen it all). I went from not really caring about them to being like "these guys need to fucking lose" over the course of just that WCF tournament.
 
Last edited:

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
That reminds me... Spain's win in 2010 was one of the all-time great karma wins of all time. Nevermind their golden-generation talent, the Dutch were an absolutely odious team. The Robben / Nigel De Jong era Dutch teams were some of the dirtiest I've seen (not that I've seen it all). I went from not really caring about them to being like "these guys need to fucking lose" over the course of just that WCF tournament.
I always thought this was a common but highly overblown perspective based on the final.

I thought the Dutch played scintillating football at times throughout the tournament- the front four of Robben, Kuyt, Schneider, and RVP was lethal, and I was very impressed with Van Bronkhorst, even aside from that worldlie of a goal. Van bommel and de jong were despicable but effective. Steklenberg was great in goal, and even with injuries their CBs largely played well.

I felt like van Marjwik changed his tactics for the finals because he thought he needed to try to stuff up Spain, which was dumb. Spain was going to do the same thing they did for years- bore the fuck out of everyone by holding the ball and hope that David Villa scored with 15 to go.

True Karma would have been the Netherlands playing the brand of football that got them to the final and beating the boring, floppy Spanish.

Edit: while the Dutch were pretty gross in that final, the Spaniards were no angels either.
 

FlexFlexerson

Member
SoSH Member
West Ham, Rapids and USMNT/USWNT fan here, so:

Spurs, Millwall, Real Salt Lake, Mexico, England, Honduras, Germany

Others:
Bayern, Juventus and PSG for reasons mentioned above. Club America too.

And, as others have said, any teams with current or historical right wing/fash leanings: real Madrid, Lazio, rangers, etc.