Club vs Country - what do you choose?

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Would never give up on Chelsea, but also would never give up on my country. The third is my local club. These things complete a huge part of my life.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

How can you compare the two ?

Chelsea plays football weekly, national teams every two years in European competition & every four years in the WC.

That's an excellent point. You are "involved" with your club on a daily basis. You read the news and analysis every day and watch them play every week once or twice. While, with the NT, you barely have a match every month or so and even longer in years with no WC or continental cup. That's why clubs feel much more personal, imo.

Recently, my country almost pulled off an absolute miracle, going from being ranked something like 160 in the world 2 years ago, to almost qualifying to the WC this year, and it was very good to watch but I got more emotional when Hazard scored the second goal last week than in the entire NT campaign.

[bababoom 4,478]

For me, England WC> Chelsea CL.

Although i'd rather watch Chelsea play, England winning the WC would be huge, it's something that everyone in the country can celebrate and be a part of unlike Chelsea winning the CL.

[bushman 2,043]

That's an excellent point. You are "involved" with your club on a daily basis. You read the news and analysis every day and watch them play every week once or twice. While, with the NT, you barely have a match every month or so and even longer in years with no WC or continental cup. That's why clubs feel much more personal, imo.

Recently, my country almost pulled off an absolute miracle, going from being ranked something like 160 in the world 2 years ago, to almost qualifying to the WC this year, and it was very good to watch but I got more emotional when Hazard scored the second goal last week than in the entire NT campaign.

Well said. To me, this thread makes no sense to compare the two.

[The only place to be 11,313]

That's an excellent point. You are "involved" with your club on a daily basis. You read the news and analysis every day and watch them play every week once or twice. While, with the NT, you barely have a match every month or so and even longer in years with no WC or continental cup. That's why clubs feel much more personal, imo.

That's a tiny bit of it, but it's also about the relationship you have with the club and it's supporters. You invest so much of yourself in the club (literally sometimes) and the rivalries are extremely local. Going to national games is a complete different experience to going on away days with your mates as well.

Like Tomo said this is a fairly typical discussion point amongst football supporters.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Well said. To me, this thread makes no sense to compare the two.

This thread makes absolute sense because all he wants is to know what members prefer the most, their club or their country!

Each person will give their personal opinion and end of story, no right or wrong answer...

[bushman 2,043]

This thread makes absolute sense because all he wants is to know what members prefer the most, their club or their country!

Each person will give their personal opinion and end of story, no right or wrong answer...

Well, perhaps to you it is important to know. To me, it´s obvious to prefer the club based upon frequency of games played.

The end of discussion.

[Special Juan 27,425]

I love how Bushman says stuff like "Get off my cloud" and "End of discussion" it's like a last word prize that if he doesn't get it he falls off the cliff.

Seriously Bushman.....sort it out.

[Amblève. 4,995]

Club. Fuck nations.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Well, perhaps to you it is important to know. To me, it´s obvious to prefer the club based upon frequency of games played.

The end of discussion.

It is not about what is important to know!

If Tomo created the thread it mean he WANTS to know what people prefer, it has nothing to do with if it is important to know or if you give a damn about it.

Just dont go posting someone's thread is useless just because it doesnt interest you...

[bushman 2,043]

It is not about what is important to know!

If Tomo created the thread it mean he WANTS to know what people prefer, it has nothing to do with if it is important to know or if you give a damn about it.

Just dont go posting someone's thread is useless just because it doesnt interest you...

Since we all are entitled to an opinion, I stand behind mine. Give it a try.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

I'd take Chelsea in a second even if Canada were great. I am generally pretty anti-nationalist ("patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel") but more than that, club football is a constant. Every year, Chelsea will play 50-60 games with meaning. International teams will play a few game a year. It's not talked about much, but most international football is utter garbage. The top level club football is much better (which makes sense as players get to play with one another every week.)

[Barbara 15,149]

Club!!!!

This is my choice... I fell in love with each of the clubs I support, I don't support them because I was born in a certain place, but because they won my heart and I'm so invested on them!!!!

States play a big role in the clubs your support in Brazil (depending on the region). It's like mini-countries (or even countries because some of our states are as big as most countries in Europe), so the natural way is to support a club from your state if you were born in Southeast, South and some of the northeast states (the other regions normally have very small clubs and the normal thing is for people to choose a big club from another state to support). Still the club I fell in love with wasn't from my state, and while some people in my family supported the same side, most didn't. I fell in love with that club, it reached out my heart.

So for me NT x club is like arranged marriage and marrying for love. Supporting NT is basically an arranged marriage, while supporting a club is sticking with who your heart chose for you.

When I was a kid I loved Brazil NT and the WC. I was 14 when we won the 4th WC title and I went mental. It was an amazing experience, one of the best I have related to football, but then my Brazilian side - which sucks - won Brasileirão in 2009 (last time before that was in 1992) out of nowhere and I cried like a little girl... I invited friends over to my house as we watched the last round - we won the title by 1 or 2 points, I don't remember and for most part of the match we were losing the title. Damnit, that was one of the most intense experiences I've had with football. So it's hard for a NT to make me feel the same because I'm not as nearly invested.

Then there's the corruption in CBF (our federation) and the fact that sometimes players are called for the NT to raise their price tag because of third parties interests and I'm disgusted by that especially because I'm an exception in a country that breathes football (although I feel more and more people in Brazil are getting less involved with the NT), in a country that arguably is the best NT of all time (maybe not presently, but historically [not in a Liverpool way because mind you, we're competitive right now]). So for many, many people here, people who don't have much money, who have a hard life, working hard, struggling, the NT is their happiness, is their passion and CBF doesn't give a fuck and uses the NT to make profit and to enrich agents. Those people have so little to actually look forward in their lives sometimes, but CBF doesn't give a shit. To make money CBF makes we play the most ridiculous friendlies as preparation to the WC and even when we're playing qualifying and our national league is so badly managed and planned that I can't even start with it. It's a cockblock for me, but I still think the biggest reason why I become less and less invested to the point last WC I only supported Spain and Netherlands (I supported Netherlands against Brazil in the QF and I was wearing Spain's shirt in the final) is because I've never loved the NT the way I love my clubs. The last WC I was really invested was 1998. I was much less invested in 2002 and even more in 2006.

I love WC though. It's a special competition and I always watch it, the only thing is that my passion for Brazil NT dried up and I support teams depending on my mood and heart. Next year I'll support Brazil mainly because I trust Scolari to be above corruption, above the shady business in CBF and I guess being in our country also influences. But I won't support only Brazil... I'm supporting Germany and Belgium as well. Between Brazil and Germany I'm not sure which one I'm supporting harder, so if they cross paths I may not know who to support. I guess I'm very weird when it comes to NT footie.

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

CLUB.

[Hutcho 8,443]

It's tough.

I mean, i chose (somewhat influenced) but i still chose my club that i love, wheras my country chose me so to speak.

Chelsea matter more to me, and like Tomo said, if England lose it doesn't impact me the same way. And there are lots of players on the England team who are "enemies" most weeks.

Having said that, i believe Chelsea can win the CL and it wouldn't be a huge shock. We won it 2 years ago (it will be by the time it comes round), so i would probably say Country winning the WC over Chelsea winning the CL this year... Just... The world cup is like the Christmas that only comes every 4 years of football. I even watch the random crappy Japan vs whoever. (No offence any Japanese people).

Only because we are huge i mean HUGE dogs to win the WC, so it would be something special to see.

Although weirdly if we got Knocked out of the Semi's... Both us and England i would be more affected by us getting knocked out.

So marginally England in terms of WC vs CL. But Chelsea over England in terms of who i care more about.

[DJames 729]

So for me NT x club is like arranged marriage and marrying for love. Supporting NT is basically an arranged marriage, while supporting a club is sticking with who your heart chose for you.

Lol! Love this analogy