To all those saying 'see you in 4 years', I say to you that there is a lot of football to be played between now and then.
Internationally there will be Euro 2016 and that is always a high standard of tournament (even higher than the world cup on average) given the competitiveness of the European teams. There will be the standard Copa America which pits the South American teams against each other next year. Also in 2016 will be a one-off Copa Panamericana which will be hosted in America celebrating the centenary of CONMEBOL which will feature all the South American team, USA, Mexico and the best of the rest of the Americas. Also, in 2015 there will be the African Cup of Nations, a tournament where no one knows who will win.
However, the real action will be at club level. Club level football at its best is at a higher standard of play than international football. The players train with each other all year long and the coaches are more equipped to sign the players which most suit their system.
The English premier league has opened up in recent years and their are 5 realistic winners of the title. Players from the world cup which you might like to follow are Robin Van Persie at Manchester United, Alexis Sanchez & Mesut Ozil at Arsenal, Schurrle at Chelsea and some American goalkeeper at Everton.
The Spanish La Liga went from a 2-horse race to a 3-horse race last season with Athletico Madrid winning the title. However, Barcelona & Real Madrid will still be clear favourites. Eyes are especially on Barcelona given their new forward line of Luis Suarez, Neymar & Lionel Messi, which if you saw them play in the world cup you would know that that has great potential.
The German Bundesliga is basically a race for second with Bayern Munich clear favourites however if you were a fan of the way Germany played then watching Mueller, Gotze, Lahm, Schweinsteiger and Neuer playing in the same club might interest you. Throw in Arjen Robben from the Netherlands and Xherdan Shaqiri from Switzerland and it is clear to see why they are favourites.
Nobody cares about Italian Serie A.
However, for the highest standard of football, look no further than the Champions League. The best of each of the European leagues compete in a group then knockout system to be crowned Kings of Europe. Players in this tournament not already mentioned include James Rodriguez, David Luiz & Javier Mascherano.
There will be some type of match being played somewhere in the world every day from now till Russia so come join the Football Thread:
Football Thread 2013/14 |OT25| Louis evangaalism strictly prohibited and we will light your path.