Todays Question: Is La Liga the most Entertaining Football?

By: Jeremy | April 14th, 2008

Another weekend and Mallorca comes up just a bit short against a top level Sevilla team falling at home 3-2. There are no easy games in LaLiga it seems like and I continue to be more convinced that top to bottom, La Liga is the best. They now find themselves in 10th place, but are only four points behind the 7th place team and four points ahead of the 17th place team. While they are still 7 points above relegation and seemingly safe, they still have to keep an eye out and win a game or two the rest of the way. That being said, although there are lots of challengers, they cant rule out seventh place and the Intertoto Cup.

Obviously I am disappointed by the loss this weekend, but it is just another reminder how important Ibagaza is to this club and how much talent they lined up for this year. There are some really good players wearing the Mallorca jersey this year. Again it will be a disappointing year but this club is great to watch where anything can happen.

This leads me to the question, which of the big three leagues is the most entertaining to watch? Entertaining can be different to different people so it does not equate to the best football necessarily although that is clearly important as you dont want to watch a game with players tripping over themselves. The game between Mallorca and Sevilla is a reminder of why La Liga has to be looked at seriously as the most entertaining football. Where I think LaLiga is the strongest league top to bottom, I find Serie A just slightly more entertaining, but games like this one make me sometimes reconsider.

Lets look at what happened this weekend at the OnaEstadi. For a huge game for both clubs, the teams seemed a little sluggish. In games like this, it usually takes a brilliant free kick or a great individual effort and the game picks up. Guiza has been missing a lot of chances recently and this week seemed no different. As the first half continued, the play got a bit rougher and with Mallorca unable to score, again its defense let it down as just before the half Moya fumbled a cross and Renato scored giving Sevilla a 1-0 lead just before halftime. First goal is huge in a game like this. What makes LaLiga so good is that when an unexpected or momentum changing goal happens, the team that was the victim seems to step it up and puts immediate pressure on the other side. Mallorca did this and really backed up Sevilla in the final moments of the half.

In the second half, despite the dissapointment, Mallorca game out aggressive and Guiza equalized. Mallorca had some more chances but when Kanoute scored to give Sevilla a 2-1 lead, Mallorca and its fans seemed to sink and then a great shot in the 76th minute by Alves gave Sevilla a 3-1 lead. Mallorca didnt quit and got one back on a nice header from Webo in the 90th minute, but there just was not enough time. Without Ibagaza, this was going to be a tough game to win but still very entertaining.

LaLiga seems to get less publicity then the EPL or Serie A, but they play some very entertaining football. Depending on what style you like certainly leads to a preference, but trying to be objective, I rank the entertainment value with Serie A just barely edging out LaLiga followed by the EPL a very distant third.

Serie A is probably what I watch the most of and it can be very addicting. Where as I used to watch nothing but EPL, I literally cant watch it anymore and pray for a Serie A game. Serie A is thought by many to be a boring low scoring league, but it has more stars then LaLiga, the flow of play is smooth and each team can be entertaining to watch no matter who they play. The passion is also a major reason it is entertaining. It isnt a passion that is violent like the EPL.

LaLiga is a small step below Serie A in entertainment value. I dont watch as many games from Spain as I used to, and I have always found Mallorca to be one of the more entertaining teams, especially this year, but its lack of exposure on American television, less name players then the other leagues, and the speed often immitating the EPL, overall I put LaLiga as the second most entertaining league. What I love about LaLiga is that it seems like all of the players have such outstanding skill and can move the game in a way that when played like a Madrid-Mallorca type game, there is no better soccer around. On a bad day, its like watching football from Argentina but even the lesser known players are highly skilled and contribute to their teams more so then any other league. LaLiga needs more exposure but the enjoyment of its game cannot be underestimated.

The EPL used to be my only source of football. It was more readily available before Serie A and LaLiga ever were and when I first saw it, you understood why the USA simply could not compete in world soccer. But as I got a taste for Spanish and Italian football, I simply cannot watch the EPL anymore. There is no doubt that teams like Manchester and Liverpool are as good or better then any other team in the world. Their skill level is amazing and the EPL is faster then any other league. To me this is not entertaining. There is no flow to this league, the challenges are reckless, and the players seem angry and in way too much of a hurry. There is no doubt they have a high level of skill to move the ball as quickly as they do, but it cant be enjoyed like a fine wine or a beautiful woman. Watching a game involving lower level EPL teams is even worse. It seems like a bunch of guys chasing a rabbit without much skill. If you shoot enough times from all different places, you are bound to hit something, but this does not make for entertaining soccer. The players always seem too pissed off. Maybe its the crappy weather in England or the fact Spain and Italy have much better looking women.

Watching an EPL game is like a first date. Its nerve racking yet full of anticipation and sometimes even the most fun of your life, but often it is disappointing and ends badly. Id much rather have the comfort of an established relationship. EPL is like a first date, LaLiga is like a wife, and Serie A is like the long time girlfriend. Take that for what its worth.

I am a fan of the old NASL. When watching these games today on tape, even those involving the Cosmos, its almost funny how most of the games were the speed of a college match and there were a lot of guys who couldnt even make an MLS team today on the field. The skilled players, mostly from foreign countries were clearly better then the rest of the players, and the flow seemed a little disjointed. However, the big names stepped up when needed, and there was nothing more exciting then the big games, especially come playoff time. You could see the plays developing even if they were a little slow and that just made it such a relaxed enoyable game. The Serie A is very much like that today except with more skill and a slightly faster pace. To me this is perfect soccer. The stars still win games and there are guys on the field that clearly lack some skill that the players in LaLiga and the EPL have. But the speed of the game is right on the money. You can recognize the skill, see the plays coming, appreciate the great goals, and enjoy the players happiness. LaLiga is more workmanlike with a little faster play, more overall skill, but slightly less individual brilliance. Its a group effort which is great, but sometimes you want to see the brilliant play by a star player. LaLiga has stars no doubt, but they just dont bring it home like the stars in the EPL or Serie A. The EPL has this kind of brilliant individual effort more often then LaLiga and Serie A, but this positive part of the EPL does not overcome its negativity.

Dont get me wrong each league is great and the skill level is so good that they are a cut above the other soccer in the world, but if I want to be entertained and I am going to watch a game between two randomly selected teams, Serie A is the best, LaLiga is second, and EPL is a distant third.

What does everyone else think and what makes you enjoy the teams and leagues you watch more then the others?

Have a great week La Liga fans.