International football apathy

[Red Chilli]

Why are so many football fans apathetic with respect to their national teams?
I'm mainly referring to english football fans but I've even seen a prominent Swede say he wasn't arsed about international football.

Indeed, I rarely go out to watch an England game and I'm only ever interested in international tournaments.
So? Why is it?

I think it has to do with a long history of under-achievement. I find it hard to believe we'd have any Brazilian LFC fans say they don't give a **** about international football, the same goes for Italy and in recent times France.

I think if England had the record of Brazil we'd see a lot more football fans in this country giving more than just a cursory glance towards the national team. I don't think anyone would be a country before club fan but I think we'd take more interest.

Any thoughts?

[Joe King]

The English Liverpool fans know they should cruise through (unlike this campaign) so don't bother. There is no loving connection with Liverpool and England with managers playing our players when they are unfit and it is more connected to the Southerners with idiotic fans and stupid copied chants.

[Red Chilli]

The English Liverpool fans know they should cruise through (unlike this campaign) so don't bother. There is no loving connection with Liverpool and England with managers playing our players when they are unfit and it is more connected to the Southerners with idiotic fans and stupid copied chants.

I'm not just talking about english Liverpool fans though, it's a nationwide apathy.
I think it's to do with under-achievement. If we won a tournament then the place would be buzzing.

[carrsim]

Why are so many football fans apathetic with respect to their national teams?
I'm mainly referring to english football fans but I've even seen a prominent Swede say he wasn't arsed about international football.

Indeed, I rarely go out to watch an England game and I'm only ever interested in international tournaments.
So? Why is it?

I think it has to do with a long history of under-achievement. I find it hard to believe we'd have any Brazilian LFC fans say they don't give a **** about international football, the same goes for Italy and in recent times France.

I think if England had the record of Brazil we'd see a lot more football fans in this country giving more than just a cursory glance towards the national team. I don't think anyone would be a country before club fan but I think we'd take more interest.

Any thoughts?

i think its only really english fans of liverpool and man u who aren't bothered about the england team and fans of clubs who's country may be sh*t.

lots of reasons- social, political etc- why those 2 clubs fans don't bother so much.
personally i'd rather liverpool won the league cup than england qualified for euro 2008 but i still enjoy international football on the whole. even the most commercialised, money printing, non contact WC of 2006 featured some amazing games and passion.

mostly when england aren't involved as we just can't play. mclaren is just a side issue as to how bad we are as a team, but i'd be trying to get jose in until uly next year

[Joe King]

i think its only really english fans of liverpool and man u who aren't bothered about the england team and fans of clubs who's country may be sh*t.

lots of reasons- social, political etc- why those 2 clubs fans don't bother so much.
personally i'd rather liverpool won the league cup than england qualified for euro 2008 but i still enjoy international football on the whole. even the most commercialised, money printing, non contact WC of 2006 featured some amazing games and passion.

mostly when england aren't involved as we just can't play. mclaren is just a side issue as to how bad we are as a team, but i'd be trying to get jose in until uly next year

International football is boring, the atmosphere, dodgy interpretations of the law which doesn't help with the flow of the game. Its crap- I'd rather watch Portuguese football

[Dhav]

May be cos my national team is Cyprus??

Obviously Liverpool is #1 priority. Much more important than internaitonal success. If I had to pick between Cyprus winning the world cup and Liverpool winning the league, I'd take the latter everytime.

When you love your club so much, it's virtually impossible to get very enthusiastic about your national team, in my case anyway.

[Joe King]

May be cos my national team is Cyprus??

Obviously Liverpool is #1 priority. Much more important than internaitonal success. If I had to pick between Cyprus winning the world cup and Liverpool winning the league, I'd take the latter everytime.

When you love your club so much, it's virtually impossible to get very enthusiastic about your national team, in my case anyway.

[Howard_lfc]

Last night I watched I'm a celebrity instead of watching England on the other side !!!

Now if that's not apathy I dont know what is!

[Joe King]

Last night I watched I'm a celebrity instead of watching England on the other side !!!

Now if that's not apathy I dont know what is!

I watched Children In Need

[Morph]

For me I hate the FA for appointing a string of **** managers, i hate all of the managers that have been around in my lifetime of wathcing football for being ****, i hate the media and the way they fawn over the stupid ****ers, i hate half the ******* players in the side, and i hate the vast majority of england 'fans', thats leads to me being slightly appathetic.

[Tinkerbitch]

For me the national side(s) just drains the life out of my players, club all the time. Now we have players from Spain, Denmark etc, I feel the same about their national teams, not just England. Just want my players back in one piece. Fcuk the national teams, Liverpool is what matters.

[andyinswinton]

I read somewhere about Arsene Wenger saying that international football has been spoilt by the amount of teams and amount of meaningless games since the split of the Soviet Union, some Baltic states and the admission into UEFA of countries like San Marino and The Faroes.

There is too many games in the group stages of qualifying competitions. Why not have a pre-qualification tournament for the lowest rank teams? It can't be good for San Marino to get spanked 13-0 off Germany. They would improve by playing teams of similar qualities.

[Guest]

For me the national side(s) just drains the life out of my players, club all the time. Now we have players from Spain, Denmark etc, I feel the same about their national teams, not just England. Just want my players back in one piece. Fcuk the national teams, Liverpool is what matters.

International football should be banned.

[kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

International footballers should be bummed.

Where can you sign up?

[dom9]

I used to supoprt England, but I realised that supporting Liverpool is stressful enough without the eternal disapointment that comes with England.

I have also grown to hate the nationalistic, bordering xenophobic side to English culture whenever there is a summer tournament. I hate the media coverage, especially the tabloids, I hate the deluded conviction that England are a superior team to everybody else, and I hate those stupid little flags that people put on their cars.