There are millions of reasons I love football (the real kind). Here are four unique and interesting ones.
1. Derbies
A derby is a generic term for a rivalry but in its truest sense it refers to an intra-city rivalry. Sure, there are rivalries in American sports and college sports have some intra-city rivalries (UCLA and USC come to mind). But they don’t have the same history. Here are three great derbies:
- AC Milan – Internazionale
The Milan derby. They play in the same stadium and they’re both good (unlike the Lakers and the Clippers)
- Rangers – Celtic
The Glasgow derby. A rivalry with sectarian overtones (Catholics and Protestants, if you’re keeping score)
- Real Madrid – Barcelona
El Clasico. It’s not intra-city but it’s has such deep political history that it may very well be the most famous rivalry in football.
2. Own Goals
Is there any other sport where you can score on yourself? I guess it can happen accidentally in basketball but that’s usually an unimportant fluke. The own goal is a devestating concept that is unmatched in the sports world.
3. Cheekiness
One of my friend remarked the other day that football may be the only sport where cheeky is a common adjective. You got to love a sport that allows for the concept of cheekiness in the regular flow of a game. Example of cheekiness: scoring with a back heel.
4. Brazilian Names
Basketball fans have been introduced to the brilliant single name tradition in Brazilian athletics. But Nene is a relatively run-of-the-mill example. Here are a few great ones off the top of my head.
- Kaka (current, AC Milan, Italy)
- Socrates (bottom) and another Brazilian great with a great name – Zico
- Bobo (current, Besiktas JK, Turkey)
- Hulk (current, FC Porto, Portugal)
- Wagner Love (current, CSKA Moscow)
- Falcao (1970s-1980s)
- Socrates (1970s-1980s)
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