Would you support another country's team in football?

Would you support another country's team in football?

  • I support my country above all others!

    Votes: 4 23.5%
  • I may support another country if my country isn't playing

    Votes: 8 47.1%
  • I may changed support to another country after my country has been eliminated

    Votes: 5 29.4%
  • I support several countries

    Votes: 5 29.4%
  • I generally support another country than my own

    Votes: 2 11.8%
  • I don't support anyone/don't care

    Votes: 1 5.9%

  • Total voters
    17

Maciamo

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It's the Euro 2020 and discussion in another thread made me wonder whether most people systematically cheered their own country's team, or if they could have a different favourite team, either because they like the players better, or because they may not feel bound to imperatively support the country in which they were born and/or grew up (or where their ancestors came from for people living outside Europe)?

As a child and teenager I watched mostly tennis tournaments and my favourite players had nothing to do with nationality and everything to do with style and personality. Yet, in my experience, when it comes to football almost everyone around me supports their own country, as if that was a civic duty. That makes me wonder whether they are watching the games out of a sense of tribalistic pride or for the actual sport and the quality of the team and individual players?

Nowadays I don't have much time to follow any sport to be knowledgeable about the players. I leave that to the true fans. But I do not feel compelled either to support exclusively Belgium. Be it football or other team sports, or even country medals at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games (already starting in 3 weeks), I tend to favour countries that I generally like culture-wise. That includes England/Britain, Italy and Japan.

And although I am a French speaker and know French history and culture better than the average French person, I usually do not support France because of the typical attitude of French supporters. I was particularly happy to see France loose to Switzerland in the Euro 2020, as several French sports commentators on TV had mocked the Belgian team and told them to go home and eat chips/fries. A lot of French people like to mock Belgium in very much the same way as Barney Stinson mocks Canada in the series How I Met Your Mother.
 
It is some kind of tribalism supported by lots of marketing.
There is a lot of commerce involved, both for sellers of gadgets as for the media, the UEFA, the football teams and the players themselves.
The bol.com commercial is bashing the Dutch. If it were in another context and with some other people, they would feel offended and it would have been seen as politicaly incorrect.



The media are also instigating rivalry between nations in a way they themselves would condemn if it came from other people in another context.
Last week there were some comments from France telling the Belgian team would be home soon eating french fries, something Belgian commentators picked up as 'typical french arrogance'.
 
I'll watch the EK finals and semi-finals, but in general I'm not very interested in football.
I was much more impressed by what MVDP did earlier this week on the mur de Bretagne twice within half an hour.

 
I think for some countries, the tribal nature of their support could only go as far as civic nationalism. For example, the French national team is more representative of African, than French, from an ethnic-standpoint:

FDSCwbd.jpg
 
Italy - Belgium … that was Soccer at the Highest Level, from both sides,
… good game :)
 
I could support another team but they have to play exciting soccer with direct passes to the wings instead of just passing it around so that you don't lose possession. The Italian team has played exciting soccer so far where as the Spanish team has not. The Spanish team takes way to much time to bring the ball forward and by that time the opposing team has gone on defense and it is hard to see any openings and they just pass the ball around so as not to lose possession.
 
I thought that Belgium and Switzerland did very well and so did Chechia and Ukraine.
 
If Italy is playing, I support Italy, and it has nothing to do with marketing. If I even thought of it, my dad would probably appear to haunt me. :) He was still mourning the tragic loss of our whole team in a plane crash decades after it happened.

It's deeply personal for me. You can see it's deeply personal for the Italian team as well. It's one of the reasons they've been fun to watch, imo. I think it's going to be very personal for England as well.

I can't say the same for some of the national teams in this tournament.

If they're not playing, it's different. Then, other factors come into play.
 
I think for some countries, the tribal nature of their support could only go as far as civic nationalism. For example, the French national team is more representative of African, than French, from an ethnic-standpoint:

FDSCwbd.jpg

compare it to the great 1984 french squad

euro-1984.jpg
 
Platini literally carried the entire team on his shoulder, he practically won that Eurocup alone. An animal.
 
Yes 3 of them they had italian or
Spanish surname...
There look was more uniform
Basicly except 1 they were all white europeans
When today the french squad is a different story
 
… got more room on my wall for a 2020 Campioni d’Europa poster :)

UnRgS3g.jpg

"From your lips to God's ear", as my Jewish friends say! :)
 
… got more room on my wall for a 2020 Campioni d’Europa poster :)

UnRgS3g.jpg

(y) Nice squadra azzurra.

I only support the Galo. :grin::LOL:


The Argentine jewel, Nacho Fernandez

 
Yes 3 of them they had italian or
Spanish surname...
There look was more uniform
Basicly except 1 they were all white europeans
When today the french squad is a different story

if we look at who is not ethnic french it shouldn't really matter if they were "white" or not imo. it has no relevance.
 
if we look at who is not ethnic french it shouldn't really matter if they were "white" or not imo. it has no relevance.

The french squad always had it even back in 1984

P.s
I know it is not politically correct
But i do appeicate european national team
Were all the players are from the same ethnicity
And uniform by look..
Like:
italy, denmark, poland etc......
But that is my opinion we dont have to agree
 
The french squad always had it even back in 1984
P.s
I know it is not politically correct
But i do appeicate european national team
Were all the players are from the same ethnicity
And uniform by look..
Like:
italy, denmark, poland etc......
But that is my opinion we dont have to agree

Also Spain.
 
… got more room on my wall for a 2020 Campioni d’Europa poster :)

UnRgS3g.jpg

Congratulations Salento. Congratulations Italy for the conquest of Eurocup 2021.

The incapacity of the English players to charge a penalty well saved the reputation of the Italian naturalized Brazilian, Jorginho, who, if it were in Brazil, would go to vinegar due to the terrible penalty charge.
 
Congratulations Salento. Congratulations Italy for the conquest of Eurocup 2021.

The incapacity of the English players to charge a penalty well saved the reputation of the Italian naturalized Brazilian, Jorginho, who, if it were in Brazil, would go to vinegar due to the terrible penalty charge.

No one will remember that , he will be remembered as a winner.


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