Soccer is one of, if not the, most popular sports around the world thethe most popular. The passion of the game only entices fans to the extent that they care passionately about their chosen team. We are filled with joy when they win, we are full of sadness when they lose and certainly full of anger when the referee makes a mistake against us! If we’re talking football, then there’s no better place to watch than the United Kingdom! Great Britain (especially England) is home to one of the most popular divisions in world football – the Premier League. British fans are certainly some of the most passionate fans in the world; it seems like every city has clubs with huge followings! So now the time has come; find out about some of the most interesting football mad cities in the UK, some on this list might surprise you.
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Manchester, England
Is this a surprise? Not really. Manchester is home to two of the biggest clubs in England; Manchester United and Manchester City. Manchester United is certainly the more decorated of the two, holding the record as the most successful club in English football, with a record 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups, 5 League Cups and 21 Community Shields. They also won the Champions League three times (the last one was in 2008), as well as the UEFA Europa League trophy in 2017. The other side of Manchester is United’s “noisy neighbors”, Manchester City. Manchester City was nothing to shout about before the mega-money takeover in 2008 when the team transformed into current title contenders. After that, City were a dominant force in the league for years, even dethroning United as the best club in Manchester in recent times. Home to two of the fiercest clubs in the league, Manchester has a city divided with fans for each, although it must be said that United still seem to have the bigger support of the two… Old Trafford (United) and the Eithad (City ) are both quite nice stadium.
Liverpool, England
Liverpool! Home of the Beatles, a port city that is definitely worth visiting for reasons other than football! However, it is also a powerful football city. Liverpool is home to two major players in the Premier League, Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club. Liverpool may be the bigger of the two, having won 19 league titles in the past, with the latest coming in the Premier League in 2020. Liverpool have a ruthless attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, and the three have even led to success in the Champions League 2019. Everton, on the other hand, are a decent side but have had considerably less success than their neighbours. Their last title came in 1987, while their last trophy was the FA Cup in 1995. Things looked like Everton last year with elite manager Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, but he later left to return to Real Madrid. Everton look a bit lost at the moment, but that doesn’t stop Liverpool v Everton from being one of the most anticipated matches of the season!
Glasgow, Scotland
Here we travel a little further north to the Scottish Premiership. There are two heavyweights in Scottish football that you often see competing in European competitions – Rangers and Celtic. Both of these parties are also based in Glasgow! You can imagine that this causes quite an intense rivalry between the fans of these clubs. It would be fair to think that Celtic are the more successful of the two, when in fact Rangers have actually won more trophies overall! Rangers are first with 116, while Celtic are just behind with 112. Rangers have 55 league titles, while Celtic have 51, but Celtic have certainly been more successful in recent years and even won the European Cup in 1967. If you’re looking for interesting culture (food like haggis is not your usual everyday food), but also if you want to experience some passionate football rivalries, Glasgow is definitely a place to visit.
Of course, there are other football cities that we have neglected to mention, such as London which is home to huge clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham; but wouldn’t it surprise you to know that the capital is not even in the top 3 here? Crazy.
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