The best way how to learn anything is to learn from the best. In soccer that means watching the best soccer leagues and competitions around the world. We offer you the quick round-up of the best soccer leagues you should definitely follow.
Top 5 World Best Soccer Leagues
The ranking made by SOCCERsoda.com (Soccer Guru personally).
Top 5 World Best Soccer Leagues ranking is based on our personal observation of matches of different leagues during the season. It is absolutely subjective and mirrors the attractiveness of the matches we saw. The ranking will be updated regularly when any changes occur.
World Best Soccer Leagues Ranking
Updated on 07-13-2020. We saw a big change in our viewing habits. Goals are what we are looking for and Seria A is fun to watch lately. Goal average per match above 3.0 is not very usual in many leagues, but Seria A reached that this season so far. The second place is reserved for La Liga mainly because of Real and Barcelona (the goal average is poor in Spain). Third place belongs to Bundesliga with Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, Leverkusen, and many more teams with the ability to shoot three and more goals in the match without a problem. Premier League lost its position because of Liverpool dominance and the break-up of former big 4 clubs. Arsenal is in problems, Tottenham as well and we need to get used more on Sheffield and Wolverhampton these days to be in the front of the table.
1. Seria A
2. La Liga
3. Bundesliga
4. Premier League
5. MLS
Note: We did not include Champions League into the ranking as it is international competitions with the best of the best teams from all European Leagues. Champions League would beat the other leagues with a clear margin.
MLS (Major League Soccer)
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league played in the USA and Canada. The first season was played in 1996 and currently, the league is played by 23 teams.
Regular Season
Teams are divided into two conferences: Eastern Conference with 11 teams and the Western Conference with 12 teams. Each team plays 34 matches during the regular season (each conference opponent twice and each non-conference opponent once and remaining two matches (teams from Eastern conference), respectively one match (teams from the Western conference) against an intra-conference opponent (decided by draw).
Regular Season is played from March till October
Play-Off
First six teams from each conference qualify for MLS Play-Off. Teams at 3rd to 6th place meet in Knock-Out Round in each conference in the single-elimination knockout match. Winners of knock-out matches will meet teams from the 1st and 2nd place in Conference semifinals which is played in two-game series. Winners play Conference championships in two-game series. Conference Champions meets in MLS Cup Final in a single match hosted by the finalists with the most Regular Season points.
Play-Off is played from November till December
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Europe
I know the time zone problem, but the best soccer at a national level is played in Europe. The reason is money and tradition. Every soccer player would like to build his career in one of the best leagues in the world and all of them are in Europe. It is hard to choose the best soccer league in Europe. However, all pundits agree there are four leagues which are the absolute top. Hard to make an order, but here is the list of best European soccer leagues (the list is in alphabetical order)
Bundesliga
German top soccer league is called Bundesliga. There are 18 teams playing each other two times during a season (home and away), which gives you 34 games for each team in a single season. The first four teams are qualified to Champions League for next season and the last two teams are relegated to the lower league. A team that finishes at 16th place plays two legs play-off with the third team from the 2nd league for a place in Bundesliga in next season. Bundesliga is usually played from mid-August until mid-May.
Most followed teams:
Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin
Notable rivalries:
Bayern Munich – Borussia Dortmund
Schalke 04 – Borussia Dortmund
Werder Bremen – Hamburg SV
La Liga
La Liga is a Spanish top soccer league. There are 20 teams playing each other two times during a season (home and away), which gives you 38 games for each team in a single season. The first four teams are qualified for Champions League for next season. The last three teams are relegated to the lower league. La Liga is usually played from September until mid-May.
Most followed teams:
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid
Special match:
Barcelona – Real Madrid
This match is more than notable rivalry. It is El Classico or match which is one and only and would need another 1000+ words to explain why. More about this unique rivalry can be found here.
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Notable rivalries:
Barcelona – Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid
Betis Sevilla – Sevilla FC
Premier League
Premier League is a top soccer league is played in England and Wales. There are 20 teams playing each other two times during a season (home and away), which gives you 38 games for each team in a single season. The first four teams are qualified to Champions League for next season. The last three teams are relegated to the lower league. Premier League is usually played from mid-August until mid-May.
Most followed teams:
Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal
Notable rivalries:
Manchester City vs. Manchester United
Tottenham – Arsenal
Chelsea – Arsenal
Liverpool – Manchester United
Liverpool – Everton
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Seria A
Seria A is the top soccer league played in Italy. There are 20 teams playing each other two times during a season (home and away), which gives you 38 games for each team in a single season. The first four teams are qualified for Champions League for next season. The last three teams are relegated to the lower league. Seria A is usually played from September until mid-May.
Most followed teams:
Juventus Turin, Inter Milan, AC Milan, SSC Neapol, AS Roma, Lazio Roma
Notable rivalries:
Inter Milan – AC Milan
Juventus Turin – FC Turin
AS Roma – Lazio Roma
Juventus Turin – SSC Neapol
Whoever versus Juventus Turin
Champions League
UEFA Champions League is the soccer league of best teams in Europe. At least one team from every European national league has right to play qualification for Champions League. There are more teams (2,3 or 4) from better leagues.
Champions League is played from mid-September till End of the May. It starts with Group Stage for 32 teams (8 groups of 4 teams, where they played each other twice). Group Stage is played from September till December and is followed by Play-Off played from February till May. Play-Off is played by 16 best teams from the Group stage. Each round in play-off is played in two matches with exception of Final.
Champions League is played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with an exemption for the final. The final is played on Saturday and is usually the last match of the club season in Europe.