As the final stages of the football season in the UK takes place, many fans will endure football withdraw symptoms once the season finishes. Fortunately there is still some football which will be taking place from other countries and leagues from around the world. Below is a list of tournaments and leagues which can still give you a football fix during the summer break in the English Football Leagues.
2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (15th-30th June 2015)
England will travel to the Czech Republic in June to fight it out with seven other teams in the European Championships. England will go into the tournament on a run of good form including winning a friendly against Germany 2-1 earlier this year. However the last showing at the last European Championship was one to forget, as England finished bottom of their group. England lost all their games and conceded 5 goals and just scoring one in the process. A huge contrast to 2009, where England reached the final of the European Championship, where they lost 4-1 to Germany. Germany are seen the favourites to win this year, with England predicted to finish a close second according to the pundits and the bookies.
Champions League Final (6th June 2015)
This year’s Champions League final takes place in Berlin. Bayern Munich will be hoping to overcome their opponents Real Madrid in the semi-final, to play the final in their home country. As always Champions League finals are always great to watch and has produced many finals which fans from all over Europe will be remember. The final I always remember was the 2003 final between Liverpool and AC Milan, which seen Liverpool overcoming a three goal deficit to win the Champions League on penalties.
Europa League and Champions League qualifying (July-August 2015)
Thought-out the month of July, teams from the UK and Europe will fight it out for the right to be in the last 32 of the Europa League and the Champions League. The team, who finishes fourth in the Premier League, has to play a final playoff game in August for the right to be in the group stages of the Champions League. In recent years the team who has finished fourth have won their playoff game. Arsenal overcame Fenerbahce last season in the Champions League playoff round. Currently in the Premier League, Manchester United sit in fourth place and would play in the final champions league playoff game. However this could change as there are four games left in the Premier League season.
Major League Soccer (MLS) (takes place over most of the summer period)
The Major League Soccer league take place over the summer months, with some of the MLS fixtures being shown live on Sky Sports. However unlike many of the summer football fixtures I have listed, the majority of MLS games take place in the night in BST(British Summer Time) . Players such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are playing in the MLS this summer, which I’m sure will be watched by closely by Liverpool and Chelsea fans.
Emirates Cup (2nd August-3rd August 2015)
The Emirates Cup this year takes place over two days and will be competed by between Arsenal, AS Monaco, and Valencia. The invitational cup takes place at the Emirates Stadium which is the home to Arsenal FC. However over recent years the tournament has been won by Monaco and Galatasaray. The tournament has been shown on Sky Sports in the past and is often used by teams in the tournament to get ready for their domestic football season ahead.
I hope you find this guide helpful.
Until next time
Chris
The Cornish Opinion 