EPL or La LIGA: Which is the more popular destination for soccer players today?

The Champions League final of 2012 saw Chelsea, a team from the EPL vindicating the trust of their manager and getting their fans a long deserved taste of European Glory. The Finals of the European Championships saw a celebrated and enterprising Spanish squad reigning supreme, crushing the seasoned and experienced Azurris by 4-0 in the finals. The team was mostly comprised of stars from the La Liga, which is the pantheon for the most marquee footballing talent in the world today.

Two defining victories in the world of football; two teams cementing their place in footballing history; two sets of players earning their spot in footballing immortality.

So, even though football fans might be busy celebrating the success of their respective teams, it did revive an age old and yet inconclusive debate. Which league attracts the best soccer players from all over the globe?

The EPL and the La Liga is the biggest showcase of footballing talent on the globe, with both leagues having their own distinctive style and philosophies. The EPL is the more physical league, where the game is based on a pure display of pace and strength. The league is marked with huge towering defensive line-ups committed to strong tackling; teams showing the commitment to keeping up a strong defensive identity and an abject refusal to allow creative mid-fielders time and space on the ball. The football is exciting, balanced and unpredictable. The philosophy in the EPL shows that matches are won by the team that perseveres more, teams ready to make up for the lack of quality by putting in that extra effort in defense, being disciplined, working hard and fighting for every yard.

These severe physical demands might make the Premier League a very alluring league for young defenders all over the globe. The aerial demands and pace of the game makes it an ideal learning experience for them, and the window levied upon them by the premiership referees who allow a more tougher and physical level of the game. However, for diminutive and skillful attacking players the league poses greater challenges. These players are scared for their careers, knowing that such rough standards increase the possibility of them incurring an injury, some of which can be career threatening.

Players like Ronaldo have cited these reasons as to why they prefer the La Liga. However, the success of diminutive and skillful talents like the legendary Gianfranco Zola, and the more recent David Silva shows that if a player is committed then one can adapt to the pace and physical standards of the league. Further learning to play with such defensive players only enhances the offensive repertoire of such players.

The La Liga on the other hand has its own unique style of football. The league houses some of the most technically gifted soccer players in the world. Be it the Messi’s, the Ronaldo’s or the Iniesta’s, the mesmerizing skill and exquisite ability on the ball and movement off the ball has excited and left fans all over the world in awe. These skills define the league and the exuberant display of attacking talent, makes them a refreshing telegenic, oozing style and panache.

However, the defensive players in the league often feel hard-done by as the lenient standards of refereeing in the league, make it difficult for them to impose themselves physically. Further on, this leads to a large number of players feigning fouls and the league has deteriorated into one where players go down at the slightest contact they feel. Thus, the defenders that come into the league have to evolve into extremely intelligent players, who are able to shut down offensive threats just by their shrewd positioning and impeccable ability to read the game.

Kagawa and Hazard: Promising faces that will grace the EPL stage this year

The Summer Transfer Window gives us a clear idea about what the football players do, the actual purveyors of the trade, think about the respective teams and leagues. The signings of Shinji Kagawa by Manchester United, Eden Hazard’s move to Chelsea and the transfer of Oliver Giroud to the Gunners, has established the EPL as the premier destination for the most promising talents in the globe. The most intriguing transfer saga of the three players had Eden Hazard as the subject of discussion and sparked a bidding war among the biggest clubs in Europe. Hazard’s reasons for choosing Chelsea could be the most rational argument in favor of the Premier League.

Hazard knew he was moving into the most competitive league in Europe, where teams such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are seen as legitimate contenders to the league title, and capable of tilting the balance of power away from the two Manchester clubs. The EPL is also a more competitive league, with most clubs boasting of full-time Internationals and exhibiting a lot of exciting contests. In the EPL, every match is unpredictable with even the teams from the bottom half of the table such as Blackburn Rovers having the capability to stun the top table elite clubs such as Manchester United.

However, the La Liga fails miserably in the above discussion as only Barcelona and Real Madrid are seen as legitimate contenders for the league title. The crude imbalance and a clear difference in quality and standards can be easily reflected in the league table in which Real Madrid won the league by 11 points over Barca. Astonishingly, third place Valencia were 30 points below both of the two teams. One can come to the obvious conclusion that the league is just a tale of two celebrated rivals taking turns at humiliating mediocre teams in the league. Yes, there might be some occasions when a mid-table team spurs a surprise by beating Barca or Real Madrid, however nobody would bet on that and predicting the route of such matches is far more easier than the contests in the EPL.

While the La Liga does showcase some of the most illustrious players in the globe, the passion involved in most premiership games more than over-ride the unimpassioned La Liga. The rabble rousing British fans render a lot of infectious energy and pump up the adrenaline in the stadium, motivating the players and driving them to play harder. The sentiments for their club and city are something that one can’t identify with the La Liga. The La Liga does have a far less homogeneity in its fan-base where the diversity and conflicting history between the Catalans, Andalusians and the Basques grossly over-dominates the sentiments of a club representing a particular city.

However, the most conclusive argument and factor is the financial status of the league. In this respect, the EPL grossly over-powers the La Liga. The structure followed by the EPL in distributing the revenue from TV rights, tilt the balance strictly in favor of the EPL teams. The EPL has a more equitable structure in place which sees the TV rights revenue to be shared, unlike the La Liga in which around half of the TV rights revenue is shared by Barca and Real Madrid. The EPL does have a larger TV audience and generates revenue in the order of 2.2 billion pounds. The La Liga, despite having two of the biggest stars in Messi and Ronaldo, lag behind with revenue of 1.72 billion pounds.

The high revenue for the clubs in England allows them to make major moves in the market and give them an opportunity to afford huge wages that illustrious stars may demand. The La Liga however is extremely restricted in the same domain as most of the clubs barring Real Madrid, Barcelona and the billionaire backed Malaga, lack the financial muscle and resources to challenge in the transfer market and allure prominent stars to their respective clubs.

The sponsorship and image rights also are a major reason why players choose the EPL. The EPL’s wide viewership across the globe is unsurpassed by any other club in the globe. The popularity that the league and its players enjoy, results in most of the stars landing a large number of lucrative deals. The players also would like their share of fame, and the wide viewership and an opportunity to showcase their talents in a league so widely followed is a dream for any football player.

Any footballer playing in Europe would obviously aspire and aim to play in the Champions league. This is also a domain where the English clubs have a slight edge. Their record in the Champions League validated by the UEFA co-efficient ratings, stands second to none. But for the year 2010, every Champions League final since the year 2005 has featured an English team. Three English clubs have emerged victorious in these years with Liverpool winning it in 2005, United in 2008 and Chelsea in 2012. This compared to the La Liga, tilts the balance in the favor of the EPL again which has only the exploits of Barcelona and Real Madrid to show for.

One can cite several reasons and argument to prove that the La Liga is better than the EPL or vice-versa. However, eventually it is the player’s prerogative and ambition that would decide their choice. Both the leagues have their strengths and weakness and their own distinctive qualities. Any young player moving to any league in any country would desire an opportunity to practice and compete with the best footballing talents in the world. He would also desire that the club that he plays for has a privileged history and the management and coaching staff are highly motivated to give him an opportunity and help him become the best player that he can be. So, this is where a Luka Modric’s transfer to an eminent club like Real Madrid would make sense. Modric would make a great addition to any squad and Real Madrid would give him a chance to fulfill his ambition of playing Champions League football.

Ambition and ability need to be combined with great prudence and judgmental ability for a talent to fulfill his potential. So, any player needs to identify his strengths and try to figure out how he can add more value both onto himself and the team he joins. Adaptability and the challenges of both the leagues are huge and they both have their liabilities but also give an opportunity to transcend and fulfill one’s potential. Choosing between clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United isn’t easy. The Hazard’s and the Kagawa’s might have made their choice and they would be looking forward to the challenges. As for the lesser mortals like me, look for the positives of both leagues, enjoy and cherish two different footballing ideologies and let the debate be settled on the field.

Which is your favorite League – EPL or La Liga? Feel free to leave your views in the comments section below.