A Fulfilling Internship From the Perspective of a Soccer Newbie

My name is Noah Jacobs, I was born and raised in Michigan, a northern state in the United States. I specialized in media production in college and came to Spain to gain valuable experience in my field of study. I landed an internship at Villarreal CF and worked there for 2 months. I believe my perspective is a rare one, all of my fellow interns were big soccer fans before they came to Spain whereas I had little to no experience in either playing or watching professional soccer. In fact I am not a die hard sports fan at all. However, I did play 4 years of American football and I do watch my home teams, the lions, U of M, and MSU, play. Recently I watched the Rams claim a super-bowl win and I was excited because Matthew Stafford was their quarter back.

During my time watching soccer and working for a soccer team in Europe I did enjoy making comparisons to American football. One of the biggest similarities is the fans. When I walk into a bar in the United States during a big game fans will be entranced on the television. During big moments the crowds reactions are loud and full of emotion. The same can be said for soccer here. I have a bar downstairs from my apartment and I can hear the fans from my 8th floor window. No matter where you are fans enjoy drinking alcohol and watching their favorite team play. In live events the same can be said. Unfortunately the Ceramica Stadium was under construction during my time in Spain. The home crowd wasn’t as packed or invested in the early season games I was watching, however the away team always brought the energy I would expect to see in an American football event. When I saw a packed stadium in the Valencia vs Barcelona game the atmosphere was unreal, and when Valencia lost in the 93rd minute the disappointment of the fans was nearly tangible.

A major difference between American football and European football is the security at the live events. Police escort out the away team at some of these football games. I have heard there is a prevalent brawl culture among European football fans. Police can be seen in droves outside of every soccer event, some of which are on horseback (definitely not something you see in the US). The stadiums in Spain also do not serve alcoholic drinks, this was kind of a downer when I went to my first soccer game because I enjoy watching sporting events with a pint and a hot dog.

I think a lot of the same tropes that you see in American football can be seen in European football. I’d wager to say that even more fans of soccer teams are passionate about their team. Yes, in the US fans are still very passionate about their sport but during a game day in Valencia I see almost everyone wearing a jersey and 3 whole hours before a game starts you see fans chanting and drinking outside the stadium. However I did not see anyone with their shirts off and their teams colors painted on their body. Perhaps the very eccentric college football fans in the US are even more dedicated but in mass I’d say the fans here show their spirit just as much. The stadiums I have seen are just a tad bit smaller in Europe. However I am used to seeing a sold out Big House in Ann Arbor which is one of the biggest sporting stadiums in the world so perhaps my perspective is skewed.

I learned everything I know about soccer during this internship, I learned what LaLiga, the Premier League, and the MLS are. Another thing that I didn’t know existed were soccer academies. Kids are brought up from a very young age just to perfect their skills in soccer, some of which even live and take classes at their training ground. This is very different than American football, while there are youth teams they are only practicing during the season and certainly don’t live where they are training, I found this extraordinarily interesting, it’s as if they are soccer spartans.

I think soccer has the chance to grow in the United States, once we host the World Cup in 2026 I think soccer will trend towards becoming a big cultural event in America similar to American football, although I don’t think it will ever be quite as prominent. I do think that by 2030 the MLS will be a much more competitive league and perhaps around that time team USA will truly be a real threat in the World Cup. Overall my experience at Villarreal CF was an experience of a lifetime.I thank my supervisor Lucy for providing me with such a great time. I appreciate how friendly and understanding the staff were and I would recommend a friend to work for this club, even if they know nothing about soccer.