The World Cup saw record television numbers this season. Now that the European leagues are available to the United States market on secondary sports networks such as NBCSports and Fox Sports 1 Americans are going to start tuning in. The trouble is, who should a new American soccer fan root for if they have no ties to Europe? Here are some suggestions:

Anaheim/San Diego:

Manchester City

Orange County and San Diego have always been looked at as LA’s little brother just like Man City and Man U. However Man City is generating a larger fan base now that they have found some success winning the Premier League in two of the last three seasons.

Atlanta:

Inter Milan

Both cities’ climates are classified as “humid subtropical.”   The Braves in the 90s won the NL pennant five times but could only find a way to pick up one World Series title.  Inter won Sere A five times in the 2000s but could only get one Champions League title.

Boston:

Liverpool

They share the same owner as the Red Sox which makes this pairing easy. Like Boston’s sports teams Liverpool has a deep tradition and an old stadium; they have played in the iconic Anfield stadium since 1884. Anfield is a smaller stadium putting the fans right on top of the players creating a Boston-esque trash talking type atmosphere.

Chicago:

Real Madrid

Real Madrid generates more revenue than any other sports team and in the world and they pay the third highest total player salaries. Like Michael Jordan’s 90s Bulls, they are more than just a money machine they are champions. Real Madrid has won the La Liga thirty two times and champions league ten times. Both feats are the most of any other club. Like MJ, they don’t just have a face of the franchise, but one of the faces of the sport, Christiano Ronaldo.

Dallas:

A.C Milan

Milan is owned by media mogul and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. If you ask Jerry Jones or Mark Cuban they’ll probably tell you they’re media moguls and have just as much power as the mayor of Dallas. Additionally while Jones and Cuban like winning both are concerned about making their faculties as high end as possible and Milan is the high end design and fashion center of the world.

Denver:

Paris St. Germain– PSG made a giant push to get Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2012 just like the Broncos and Peyton Manning in that same year. Ibrahimovic is aging so PSG has made efforts to bring in new expensive talent just like the Broncos with Manning.

Detroit Fans:

Juventus

Located in Turin, Italy the home of the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world, Fiat. In baseball a team can only go as far as their pitching can take them, in soccer the same is true about a goalie. Up until this year the Tiger’s pitching staff has been one of the best in baseball and Juventus has one of the best keepers in the world Gianluigi Buffon.

Florida:

AS Monaco

Both are major tourist cities with great weather. They also both have a buzzing nightlife and very lenient tax laws which attract wealthy residents.

Los Angles:

Barcalona

LA is the center of popularity and Barca is the most mentioned team in social media. Just like the Lakers they also have results to back up their popularity. They have won La Liga twenty two times and the Champions League twice. Captain Xavi Hernandez has the Barca record for most appearances and has spent his whole club career there a la Kobe and the Lakers.

Milwaukee/St. Louis:

Bayern Munich

Both of these Midwest cities love their beer and Munich is the home to Oktoberfest. Just like the Packers and the Cardinals Bayern Munich has a winning tradition. They have won the Bundislega a record twenty four times and the UEFA Champions league five times.

New York:

Manchester United

They spend more on players than any other team in any sport and they are have won the most championships in the most competitive league in the world.  Just like the Yankees and the Knicks, their brand name is one of the strongest globally. Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium are arguably the most popular stadium in their respective sports and ManU has one of the most popular stadiums in soccer, Old Trafford.

Ohio

Valencia

The EU’s 15^th most populous city and Columbus is the USA’s 15^th most populous city.

Philadelphia:

A.S. Roma

Philly maybe the “city of brotherly love” but they have some of the meanest fans in sports. Roma’s fans have taken fan craziness to a whole new level. They are notorious for beating up on other fans who come to their stadium and they have even attacked players.

San Francisco:

Chelsea

The Bay Area is littered with pro sports teams and so is London. Chelsea is one of six teams within the city and they spend the most on salaries and have been the most successful of all six. (side note: Oakland should support the other major London team, Arsenal.)

Seattle:

Borussia Dortmund

BVB has the loudest stadium of all the teams in the top UEFA leagues. Dortmund also has a large shipping port like Seattle.

Washington DC:

Atletico Madrid

Atletico is also based in a capital city. Their owner, Enrique Cerezo is aggressive when it comes to acquiring talent and firing his coaches, just like Redskins owner Dan Snyder.