Yes there are several leagues that have a season such as the NHL however the majority of them decide the winner based on the result of the season, and do not have playoffs.
The hockey world cup I guess is similar to the Soccer world cup by name. However in soccer the world cup is the biggest tournament and the Olympics aren't as important, the opposite of hockey I would say.
The EPL doesn't have a tournament however there are several tournaments that EPL teams compete in such as the Champions league, Euro cup, and FA cup. The difference is all these tournaments take place at the same time as the regular season so often times teams will play a regular season game, and champions league game, followed by a regular season game.
Champions League is for the top teams in typically the european leagues. The english premier league gets to send the top four teams in the standinds to this tournament. It starts with a group stage, followed by several rounds of "best of two games" and finishes with the final which is winner take all.
Euro cup is similar to Champions League but for teams who aren't quite as good as the champions league teams.
The FA cup is for the FA (football association) teams only. The start of the tournament is quite interesting as you will see huge mismatches where the very top Premier League teams will face off against teams several divisions below team. (NHL team vs. ECHL team, if you will).
Typically contracts in soccer are discussed per week. In hockey we understand contracts as Jarome Iginla makes 7 million per year. In soccer they say player X has a contract of XXX per week. Soccer contracts are set over certain years but are often re-negotiated as players become better.
Typically players are transferred from team to team for a fee instead of making trades. There is no draft in soccer so a club gains the rights for players when they play for them at a young age and they will sell that player to better clubs.
|