BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
The highest level of football in England, the Barclays Premier League, crowns a new champion this month with coverage of the season's final games airing LIVE on ESPN. It has been a corker of a season, with the four leaders - Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal - jockeying for position at the top of the table throughout the season. While Manchester City saw their morale boosted by taking the Capital One Cup in early March, only a week later they were dumped out of the FA Cup by humble Wigan Athletic.
Liverpool, meanwhile, has stayed on top behind impressive play from Uruguay's Luis Suárez and England's Daniel Sturridge, the league's top scorers, while Arsenal continues to battle for the elusive hardware. Chelsea last won the league title in 2010 and are hungry for redemption, while mighty Manchester United - even behind the solid duo of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney – have spent the entire season fighting for survival.
ESPN features weekend coverage of the English Premier League all season, airing LIVE and on short-turnaround. NOTES: A second match is featured each week, time TBD. Games not available to cruise lines; matches airing on short-turnaround/taped on ESPN Caribbean will air LIVE on ESPN2 Caribbean.
*Schedule: LIVE coverage
May 03 07:40am Barclays Premier League
May 03 09:55am Barclays Premier League
May 11 10:55am Barclays Premier League
*NOTE: English Premier League not available to cruise lines.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
European football's second-tier club football championship, the UEFA Europa League, wraps this month with coverage on ESPN of the 2nd leg of the Semifinals and the championship Final, the latter airing from Turin, Italy. Although taking a backseat to the Champions League, the Europa League is a distinguished competition in its own right, yearly delivering top-flight competition.
The quarterfinals in April saw Italy's Juventus, led by veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo, battling French side Lyon in their quest to book a spot in the final taking place at their own stadium in Turin. The same round saw last year's beaten finalists, Portugal's Benfica, in action against Dutch club AZ Alkmaar; Basel taking on tough Spanish side Valencia; and in an Iberian faceoff, Portugal's Porto facing Spain's Sevilla.
ESPN's coverage of the UEFA Europa League airs LIVE and on short-turnaround throughout the competition, closing this month with coverage from the 2nd leg of the Semifinals and the Final.
Schedule:
May 01 02:55pm UEFA Europa League - Semifinals, 2nd leg (L)
May 01 10:00pm UEFA Europa League - Semifinals, 2nd leg (S)
May 14 08:00pm UEFA Europa League - Final (S)
(L) Live; (S) Short-turnaround
MORE INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL - Spanish Primera División, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and Dutch First Division
May sees final matches and the crowning of league champions throughout the top European leagues, with coverage on
ESPN
spotlighting four of the best: the Spanish Primera División, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and Dutch First Division.
The Spanish Primera División has long been dominated by the Big Two, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but this season saw an upstart, Atlético de Madrid, set up one of the most exciting finishes in years in La Liga. By late March only 1 point separated the top three in the table and, not surprisingly, the leading goalscorers all come from these sides: Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, Atlético's Diego Costa - a Brazilian-born striker who now takes the field internationally for Spain - and Argentine phenom Leo Messi of Barcelona, one of the best to ever play the game.
Defending Italian Serie A champions Juventus had opened up a 14-point lead on nearest challengers AS Roma by late March, making a third straight "scudetto" for the revered Turin club nearly a certainty. The South American influence has been hard to ignore this season, with Argentine Carlos Tevez leading the scoring for Juventus - with help from Chile's Arturo Vidal - and Tevez's compatriot Gonzalo Higuaín keeping Napoli close on the heels of AS Roma, the latter continuing to get top play from veteran Francesco Totti.
In the German Bundesliga, powerful Bayern Munich broke another Bundesliga record in March by winning the fastest-ever Bundesliga title. It has been an impressive run for the champions, who had gone undefeated in 52 Bundesliga games, notching 19 straight domestic league wins, on their way to claiming their 24th German championship. The fight for second place - and the coveted UEFA Champions League berths - remains a three-way battle between Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Dutch First Division delivers a season of fast-paced, physical action that keeps football from the Netherlands one of the most-watched and highly-attended leagues in Europe. Contrary to many other leagues, by late March only nine points separated the top five clubs in the table, with holders Ajax followed by Twente Enschede, Vitesse Arnhem and traditional Ajax rivals PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.
Catch weekend football coverage from around Europe airing LIVE and on short-turnaround throughout the season on ESPN; dates/times TBC closer to airdate.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER (MLS)
Don't miss a goal with ESPN's season coverage of MLS
Action from the top professional soccer league in the United States lights up ESPN in May with more coverage of Major League Soccer (MLS). Last season's MLS Cup was a long-lasting thriller as Sporting Kansas City defeated Real Salt Lake 7-6 in the longest shootout in MLS Playoffs history. The teams had played to a 1-1 draw through the first 120 minutes. Kansas City's only previous crown was in 2000, when they were the Kansas City Wizards.
The 2013 regular season saw the New York Red Bulls - led by famed French striker Thierry Henry - win the Supporters Shield as the best regular season side. But the Red Bulls fell to the Houston Dynamo in the playoffs, and Houston went on to fall to SKC. Out West, the Portland Timbers surprisingly topped the table in the regular season, but couldn't get past RSL to make their way to the championship match.
ESPN's coverage of Major League Soccer airs all season, LIVE and on short-turnaround. May 27, 8:00pm, features LIVE coverage as SKC takes on the Red Bulls.