BigSoccer.com is a soccer-related Internet forum in the United States. The site has more than 150,000 registered users and had over 1.2 million unique visitors during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Forty percent of the site's traffic comes from outside the United States, with the site having particular popularity in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.
History First years Founded by Jesse Hertzberg as personal hobby in 1995 with Ethan Beard joining in 1997, the site was originally located at www.inch.com/~huss and was created in the wake of the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and in anticipation of the launch of Major League Soccer (which eventually was delayed from 1995 to 1996). The site was used to post links to MLS and US Soccer related news, with a particular focus on his local MLS team in New York (soon to be announced as the MetroStars, now known as the New York Red Bulls).
In the beginning, a significant number of BigSoccer posters came from the North American Soccer (NAS) listserv. In the early to mid-90s, the NAS list was one of the best sources of information and one of the few opportunities for community for supporters of the United States men's national soccer team. With the advent of MLS, the NAS list soon sprouted listservs for many of the teams in the new league as well. As the "bulletin board" technology advanced, the listservs soon faded away.
The site evolved in two directions, becoming two distinct sites, MetroFan.com and SoccerBoards.com (which evolved into the current BigSoccer.com). While MetroFan continued to focus on the local MLS squad and eventually evolved into MetroFanatic.com, SoccerBoards invited other MLS fan clubs to join an interactive forum where they could share news, gossip, opinions, etc. about their local MLS side, the league, and US Soccer, as well other soccer teams and leagues around the world.
Recent years SoccerBoards continued to be a hobby for its founders until 2000, when, with financial backing from StarMedia Network, the business was renamed BigSoccer and became a full-time endeavor. The company acquired Matchday USA, a soccer magazine and online retailer, later that year. Though the magazine was subsequently shut down, the retail operations have grown substantially and today the BigSoccer Shop, in partnership with 365 and Eurosport, carries over 10,000 products from dozens of countries and hundreds of teams.
In addition to NAS, many smaller online soccer communities migrated to BigSoccer. These include Soccer America Graffiti.
Impact in American soccer BigSoccer, described by Richard Deitsch of SI.com as "arguably the nerve center of American soccer", is read by prominent members of the American soccer community, including players, officials and coaches, as well as members of the media.
Former Chicago Fire general manager Peter Wilt regularly used the site to communicate with the club's supporters, and D.C. United senior vice president Stephen Zack does the same. Former US national team head coach Bruce Arena, who was introduced to BigSoccer by his successor Bob Bradley, said the site "helps me with some reports from Guatemala. I can find out more about their team over the Internet than just about any other way." And in October 2006, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber invited BigSoccer readers to submit questions, and his answers, whose subjects ranged from the league's marketing strategy to expansion, were posted on the site.
Partnerships
In 2003, BigSoccer partnered with News Corporation's Fox Sports World to become the network's official online community provider. The relationship was terminated in 2004. In August 2006, BigSoccer launched a partnership with Major League Soccer, to become the official supplier of online community tools to the league's and teams' official websites.
Awards In 2022, BigSoccer users elected the best players in history, annually from 1870 until 2021 via a panel consensus. The awards were dubbed as a revisited Ballon d'Or.- Nominees 1872-2021 - bigsoccer.com Criteria were: A player's performances (individual and collective) duringa calendar year, his record of achievements Class (talent and fair play) Career and charisma
Results are as below: Source: Consensus
1870s 1870: Arthur Kinnaird 1871: Charles W. Alcock 1872: Charles W. Alcock (2) 1873: Arthur Kinnaird (2) 1874: Jerry Weir 1875: Harry McNeil 1886: Billy MacKinnon 1877: Jerry Weir (2) 1878: Harry McNeil (2) 1879: Norman Bailey
1880s 1880: George Ker 1881: George Ker (2) 1882: Andrew Watson 1883: Andrew Holm 1884: Walter Arnott 1885: Nevill Cobbold 1886: Nick Ross 1887: Archie Hunter 1888: Nick Ross (2) 1889: Jack Gordon
1890s 1890: Jimmy Ross 1891: Edgar Chadwick 1892: Billy Bassett 1893: John Campbell 1894: John Reynolds 1895: John Campbell (2) 1896: Gilbert Oswald Smith 1897: Ernest Needham 1898: Ernest Needham (2) 1899: Robert Hamilton
1900s 1900: Alexander Smith 1901: Bobby Walker 1902: Ned Doig 1903: Bobby Walker (2) 1904: Billy Meredith 1905: Billy Meredith 1906: Alex Raisbeck 1907: Billy Meredith 1908: Billy Meredith 1909: Billy Meredith (5)
1910s 1910: Jimmy McMenemy 1911: Charlie Roberts 1912: Bob Crompton 1913: George Holley 1914: Jimmy McMenemy (2) 1915: Patsy Gallacher 1916: Patsy Gallacher (2) 1917: Imre Schlosser 1918: Alfred Schaffer 1919: Alfred Schaffer (2)
1920s 1920: Gyorgy Orth 1921: Gyorgy Orth (2) 1922: Manuel Seoane 1923: Alan Morton 1924: Jose Leandro Andrade 1925: Hector Scarone 1926: Alex Jackson 1927: Karel Pesek 1928: Dixie Dean 1929: Alan Morton (2)
1930s 1930: Giuseppe Meazza 1931: Raimundo Orsi 1932: Matthias Sindelar 1933: Matthias Sindelar (2) 1934: Giuseppe Meazza 1935: Gyorgy Sarosi 1936: Giuseppe Meazza (3) 1937: Gyorgy Sarosi 1938: Gyorgy Sarosi (3) 1939: Arsenio Erico
1940s 1940: Leonidas 1941: Jose Manuel Moreno 1942: Jose Manuel Moreno (2) 1943: Zizinho 1944: Zizinho (2) 1945: Rinaldo Martino 1946: Adolfo Pedernera 1947: Valentino Mazzola 1948: Stanley Matthews 1949: Ademir de Menezes
1950s 1950: Ademir de Menezes (2) 1951: Gunnar Nordahl 1952: Ferenc Puskas 1953: Ferenc Puskas 1954: Sandor Kocsis 1955: Alfredo Di Stefano 1956: Alfredo Di Stefano 1957: Alfredo Di Stefano 1958: Pele 1959: Alfredo Di Stefano (4)
1960s 1960: Ferenc Puskas (3) 1961: Pele 1962: Garrincha 1963: Pele 1964: Pele 1965: Pele 1966: Eusebio 1967: Florian Albert 1968: George Best 1969: Gianni Rivera
1970s 1970: Pele (6) 1971: Johan Cruyff 1972: Johan Cruyff 1973: Johan Cruyff 1974: Johan Cruyff (4) 1975: Oleg Blokhin 1976: Franz Beckenbauer 1977: Kevin Keegan 1978: Mario Kempes 1979: Diego Maradona
1980s 1980: Diego Maradona 1981: Zico 1982: Zico (2) 1983: Michel Platini 1984: Michel Platini 1985: Michel Platini (3) 1986: Diego Maradona 1987: Diego Maradona (4) 1988: Ruud Gullit 1989: Marco van Basten
1990s 1990: Lothar Matthaus 1991: Jean-Pierre Papin 1992: Marco van Basten (2) 1993: Roberto Baggio 1994: Romario 1995: Jari Litmanen 1996: Matthias Sammer 1997: Ronaldo 1998: Zinedine Zidane 1999: Rivaldo
2000s 2000: Zinedine Zidane 2001: Luis Figo 2002: Zinedine Zidane (3) 2003: Thierry Henry 2004: Thierry Henry (2) 2005: Ronaldinho 2006: Ronaldinho (2) 2007: Kaká 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo 2009: Lionel Messi
2010s 2010: Lionel Messi 2011: Lionel Messi 2012: Lionel Messi 2013: Cristiano Ronaldo 2014: Cristiano Ronaldo 2015: Lionel Messi 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo 2018: Cristiano Ronaldo (6) 2019: Lionel Messi
2020s 2020: Robert Lewandowski 2021: Lionel Messi (7) 2022: Karim Benzema 2023: Erling Haaland 2024: Vinicius Jr 2025:
Wins by player Players with multiple wins.
Player Winner Top5 Lionel Messi 716 Cristiano Ronaldo 614 Pele 610 Billy Meredith 5 6 Alfredo Di Stéfano 4 9 Diego Maradona 4 9 Johan Cruyff 4 9 Giuseppe Meazza 3 6 Gyorgy Sarosi 3 5 Michel Platini 3 7 Ferenc Puskas 3 9 Zinedine Zidane 3 7 Ronaldinho 2 3 Zico 2 8 Gyorgy Orth 2 4 Thierry Henry 2 3 Alan Morton 2 6 Alfred Schaffer 2 3 Matthias Sindelar 2 6 Zizinho 2 4 Ademir de Menezes 2 2 Marco van Basten 2 4 Patsy Gallacher 2 4 Charles W. Alcock 2 3 Arthur Kinnaird 2 4 Jerry Weir 2 4 Harry McNeil 2 6 George Ker 2 3 Jose Manuel Moreno 2 4 Nick Ross 2 5 John Campbell 2 4 Ernest Needham 2 5 Bobby Walker 2 4 Jimmy McMenemy 2 5
References
External links
Awards - all votes per year bigsoccer.com