i think its popular for the same reason that people in the us bash it
the fact that there is not a lot of scoring
games are close, udrenaline rises and there is a lot of excitment, fans are anxious and worried for their team and the relief of scoring a goal or the angst of letting a goal in just creates a lot of powerful emotions
it takes a lot of skill to score a goal so goals, when they come are beautiful to watch and also create excitment to the crowd. and the fact that they only come by a so infrequently means that each goal is important
plus soccer is beautiful even when people arent scoring, amazing moves and combinations that lead to an incredible block, a near miss or hit the post. they dont go in but are still just as amazing when you watch them
the perfect opposit is basketball, where scoring is constant, if you score 200 times in a game, scoring is nothing special and not a reason for much celebration. you'll never hear the crowd gusp at a missed layup though