1.
Rangers F.C.
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Rangers Football Club are a football club in Glasgow, Scotland, which plays in the Scottish Premiership, the first tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Their home ground, Ibrox Stadium, is in the south-west of the city, Rangers were the first British club to reach a UEFA tournament final and won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 after being runner-up twice in 1961 and 1967. A third runners-up finish in Europe came in the UEFA Cup in 2008, Rangers have a long-standing rivalry with Celtic, the two Glasgow clubs being collectively known as the Old Firm. The four founders of Rangers – brothers Moses and Peter McNeil, Peter Campbell, Rangers first match, in May that year, was a goalless friendly draw with Callander on Glasgow Green. David Hill was also a founder member, in 1873, the club held its first annual meeting and staff were elected. By 1876 Rangers had its first international player, with Moses McNeil representing Scotland in a match against Wales. In 1877 Rangers reached a Scottish Cup final, after drawing the first game, Rangers refused to turn up for the replay, Rangers won the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup the following year against Vale of Leven 2–1, their first major cup. The first-ever Old Firm match took place in 1888, the year of Celtics establishment, Rangers lost 5–2 in a friendly to a team composed largely of guest players from Hibernian. The 1890–91 season saw the inception of the Scottish Football League, the clubs first-ever league match, on 16 August 1890, resulted in a 5–2 victory over Heart of Midlothian. After finishing joint-top with Dumbarton, a play-off held at Cathkin Park finished 2–2, Rangers first-ever Scottish Cup win came in 1894 after a 3–1 final victory over rivals Celtic. By the start of the 20th century, Rangers had won two titles and three Scottish Cups. During William Wiltons time as secretary and then team manager. Taking over as manager from William Wilton in 1920, Bill Struth was Rangers most successful manager, on 2 January 1939 a British league attendance record was broken as 118,567 fans turned out to watch Rangers beat Celtic in the traditional New Years Day Old Firm match. During the wartime regional league setup, Rangers achieved their highest score against old firm rivals Celtic with an 8–1 win in the Southern Football League, Rangers also lost by their biggest Old Firm margin of 7–1. Rangers reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1960, losing to German club Eintracht Frankfurt by a record aggregate 12–4 for a Scottish team. In 1961 Rangers became the first British team to reach a European final when they contested the Cup Winners Cup final against Italian side Fiorentina, Rangers lost again in the final of the same competition in 1967, by a single goal after extra time to Bayern Munich. The Ibrox disaster occurred on 2 January 1971 when large-scale crushing on an exit at the culmination of the New Years Day Old Firm game claimed 66 lives. An enquiry concluded that the crush was likely to have happened ten minutes after the final whistle and to have been triggered by someone falling on the stairs
2.
John Greig
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John Greig MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender, he spent his entire career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director. Greig was voted The Greatest Ever Ranger in 1999 by the supporters and has been elected to Rangers Hall of Fame. Greig played his football with United Crossroads in Edinburgh, under the supervision of Eric Gardner. It is unknown if Hearts showed any interest in signing him, bob McAuley signed Greig for Rangers and despite his initial reluctance Greig did as instructed by his father. However, after viewing a match between Rangers and Hibernian at Easter Road, where he witnessed them beating Hibs 6-1, he convinced the move was right, a determined, forceful player, recognised for his great leadership qualities, Greig made 755 official appearances for Rangers. He scored 120 goals for the club and won three domestic trebles, Greig actually started his career with Rangers as a forward, prior to being moved back to midfield – playing initially alongside another Rangers legend in Jim Baxter – and finally to left back. It was therefore in those years that he scored the majority of his goals for the club. Greig was captain when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972 beating Dynamo Moscow 3–2 in Barcelona. Although Greigs was a successful playing career, his captaincy coincided with a period of sustained success for Rangers city rivals, Celtic. Greigs fortitude during that period further cemented his reputation as one of Rangers most celebrated captains, Greig played for Scotland on 44 occasions,15 as captain, between 1964 and 1971. Greig also represented the Scottish League XI13 times, Greigs playing career ended in May 1978 when he was appointed manager of Rangers, replacing Jock Wallace. The club failed to win the championship during Greigs time as manager. Greigs team had come close to winning a treble and performed well in Europe in that first season. There was also the compensation of success in domestic cup competitions. Greig was also responsible for signing Rangers greatest ever goalscorer Ally McCoist from Sunderland, after leaving Rangers, Greig worked as a pundit for Radio Scotland and BBC television. He was re-employed by Rangers from 1990 as part of the public relations team. Dick Advocaat, manager of Rangers from 1998–2001, re-involved Greig in football coaching during which time he contributed to youth development, in 2003 he joined the Rangers board of directors. Greig resigned this position in October 2011, soon after the takeover of the club by Craig Whyte, Greig and John McClelland, who resigned at the same time as Greig, stated that they had been excluded from the corporate governance of the club since Whyte had taken control
3.
Jock Wallace Jr.
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John Martin Bokas Jock Wallace was a professional Scottish football player and manager. His father, Jock Wallace, Sr. was a goalkeeper for Raith Rovers, Blackpool, Wallace has the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Scottish Cups in the same season. This was set during the 1966–67 season where he played in the FA Cup and Welsh Cup for Hereford United, wallyford-born Wallace, as manager of Rangers over two spells in the 1970s and 1980s, was to become one of Scottish footballs best-known and most successful coaches. A goalkeeper, Wallace was freed by his first club, Blackpool, national Service with the Kings Own Scottish Borderers afforded Wallace the opportunity of signing for the local club, Berwick Rangers. Wallaces managerial career began in 1966 as player-manager of Berwick Rangers and that achievement in turn propelled Wallace into a coaching job at Hearts in 1968. It was in 1970 that Wallace arrived at his home, Ibrox Stadium. The partnership with Waddell was one that helped Rangers win the 1972 Cup Winners Cup, after the European triumph, Waddell left his post as manager to take a behind-the-scenes role and Wallace was appointed as manager. In his first season in charge – the clubs centenary – he won the Scottish Cup, in 1974–1975, it was Wallace who presided over the Rangers team that finally ended Celtics nine-year period of dominance and won the League championship for the first time in eleven years. In seasons 1975–1976 and 1977–1978, Wallace was to capture the treble of all three Scottish trophies on two occasions, Wallaces managership of Rangers in the mid-1970s saw the club regain the ascendancy it had enjoyed throughout much its history. But just as the prospect of further sustained success beckoned, Wallace unexpectedly resigned as manager in 1978, the precise cause was never fully established, as Wallace maintained silence until his death in 1996. Most of the speculation centred on alleged disputes with the Rangers board about transfer budgets or Wallaces own salary, Wallaces subsequent career spanned an eclectic mix of clubs. His first post was as manager of Leicester City in England, Wallace steered the club to Football League Second Division title glory in 1980, and took them to the FA Cup semi-finals. In January 1981, Wallace made an attempt to sign three-time European Footballer of the Year. Despite negotiations lasting three weeks, in which the player himself expressed his desire to play for City, a deal was never agreed and he returned to Scotland in 1982, taking charge of Motherwell. In November 1983 he returned to manage a Rangers side that, ironically, the success of the New Firm had seen Rangers turn to Alex Ferguson, the Aberdeen manager, who rejected the offer to take over at Ibrox. The club then approached Dundee United manager Jim McLean, who rejected the offer. Wallace was sacked by Rangers in April 1986 and he then had short spells in Spain, with Sevilla from 1986–87, and England with Colchester United from 1988–90. Jock Wallace died from Parkinsons Disease in 1996, aged 60 and we were 2–0 up and Id scored both goals
4.
Ibrox Stadium
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Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. The home of Rangers F. C. Ibrox is one of the largest football stadiums in the UK, and it was opened as Ibrox Park in 1899, but suffered a disaster in 1902 when a wooden terrace collapsed. Vast earthen terraces were built in its place, while a main stand, a British record crowd of 118,567 gathered in January 1939 for a league match with Celtic. After the Ibrox disaster of 1971, the stadium was largely rebuilt, the vast bowl-shaped terracing was removed and replaced by three rectangular, all-seated stands by 1981. After renovations were completed in 1997, the ground was renamed Ibrox Stadium, Ibrox has also hosted the Scotland national football team, particularly when the national stadium Hampden Park was redeveloped in the 1990s. Ibrox also hosted three Scottish domestic cup finals in the same period and it has also been the venue for concerts by major performers, including Frank Sinatra. Rangers played its first match in May 1872, on Glasgow Green, the club then played home matches on public pitches across Glasgow, first moving to a regular home ground at Burnbank in 1875. A year later, Rangers played at the Clydesdale cricket ground in Kinning Park and this ground was improved to give a capacity of 7,000, but it was not owned by Rangers. After hints by the landlords that they wished to develop the site, the club shared Cathkin Park with Third Lanark for the remainder of the 1886–87 season. Rangers first moved to the Ibrox area later in 1887, playing on a site immediately to the east of the current stadium. The first match at this stadium was an 8–1 defeat to English side Preston North End on 20 August 1887 and this inaugural match had to be abandoned after 70 minutes due to a pitch invasion. The first Ibrox Park was a success in the short term, Celtic Park, built in 1892, was more advanced, however. Rangers opted to construct a new stadium, raising funds by forming a limited company, the last match at the old ground was played on 9 December 1899. The new Ibrox Park was formally opened with a 3–1 victory over Hearts on 30 December, Ibrox Park, as it was known between 1899 and 1997, is almost completely different from the Ibrox Stadium of today. It followed the model of most Scottish stadiums of the time, comprising an oval track around the pitch, with a pavilion, the ground had a capacity of 40,000. Celtic Park, Ibrox and Hampden Park all competed with other to host Scottish Cup Finals and Scotland matches. To aid their chances of gaining that revenue, Rangers constructed a large terracing, holding 36,000 people, the terracing, designed by Archibald Leitch, was formed by wooden planks bolted onto a framework made of iron. A similar wooden terracing was constructed at the end, giving a total capacity of 75,000
5.
Scottish Cup
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The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is an annual association football knock-out cup competition for mens football clubs in Scotland. The competition was first held in 1873–74, entry is open to all clubs with full or associate membership of the Scottish Football Association. The competition is called the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship reasons and it was first presented to Queens Park, who won the final match of the inaugural tournament in March 1874. The current holder is Hibernian, who won the tournament for the time by defeating Rangers 3–2 in the 2016 final. The tournament starts at the beginning of the Scottish football season in August or September, the Scottish Cup Final is usually the last game of the season, taking place at the end of May. Participating teams enter the tournament at different stages depending on their league ranking, the lowest ranked clubs enter the tournament at the first round whilst the highest ranked, those that compete in the Scottish Premiership, enter at the fourth round stage. The competition is a knock-out tournament, in each round of games the teams are paired at random, with the first team drawn listed as the home team. Every game lasts 90 minutes plus any additional stoppage time, the winner of each game advances to the next round, whilst the loser is eliminated from the tournament. If a game ends in a draw, the fixture is replayed at the ground of the other team at a later date. If the replay also ends in a draw,30 minutes of time is played followed by a penalty shoot-out if there is still no clear winner. In the semi-final and final rounds, if the ends in a draw there is no replay. The competition has a staggered entry system, Scottish League One and six Scottish Championship clubs started in the third round, while the remaining four Championship clubs and all 12 Scottish Premiership clubs entered in the fourth round. Any club that is a full or associate member of the Scottish Football Association is entitled to compete in the tournament, every team that plays in the Scottish Professional Football League is therefore eligible. Between 1895 and 2007, clubs that were SFA members but not competitors in the professional football leagues could only qualify for the tournament by winning the Scottish Qualifying Cup. Clubs that are not members of the SFA may still qualify for the tournament by winning the Highland League, Lowland League, three junior clubs, Banks O Dee, Girvan and Linlithgow Rose are also SFA members and therefore qualify automatically. From 2015, the winners of the Scottish Amateur Cup are also eligible to qualify, players that are registered with a competing club are eligible to play. However, players are not entitled to play for more than one club during the same tournament, each club names eleven players and up to five substitutes before every match. In order to play in the match, a player must have also been registered to compete in the semi-final round for the same club
6.
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
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The UEFA Cup Winners Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA, the first competition was held in the 1960–61 season — but not recognised by the governing body of European football until two years later. The final tournament was held in 1998–99, after which it was absorbed into the UEFA Cup, in the 1985–86 season, English clubs were banned from European competition. Consequently, Manchester United, Everton, Coventry City, Wimbledon, from 1972 onwards, the winner of the tournament progressed to play the winner of the European Cup in the UEFA Super Cup. Since the abolition of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, the UEFA Super Cup place previously reserved for the Cup Winners Cup winner has been taken by the winner of the UEFA Cup, now UEFA Europa League. The competitions official name was originally the European Cup Winners Cup, in common with other UEFA club tournaments, the away goal applied when aggregate scores was parity. Following the influx of new UEFA member nations during the 1990s, however, if this team also qualified for the European Champions Cup then they would default on their place in the Cup Winners Cup and no other team would replace them. In 1998–99, the final year, Heerenveen of the Netherlands entered the Cup Winners Cup despite only reaching the semi-final of the previous seasons Dutch Cup. This was due to both Dutch Cup finalists Ajax and PSV Eindhoven qualifying for the recently expanded Champions League. The European Cup had proven to be a success and the Fairs Cup had also proven popular – as a result. One proposal was for a tournament based upon the format of the European Cup, but with national cup winners rather than league champions taking part, the inaugural Cup Winners Cup was held in the 1960–61 season and was basically a semi-official pilot tournament. It was essentially only in England, Scotland and to a lesser extent Germany, for the tournaments second season in 1961–62, UEFA took over the running of all aspects of the competition and this time all the clubs eligible to enter accepted the opportunity. By 1968, all UEFA member nations had set up domestic cup competitions due to the success of the Cup Winners Cup, UEFA regarded it as the second most prestigious competition, behind the European Cup and ahead of the Fairs Cup. Nevertheless, many commentators and fans regarded the Cup Winners Cup as weaker than the UEFA Cup, no club managed to retain the Cup Winners Cup, although eight times a winning side followed up their victories with a losing appearance in the following seasons final. After the establishment of the UEFA Champions League in the early 1990s, with the expansion of the Champions League in 1997 to allow more than one team from the highest-ranked member associations to enter, the Cup Winners Cup began to look noticeably inferior. Since then, domestic cup winners who do not otherwise qualify for the Champions League are given a place in the Europa League, the Cup Winners Cup trophy itself is a property of UEFA and it is not assigned to any club. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation UEFA website
7.
Ally McCoist
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Alistair Murdoch Ally McCoist MBE, is a Scottish football player, manager, pundit and former actor. McCoist began his career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in 1981. He returned to Scotland two years later and signed with Rangers, McCoist had a highly successful spell with Rangers, becoming the clubs record goalscorer and winning nine successive league championships between 1988–89 and 1996–97. McCoist was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and he is also a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having gained 61 international caps. If goals from all divisions are included, he moves up one position to 4th and this is because 22 First Division goals from his time with St Johnstone are included, taking his overall Scottish league total to 282. If looking at total goals scored for a Scottish league club, he moves up to 2nd place, with 396 goals from 712 games, behind only Jimmy McGrory, towards the end of his playing career, McCoist started a media career. The most prominent example of this was his captaincy in the BBC sports quiz A Question of Sport. McCoist reduced his media commitments in 2007, when he became an assistant manager to Walter Smith at Rangers and he succeeded Smith as Rangers manager in 2011, but the club then suffered from serious financial difficulties. Rangers suffered liquidation in 2012 and were placed in the fourth tier of Scottish league football. In September 2015 McCoist and Rangers mutually agreed to terminate his contract, McCoists first professional club was St Johnstone, having signed from Fir Park Boys Club in 1978. McCoist had trained with St Mirren as a 16-year-old but was rejected by manager Alex Ferguson for being too small and he made his debut for St Johnstone on 7 April 1979 in a 3–0 win over Raith Rovers. McCoist didnt score his first goal for the club netting the third against Dumbarton in a 3–0 win in August 1980. He went on to score 23 goals in 43 appearances that season, Sunderland manager Alan Durban signed McCoist in 1981. The £400,000 transfer fee spent on McCoist made him Sunderlands most expensive ever signing and his time at Sunderland was unsuccessful, McCoist scored only nine goals in 65 appearances for a side struggling at the foot of the English First Division. He followed this up with a goal against Brighton & Hove Albion meaning he had matched his previous seasons tally midway through September, with seven goals scored by the end of October big things were expected but McCoist failed to score another goal in Sunderland shirt. Despite this he finished top scorer for Sunderland in 1982–83. At the end of the 1982–83 season he returned to Scotland, during his fifteen years with Rangers, McCoist achieved an array of honours, including ten league championship medals. This began with a title in the 1986–87 season and included the whole Nine in a Row period between 1989 and 1997, McCoist also won a Scottish Cup winners medal and nine Scottish League Cup winners medals
8.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
9.
FC Porto
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Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM, commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the football team playing in the Primeira Liga. They are nicknamed Dragões, for the mythical creature atop the clubs crest, the club supporters are called Portistas. Since 2003, Porto have played their matches at the Estádio do Dragão, which replaced the previous 52-year-old ground. Porto is the second most successful Portuguese team, with a total of 74 official trophies,67 were achieved in domestic competitions and comprise 27 league titles,16 Taça de Portugal,4 Campeonato de Portugal, and a record 20 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. Porto is the team in Portuguese league history to have won two titles without conceding any defeat, namely in the 2010–11 and 2012–13 seasons. In the former, Porto achieved the largest-ever difference of points between champion and runner-up in a system, on their way to a second quadruple. In addition, they were runners-up in the 1983–84 European Cup Winners Cup, together with Barcelona and Real Madrid, Porto have the most appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Porto were 16th in the UEFA club coefficient ranking, Porto was the only Portuguese club that was part of G-14 member. Porto played its first matches with other Portuguese clubs, including one against Lisbons Foot-Ball Club Lisbonense on 2 March 1894. This match had the patronage of King Carlos I and Queen Amélie of Orléans, almeidas enthusiasm and involvement with the club waned due to family pressure, and by the turn of the century, Porto had entered a period of inactivity. In 1906, José Monteiro da Costa returned to Porto after finishing his studies in England, on 2 August 1906, Porto was revived and Monteiro da Costa appointed its president. Although football was the force, the club also promoted other sports, including gymnastics, weightlifting and wrestling, athletics. Shortly after, Porto rented its first ground and recruited a French coach named Adolphe Cassaigne, on 15 December 1907, Porto played its first match against a foreign team, hosting Spains Real Fortuna. In the following month, Porto returned the visit and played its first match abroad, four years later, the club won the inaugural staging of the Taça José Monteiro da Costa, securing its first-ever official title. In 1912, Porto joined efforts with Leixões to establish the Porto Football Association, Porto finished the first season as runners-up, behind local rivals Boavista, but in the following season the club won its first championship. The 1921–22 season was marked by the creation of the first nationwide football competition – the Campeonato de Portugal, organised by the national federation, this knockout tournament gathered the winners of the different regional championships to determine the Portuguese champion. After clinching its fourth consecutive title, Porto defeated Sporting CP in the inaugural edition
10.
Malta
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Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy,284 km east of Tunisia, the country covers just over 316 km2, with a population of just under 450,000, making it one of the worlds smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km2, is the smallest national capital in the European Union, Malta has one national language, which is Maltese, and English as an official language. John, French and British, have ruled the islands, King George VI of the United Kingdom awarded the George Cross to Malta in 1942 for the countrys bravery in the Second World War. The George Cross continues to appear on Maltas national flag, the country became a republic in 1974, and although no longer a Commonwealth realm, remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964 and to the European Union in 2004, in 2008, Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. The origin of the term Malta is uncertain, and the modern-day variation derives from the Maltese language, the most common etymology is that the word Malta derives from the Greek word μέλι, meli, honey. The ancient Greeks called the island Μελίτη meaning honey-sweet, possibly due to Maltas unique production of honey, an endemic species of bee lives on the island. The Romans went on to call the island Melita, which can be considered either as a latinisation of the Greek Μελίτη or the adaptation of the Doric Greek pronunciation of the same word Μελίτα. Another conjecture suggests that the word Malta comes from the Phoenician word Maleth a haven or port in reference to Maltas many bays, few other etymological mentions appear in classical literature, with the term Malta appearing in its present form in the Antonine Itinerary. The extinction of the hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic period were discovered in areas and also in caves. The Sicani were the tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time and are generally regarded as being closely related to the Iberians. Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase is similar to found in Agrigento. A culture of megalithis temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period, the temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BCE. Animal bones and a knife found behind an altar stone suggest that temple rituals included animal sacrifice. Tentative information suggests that the sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, the culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BC. Archaeologists speculate that the builders fell victim to famine or disease
11.
Valletta F.C.
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Valletta Football Club is a Maltese football club based in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. Valletta Football Club was founded in 1943, as a merger of Valletta Prestons, Valletta St. Pauls, Valletta also have a futsal team which participates in Maltas top futsal league. There is no evidence on when Valletta F. C. started. The foundation of Valletta F. C. was laid with the creation of the Valletta United team, Valletta United was known as the team of the square since the club was located in St. Georges Square. Valletta United represented the city from 1904 to 1932, the city of Valletta in Malta has a long footballing history, between 1886 and 1919 at some point or another, around fourteen teams had competed representing the city. Amongst these early teams included the popular Boys Empire League, Valletta College, St. Georges Square, Dockyard Albion, a very important early step in the history of the current club, was the founding of Valletta United Football Club in 1903 by local youngsters. Despite their enthusiasm for the game which had brought to the island by the British. They cut their white trousers into long shorts and dyed their shirts into that of the colours for their uniforms. The Ditch at Porte des Bombes, which itself had been the scene of the first ever recorded Maltese football match in 1886, was chosen to host Valletta Uniteds first match on 9 January 1904. United faced off against a team from the Collegiate School and won 1–0 with a strike from a forward named L. Agius. During their last ever season, Valletta United upset the two clubs in Malta of the time, by winning the Maltese League in 1931–32. Although Sliema and Floriana dominated the scene in those times, by winning these trophies it was Valletta United that started to break into this monopoly. Valletta United were very active in the Championship of the first division, during the period that Valletta United played within the Malta Football Association, Valletta United won the championship in 1931–32. However, for reason in the following season, Valletta United disappeared from the football scene and thus the monopoly of Sliema. Valletta United was the not the team from the city that played in the highest Division of the M. F. A. In the 1925–26 and the 1926–27 seasons there were Valletta Rovers who played in the highest Division of the M. F. A, then in the season 1937–38 and 1938–39 there was Valletta City. In 1996–97 Valletta F. C. won all five competitions that the Maltese football offers and this was done by succeeding to win the Premier League, Rothmans Trophy, Super Five Cup, Lowenbrau Cup and Super Cup. In the season 2000–01, Valletta F. C. succeeded in breaking their own record from 1996–97 and this time they won the six competitions offered by the M. F. A
12.
Motherwell F.C.
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Motherwell Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premiership, Motherwell have not dropped out of the top-flight of Scottish football since 1985, but have only lifted one trophy in that time – the Scottish Cup in 1991. Clad in their traditional claret and amber, Motherwell play their matches at Fir Park Stadium and have done since 1896. The clubs main rivals over the years have been Hamilton Academical and Airdrieonians and these matches are known as the Lanarkshire derby. Motherwells debut fixture proved to be a one as they overcame Hamilton Academical 3–2. On 5 August 1893 the decision was made to professional. Up until 1895 the club had played at a few different venues, including a site at Roman Road, the small pitch and muddy conditions at Dalziel Park were deemed unsuitable and fortunately Lord Hamilton granted a lease on a plot of land on his Dalzell estate. This new ground was named Fir Park and has remained the home for over one hundred years. The following years saw the club grow, appointing their first and longest serving manager to date, John Sailor Hunter, in 1913 the decision was made to change the clubs colours from blue to the now signature claret and amber. Motherwell enjoyed a period in the aftermath of World War I. The club placed third in the 1919–20 season and, although narrowly avoiding relegation in 1924–25, they climbed the table. In the summer of 1927, the made a very successful tour of Spain, winning six out of the eight games they played. These results included an emphatic 3–1 victory over Real Madrid and a 2–2 draw with Barcelona, following their success in Spain, the club went on another summer tour, this time of South America. After losing only three of their previous ten games, the tour culminated in a 5–0 defeat by a Brazilian League Select side, the championship was sealed on 23 April 1932, when Rangers could only draw at home against Clyde, handing Motherwell the title without kicking a ball. This was also the only League title won by a club outside the Old Firm between 1904 and 1947, in the two seasons following the league title win, Well finished runners up. Motherwell also contested three Scottish Cup finals in this period – in 1931,1933 and 1939, following the break-up of the squad after World War II, the club were not instantly successful. It then captured two trophies in as many years with victories in the 1950 Scottish League Cup Final. The club was relegated for the first time ever at the end of the 1952–53 season
13.
Clydebank F.C.
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Clydebank Football Club are a Scottish junior football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. The current club, formed in 2003, is a member of the West Super League Premier Division, the town has been represented by several previous incarnations in both senior and junior football. The current club can trace their development from Clydebank Juniors F. C. who were founded in 1899. Following chronic financial difficulties, the club were out by Airdrie United and relocated to play in Airdrie under the new identity. A year later, supporters of the version of the club re-established its identity once more. The 1965–2002 incarnation of Clydebank F. C. were the club of that name to represent the town in senior football. The first club was formed in 1888 but never competed at a high level, of more significance was the second Clydebank F. C. formed in 1914 and a Scottish Football League member from then until 1931. The first senior club to represent the town was formed in 1888 and they entered the Scottish Cup several times, making their last appearance in the competition proper in the 1893–94 competition. In addition they were members of the Scottish Federation from 1891 to 1893 and this club folded in 1895, to be resurrected in 1899, with this second incarnation also based at Hamilton Park. They retained their membership of the Scottish Football Association until 1902, the junior club were formed in the village of Duntocher in 1899, under the name of Duntocher F. C. This was as the result of a breakaway from another local junior club and they changed their name to Clydebank Juniors in 1900 on moving to the town itself. They were based at the original Kilbowie Park prior to the construction of a ground in 1939. Around about this time they were one of Scotlands leading junior sides and they also won the West of Scotland Cup in 1949–50 season captained by centre half Joe Gallagher. They were formed in 1914 and immediately elected to the Scottish Football League, after suffering from financial difficulties, they resigned from the SFL and disbanded in 1931. During their time in the league, they were runners-up in Division Two twice, in 1922-23, in 1964 the Steedman brothers, Jack and Charlie, owners of East Stirlingshire F. C. controversially merged their club with Clydebank Juniors. The new club inherited East Stirlingshires place in Division Two, playing matches at Kilbowie. After a year, a challenge by East Stirlingshire supporters led to them resuming their former identity back in Falkirk. The Steedmans elected to remain at Clydebank, establishing a new club at senior level, although in many senses a resumption of Clydebank Juniors, albeit at a different level, they were technically a brand new club
Peter McCloy
John McClelland
Robert Prytz
David Mitchell