1.
2006 UEFA Champions League Final
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It was the final match of the 2005–06 season of Europes primary cup competition, the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona were appearing in their final, having won the competition once in 1992. Arsenal were appearing in the final for the first time and in doing so became the first club from London to feature in the final, each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. Barcelona won their group and progressed to the final after beating Chelsea, Benfica and Milan, Arsenal won their group to move into the knockout stage, and progressed without conceding a goal against Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal, respectively. A crowd of 79,500 watched as Jens Lehmann was sent off early in the game, despite this setback, Arsenal took the lead through Sol Campbell towards the end of the first half. The game turned with the 61st minute introduction of Henrik Larsson as a Barcelona substitute, Larsson provided two assists, one each for Samuel Etoo and Juliano Belletti. The 2–1 victory was Barcelonas second triumph in the competition 14 years after they won the European Cup in 1992, both Arsenal and Barcelona entered the competition in the group stages, Arsenal by finishing second in the 2004–05 FA Premier League, and Barcelona by winning La Liga. The group stages were contested as eight double round robin groups of four teams, knockout matches were decided based on home and away matches, with the away goals rule, extra time and penalty shootouts as tiebreakers if needed. UEFA also conducted a variety of site visits, saint-Denis was chosen to host the final in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first European Cup final in 1956, held in nearby Paris at the Parc des Princes, now home of Paris Saint-Germain. The Parc des Princes also hosted the 1975 and 1981 European Cup finals, the 1978 and 1995 UEFA Cup Winners Cup finals, Barcelona were to show the match live from their Mini Estadi on a 70-metre television screen for an estimated audience of 15,276. Before the final an estimated 1.2 million people converged on to the streets of Barcelona, Arsenal went into the match with the record for the longest time without a conceding a goal. They had gone 919 minutes without conceding since conceding against AFC Ajax in the group stages, Arsenal were featuring in their first European final six years to the day since their last final. They faced Galatasaray in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final, the match had finished goalless after 90 minutes, Arsenal lost the subsequent penalty shootout 4–1. Of the players who featured in final, only Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp remained at the club, whilst Sylvinho. The 2006 final was the first time that Arsenal had reached the showpiece match, Barcelona were appearing in the final for the fifth time, their last appearance had been in a 4–0 loss to Milan in 1994. Two more losses preceded the 1994 final, and their success in the competition came in 1992 when they beat Sampdoria. Barcelona went into the final as domestic champions, having won La Liga a fortnight earlier. They were regarded as being the best side on the continent because they possessed players such as Ronaldinho and Samuel Etoo
2.
Stade de France
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The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 81,338 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe, the stadium is used by the France national football team and French rugby union team for international competition. Originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the name was recommended by Michel Platini. On 12 July 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final contested at the stadium, the facility also hosted the Race of Champions auto race in 2004,2005, and 2006. The stadium hosted the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and since 1999 it has hosted the annual Meeting Areva athletics meet and it also hosted some matches at UEFA Euro 2016, including the final, where France lost to Portugal by 1-0 after extra-time. Domestically, the Stade de France serves as a secondary home facility of Parisian rugby clubs Stade Français and Racing Métro 92, the facility is owned and operated by the Consortium Stade de France. The discussion of a stadium in France came about as a result of the countrys selection to host the 1998 FIFA World Cup on 2 July 1992. As a result of the selection, the country and the France Football Federation made a commitment to construct an 80 and it was the first time in over 70 years since the construction of the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir that a stadium in France was being constructed for a specific event. Due to the magnitude and importance of the facility, the Council of State was allowed first hand approach to how the stadium would be constructed and paid for. The stadiums design was handled by the team of architects composed of Michel Macary, Aymeric Zublena, Regembal Michel, and Claude Costantini who were associated with CR SCAU Architecture. The stadium was ready for construction following the governments selection of manufacturers, Bouygues, Dumez, and SGE. With only 31 months to complete the stadium, construction commenced on 2 May 1995, the laying of the first cornerstone took place five months later on 6 September. After over a year of construction, over 800, 000m ² of earthworks had been created, the installation of the roof, which cost €45 million, and the mobile platform also took more than a year to complete. During the developmental phase, the stadium was referred to in French as the Grand Stade, on 4 December 1995, the Ministry of Sport launched a design competition to decide on a name for the stadium. The stadium was named the Stade de France after the Ministry heard a proposal from French football legend Michel Platini. The stadium was inaugurated on 28 January 1998 as it hosted a match between France and Spain. The total cost of the stadium was approximately €290 million, the national rugby teams first match in the facility was contested five days after its opening, on 2 February, with France earning a 24–17 win over England in front of 77,567 spectators. Philippe Bernat-Salles converted the first ever try at the stadium scoring it in the 11th minute of play, on 24 May 2000, the Stade de France hosted the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final
3.
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
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Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.4 km from the centre of Paris, Saint-Denis is a subprefecture of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis is home to the necropolis of the Basilica of Saint Denis and was also the location of the associated abbey. It is also home to Frances national football and rugby stadium, Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called Dionysiens, until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called Catolacus or Catulliacum, probably meaning estate of Catullius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was martyred on Montmartre hill, shortly after 250 his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of the Abbey of Saint Denis, and the settlement was renamed Saint-Denis. In 1793, during the French Revolution, Saint-Denis was renamed Franciade in a gesture of rejection of religion, in 1803, however, under the Consulate of Napoléon Bonaparte, the city reverted to its former name of Saint-Denis. During its history, Saint-Denis has been associated with the French royal house. Starting from Dagobert I, almost every French king was buried in the Basilica, however, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was a Gallo-Roman village named Catolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today, Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about 250 and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis tomb quickly became a place of worship, around 475, Sainte Geneviève had a small chapel erected on Denis tomb, which by then had become a popular destination for pilgrims. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into a royal monastery, during the Middle Ages, because of the privileges granted by Dagobert, Saint-Denis grew to become very important. Merchants from all over Europe came to visit its market, in 1140, Abbot Suger, counselor to the King, granted further privileges to the citizens of Saint-Denis. He also started the work of enlarging the Basilica of Saint Denis that still exists today, the new church was consecrated in 1144. Saint-Denis suffered heavily in the Hundred Years War, of its 10,000 citizens, during the French Wars of Religion, the Battle of Saint-Denis was fought between Catholics and Protestants on 10 November 1567. The Protestants were defeated, but the Catholic commander Anne de Montmorency was killed, in 1590, the city surrendered to Henry IV, who converted to Catholicism in 1593 in the abbey of Saint-Denis. King Louis XIV started several industries in Saint-Denis, weaving and spinning mills and dyehouses. His successor, Louis XV, whose daughter was a nun in the Carmelite convent, took a lively interest in the city, he added a chapel to the convent and also renovated the buildings of the royal abbey
4.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
5.
FC Barcelona
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Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the second most valuable team in the world, worth $3.56 billion. The official Barcelona anthem is the Cant del Barça, written by Jaume Picas, Barcelona was ranked first in the IFFHS Club World Ranking for 1997,2009,2011,2012 and 2015 and currently occupies the third position on the UEFA club rankings. The club has a rivalry with Real Madrid, matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico. Barcelona is one of the most supported teams in the world, Barcelonas players have won a record number of Ballon dOr awards, as well as a record number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao. In 2011, the club became European champions again and won five trophies, by winning their fifth Champions League trophy on 6 June 2015, Barcelona became the first European club in history to achieve the continental treble twice. On 22 October 1899, Hans Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club, FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya and he said in a meeting, Barcelona cannot die and must not die. If there is nobody who is going to try, then I will assume the responsibility of running the club now on. Club president on five occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium. On 14 March 1909, the moved into the Camp de la Indústria. To celebrate their new surroundings, the club conducted a logo contest the following year, Carles Comamala won the contest, and his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears – with some minor changes – as of the present day. The contest was the most prestigious in that era, from the inaugural year in 1910 to 1913, Barcelona won the competition four consecutive times. Carles Comamala played a part of the four-time champion, managing the side along with Amechazurra. The latter became the clubs first full-time coach in 1917, the last edition was held in 1914 in the city of Barcelona, which local rivals Espanyol won
6.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
7.
Arsenal F.C.
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Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Highbury, London, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 League titles,12 FA Cups, Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893. They entered the First Division in 1904, and have accumulated the second most points. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division, in the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double, between 1989 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles. They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position, Herbert Chapman won Arsenals first national trophies, but died prematurely. He helped introduce the WM formation, floodlights, and shirt numbers, Arsène Wenger has been the longest-serving manager and has won the most trophies. His teams set several English records, the longest win streak, the longest unbeaten run, in 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square. In 1913, the crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. They became Tottenham Hotspurs nearest club, commencing the North London derby, in 2006, they moved down the road to the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal earned €435. 5m in 2014–15, with the Emirates Stadium generating the highest revenue in world football, based on social media activity from 2014–15, Arsenals fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. In 2016, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in England, on 1 December 1886, munitions workers in Woolwich, now South East London, formed Arsenal as Dial Square, with David Danskin as their first captain. Named after the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex, they took the name of the complex a month later. Royal Arsenal F. C. s first home was Plumstead Common, though spent most of their time in South East London playing on the other side of Plumstead. Royal Arsenal won Arsenals first trophies in 1890 and 1891, Royal Arsenal renamed themselves for a second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893. They registered their new name, Woolwich Arsenal, with The Football League when the club ascended later that year, Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of The Football League, starting out in the Second Division and winning promotion to the First Division in 1904. Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers, businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall took the club over, and sought to move them elsewhere. In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Woolwich Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury and this saw their third change of name, the following year, they reduced Woolwich Arsenal to simply The Arsenal
8.
Ukraine
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Ukraine is currently in territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014 but which Ukraine and most of the international community recognise as Ukrainian. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest country entirely within Europe and it has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC, during the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 13th century, the territory was contested, ruled and divided by a variety of powers, including Lithuania, Poland, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, two brief periods of independence occurred during the 20th century, once near the end of World War I and another during World War II. Before its independence, Ukraine was typically referred to in English as The Ukraine, following independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state. Nonetheless it formed a limited partnership with the Russian Federation and other CIS countries. In the 2000s, the government began leaning towards NATO, and it was later agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future. Former President Viktor Yanukovych considered the current level of co-operation between Ukraine and NATO sufficient, and was against Ukraine joining NATO and these events formed the background for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, and the War in Donbass in April 2014. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic part of the Deep, Ukraine has long been a global breadbasket because of its extensive, fertile farmlands and is one of the worlds largest grain exporters. The diversified economy of Ukraine includes a heavy industry sector, particularly in aerospace. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate powers, legislative, executive. Its capital and largest city is Kiev, taking into account reserves and paramilitary personnel, Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe after that of Russia. Ukrainian is the language and its alphabet is Cyrillic. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodoxy, which has strongly influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature, there are different hypotheses as to the etymology of the name Ukraine. According to the older and most widespread hypothesis, it means borderland, while more recently some studies claim a different meaning, homeland or region. The Ukraine now implies disregard for the sovereignty, according to U. S. ambassador William Taylor. Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites include a mammoth bone dwelling
9.
Andriy Shevchenko
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Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a politician, football manager and retired Ukrainian footballer who played for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team as a striker. From February to July 2016, he was an assistant coach of the Ukraine national team, on 15 July 2016, shortly following the nations elimination from UEFA Euro 2016, Shevchenko was appointed as Ukraines head coach. Shevchenko is ranked as the top goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, Shevchenko is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, furthermore, he is the all-time top scorer for the Ukrainian national team with 48 goals. In 2012, he quit football and joined Ukraine – Forward. to take part in elections, Shevchenkos career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon dOr in 2004. He won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and he has won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy. He was also an UEFA Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008, in his illustrious international career, the striker led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, and also took part at UEFA Euro 2012. On 28 July 2012, Shevchenko announced that he was quitting football for politics and he was standing for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, but his party failed to win parliamentary representation. Shevchenko was born in the family of Praporshchik Mykola Hryhorovych Shevchenko in 1976, in 1979, his family moved to the newly built neighborhood in Kiev – Obolon. In Kiev, Shevchenko went to the 216th City School and in 1986 enrolled into the football section coached by Oleksandr Shpakov, because of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, together with his sport group he was evacuated temporarily from the city. At an early age, he also was a boxer in the LLWI Ukrainian junior league. In 1992–93, Shevchenko was the top scorer for Dynamo-2 with 12 goals. He made his debut on 28 October 1994 in a game against Shakhtar Donetsk and his 19 goals in 23 league matches and six goals in ten Champions League matches were followed by 28 total goals in all competitions in 1998–99. He won the league title with Dynamo in each of his five seasons with the club. In 1999, Shevchenko joined Italian club Milan for a transfer fee of $25 million. He made his debut on 28 August 1999 in a 2–2 draw with Lecce. Shevchenko maintained his excellent form into the 2000–01 season, scoring 24 goals in 34 matches, Shevchenko also managed to score nine goals in 14 matches in the Champions League. Milan, however, failed to get past the group stage
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Barcelona (2nd title)
Arsenal
Andriy Shevchenko
Dinamo Tbilisi
Artmedia
FH
Skonto
Anorthosis Famagusta
Sheriff Tiraspol
FBK Kaunas
The New Saints F.C.
Pyunik
KF Tirana
Shelbourne
Zrinjski Mostar
Brøndby
Thun
Trabzonspor
Celtic
CSKA Sofia
Maccabi Haifa
Steaua București
Lokomotiv Moscow
Rapid Wien
Hajduk Split
Panathinaikos
Monaco
Udinese
Werder Bremen
Ajax
Slavia Prague
76'
