1.
Bazaly
The Bazaly stadium was a football stadium in Ostrava, Czech Republic. It lay in Slezská Ostrava, the Silesian part of the city, the first match was played there on 19 April 1959, it functioned as the home stadium of FC Baník Ostrava until the end of the 2014–15 Czech First League season. The stadium was reconstructed in 2003, the cost was about 30 mil. EUR), and the pitch was replaced in 2004, in June 2014 a new capacity of 10,039 was announced for the forthcoming season. Heavy metal band Iron Maiden played at the stadium for a 38,000 capacity crowd on June 6,2007 and it was the biggest rock concert in Ostrava. Photo gallery and data at Erlebnis-stadion. de Profile of the stadium at FC Baník Ostrava website
2.
Goalkeeper (association football)
Goalkeeper, often shortened to keeper or goalie, is one of the major positions of association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport, the goalkeepers primary role is to prevent the opposing team from successfully moving the ball over the defended goal-line. This is accomplished by the moving into the path of the ball. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are able to use their hands, goalkeepers usually perform goal kicks, and give commands to their defence during corner kicks and indirect free kicks, and marking. Goalkeepers play an important role in directing on field strategy as they have a view of the entire pitch. If an attacker on the opposing team obstructs the keeper from catching or saving the ball, for example, in a corner, it will normally be a free kick. If a goalkeeper is injured or sent off, a goalkeeper has to take their place. In order to replace a goalkeeper who is sent off, a team usually substitutes an outfield player for the backup keeper and they play the remainder of the match with nine outfield players.
Goalkeepers often have longer playing careers than players, many not retiring until their late thirties or early forties. This can be explained by noting that goalkeepers play a physically demanding position that requires significantly less running. For example, Peter Shilton played for 31 years between 1966 and 1997 before retiring at the age of 47. Because only one player can play in goal and the position is so specialised many professional teams on average especially at the highest level have one player as first-choice for many years, for example Gianlugi Buffon has played as first choice keeper for Juventus for more than 15 years. Petr Cech prior to his move to Aresnal was first choice keeper for Chelsea between 2004 and 2015, the squad number for a first choice goalkeeper is generally number 1. Although this is common, some goalkeepers now wear other numbers when in goal, association football, like many sports, has experienced many changes in tactics resulting in the generation and elimination of different positions.
Goalkeeper is the position that is certain to have existed since the codification of the sport. The earliest account of football teams with player positions comes from Richard Mulcaster in 1581, the earliest specific reference to keeping goal comes from Cornish Hurling in 1602. One of these is appointed by lots, to the one side, there is assigned for their guard, a couple of their best stopping Hurlers. Other references to scoring goals begin in English literature in the early 16th century, for example, in John Days play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Ill play a gole at camp-ball
3.
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin.
This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index.
Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD.
With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
4.
Away colours
Away colours are a choice of coloured clothing used in team sports. They are required to be worn by one team during a game between teams that would wear the same colours as each other, or similar colours. This change prevents confusion for officials and spectators, in most sports it is the visiting team that must change – second-choice kits are commonly known as away kits or change kits in British English, and road uniforms in American English. Some sports leagues mandate that teams must always wear an alternative kit. In some sports, conventionally the home team has changed its kit, in most cases, a team wears its away kit only when its primary kit would clash with the colours of the home team. However, sometimes teams wear away colours by choice, occasionally even in a home game, at some clubs, the away kit has become more popular than the home version. Replica home and away kits are available for fans to buy. Some teams have produced third-choice kits, or even old-fashioned throwback uniforms, in American sports, road teams usually wear a change uniform regardless of a potential colour clash.
Further, almost all road uniforms are white in American football, in the National Basketball Association, home uniforms are white or yellow, and visiting teams wear a darker colour. In the United States, color vs. color games are a rarity, most teams choose to wear their color jerseys at home, with the road team changing to white in most cases. White road uniforms gained prominence with the rise of television in the 1950s, a white vs. color game was easier to follow in black-and-white. According to Phil Hecken, until the mid 1950′s, not only was color versus color common in the NFL, even long after the advent of color television, the use of white jerseys has remained in almost every game. The NFLs current rules require that a home jerseys must be either white or official team color throughout the season. If a team insists on wearing its home uniforms on the road, the road team might instead wear a third jersey, such as the Seattle Seahawks Wolf Grey alternate. According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Cleveland Browns wore white for home game of the 1955 season.
The only times they wore brown was for games at Philadelphia and the New York Giants, in 1964 the Baltimore Colts, Browns and Rams wore white regularly for their home games according to Tim Brulias research. The St. Louis Cardinals wore white for several of their home games, until 1964 Dallas had worn blue at home, but it was not an official rule that teams should wear their colored jerseys at home. The use of white jerseys was instigated by general manager Tex Schramm, the Cowboys still wear white at home today
5.
Ostrava
Ostrava is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and is the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It is 15 km from the border with Poland, at the point of four rivers. The population was around 300,000 in 2013, Ostrava grew to prominence thanks to its position at the heart of a major coalfield, becoming an important industrial centre. Industries have been restructured, and the last coal was mined in the city in 1994. Lower Vítkovice has applied for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List, since the 1990s Ostrava has been transformed into a modern cultural city, with numerous theatres and other cultural facilities. It hosts a range of cultural and sporting events throughout the year. Among the best known are the Colours of Ostrava multi-genre music festival, the Janáček May classical music festival, Ostrava is home to two public universities, the VŠB-Technical University and the University of Ostrava. In 2014 Ostrava was a European City of Sport, the city co-hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2004 and 2015.
The city’s coat of arms features a shield with a rearing silver horse standing on a green lawn. The horse wears a saddle and a red coverlet. At the top right of the shield there is a rose with green leaves. The horse in the coat-of-arms wears no bridle, the oldest known depiction of this coat-of-arms is on a seal dating from 1426, the first coloured version dates from 1728. This explanation is supported by most modern literature, in 2008, Ostrava’s new marketing logo was unveiled. Designed by Studio Najbrt, the logo “OSTRAVA. ” is used in presentations of the city both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The three exclamation marks are meant to symbolise the dynamism and self-confidence of Ostrava and its people, the light blue colour of the city’s name is based on the heraldic tradition, while the exclamation marks are a contrasting darker blue. The logo is intended to be striking and above all memorable, the first written mention of Silesian Ostrava dates from 1229, when it was described as a settlement.
The first mention of Moravian Ostrava describes it as a township, Ostrava grew up on the banks of the Ostrá River, from which it took its name. This river still divides the city into two parts, Moravian Ostrava and Silesian Ostrava
6.
Ultras
Ultras are a type of football fan renowned for ultra-fanatical support, occasionally to the point of violence and hateful chants and slogans. They are predominantly followers of association football teams, the use of elaborate displays in stadiums often is common, as well. In some instances, this goes to the point where the passionate, in recent decades, the culture has become a focal point for the movement against the commercialisation of sports and football in particular. In 2013, the Associated Press stated that the Egyptian Ultras network was one of the most organized movements in Egypt after the Muslim Brotherhood. The origin of the movement is disputed, with many supporters groups from various countries making claims solely on the basis of their dates of foundation. The level of dispute and confusion is aided by a tendency to categorize all groups of overtly fanatical supporters as ultras. Supporters groups of a nature comparable to the ultras have been present in Brazil since 1939, inspired by the torcidas and the colourful scenes of the 1950 World Cup, supporters of Hajduk Split formed Torcida Split on 28 October 1950.
The group is cited as the oldest torcida style group in Europe. One country closely associated with the movement is Italy. The first Italian ultras groups were formed in 1951, including the Fedelissimi Granata of Torino, the term Ultras was used as a name for the first time in 1969 when supporters of Sampdoria formed the Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni and fans of Torino formed the Ultras Granata. The decade saw the violence and unrest of Italian society at the overlap with the ultras movement. The ultras movement spread across Europe during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, germany and the Netherlands, three countries whose footballing cultures were more influenced by British football in the past, experienced significant change. The clubs in Egypt became a political force during the uprising against Mubarak in 2011. Ultras in Turkey have played a role in the 2013 protests in Turkey, with fans of arch-rivals Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas shielding protesters, police responded with raids in the Besiktas neighbourhood, the main breeding ground of ultras of the Beşiktaş club, the Carsi Group.
Ultras groups are usually centred on a group of founders or leaders, with smaller subgroups organized by location. Ultras tend to use various styles and sizes of banners and flags bearing the name, some ultras groups sell their own merchandise to raise funds for performing displays. An ultras group can number from a handful of fans to hundreds or thousands, Ultras groups often have a representative who liaises with the club owners on a regular basis, mostly regarding tickets, seat allocations and storage facilities. Some clubs provide groups with cheaper tickets, storage rooms for flags and banners and these types of favoured relationships are often criticized when ultras groups abuse their power
7.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War.
After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast.
Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
8.
FC Spartak Trnava
FC Spartak Trnava is a Slovak professional football club based in Trnava. The clubs official anthem is Il Silenzio, the club was founded on 30 May 1923 by the merger of Šk Čechie and ČšŠk into TSS Trnava. After a communist takeover it became affiliated with the industry and was renamed to TJ Kovosmalt. In 1952, the club gained its current name, the Golden era of Spartak began in the 1966–67 season. The team of legendary coach Anton Malatinský was top of the league by the autumn, great success was achieved in the Mitropa Cup. Spartak beat teams like Budapest Honvéd, Lazio and Fiorentina and in the final they defeated Újpest of Hungary, in the following season Spartak gained their most memorable European results. They reached the semi-final of the European Cup to face Ajax and it is their greatest success to date. Under the management of Ján Hucko, the won a second championship. In 1970–71 and 1971–72, Trnava won their third and fourth titles under coaches Valér Švec. The team reached the quarter-final of the European Cup in 1973 and 1974, the fifth and the last league title in 1972–73 beckoned the end of Spartaks golden era.
In 1976, Karol Dobiaš was in the squad won the UEFA Euro 1976. Although Spartak finished 16th in the last unified Czechoslovak league season in 1992–93, in the 1995–96 season, Spartak finished third and its popularity grew. The 1996–97 season was a memorable on for the fans of Spartak, Karol Pecze almost led the team to its first Slovakian league title but got beaten to it by Košice in the final week of competition. The following season, under new coach Dušan Galis the team achieved second place. Since the 1993–94 Slovak League Top scorer, the main ultras group is called Ultras Spartak. They are universally considered to be the best fans in Slovakia, Trnava has had the highest average attendances in the republic for a long period of time. Between 1988 and 2006, Spartak ultras had a friendship with Baník Ostrava fans, good relations. Traditionally, the club has great support in the city and its districts, the greatest rival is Slovan Bratislava
9.
Kit (association football)
In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shorts, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection.
The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition.
The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
10.
Czechoslovakia national football team
The national team was founded in 1901, existing under the previously mentioned names before the separation of Czechoslovakia in 1992. Their first international competition as the Czech Republic was the UEFA Euro 1996, where they finished runners-up, following the separation, they have only featured in one FIFA World Cup, the 2006 tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round of the competition. Bohemia played a match against Yugoslavia and Germany in 1939 while being the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, when the Czech Republic was part of Czechoslovakia, the national team had runner-up finishes in World Cups and a European Championship win in 1976. The newly formed team played their first home game in Ostrava, against Lithuania, in which registered their first home win. Their first competitive match was part of the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying campaign, in the final tournament, hosted by England, the Czechs progressed from the group stage, despite a 2–0 opening game defeat to Germany.
They continued their form, and progressed to the UEFA Euro 1996 final. Given their success at Euro 1996, the Czechs were expected to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and they finished third in their qualifying group, behind Spain and Yugoslavia, and subsequently missed the tournament. The Czech Republic qualified for Euro 2000, winning all ten of their group games, in the finals the team were drawn in Group D, alongside 1998 FIFA World Cup winners France, co-hosts the Netherlands and UEFA Euro 1992 winners Denmark. This was considered to be the most difficult group to advance from in the tournament, the team were unlucky in the first match against the Netherlands as they hit the woodwork multiple times before losing 1–0 to a last-minute penalty. The Czechs lost their match against eventual champions France 2–1 which eliminated them from advancing to the knockout round. Czech Republic managed a 2–0 win against Denmark in their final game courtesy of two goals from Vladimír Šmicer, the team were unbeaten in 2002 and 2003, scoring 53 goals in 19 games and easily qualifying for Euro 2004 in the process.
The Czech Republic went on a 20-game unbeaten streak, finally ended in Dublin on 31 March 2004 in a match against the Republic of Ireland. The Czechs entered the Euro finals in Group D, dubbed the tournaments Group of Death alongside the Netherlands, despite going behind in all three group games, the team won them all. This included trailing 2–0 to the Netherlands in a classic 3–2 win, the Czechs convincingly beat Denmark in the quarter-finals meaning a semi-final against Greece awaited them. It was not to be as the 90 minutes finished goalless, Greece would go on to win the tournament. The Czech Republic recorded their record win during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, in the same match, Jan Koller became the all-time top scorer for the national team with his 35th international goal. At the end of the campaign, after finishing in place in Group 1 defeating Norway in a playoff. The team was boosted prior to the matches by the return of Pavel Nedvěd
11.
FC Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. commonly known as FC Bayern München, FCB, Bayern Munich, or FC Bayern, is a German sports club based in Munich, Germany. FC Bayern was founded in 1900 by 11 football players, led by Franz John, although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga at its inception in 1963. The club had its period of greatest success in the middle of the 1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern has reached ten European Cup/UEFA Champions League finals, most recently winning their fifth title in 2013 as part of a continental treble. Since the formation of the Bundesliga, Bayern has been the dominant club in German football with 26 titles and has won 8 of the last 12 titles and they have traditional local rivalries with 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg, as well as with Borussia Dortmund since the mid-1990s, since the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena. Previously the team had played at Munichs Olympiastadion for 33 years, the team colours are red and white, and the team crest shows the white and blue flag of Bavaria.
In terms of revenue, Bayern Munich is the biggest sports club in Germany, as of November 2016, Bayern has over 284,000 members. There are more than 4,000 officially-registered fan clubs with over 314,000 members, the club has other departments for chess, basketball, bowling, table tennis and senior football with more than 1,100 active members. FC Bayern is ranked second in the current UEFA club coefficient rankings, FC Bayern Munich was founded by members of a Munich gymnastics club. Within a few months, Bayern achieved high-scoring victories against all rivals, including a 15–0 win against FC Nordstern. In the following years, the club won some trophies and in 1910–11 Bayern joined the newly founded Kreisliga. The club won league in its first year, but did not win it again until the beginning of World War I in 1914. In the years after the war, Bayern won several regional competitions before winning its first South German championship in 1926, an achievement repeated two years later. Its first national title was gained in 1932, when coach Richard Little Dombi Kohn led the team to the German championship by defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 in the final, the advent of Nazism put an abrupt end to Bayerns development.
Club president Kurt Landauer and the coach, both of whom were Jewish, left the country, many others in the club were purged. Bayern was taunted as the Jews club, while local rival 1860 Munich gained much support, josef Sauter, who was inaugurated 1943, was the only NSDAP member as president. As some Bayern players greeted Landauer, who was watching a friendly in Switzerland lead to continued discrimination, Bayern was affected by the ruling that football players had to be full amateurs again. In the following years, Bayern could not sustain its role of contender for the national title, after the war, Bayern became a member of the Oberliga Süd, the southern conference of the German first division, which was split five ways at that time
