1.
A.S. Roma
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Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence except for 1951–52, for their 65th season in a row, Roma are competing in Serie A for the 2016–17 season. Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then in 1982–83 and again in 2000–01, as well as winning nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. On the European stage Roma won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, coming close to European Cup victory in 1983–84, therefore, Roma is the fourth Italian club by major honours won, behind Juventus, Milan and Inter. Home games are played at the Stadio Olimpico, a venue they share with city rivals Lazio. With a capacity of over 72,000, it is the second largest of its kind in Italy, in September 2009 the club unveiled plans to build a Stadio della Roma in the western suburbs of Rome. Its design was modelled after English football stadiums with the objective being to give fans a view of the pitch. In September 2011, it was announced that the new president, Thomas R. DiBenedetto, had reached an agreement with the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to have the new stadium completed by 2016. The purpose of the merger was to give the Italian capital a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time. The only major Roman club to resist the merger was S. S. Lazio because of the intervention of the army General Vaccaro, member of the club and executive of Italian Football Federation. An early season in which Roma made a mark was the 1930–31 championship. Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period, after a slump in league form and the departure of high key players, Roma eventually rebuilt their squad adding goalscorers such as the Argentine Enrique Guaita. Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came close to their first title in 1935–36, Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s, Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title. The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schaffer coached Roma side winning the title, at the time Italy was involved in World War II and Roma were playing at the Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista. In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s, under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved. After returning to the Serie A, Roma managed to stabilise themselves as a top half club again with such as Egisto Pandolfini, Dino Da Costa. Although Roma were unable to break into the top four during the following decade and their first honour outside of Italy was recorded in 1960–61 when Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by beating Birmingham City 4–2 in the finals. A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, supporters kept the club going with a fundraiser at the Sistine Theatre and bankruptcy was avoided with the election of a new club president Franco Evangelisti
2.
Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Provinces capital, rather, in 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores, the 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996, previously, Buenos Aires is considered an alpha city by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires quality of life was ranked 81st in the world and one of the best in Latin America in 2012 and it is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its preserved Spanish/European-style architecture, Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires will host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple ethnic and religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture, the hill was known to them as Buen Ayre, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Aragonese built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill, in 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea, the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the Fair Winds to aid them in their navigation, a sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be later erected in Seville. Pedro de Mendoza called the city Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, and was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, a second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción. Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form Buenos Aires became the common usage during the 17th century, the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As. It is common as well to refer to it as B. A. or BA /ˌbiːˈeɪ/ bee-AY), while BA is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more often use the abbreviation Baires, in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516 and his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay
3.
Defender (association football)
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In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. There are four types of defenders, centre-back, sweeper, full-back, the centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations, a centre-back defends in the area directly in front of the goal, and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers, with the ball, centre-backs are generally expected to make long and pinpoint passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed long balls down the field. For example, a clearance is a long unaimed kick intended to move the ball as far as possible from the defenders goal, during normal play, centre-backs are unlikely to score goals. In this case, other defenders or midfielders will temporarily move into the centre-back positions, in the modern game, most teams employ two or three centre-backs in front of the goalkeeper. The 4–2–3–1, 4–3–3, and 4–4–2 formations all use two centre-backs, the sweeper is a more versatile centre-back who sweeps up the ball if an opponent manages to breach the defensive line. This position is more fluid than that of other defenders who man-mark their designated opponents. Because of this, it is referred to as libero. For example, the system of play, used in Italian football in the 1960s. The more modern libero possesses the qualities of the typical libero while being able to expose the opposition during counterattacks. The Fundell-libero has become popular in recent time with the sweeper transitioning to the most advanced forward in an attack. This variation on the position requires great pace and fitness, while rarely seen in professional football, the position has been extensively used in lower leagues. Modern libero sit behind centre-backs as a sweeper before charging through the team to join in the attack, some sweepers move forward and distribute the ball up-field, while others intercept passes and get the ball off the opposition without needing to hurl themselves into tackles. If the sweeper does move up the field to distribute the ball, they will need to make a speedy recovery, in modern football, its usage has been fairly restricted, with few clubs in the biggest leagues using the position. Though it is used in modern football, it remains a highly respected. A recent and successful use of the sweeper was made by Otto Rehhagel, Greeces manager, Rehhagel utilized Traianos Dellas as Greeces sweeper to great success, as Greece surprisingly became European champions. The full-backs take up the wide positions and traditionally stayed in defence at all times
4.
Ferro Carril Oeste
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Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its team, currently playing in the Primera B Nacional. Always located in Caballito, the club was founded as Club Atlético del Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires on 28 July 1904, the club was approved and supported by railway managers, so Ferro soon incorporated lands to build its headquarters and sports installations. In 1907, Ferro joined the second division, and in 1912 the team won the promotion to the first division after beating Racing Club in the final game. At the end of the 1930s, the club emancipated from the railway company, in 1937 five talented players rose from the youth divisions, forming an offensive line which would be remembered as The Five Musketeers. They were Bernardo Gandulla, Juan José Maril, Luis Borgnia, Jaime Sarlanga, but those skilled players only played together between 1937 and 1938, due to other clubs acquiring them. Gandulla and Emeal returned to Ferro in 1944 after their stint with Boca Juniors, but despite having such prominent players, Ferro finished last in 1946 season and was relegated to Second Division for the first time in its history. Ferro soon returned to the first division in 1949, when winning the Primera B title, during the 1950 Ferro finished 6th in 1954 and reached a memorable 4th position in 1959, the best team campaign until then. After being relegated again, Ferro won the Primera B championship in 1963, in the top level, Ferro reached another 4th place in the 1965 tournament. Ferro would be relegated again, returning in 1970 to the first division, in 1974 Ferro wore an orange jersey, paying tribute to World sub-champion Netherlands national football team, The Clockwork Orange, finishing 6th in the Torneo Nacional disputed that year. Teams most notable player was central midfielder Gerónimo Cacho Saccardi, who had debuted in 1969, Ferro had a prominent role in Argentine sports in the 1980s, more specifically in football and basketball. The football team won 2 titles of Argentine Primera División and played the Copa Libertadores, otherwise, the basketball team won the Liga Nacional de Básquet championship 3 times. In 1979 Carlos Griguol arrived to the club, in 1981 Ferro finished 2nd, totalling 49 points, just one less than champion Boca Juniors. That same year Ferro reached the Torneo Nacional final although the team was defeated by River Plate, Ferro finally won its first title at Primera in 1982, obtaining the Torneo Nacional defeating Quilmes in the finals. The squad played 22 matches, won 16 and tied 6, Ferro scored 50 goals and conceded 13. Left wing Miguel Angel Juárez was the top scorer with 22, other notable players for the champion team were Adolfino Cañete, Alberto Márcico, Juan Domingo Rocchia and Héctor Cúper. Although some important players during the 1982 tournament had left, Ferro won another Torneo Nacional in 1984, the team played 14 matches, winning 8 and losing only 1, with 5 draws. Ferro scored 32 goals and only conceded 9, being Márcico the top scorer with 5 goals, another important achievement for Ferro was the 2nd place in the 1984 Torneo Metropolitano, finishing with 50 points, only one less than champion Argentinos Juniors
5.
Sevilla FC
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Sevilla Football Club, S. A. D. or simply Sevilla, is Spain’s oldest club solely devoted to football practice. Sevilla FC is based in Seville, capital and largest city of the community of Andalusia. Sevilla FC is one of the teams play in Spain’s top flight. The club was formed on 25 January 1890, Scot Mr. Edward Farquharson Johnston being their first president. A few years later, on October 14,1905, the articles of association were registered in the Civil Government of Seville under the presidency of the Jerez-born José Luis Gallegos Arnosa. Sevilla FC is also the most successful club in Andalusia, winning a league title in 1945–46, five Spanish Cups, one Spanish Super Cup, five UEFA Cups. Sevilla FCs main rivalry is with their cross-city rivals Real Betis de Sevilla, matches between the two are referred to as Seville derby. Its reserve side Sevilla Atlético, founded in 1958, currently play in the Segunda B league, other clubs related to Sevilla FC include their womens team, futsal team and former Superleague Formula team. The Club’s home ground is the 45, 000-seat Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium and it is located in the neighborhood of Nervión and owes its name to Mr. Sánchez Pizjuan, who was Sevilla FC’s President for 17 years. Sevilla FC has contributed many players to the Spanish National Football Team throughout their history, Sevilla Fútbol Club was founded on 25 January 1890 as Sevilla Foot-ball Club. Sevilla was duly formed on 25 January 1890 while a group of young British, mainly Scots, along with young men of Spanish origin. After a deal of talk and a consumption of small beer. Hugh Maccoll, another Scottish young man, an engineer who at that time had moved to Seville to work as the technical manager of Portilla White foundry, was their first captain. One of Maccoll’s partners in the Portilla White foundry in Seville and he was the son of an English entrepreneur who founded the aforesaid company, one of the major foundries in Spain at the end of the 19th century. In order to celebrate the foundation of the club, Isaias White sent a letter to Recreativo de Huelva and that letter was published by the Spanish newspaper La Provincia. Huelva Recreation accepted the invitation and the took place on 8 March 1890. Sevilla FC won that historical match 2–0, with the first goal in a match in Spanish football history scored by the Seville team player Ritson. Isaias lived at Calle Bailen 41 in Seville making this the first home of Sevilla FC, in 1907, Sevilla Balompíe was founded, followed by Betis Football club in 1909, Recreativo de Sevilla and Español de Sevilla
6.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
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Tottenham Hotspur Football Club /ˈtɒtnəm, -tənəm/, commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English football club located in Tottenham, Haringey, London, that competes in the Premier League. The clubs home stadium is White Hart Lane and their newly developed training ground is in Bulls Cross on the northern borders of the London Borough of Enfield. Founded in 1882, Tottenham won the FA Cup for the first time in 1901, Tottenham were the first club in the 20th century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960–61 season. After successfully defending the FA Cup in 1962, in 1963 they became the first British club to win a UEFA club competition – the European Cup Winners Cup, in 1967, Spurs won the FA Cup for a third time in the 1960s. In the 1970s Tottenham won the League Cup on two occasions and were the winner of the UEFA Cup in 1972, becoming the first British club to win two different major European trophies. In the 1980s Spurs won several trophies, the FA Cup twice, FA Community Shield, in the 1990s the club won the FA Cup and the League Cup. When they won the League Cup once more in 2008, it meant that they had won a trophy in each of the last six decades – an achievement only matched by Manchester United. The clubs Latin motto is Audere est Facere, and its emblem is a cockerel standing upon a football, the club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby neighbours Arsenal, with head-to-head fixtures known as the North London derby. The club was formed in 1882, as Hotspur F. C. and played in the Southern League from 1896 until 1908, when they were elected into the Football League Second Division. Before this promotion Tottenham had won the FA Cup in 1901, since then, Tottenham have won the FA Cup a further seven times, the Football League twice, the Football League Cup four times, the UEFA Cup twice and also the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. The Cup Winners Cup victory in 1963 made Tottenham the first English team to win a UEFA competition, in 1960–61 they became the first team to complete The Double in the 20th century. Tottenham played their first matches at Tottenham Marshes on the public pitches. It was at this ground that Spurs first played archrivals Arsenal, there were occasions on which fights would break out on the marshes in dispute of the teams that were allowed to use the best pitches. Crowd sizes were regularly increasing and a new site was becoming needed to accommodate these supporters, in 1898 the club moved from the marshes to Northumberland Park and charged an admission fee of 3d. They only remained at this ground for a year as in April 1899,14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. The ground was no able to cope with the larger crowds and Spurs were forced to move to a new larger site 100 yards down the road. The White Hart Lane ground was originally a disused nursery owned by the brewery Charringtons, the landlord spotted the increased income he could enjoy if Tottenham played their matches behind his pub and in 1899 the club moved in. They brought with them the stand they used at Northumberland Park which gave shelter to 2,500 fans, notts County were the first visitors to the Lane in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and provided in £115 in receipts, Spurs won 4–1
7.
Argentina national under-20 football team
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The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level. Argentina is the most successful nation in the FIFA World Youth Championship, the team has participated in 14 of the 20 World Championship events, since the 1979 edition, which they won. Argentina has also won five South American Youth Championships, Argentina did not participate of the first youth championship held in Tunisia. The first appearance of a team in an under-20 competition was two years later at the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship in Tokyo. Diego Maradona and Ramón Díaz were the leaders and most notable players of the squad. The tournament was also the first official championship played by Maradona in a national team, Argentina debuted in Group B thrashing Indonesia 5–0 in the first match, beating Yugoslavia 1–0 in the second and defeating Poland in the third match, 4–1. The youth squad finished first in the group with ten goals scored, en route to the final, Argentina hammered Algeria 5–0, then defeated arch-rival Uruguay 2–0. In the final against the Soviet Union on 7 September, the team won 3–1, Ramón Díaz won the Golden Shoe as the topscorer, with eight goals, while Maradona was awarded the Golden Ball as best player of the tournament. Apart from Maradona and Díaz, other players of the team were Juan Simón, Hugo Alves, Gabriel Calderón, Juan Barbas. That team is regarded as one of the best Argentine national squads ever. Argentina attended the tournament, hosted by Australia in 1981. The squad was defeated by the local host, then achieving a draw with England, Argentina did not qualify to the next stage, however, earning only three points after three matches played. The national team made a better performance at the 1983 championship hosted by Mexico. On the first round, Argentina thrashed China 5–0, then widely defeated Austria and beat Czechoslovakia in the last game, the team finished first in the group with zero goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Argentina defeated Netherlands 2–1 and Poland 1–0 in the semi-finals, on 19 June 1983, Argentina played the final against Brazil, falling 1–0 at the Estadio Azteca. The team was coached by Carlos Pachamé, designated by the Senior team coach, Carlos Bilardo, to work with youth players. Argentina did not qualify to play the 1985 and 1987 championships, Argentina was defeated by Spain in the first match. The team recovered winning the game to Norway 2–0, but although it lost the last match to Iraq
8.
Argentina national under-23 football team
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The Argentina Olympic football team represents Argentina in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, the team is controlled by the Argentine Football Association. Argentina took part for the first time in 1928 Summer Olympics held in the Netherlands, the team advanced to the final after defeating United States with a thrashing 11–2 in the first round, and Belgium in the second. In the semi-finals, the team smashed Egypt by 6–0 to qualify for the final against Uruguay. The first match ended in a 1–1 tie so a game had to be played three days later. In the decisive match, Uruguay won the tournament after defeating Argentina 2–1, the Argentine line-up was Bossio, Bidoglio, Paternóster, Médice, Monti, Evaristo, Carricaberri, Tarasconi, Ferreira, Perduca, Orsi. In 1932 no football tournament was held, restarting the activities in 1936, because of an agreement between FIFA and IOC, only amateur players were allowed to play the football tournaments from then on. Argentina returned to competition in the 1960 games held in Rome. The squad was eliminated in the first round after a 3–2 loss to Denmark, although the team won its games against Tunisia. Argentinas next participation was in the 1964 Summer Olympics organized by Tokyo, where the finished in the last position of the groupd after a 1–1 draw with Ghana. Since then, Argentina had an absence of the games. The national team returned for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, in the group stage, Argentina tied 1–1 to the United States then defeated South Korea 2–1, finishing second to the Soviet Union and qualifying to the next stage. In the quarter-finals, Argentina lost to Brazil 2–1, being eliminated from the competition, since 1992, male competitors must be under 23 years old, then since 199623 years old players with three over-23 players allowed per squad. Nevertheless, Argentina did not qualify to play that edition, Argentina came back to the competition in the 1996 edition held in Atlanta, United States. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the IOC allowed football representatives to register a maximum of three above-23 players, the Argentine players registered under that condition were Diego Simeone, José Chamot and Roberto Sensini. Former senior team captain Daniel Passarella was the manager, the national team debuted with a 3–1 victory over the United States, then tied to Portugal and Tunisia, both 1–1, to finish first the group and qualify for the second round. In the quarter-finals, Argentina trashed Spain 4–0 which allowed the team to pass to the semi-finals, after 66 years since the first final played in Amsterdam, Argentina reached its second Olympic final. The match was played on 3 August 1996 and Argentina lost to Nigeria 2–3
9.
Argentina national football team
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The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentinas home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti in Buenos Aires, la Selección, also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their final appearance in 1978, beating the Netherlands at extra time. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany and they again made the World Cup finals in 1990, and lost 1–0 to West Germany following a controversial penalty call in the 87th minute. Argentina made their appearance in a World Cup final in 2014, again losing to Germany. Argentinas World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times and also winning the extra South American Championships in 1941,1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and the Argentine olympic team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Argentina, Brazil and France are the national teams that have won the three most important mens titles recognized by FIFA, the World Cup, the Confederations Cup. They have also won their continental championship. Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England, the first match ever recorded by Argentina was against Uruguay. The game was held in Montevideo on 16 May 1901 and Argentina won 3–2, during the first years of its existence, the Argentina national team only played friendly matches against other South American teams. The reasons for this varied, including long travel times between countries and World War I, la Selección, also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost, 4–2, to Uruguay. Argentina won in their final in 1978, beating the Netherlands. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany and their most recent World Cup final was in 2014, which they lost 1–0 to Germany. Previous to this their last World Cup final was in 1990, argentinas World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986. Argentina has been successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentina team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Argentina also won six of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, in March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time
10.
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
11.
Football at the Summer Olympics
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Association football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a mens competition sport, except 1896 and 1932. Womens football was added to the program in 1996. Football was not included on the program at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, however, sources claim that an unofficial football tournament was organized during the first competition, in which an Athens XI lost to a team representing Smyrna, then part of the Ottoman Empire. According to a source, this is an error which has been perpetuated in multiple texts, tournaments were played at the 1900 and 1904 games and the Intercalated Games of 1906, but these were contested by various clubs and scratch teams. Although the IOC considers the 1900 and 1904 tournaments to be official Olympic events, they are not recognized by FIFA, neither recognizes the Intercalated Games today. In 1906 teams from Great Britain, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France withdrew from a competition and left Denmark, Smyrna, Athens. Denmark won the final against Athens 9–0, in the London Games of 1908 a proper international tournament was organised by the Football Association, featuring just six teams. The number of rose to eleven in 1912, when the competition was organised by the Swedish Football Association. Many of these matches were unbalanced, as evidenced by high scoring games. All players were amateurs, in accordance with the Olympic spirit, the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Ireland asked the Football Association to send an English national amateur team. Some of the English members played with clubs, most notably Derby Countys Ivan Sharpe, Bradford City F. C. Harold Walden. England won the first two official tournaments convincingly, beating Denmark both times, in the 1924 and 1928 Olympic games, the first South American teams entered the competition, Uruguay and Argentina. Football returned to controversy at the 1936 Berlin Games, the German organisers were intent on the return of the game to the Olympic movement since it guaranteed income into the organisations coffers. The Italian team intimidated a referee, peru scored a contested victory over Austria in overtime, with a fan invasion of the field at the very end. The Austrian team asked for the result to be annulled, FIFA agreed, the Peruvian team refused and left the Olympics. As professionalism spread around the world, the gap in quality between the World Cup and the Olympics widened, the countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs. Between 1948 and 1980,23 out of 27 Olympic medals were won by Eastern Europe, with only Sweden, Denmark, for the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the IOC decided to admit professional players. Since 1992 male competitors must be under 23 years old, and since 1996, players under 23 years old, with three over-23 year old players, are allowed per squad
12.
2008 Summer Olympics
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A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events. China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games and the 18th to hold a Summer Olympic Games. It was the time that the Summer Olympic Games were held in East Asia and Asia, after Tokyo, Japan, in 1964 and Seoul, South Korea. Beijing was awarded the Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, the Government of the Peoples Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems. A total of 37 venues were used to host the events, the official logo of these Olympic Games, titled Dancing Beijing, refers to the host city by featuring a stylized calligraphic character jīng. The Games were the second most watched Olympics in history, attracting 4.7 billion viewers worldwide, there were 43 world records and 132 Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games, Chinese athletes won the most gold medals with 51, and with 100 medals in total became only the 7th different Olympic team to top an overall medal tally. The United States won the most total medals with 110, the games were deemed highly successful with the rising standard of competition among nations across the world. Beijing was elected as the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics on 13 July 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, defeating bids from Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities had submitted bids to the IOC, after the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated, in the second round, Beijing was supported by a majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds. Torontos bid was their 5th failure since 1960, the size of China, its increased enforcement of doping controls, and sympathy concerning its loss of the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney were all factors in the decision. Eight years earlier, Beijing had led every round of voting for the 2000 Summer Olympics before losing to Sydney by two votes in the final round. Human rights concerns expressed by Amnesty International and politicians in both Europe and the United States were considered by the delegates, according to IOC Executive Director François Carrard, Carrard and others suggested that the selection might lead to improvements in human rights in China. In addition, a number of IOC delegates who had formerly been athletes expressed concern about heat and air quality during the Games, China outlined plans to address these environmental concerns in its bid application. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics at USD6.8 billion in 2015-dollars and this includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e. g. The Beijing Olympics cost of USD6.8 billion compares with costs of USD4.6 billion for Rio 2016, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion. They went on to claim that revenues from the Games would exceed the original target of $16 million
13.
Serie A
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It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new league, the Lega Serie A, was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world, Serie A led the UEFA ranking from 1986 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1999. In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, the championship titles won prior to 1929 are officially recognised by FIGC with the same weighting as titles that were subsequently awarded. However, the 1945–46 season, when the league was played over two groups due to the ravages of WWII, is not statistically considered, even if its title is fully official. All the winning teams are recognised with the title of Campione dItalia, Juventus, Italys most successful club of the 20th century and the most successful Italian team, is tied for fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most official international titles. The club is also the one in the world to have won all possible official continental competitions. Milan is joint third club for international titles won in the world. Internazionale, following their achievements in the 2009–10 season, became the first Italian team to have achieved a treble, Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. For most of Serie As history, there were 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level, since 2004–05, however, there have been 20 clubs altogether. One season was played with 21 teams for political reasons, thus, in Italian football a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called the andata, each team plays once against each league opponent, since the 1994–95 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Since Italy is currently rated fourth in Europe in terms of club football ratings, teams finishing fourth and fifth qualify for the UEFA Europa League tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia, if both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top five teams in Serie A, the sixth-ranked team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot. The three lowest-placed teams are relegated to Serie B, any play-off was held after the end of regular season. The last championship playoff occurred in the 1963-64 season when Bologna, below is a list of Serie A clubs who have competed in the competition when it has been a league format. There are 66 teams that have taken part in 85 Serie A championships in a round that was played from the 1929–30 season until the 2016–17 season. The teams in bold compete in Serie A currently, Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season. Serie A, as it is structured today, began during the 1929–1930 season, from 1898 to 1922, the competition was organised into regional groups
14.
2018 FIFA World Cup
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The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the mens national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, the final tournament will involve 32 national teams, which include 31 teams determined through qualifying competitions and the automatically qualified host team. A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities, the final will take place on 15 July in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium. The winners will qualify for the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup, the bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. During the bidding process, the three remaining non-UEFA nations gradually withdrew from the 2018 bids, and the UEFA nations were thus ruled out of the 2022 bid. As such, there were four bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium. The twenty-two-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments, Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Spain/Portugal bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third, Englands bid to host its second tournament fell at the first hurdle. For the branding, a typeface called Dusha was created by Portuguese design agency Brandia Central in 2014, apart from Russia, who qualified automatically for the tournament as the hosts, all FIFA member associations were eligible to enter the qualification process. On 12 March 2015, prior to the start of qualification, Indonesia were suspended and then expelled before playing a single qualifying match, as part of punishment for government interference in the Football Association of Indonesia. The qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, qualifying matches for AFC and CONCACAF started in March 2015, prior to the qualifying draw. The allocation of slots for each confederation was decided to be unchanged by the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015 in Zürich, on 13 May 2016, Gibraltar and Kosovo became FIFA members and eligible for the World Cup qualifying. In October 2013, UEFA President Michel Platini proposed that the World Cup finals should be expanded from 32 to 40 teams starting from 2018, the format would have been the same, but in groups of five instead of four. This was in response to FIFA President Sepp Blatters comments that Africa and Asia deserved more spots in the World Cup finals at the expense of European and South American teams. Russia proposed the following host cities, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg. All the cities are in or just outside European Russia to reduce time for the teams in the huge country. The bid evaluation report stated, The Russian bid proposes 13 host cities and 16 stadiums, three of the 16 stadiums would be renovated, and 13 would be newly constructed. In October 2011 Russia decreased the number of stadiums from 16 to 14, the final choice of host cities was announced on 29 September 2012
15.
Primera B Nacional
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Primera B Nacional is the second division of the Argentine football league system, made up of 23 teams in the 2016–17 season. It is played by teams all over the country. In the league system of Argentine football, Nacional B is the second-highest league, Primera B Nacional games are often transmitted to Argentina and abroad on television by TyC Sports. It was created in 1985 to integrate unaffiliated clubs into the Argentine football structure and it brought together teams from the old Primera B and regional leagues from several Argentine provinces. For the 2016-17 season, the participating teams will play each other twice for a total of forty-six matches. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss, teams are ranked by total points. The Champion and the team are automatically promoted to the Primera División. Four teams will be relegated at the end of the season, since the first season held in 1986-87, the following teams have crowned champions of the division, Official webpage
16.
UEFA Europa League
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The UEFA Europa League, previously called the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organized by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues, previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009–10 season, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League are considered the same competition, in 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. For the 2004–05 competition a group stage was added prior to the knockout phase, the 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. The winner enters at least at the round, and will enter the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders is not used. The title has been won by 27 different clubs,12 of which have won the more than once. The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971, the competition grew from 11 teams during the first cup to 64 teams by the last cup which was played in 1970–71. It had become so important on the European football scene that in the end it was taken over by UEFA, the UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971–72 season, with an all-English final of Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs taking the first honours. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool in 1973, Borussia would win the competition in 1975 and 1979, and reach the final again in 1980. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 1976, beating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg and Real Madrid won the competition twice each,1989 saw the commencement of the Italian clubs domination, when Maradonas Napoli beat Stuttgart. The 1990s started with two finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule. Juventus won the competition for a time in 1993 and Internazionale kept the cup in Italy the following year. 1995 saw a third final, with Parma proving their consistency. The only final with no Italians during that decade was in 1996, Parma won the cup in 1999, which ended the Italian club era. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 2001 and Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments. In 2004, the cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious, either side of Sevillas success, two Russian teams, CSKA Moscow in 2005 and Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008, had their glory and yet another former Soviet club, Ukraines Shakhtar Donetsk, won in 2009. Atlético Madrid would themselves win twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final, in 2013, Chelsea would become the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year
17.
La Liga
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The Primera División, commonly known as La Liga and as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. A total of 60 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception, nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 24 times. Real Madrid dominated the championship from the 1950s through the 1980s, from the 1990s onwards, Barcelona and Real Madrid both dominated, though La Liga also saw other champions, including Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de La Coruña. In more recent years, Atlético Madrid has joined a coalition of now three teams dominating La Liga alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona. Its clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup titles, and its players have accumulated the highest number of Ballon dOr awards. La Liga is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format, during the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss, teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion. A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División, the top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The first, second, and third placed teams enter the group stage. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, if both teams in the cup final finish in the top six, an additional berth in the Europa League is given to the team that finishes in seventh. In April 1927, José María Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up, only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933, in 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won their only title to date. Primera División was suspended during the Spanish Civil War, in 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on 28 September 2007, Barcelona requested the RFEF to recognise that title as a Liga title and this action was taken after RFEF was asked to recognise Levante FCs Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy. Nevertheless, the body of Spanish football has not made an outright decision yet
18.
Getafe CF
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Getafe Club de Fútbol, or simply Getafe, is a Spanish professional football club contesting in Segunda División. The club is based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, Getafe was founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983. Getafe has been in the top level since 2004–05, the clubs home stadium is Coliseum Alfonso Pérez which was founded in 1998 and can hold 17,393 spectators. The clubs main rivalries are against Leganés, based in close proximity to the city of Getafe, Getafe Football Club was founded in 1924, only playing in lower divisions from 1928 to 1932. Officially founded on 24 February 1946, the club was named Club Getafe Deportivo, the club originally played in the Campo del Regimiento de Artillería, which lacked goal posts. Shortly after, the moved to San Isidro, housed in the current Municipal Sports Center of San Isidro. Here, Club Getafe was promoted to the division following their victory against CP Villarrobledo in the 1956–57 season. Getafe was nearly promoted to the Segunda in 1957–58, but was defeated by CD Almería, on 2 September 1970, the club inaugurated its own stadium after being promoted back to the Tercera División. Presided by chairman Francisco Vara, Las Margaritas won a 3–1 victory over Michelín, the team survived in the third level that season, and six years later gained their first promotion to the second division. Club Getafe Deportivo played six seasons in the Segunda División, with little success, from 1976 to 1982, they placed below tenth level all six years. In 1978, they advanced to play against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey round of 16, playing at home in the first leg, Getafe drew with a star-studded Barcelona team 3–3, before traveling away for the second leg and being thrashed 8–0 at the Nou Camp. At the conclusion of the 1981–82 season, players having not been paid, Getafe was automatically relegated, meanwhile, on 1 September 1976, a new club was founded in the National Sports Council and the Regional Federation of Castille. The club was called Peña Madridista Getafe and this club played for four seasons in various divisions, until taking the name Club Deportivo Peña Getafe, and played under this name for a further two seasons. On 10 July 1982, they joined forces with the much older Club Getafe Promesas, based on the merger the previous year, the present Getafe Club de Fútbol was officially founded on 8 July 1983, after passing through the general partners assembly. Starting in the leagues in 1983–84, Getafe was promoted for four consecutive seasons until reaching Segunda División B. The club started a new period with its promotion into Segunda in 1994–95, threatening absolute disappearance just a few years later in 1997, Getafe survived relegation into the fourth level Tercera División following a two-legged playoff victory over Huesca. Meanwhile, Getafes current stadium, the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, was inaugurated on 1 January 1998, returning to the second division for 1999–2000, Getafe lasted another two seasons. Consolidating their position after one year, Getafe had a season in Segunda
19.
Racing de Santander
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Real Racing Club de Santander, S. A. D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913 it plays in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, Racing de Santander played its first match on 23 February 1913, losing 1–2 to neighbouring Strong. In 1950 the Cantabrians returned to the top flight after a ten-year absence, during the period of Francoist Spain, the club was renamed Real Santander in 1941, because of the prohibition of non-Spanish names. The name was restored in 1973 as the returned to the first division one year after nearly relegating. Racing de Santander was immediately relegated, going on to spend the following years bouncing between divisions one and two, also being crowned champions in Segunda División B in 1991. Veteran Quique Setién returned to his club the following year, helping it return to the top flight and scoring in the 1994–95 campaign against FC Barcelona. In the 2000s Racing only played one season in the second division, the 2011–12 season brought with it three different managers, and the side returned to the second level after one full decade in the top division. At the end of the campaign, Racing again finished in 20th position and suffered relegation, also being immersed in a severe institutional. On 27 January 2014 Racings players, citing several months of wages, announced that they would not play their upcoming Cup match unless the clubs president. Three days later, prior to the leg against Real Sociedad and after a 1–3 loss in the first match, Racing players gathered at the centre circle immediately after kick-off. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, note, this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status. Racing de Santander B – Racings B team Official website Futbolme team profile BDFutbol team profile Club & Stadium History at Estadios de España
20.
Real Betis
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Real Betis Balompié, SAD, more commonly referred to as Real Betis or just Betis, is a Spanish football club based in Sevilla, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it plays in La Liga and it holds home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín in the south of the city. Real Betis won the title in 1935 and the Copa del Rey in 1977 and 2005. Given the clubs history and many relegations, its motto is Viva el Betis manque pierda. The name Betis is derived from Baetis, the Roman name for the Guadalquivir river which passes through Sevilla, Real was added in 1914 after the club received patronage from King Alfonso XIII. Betis city rivals Sevilla FC were the first club in Sevilla, founded in October 1905, while a second club, Balompié translates literally as football, as opposed to the most commonly adopted anglicised version, fútbol. Following an internal split from Sevilla FC, another club was formed, in 1914, they merged with Sevilla Balompié. The club received its royal patronage in the year. The club reached the Copa del Presidente de la República final for the first time on 21 June 1931, under the guidance of Irish coach Patrick OConnell on 28 April 1935 Betis won the La Liga, to date their only top division title. They topped the table by a point over Madrid FC. A year later Betis went down to seventh, despite a brief return to the top division which lasted only one season, the club continued to decline and in 1947 the worst fears were reached when they were relegated to Tercera División. Many fans see the ten years spent in the category as key to the identity. During this time, Betis earned a reputation for filling its stadium and having a support at away matches. When the side returned to the level in 1954, it gained the distinction of being the only club in Spain to have won all three major divisions titles. Much of the credit for guiding Betis through this dark period, in 1955, Manuel Ruiz Rodríguez stepped down from running the club believing he could not offer further economic growth, he was replaced by Betis most famous former president, Benito Villamarín. During his reign Betis returned to the top division in 1958–59 and his purchase of the Estadio Heliópolis in 1961 is seen as a key point in the history of the club – the grounds were called the Estadio Benito Villamarín until 1997. In 1965, Villamarín stepped down from his position ten years at the helm of the club. Just one year after Villamaríns departure, the club would again be relegated to two, then rising and falling almost consecutively until consolidating their place in the top level in 1974–75
21.
Midfielder
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A midfielder is an association football position. Midfielders are generally positioned on the field between their teams defenders and forwards, some midfielders play a disciplined defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are otherwise known as defensive midfielders. Others blur the boundaries, being mobile and efficient in passing, they are commonly referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box. The number of midfielders on a team and their assigned roles depends on the teams formation, most managers assign at least one midfielder to disrupt the opposing teams attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match, central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided roughly equally between attack and defence. When the opposing team has the ball, a midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward. The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders, the 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders, and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who have abilities and are skilled at both defending and attacking. These players can track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots. A good box-to-box midfielder needs good passing, vision, control, stamina, tackling and marking in defence, left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence, similar to that of central midfielders, but they are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates. Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1, a notable example of a right midfielder is David Beckham. Defensive midfielders are players who focus on protecting their teams goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their teams defence, defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack. Sergio Busquets described his attitude, The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someones position, great. A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina. A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their teams defence, a player in this role will try to protect their goal by disrupting the opponents attacking moves and stopping long shots on the goal. The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball and this player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the teams strategy
22.
Andalusia
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Andalusia is an autonomous community in southern Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the communities in the country. The Andalusian autonomous community is recognised as historical nationality. The territory is divided into eight provinces, Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and its capital is the city of Seville. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, the small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, in the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spains Meseta Central. To the south the geographic subregion of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, the name Andalusia is derived from the Arabic word Al-Andalus. Including an intense relationship with Naples, Italy, Andalusia has been a traditionally agricultural region, compared to the rest of Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the growth of the community especially in the sectors of industry and services was above average in Spain, the region has, however, a rich culture and a strong cultural identity. Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin and these include flamenco and, to a lesser extent, bullfighting and Hispano-Moorish architectural styles. Andalusias hinterland is the hottest area of Europe, with cities like Córdoba, Late evening temperatures can sometimes stay around 35 °C until close to midnight, with daytime highs of over 40 °C common. Seville also has the highest average temperature in mainland Spain and mainland Europe. Its present form is derived from the Arabic name for Muslim Iberia. However, the etymology of the name Al-Andalus is disputed, the Spanish place name Andalucía was introduced into the Spanish languages in the 13th century under the form el Andalucía. This was a Castilianization of Al-Andalusiya, the form of the Arabic language al-Andalus. The etymology of al-Andalus is itself somewhat debated, but in fact it entered the Arabic language before this came under Muslim rule. Like the Arabic term al-Andalus, in historical contexts the Spanish term Andalucía or the English term Andalusia do not necessarily refer to the territory designated by these terms today. To designate the territories the Christians had regained by that time in the Guadalquivir valley and in the Kingdoms of Granada, in a document from 1253, Alfonso X styled himself Rey de Castilla, León y de toda Andalucía
23.
Copa del Rey
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The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España - Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol, the competition was founded in 1903, thus making it the oldest Spanish football competition. Typically, the winner of Copa del Rey goes to the UEFA Europa League, Barcelona are the current holders, who won their 28th Copa del Rey against Sevilla at the 2016 Copa del Rey Final held at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. Four other teams joined Madrid FC for the competition, FC Barcelona, Club Español de Foot-Ball, New Foot-Ball de Madrid and that cup is on display in the Athletic Bilbao museum and the club includes the victory in its honours list. Nevertheless, it is considered only the forerunner of the Copa del Rey, Copa del Rey was Spains football National Championship from 1903 until the foundation of the Campeonato de Liga — League Championship — in 1928. It was initially known as the Copa del Ayuntamiento de Madrid, between 1905 and 1932, it was known as the Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Alfonso XIII. Athletic Bilbao were declared winners in 1904 after their opponents Español de Madrid failed to show up. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, clubs in the Republican area of Spain entered the Copa de la España Libre, because of the dispute regarding the 1902 competition, the statistics regarding the leading winners are also disputed. Barcelona have won the Copa 28 times, Athletic Bilbao are just behind, with either 24 or 23 titles, throughout the history of the competition, there have been 12 actual trophies. Trophies have been awarded to clubs for winning the competition either three times in a row or on five separate occasions and for other special reasons. Thus, four trophies have been awarded to Barcelona, three to Bilbao and one to Real Madrid. In December 2010, the cup was given to Sevilla, the 2010 winners, before the formation of La Liga in 1929, the competition was effectively a national championship. Teams qualified to enter via their regional leagues, over the years, various formats, including group stages have been used. Unlike the English FA Cup, entry is limited, only teams from the Primera División, Segunda A, about 23 teams from the Segunda B and the Tercera División champions are invited to enter. The early rounds are one-off games with teams from the lower divisions given home advantage, the round of 32, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, and semi-finals are played over two legs. The final is a game played at a neutral venue. The winners qualify for both the Supercopa de España and the UEFA Europa League the following season. There had been a precedent for this, Real Madrid were allowed to keep the last Copa de la República, Sevilla, the first Copa del Generalísimo and, Atlético Madrid, a new trophy was made by Madrid jeweller Federico Alegre
24.
2010 Copa del Rey Final
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The 2010 Copa del Rey Final was the 108th final since its establishment. The match took place on 19 May 2010 at the Camp Nou, the match was contested by Sevillla FC and Atlético Madrid, and it was refereed by Manuel Mejuto González. Sevilla lifted the trophy for the time in their history with a 2–0 victory
25.
Pound sterling
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It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
26.
Premier League
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The Premier League is an English professional league for mens association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League, Welsh clubs that compete in the English football league system can also qualify. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders, seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season, most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, others during weekday evenings. It is colloquially known as the Premiership and outside the UK it is referred to as the English Premier League. The deal was worth £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with BSkyB, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. In 2014/15, teams were apportioned revenues of £1.6 billion, the Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. In the 2014–15 season, the average Premier League match attendance exceeded 36,000, most stadium occupancies are near capacity. The Premier League ranks third in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons. While 47 clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, only six have won the title, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, the current champions are Leicester City, who won the title in 2015–16. Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 80s marked a low point for English football, the 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league, ten clubs threatened to leave and form a super league, but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the influx of money into the sport. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the games top-flight clubs, the argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. The managing director of London Weekend Television, Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the big five clubs in England in 1990. The meeting was to pave the way for an away from The Football League. The FA did not enjoy a relationship with the Football League at the time
27.
Manchester City F.C.
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Manchester City Football Club is a football club in Manchester, England. Founded in 1880 as St. Marks, they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887, the club moved to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2003, having played at Maine Road since 1923. After losing the 1981 FA Cup Final, the club went through a period of decline, having regained their Premier League status in the early 2000s, the club was purchased in 2008 by Abu Dhabi United Group and has become one of the wealthiest in the world. Since 2011 the club have won five major honours, including the Premier League in 2012 and 2014, by 2014–15, Manchester City had the sixth-highest revenue in the footballing world with an annual revenue of €463.5 million. In 2016, Forbes magazine estimated they were the sixth most valuable football club. City gained their first honours by winning the Second Division in 1899, with it promotion to the highest level in English football. A fire at Hyde Road destroyed the main stand in 1920, in the 1930s, Manchester City reached two consecutive FA Cup finals, losing to Everton in 1933, before claiming the Cup by beating Portsmouth in 1934. The club won the First Division title for the first time in 1937, after relegation to the Second Division in 1963, the future looked bleak with a record low home attendance of 8,015 against Swindon Town in January 1965. In the summer of 1965, the management team of Joe Mercer, in the first season under Mercer, City won the Second Division title and made important signings in Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell. Further trophies followed, City won the FA Cup in 1969, before achieving European success by winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1970, beating Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in Vienna. City also won the League Cup that season, becoming the second English team to win a European trophy, the club continued to challenge for honours throughout the 1970s, finishing one point behind the league champions on two occasions and reaching the final of the 1974 League Cup. Former United player Denis Law scored with a backheel to give City a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, the final trophy of the clubs most successful period was won in 1976, when Newcastle United were beaten 2–1 in the League Cup final. A long period of decline followed the success of the 1960s and 1970s, Malcolm Allison rejoined the club to become manager for the second time in 1979, but squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings, such as Steve Daley. A succession of managers then followed – seven in the 1980s alone, under John Bond, City reached the 1981 FA Cup final but lost in a replay to Tottenham Hotspur. The club were relegated from the top flight in the 1980s. However, this was only a respite, and following Reids departure Manchester Citys fortunes continued to fade. City were co-founders of the Premier League upon its creation in 1992, after two seasons in Division One, City fell to the lowest point in their history, becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their countrys third league tier, after 1. After relegation, the club underwent off-the-field upheaval, with new chairman David Bernstein introducing greater fiscal discipline, under manager Joe Royle, City were promoted at the first attempt, achieved in dramatic fashion in a play-off against Gillingham
28.
Ejection (sports)
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In sports, an ejection is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sports rules. Most sports have provisions that allow players to be ejected, and many allow for the ejection of coaches, managers, the decision to eject a participant usually lies with one or more officials present at the contest. In addition to removal from the contest, many sports leagues provide additional sanctions against participants who have been ejected, such as monetary fines or suspensions from future contests. In many youth sports leagues, ejected players are required to stay with their coach in the team area, if a participant refuses to cooperate with an ejection, additional sanctions may be levied, such as forfeiture of the contest, monetary fines, or suspensions. In NBA and most other games, a player or coach is ejected from the game if he accumulates two technical fouls of an unsportsmanlike nature over the course of the game. Participants who commit fouls of violence or enter the stands are ejected summarily regardless of the number of technical fouls accumulated, ejected players/coaches must leave the court area for the remainder of play, and must do so immediately, or else risk even heavier fines/suspensions. In the NBA, an ejection will result in, at minimum, a $1,000 fine, in domestic games, refusing to leave after being ejected can result in a player being put on report. If being put on report does not provide enough encouragement for a player to leave the court, players who incur 16 technical fouls in a single NBA season are automatically suspended for one game, an additional suspension is imposed for each increment of two thereafter. In the playoffs, players are suspended if they receive seven technical fouls, a significant rule change was made in 1981 whereby the NBA eliminated the ejection of a coach for three technical fouls caused by an illegal defense. These technical fouls are referenced as Non-Unsportsmanlike Conduct Technical Fouls, the NBA all-time leader in disqualifications is Vern Mikkelsen, who was disqualified 127 times in 631 games. In FIBA sanctioned games, a player is ejected for two technicals, unsportsmanlike fouls or one disqualifying foul, Technical fouls in FIBA include swinging of elbows without contact and flopping, which are not fouls in the NBA. A coach can be ejected upon having incurred two coach technical fouls, or a combination of three bench and coach technical fouls, there is no separation regarding a non-unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul, as in the NBA, so two delay of game violations result in an ejection. In NFHS contests, ejected players must remain on the team bench, in NCAA contests, ejected players are dismissed to the locker room, no adult supervision is required as NCAA players are assumed to be legally of adult age. Basketball also features disqualification, also known as fouling out, a player who commits a certain number of personal fouls in a game, is removed from the game and is said to have fouled out. Unlike ejection, disqualification is not considered an action but rather a natural consequence of a very physical sport with many instances of contact. Disqualified players are permitted to remain on the bench with the team and are not subject to any further penalties, they can resume play in their next game. In the NBA, a foul is also assessed for re-entering a game after fouling out of a game in emergency situations listed in Rule 3. Disqualification also occurs at the school level as the result of two technical fouls
29.
Penalty kick (association football)
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A penalty kick is a method of restarting play in association football, taken from 11 metres out from the goal, on the penalty mark. Penalty kicks are performed during normal play and they are awarded when a foul that is punishable by a direct free kick is committed within the offending players own penalty area. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine which team is victorious after a drawn match, in practice, penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games, the referee gives the ball to the non-offending team. The goalkeeper must stand on the line between the post until the ball is kicked. Lateral movement is allowed, but the keeper is not permitted to come off the goal line by stepping or lunging forward until the ball is in play. When the goalkeeper indicates to the referee that they are ready, once the shooter has started their approach to the ball, they are not permitted to interrupt it. The ball must be stationary before the kick, and must be struck forwards, violation of these rules will result in a re-kick. After the penalty is taken properly, the ball may be played by any player except the one who executed the penalty kick. The kicker may not play the ball again until it has touched or played by another player on either team. For penalties taken near the end of time, play may be extended so that the penalty kick may be taken. A two-man penalty, or tap penalty, occurs when the penalty-taker, instead of shooting for goal, taps the ball slightly forward so that a team-mate can run on to it and shoot. The team-mate, like all other players, must be at least ten yards from the penalty mark when the ball is initially kicked and this strategy depends on the element of surprise, so that the team-mate can reach the ball ahead of any defenders. There is no requirement for the penalty taker to shoot for goal, the first recorded tap penalty was taken by Jimmy McIlroy and Danny Blanchflower of Northern Ireland against Portugal on 1 May 1957. Another was taken by Rik Coppens and André Piters in the World Cup Qualifying match Belgium v Iceland on 5 June 1957, arsenal players Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès failed in an attempt at a similar penalty in 2005, during a Premier League match against Manchester City at Highbury. Lionel Messi tapped a penalty for Luis Suárez as Suárez completed his hat-trick on 14 February 2016 against league opponents Celta De Vigo, in the case of a player repeatedly infringing the laws during the penalty kick, the referee may caution the player for persistent infringement. Note that all offences that occur before kick may be dealt with in this manner, as with a direct free kick, the kicker may not touch the ball a second time, until another player has touched the ball. Another example of an infringement is when a player will run up, stop directly at the ball and this gives the goalkeeper no chance at saving it, and the result of this would be a free kick for the opposing team
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Asteras Tripoli F.C.
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Asteras Tripoli Football Club is a Greek football club from the town of Tripoli in Arcadia, Greece. The club was founded on March 26,1931 and since the 2007–08 season, they have played in Superleague Greece, Asteras was founded in 1931, in the area near Tripolis railway station and was formally recognised forthwith. However, the club stayed inactive and during 1932 all football clubs in Tripoli were temporarily dissolved, at the same time, Minas Tsavdaris founded a football club and named it Keramikos after his home area. Despite his efforts, Keramikos was never formally recognised, and in 1938 Tsavdaris decided to all of the clubs players to Asteras Tripolis. This signified the revival of the club and Asteras managed to compete in the season of the regional Arcadian League. However, the subsequent German occupation of Greece ended all league competitions abruptly, after World War II, Asteras was reformed under the name Neos Asteras and was accordingly recognised by Tripolis courts on 23 June 1947. Asteras won five titles in the Arcadian League. The team won consecutive promotions and managed to play for two seasons in the Greek Second Division, thus becoming the first team from Tripoli to ever participate in such a high division. In the summer of 1963, Asteras merged with Aris–Atromitos and the new team was named Athlitikos Omilos Tripolis. AOTs function was based in Asteras statute and the new club continued its activities until 1968, Asteras was reformed again in 1978. The club participated in the regional Arcadian League until 2003, at 2001 the club entered a new era and led an outstanding streak of performances. They remained unbeaten at home for over 5 years and they managed to move up four divisions, Asteras made a spectacular start in their first season in the Super League. Their first ever win was against Panathinaikos and their first away win against OFI in Crete, the season was marked by some outstanding performances with the most memorable being the 1–0 home victory against champions Olympiacos. They also managed to win 2–1 against AEK Athens and 2–0 against PAOK at home, Asteras Tripolis became the first and only newly promoted Superleague team that managed to beat Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, PAOK and AEK Athens in its first ever appearance in the top division. Coach Paulo Campos left Asteras on 24 February 2008 with assistant manager Panagiotis Tzanavaras taking over for the rest of the 2007–08 season, Asteras finally ended 7th, missing the European spot in the last games. In the summer of 2008 Asteras announced Carlos Carvalhal as their new manager and he was sacked in mid-season due to poor results which led the team near the relegation zone. He was succeeded by former AEK Athens caretaker manager, Nikos Kostenoglou, in 2009 Asteras signed the Argentine former Internazionale assistant Mario Gómez as their new coach. The 2012–13 season was the most successful in Asteras history and they finished third in the Super League, securing a place for the 2013–14 Europa League
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