Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat is a Dutch former football player and the manager of FC Utrecht. Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stints with the Netherlands national team, he has coached a number of clubs in the Netherlands and abroad, as well as the national teams of a number of countries, including South Korea and Russia. His nickname is "The Little General", a reference to his mentor Rinus Michels. Advocaat was a defensive midfielder during his playing days, his career began as an 18-year-old with Hague club ADO Den Haag, he made his debut with the club as a 21-year-old in 1967. He made his professional debut on 21 May 1967 in a 3–0 win against GVAV, he only featured for Den Haag once more that season, that summer, the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales franchise imported the Den Haag team, which included Advocaat, to play for six weeks in the United Soccer Association as part of an effort to make the sport more popular in the United States. It was the following season that Advocaat won his only honour as a player, the KNVB Cup, in 1968.
In the 1969–70 season, he became a regular in the side, making 29 appearances and scoring his first goal for the club. He made 33 appearances the season after that. From the 1971–72, the club merged with Holland Sport to become FC Den Haag; that season, his final one for Advocaat made a further 66 appearances and scored 6 goals. In total, he scored 7 goals for the club. From 1973, Advocaat's playing career continued for Roda JC until he moved to VVV-Venlo during the 1976–77 season. With Roda JC, Advocaat scored 2 goals; when the club was to be discontinued in 2009, Goal.com described him as their most famous player. In his first season with VVV-Venlo, Advocaat scored 2 goals in 20 appearances, he made 33 appearances in the 1977–78 season, scoring four goals, made a further 21 appearances in his final season at the club. In total, he scored 6 goals. In 1978, Advocaat made the move to the United States to play with the Chicago Sting in the North American Soccer League; that season, he made 24 appearances.
In 1979, he scored three more goals in 28 appearances and for the 1980 season, he scored one further goal from 29 appearances. During the break between the 1979 and 1980 NASL seasons, Advocaat returned to the Netherlands and made 11 appearances, scoring one goal, for his former club, FC Den Haag. Following the 1980 NASL season, Advocaat moved to Sparta Rotterdam to play the remainder of the 1980–81 season, he spent 18 months at the club, making 61 appearances. Following that, Advocaat played in the second division for K. Berchem Sport. However, he only made ten appearances there before moving back to the Eredivisie to join Utrecht, where he made 39 more appearances before the end of his playing career. In addition to playing football, Advocaat was a physical education teacher and became involved in coaching in 1981 when his older brother Jaap was offered a job running amateur Saturday football side Door Samenwerking Verkregen Pijnacker. Jaap recommended Dick for the job. Advocaat coached this side during the final four years of his playing career with Sparta Rotterdam and Utrecht.
In 1984, Advocaat was unexpectedly appointed as assistant to Netherlands national team head coach Rinus Michels. Advocaat became a protégé of Michels, whose sobriquet was "The General". In reference to this, Advocaat acquired the nickname "The Little General". In 1987, Advocaat became manager of his first professional club, HFC Haarlem, which he led for two years. Haarlem finished in ninth place in the 1987–88 season and tenth place in the 1988–89 season. Haarlem were eliminated in the second round of the KNVB Cup in both seasons. Advocaat moved to Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging as manager. At SVV, alongside technical director Wim Jansen, Advocaat led the team to become Eerste Divisie champions in the 1989–90 season to win promotion to the 1990–91 Eredivisie, winning by 15 points. In 1991, SVV merged with neighbouring club Dordrecht'90, which failed to win promotion to the 1991 play-offs. SVV had finished 16th the previous season, but remained in the Eredivisie after winning their relegation play-off.
The two teams competed as SVV/Dordrecht'90 during the 1991–92 season, where they finished in 15th place. And became FC Dordrecht the following season, after Advocaat had left. Despite success at both clubs, Advocaat was criticised in his initial coaching years for playing defensive football. In 1990, Advocaat once more became an assistant to Michels, having his fourth spell as coach of the Dutch national team and looking to qualify for UEFA Euro 1992. At Euro 1992, it became apparent it would be Michels' last job, following the tournament, Advocaat took over as national coach. Advocaat lost his first two matches in charge, a friendly against Italy and a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Norway. During the qualifying campaign and Ruud Gullit fell out. Following this, Gullit retired from international football, but was expected to return with a change of administration in the summer. Advocaat qualified following a crucial win against qualification rivals England. Despite the result, Advocaat was scheduled to lose his job to Johan Cruyff for the 1994 World Cup.
However, talks between Cruyff and the Royal Dutch Football Association broke down at the last minut
Arie Haan
Arend "Arie" Haan ˈɦaːn]. He scored. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R. S. C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven, he participated in seven finals of European club competitions with two defeats. He was known for his goals from long distance. At international level, he played 35 times for the Dutch national team and was on the losing side for them in two World Cup finals. After retiring as a player, he managed numerous club sides in Europe and China, as well as the national teams of China and Albania. Haan joined AFC Ajax in 1969 and was a member of Ajax that won the European Cup for three consecutive years, from 1971 until 1973, the Intercontinental Cup in 1972 and two European Super Cups, in 1972 and 1973. With Ajax, he won three Eredivisie titles in 1969–70, 1971–72 and 1972–73 and the Dutch Cup from 1970 until 1972. In 1970, his team in 1972, the Treble, he joined Belgian club R. S. C. Anderlecht in 1975 and was a member of the club's greatest successful period, when they won two European Cup Winners' Cups in 1976 and 1978.
Those two seasons, he won two more European Super Cups. The club again reached the final of that Cup Winners' Cup in 1977 too, but they were beaten by Hamburger SV. With Anderlecht he won the Belgian Cup in 1975–76 and the Belgian Championship in 1980–81. After winning the championship with Anderlecht, he played for Standard Liège for two seasons, when the club won two championships; also the Belgian Supercup in 1981. In 1982, the club achieved its greatest success, when they reached their first Cup Winners' Cup final, when they were beaten at Camp Nou by FC Barcelona; that year they won the only double in their history. Returning to his country in 1983, he played one season for PSV. Haan finished his career for Hong Kong champions Seiko SA, he has 35 matches with scoring 6 goals. His most famous was a 40-yard strike in the Netherlands' match against Italy in the second group stage of the 1978 FIFA World Cup, his goal in the game against West Germany, ended 2–2, helped the Dutch national team reach the final, where they were beaten by Argentina 3–1 in extra time.
He participated in the 1974 FIFA World Cup when Netherlands were beaten in the final by West Germany 2–1. Two months after retiring as a player, he became trainer of Antwerp. However, in the middle of the 1985–86 season he became coach of Anderlecht Brussels, replacing Paul Van Himst, fired from the club. Franky Vercauteren and Morten Olsen featured in his team alongside players like goalkeeper Jacky Munaron, Luka Peruzović, Erwin Vandenbergh, Alex Czerniatynski, Enzo Scifo and Georges Grün. In 1986, Anderlecht won the championship, after a two-legged play-off against Club Brugge. Club Brugge forced a 1–1 draw away to Anderlecht, led 2–0 at home after thirty minutes, but Anderlecht managed to equalise; the same season, the club reached the semi finals of the European Champions' Cup, by eliminating Bayern Munich. The following season, his team retained the Belgian Championship. After Belgium he became trainer of VfB Stuttgart in Germany on 1 July 1987. Stuttgart reached their first European cup final in 1989, the UEFA Cup, but failed to win the trophy against SSC Napoli, a team that Diego Maradona was playing for at the time.
He remained in Stuttgart until 26 March 1990. In July 1990 he became manager of 1. FC Nürnberg where he remained for a single season. Returning to Belgium in 1991, he coached Standard Liège until the middle of the season 1993–94 and won the Belgian Cup in 1993. In the 1994–95 season he was appointed coach of PAOK FC and he remained there until October 1995, after which he returned to the Netherlands and managed Feyenoord for two seasons. In his first season Feyenoord finished 2nd in the Eredivisie. After ten years, in December 1997, Haan enjoyed a further stint at Anderlecht, spending nine months at the club before returning to PAOK, where he remained as coach until December 1999, he went to Cyprus, to become AC Omonia manager in November 2000 but he coached the team only for two matches since he had a great offer from Austria Vienna to become the team's manager. He asked from his club to release his contract and, accepted, he left from Austria in August 2001. He coached the Chinese national football team for two years since December 2002.
In 2004, China reached the final where his team was beaten by Japan. However, his team did not qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup after their elimination from the First round of qualifications, where China lost the first position the group to Kuwait, he remained as coach of China until November 2004. Moving to Persepolis F. C. in February 2006, he helped his team reach the Hazfi Cup final. He was fired by the club just before the 2006–07 season began as he had problems with club management, he became trainer of Cameroon national team, however he resigned less than six months into a two-year contract citing interference from the president of Cameroon Football Federation Mohammed Iya as the reason. In December 2007, Albanian Football Federation president Armando Duka announced Haan would replace Croatia's Otto Baric as Albania head coach, he signed a two-year contract on 4 January 2008 and cancelled his contract on 15 April 2009. On 29 May 2009 it was confirmed that Haan will succeed Wei Xin as the new manager of struggling Chinese Super League side Chongqing Lifan and took over in June that year.
In August 2009, Haan was suspended for three. Chongqing Lifan
FC Nantes
Football Club de Nantes referred to as FC Nantes or Nantes, is a French association football club based in Nantes, Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, as a result of local clubs based in the city coming together to form one large club. From 1992 to 2007, the club was referred to as FC Nantes Atlantique before reverting to its current name at the start of the 2007–08 season. Nantes play in the first division of French football. Nantes is one of the most successful clubs in French football, having won eight Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de France wins and attained one Coupe de la Ligue victory; the club is famous for its jeu à la nantaise, its collective spirit advocated under coaches José Arribas, Jean-Claude Suaudeau and Raynald Denoueix and for its youth system, which has produced players such as Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Mickaël Landreau, Claude Makelele, Christian Karembeu and Jérémy Toulalan. As well as Les Canaris, Nantes is nicknamed Les jaunes et verts and La Maison Jaune.
The club was founded in 1943. The first match played by Nantes as a professional team took place at the Stade Olympique de Colombes against CA Paris, where Nantes triumphed 2–0; the first home match was a defeat of the same score against Troyes. The club finished fifth at the end of this first season following which the club's manager Aimé Nuic left the club following a dispute, was succeeded by Antoine Raab, who took over in a player-coach role. After winning 16 consecutive matches, Nantes lost 9–0 to Sochaux. In July 1991, the club re-instated Jean-Claude Suaudeau, in July 1992, after spending a fortnight in the second division due to an administrative decision by the DNCG, FC Nantes was renamed FC Nantes Atlantique, was able to take its place in the first division back, they won the French championship in 1994/95 and in 2000/01. In 2005, Nantes narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season by defeating Metz 1-0; the following season Nantes finished last in Ligue 1 and were relegated to Ligue 2 after spending over 40 consecutive seasons in Ligue 1.
In 2007, Nantes were promoted back to Ligue 1 at the first attempt but the following season they were relegated back to Ligue 2 after finishing 19th on the table. After spending 3 seasons in Ligue 2, Nantes were once again promoted to Ligue 1 in 2013. In their first season back in the top division, Nantes avoided relegation finishing 13th on the table. After two years of stability, in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 season, Nantes finished a respectable 7th on the table. For the 2017/2018 season, former Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri took over as manager and after 10 games in charge had Nantes sitting 3rd on the table just behind big spending Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco. In the second half of the 2017/2018 season, Nantes managed to only win 3 more games and finished 9th on the table. Claudio Ranieri announced his departure from the club after only one season. Nantes' home ground since 1984 has been the Stade de la Beaujoire-Louis Fontenau, which has a capacity of 38,128. FC Nantes former stadium was The Stade Marcel Saupin which the club played at from 1937 to 1984.
A new stadium is expected to be built and replace the Stade de la Beaujoire-Louis Fontenau as Nantes' home ground in 2022. As of 16 February 2019. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. 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; as of 1 February 2019. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. 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. Below are the notable former players who have represented Nantes in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1943. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club. For a complete list of FC Nantes players, see Category:FC Nantes players Ligue 1 Winners: 1964–65, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1994–95, 2000–01 Coupe de France Winners: 1978–79, 1998–99, 1999–2000 Coupe de la Ligue Winners: 1964–65 Trophée des Champions Winners: 1965, 1999, 2001 UEFA Champions League Semi-finalists: 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Semi-finalists: 1979–80 Cup of the Alps Winners: 1982 FC Nantes at UEFA Official website
Belgium
Belgium the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, the North Sea to the northwest, it has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and largest city is Brussels; the sovereign state is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organisation is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds, it is divided into three autonomous regions: Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita. Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups or Communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 59 percent of the population, the French-speaking Community, which comprises about 40 percent of all Belgians. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons.
The Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual, although French is the dominant language. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Belgium was part of an area known as the Low Countries, a somewhat larger region than the current Benelux group of states that included parts of northern France and western Germany, its name is derived after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, the area of Belgium was a prosperous and cosmopolitan centre of commerce and culture. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Belgium served as the battleground between many European powers, earning the moniker the "Battlefield of Europe", a reputation strengthened by both world wars; the country emerged in 1830 following the Belgian Revolution. Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa.
The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions between the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking citizens fueled by differences in language and culture and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Despite the reforms, tensions between the groups have remained, if not increased. Unemployment in Wallonia is more than double that of Flanders. Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union and hosts the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, as well as a seat of the European Parliament in the country's capital, Brussels. Belgium is a founding member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD, WTO, a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and the Schengen Area. Brussels hosts several of the EU's official seats as well as the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO.
Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy. It has high standards of living, quality of life, education, is categorized as "very high" in the Human Development Index, it ranks as one of the safest or most peaceful countries in the world. The name "Belgium" is derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that before Roman invasion in 100 BC, was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings. A gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire; the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the region into Middle and West Francia and therefore into a set of more or less independent fiefdoms which, during the Middle Ages, were vassals either of the King of France or of the Holy Roman Emperor. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 15th centuries.
Emperor Charles V extended the personal union of the Seventeen Provinces in the 1540s, making it far more than a personal union by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 and increased his influence over the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The Eighty Years' War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands; the latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and comprised most of modern Belgium. This was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Low Countries—including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège—were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Austrian rule in the region; the reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, after the defeat of Napo
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the men's football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Since the DFB was reinaugurated in 1949 the team has represented the Federal Republic of Germany. Under Allied occupation and division, two other separate national teams were recognised by FIFA: the Saarland team representing the Saarland and the East German team representing the German Democratic Republic. Both have been absorbed along with their records by the current national team; the official name and code "Germany FR" was shortened to "Germany" following the reunification in 1990. Germany is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions, having won four World Cups, three European Championships, one Confederations Cup, they have been runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, a further four third-place finishes at World Cups. East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976.
Germany is the only nation to have won both the FIFA Women's World Cup. At the end of the 2014 World Cup, Germany earned the highest Elo rating of any national football team in history, with a record 2205 points. Germany is the only European nation that has won a FIFA World Cup in the Americas; the manager of the national team is Joachim Löw. Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a national team, there were five unofficial international matches between German and English selection teams, which all ended as large defeats for the German teams. Eight years after the establishment of the German Football Association, the first official match of the Germany national football team was played on 5 April 1908, against Switzerland in Basel, with the Swiss winning 5–3. Gottfried Fuchs scored a world record 10 goals for Germany in a 16–0 win against Russia at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm on 1 July, becoming the top scorer of the tournament, he was Jewish, the German Football Association erased all references to him from their records between 1933 and 1945.
As of 2016, he was still the top German scorer for one match. The first match after World War I in 1920, the first match after World War II in 1950 when Germany was still banned from most international competitions, the first match in 1990 with former East German players were all against Switzerland as well. Germany's first championship title was won in Switzerland in 1954. At that time the players were selected by the DFB; the first manager of the Germany national team was Otto Nerz, a school teacher from Mannheim, who served in the role from 1926 to 1936. The German FA could not afford travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup staged in 1930 during the Great Depression, but finished third in the 1934 World Cup in their first appearance in the competition. After a poor showing at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Sepp Herberger became coach. In 1937 he put together a squad, soon nicknamed the Breslau Elf in recognition of their 8–0 win over Denmark in the German city of Breslau, Lower Silesia.
After Austria became part of Germany in the Anschluss of March 1938, that country's national team – one of Europe's best sides at the time due to professionalism – was disbanded despite having qualified for the 1938 World Cup. Nazi politicians ordered five or six ex-Austrian players, from the clubs Rapid Vienna, Austria Vienna, First Vienna FC, to join the all-German team on short notice in a staged show of unity for political reasons. In the 1938 World Cup that began on 4 June, this "united" German team managed only a 1–1 draw against Switzerland and lost the replay 2–4 in front of a hostile crowd in Paris, France; that early exit stands as Germany's worst World Cup result, one of just two occasions the team failed to progress the group stage. During World War II, the team played over 30 international games between September 1939 and November 1942. National team games were suspended, as most players had to join the armed forces. Many of the national team players were gathered together under coach Herberger as Rote Jäger through the efforts of a sympathetic air force officer trying to protect the footballers from the most dangerous wartime service.
After World War II, Germany was banned from competition in most sports until 1950. The DFB was not a full member of FIFA, none of the three new German states — West Germany, East Germany, Saarland — entered the 1950 World Cup qualifiers; the Federal Republic of Germany, referred to as West Germany, continued the DFB. With recognition by FIFA and UEFA, the DFB continued the record of the pre-war team. Switzerland was once again the first team that played West Germany in 1950. West Germany qualified for the 1954 World Cup; the Saarland, under French control between 1947 and 1956, did not join French organisations, was barred from participating in pan-German ones. It sent their own team to the 1954 World Cup qualifiers. In 1957, Saarland acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1949, the communist German Democratic Republic was founded. In 1952 the Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR was established and the East Germany national football team took to the field, they were the only team to beat the 1974 FIFA World Cup winning West Germans in the onl
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège referred to as Standard Liège, is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won the Belgian league on ten occasions, most in 2007–08 and 2008–09, they have been in the top flight without interruption since 1921, longer than any other Belgian side. They have won eight Belgian Cups, in 1981–82 they reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, which they lost 2–1 against Barcelona. Standard players are nicknamed the "Rouches" because of their red jerseys; the French word for red, when pronounced with a Liège accent, sounds like "rouche." On the first day of school in September 1898, the pupils of Collège Saint-Servais in Liège started a football club, which they called Standard of Liège in reference to Standard Athletic Club of Paris. Standard, whose official name is Royal Standard Club of Liège, was based in Cointe and Grivegnée before settling permanently in 1909 in Sclessin, an industrial neighbourhood in Liège.
Standard joined the Belgian First League in 1909 before returning to the lower leagues a few years later. The club gained promotion back to the top division in 1921 and has never been relegated since. Shortly after World War II, Roger Petit, a former player and team captain, became general secretary of the club. Petit worked alongside President Henrard Paul to establish Standard among the elite of Belgian football. In 1954, Standard won their first club trophy, the Belgian Cup, soon followed by a first national title in 1957–58. At European level, in the 1960s, the club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1961–62, falling to beaten finalists Real Madrid 0–6 on aggregate, the same stage of the Cup Winners' Cup in the year 1966–67, losing to eventual champions Bayern Munich; the 1960s and early 1970s brought much success to the club, as Standard won six Belgian First Division titles, two Belgian Cups and a League Cup. Driven by the Austrian Ernst Happel, Standard won the Belgian Cup again in 1981.
The following year, Raymond Goethals took control of the team. Playing by the "Raymond Science" philosophy of football, the club was twice the champions of Belgium, twice winners of the Belgian Supercup and reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1982. Standard played against Barcelona in the final at the Camp Nou on 12 May 1982, losing the match 1–2 to the Spaniards. In 1984, these exploits were tainted by the revelation of the Standard-Waterschei Affair. Just days before the match against Barcelona, to secure the championship of Belgium and guard against injuries last minute, Standard had approached Roland Janssen, the captain of Thor Waterschei, to ensure that Thor players' threw the final game of the season; this scandal involved several players, including Eric Gerets, coach Raymond Goethals, who fled to Portugal to escape suspension. In compensation the Standard players gave their game bonuses to the Waterschei players. Following the scandal, Standard was deprived of many of its playing staff due to long-term suspensions and it took the club several years to recover from the incident.
On 6 June 1993, Standard won the Belgian Cup for the fifth time in its history, defeating Robert Waseige's Charleroi at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels. This led to another appearance in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, ending in a record 10–0 aggregate defeat to Arsenal— having lost 3–0 at Highbury in London, Standard were humiliated 0–7 in the second leg at home. Following the scandal of 1982, it took 25 years before Standard won the Belgium Championship again, lifting the title on 20 April 2008; the club won the Belgian league again the following year, securing the club's tenth league title on 24 May 2009 after a home-and-away game against rivals Anderlecht. Standard won the national cup once more in 2011, defeating Westerlo 2–0 in the final at the King Baudouin Stadium on 21 May 2011; the club was bought by businessman Roland Duchatelet on 23 June 2011, who took over English club Charlton in December 2013, creating an affiliation between the two clubs. On 20 October 2014, Guy Luzon resigned as manager of Standard with the club sitting in 12th position in the Pro League standings and having taken only two points from three UEFA Europa League matches.
Luzon became head coach of Charlton. Assistant and former midfielder Ivan Vukomanović took over as caretaker-manager. 1898: Standard Football Club 1899: Standard FC Liégeois 1910: Standard Club Liégeois 1923: Royal Standard Club Liège 1952: Royal Standard Club Liégeois 1972: Royal Standard de Liège On nine occasions, Standard players have won the Belgian Golden Shoe as the best player in the domestic league. Jean Nicolay won the award in 1963, Wilfried Van Moer in 1969 and 1970, Christian Piot in 1972, Eric Gerets in 1982, Sérgio Conceição in 2005, Steven Defour in 2007, Axel Witsel in 2008 and Milan Jovanović in 2009. Belgian LeagueChampions: 1957–58, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2007–08, 2008–09 Runners-up: 1925–26, 1927–28, 1935–36, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2017–18Belgian CupChampions: 1953–54, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1980–81, 1992–93, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2017–18 Runners-up: 1964–65, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2006–07Belgian League CupChampions: 1975Belgian SupercupChampions 1981, 1983, 2008, 2009 Runners-up 1982, 1993, 2011, 2016, 2018 UEFA Cup Winners' CupRunners-up: 1981–82UEFA Intertoto CupRunners-up: 1996 Amsterdam Tournament:Runners-up: 1981 As of 3 Augus
Association football
Association football, more known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of eleven players. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport; the game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal. Association football is one of a family of football codes, which emerged from various ball games played worldwide since antiquity; the modern game traces its origins to 1863 when the Laws of the Game were codified in England by The Football Association. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with hands or arms while it is in play, except for the goalkeepers within the penalty area. Other players use their feet to strike or pass the ball, but may use any other part of their body except the hands and the arms; the team that scores most goals by the end of the match wins.
If the score is level at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout depending on the format of the competition. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, which organises World Cups for both men and women every four years; the rules of association football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863 and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time rugby 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 "rules of the game" were made in 1848, before the "split off in 1863". The term soccer comes from a slang or jocular abbreviation of the word "association", with the suffix "-er" appended to it; the word soccer was first recorded in 1889 in the earlier form of socca.
Within the English-speaking world, association football is now called "football" in the United Kingdom and "soccer" in Canada and the United States. People in countries where other codes of football are prevalent may use either term, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now use "football" for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is 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 modern football. 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 and harpastum were played involving hands and violence.
They all appear to have resembled rugby football and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified "mob football", the antecedent of all modern football codes, these three games involved more handling the ball than kicking. Other games included kemari in chuk-guk in Korea. Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other ball games played around the world FIFA has recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe; the modern rules of association football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the varying forms of football played in the public schools of England. The history of football in England dates back to at least the eighth century AD; the Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Rugby and Shrewsbury schools.
They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football; some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School devised an influential set of rules; these ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London. The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse; the Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting: the first allowed for running with the ball in hand.
Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA and instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under
.jpg)
