1.
Gennevilliers
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Gennevilliers is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine département of France. It is located 9.1 km from the center of Paris, on 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the territory of Gennevilliers was detached and became the commune of Villeneuve-la-Garenne. Gennevilliers is the site of the river port Port of Gennevilliers of Paris on the Seine river. Gennevilliers is served by three stations on Paris Métro line 13, Les Courtilles, Les Agnettes and Gabriel Péri, all three are at the border with the commune of Asnières-sur-Seine. Gennevilliers is also served by two stations on Paris RER line C, Les Grésillons and Gennevilliers, schools include,13 preschools 9 elementary schools 3 junior high schools, Collège Guy-Môquet, Collège Edouard-Vaillant, Collège Louis-Pasteur There is a senior high school, Lycée Galilée
2.
Forward (association football)
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Forwards are the players on an association football team who play nearest to the opposing teams goal, and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals. Their advanced position and limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals on behalf of their team than other players, modern team formations generally include one to three forwards, for example, the common 4–2–3–1 formation includes one forward. Unconventional formations may include more than three forwards, or none, the centre-forward is often a tall player, typically known as a target man, whose main function is to score the majority of goals on behalf of the team. Most modern centre-forwards operate in front of the strikers or central attacking midfielders. The present role of centre-forward is sometimes interchangeable with that of an attacking midfielder, a centre-forward usually must be strong, to win key headers and outmuscle defenders. The term centre-forward is taken from the football playing formation in which there were five forward players. The number would become synonymous with the centre-forward position. Strikers are known for their ability to peel off defenders and to run into space via the side of the defender and to receive the ball in a good goalscoring position. They are typically fast players with ball control and dribbling abilities. More agile strikers like Michael Owen have an advantage over taller defenders due to their short burst speed, a good striker should be able to shoot confidently with either foot, possess great power and accuracy, and have the ability to pass the ball under pressure in breakaway situations. Deep-lying forwards have a history in the game, but the terminology to describe their playing activity has varied over the years. Originally such players were termed inside forwards, creative or deep-lying centre-forwards, in fact, a coined term, the nine-and-a-half, has been an attempt to become a standard in defining the position. In Italy, this role is known as a rifinitore or seconda punta, whereas in Brazil, it is known as segundo atacante. An outside forward plays as the forward on the right or left wing – as an outside right or outside left. As football tactics have largely developed, and wingers have dropped back to become midfielders, many commentators and football analysts still refer to the wing positions as outside right and outside left. However, in the British game they are counted as part of the midfield. It is a duty to beat opposing full-backs, deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions and, to a lesser extent, to beat defenders. They are usually some of the quickest players in the team, in their Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese usage, the defensive duties of the winger have been usually confined to pressing the opposition fullbacks when they have the ball
3.
Clairefontaine (football)
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The academy is one of twelve élite academies located in and around France that are supervised by the French Football Federation. Only the best players from the Île-de-France région train at the Clairefontaine academy, the eleven other academies are situated in Castelmaurou, Châteauroux, Liévin, Dijon, Marseille, Ploufragan, Vichy and Reims, Réunion, Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, and Talence. Clairefontaine opened in 1988 and is named after Fernand Sastre, the president of the FFF from 1972–1984, the academy is located 50 km southwest of Paris at Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines and is one of the best known football academies in the world. The academy is also used to house the football teams of France. In 1976, French Football Federation president and longtime official Fernand Sastre desired for the creation of a centre of football. The project was initiated by Ștefan Kovács, who was inspired by the former Romanian communist training centres, six years later, the FFF selected Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines as the site of the centre. Construction of the centre commenced in 1985 and lasted three years. The centre opened its doors in January 1988, during the 1998 World Cup, which France hosted, Clairefontaine housed the French national team. That same year, the FFF named the centre in Fernand Sastres honor, a bust of Sastre was put on the grounds in 2000, also present on the grounds is a statue of the FIFA World Cup. The best young players from the Île-de-France region stay at Clairefontaine from 13 to 15 for training. Most of the players that here are often being tracked by established French clubs. Today, many top local clubs play at the grounds, registration for new players at the academy normally begins in October the year before players enroll at the academy when prospective applicants are 12 years of age. Players have until December to register with their club for acceptance into the academy, the first set of trials are carried out by each district within Île-de-France. Each district selects a set number of players who will travel to Clairefontaine to attend a tryout, after the three days, the academy director and officials will convene to select a maximum of 22 players with three or four of the 22 being goalkeepers. Players who are selected to attend Clairefontaine stay and train at the facilities from Monday through to Friday, players are given the weekend off to visit family and train and play with their parent clubs. They are also given school holidays off, players are also required to meet educational criteria. Players age 13–15 training at Clairefontaine attend the Collège Catherine de Vivonne de Rambouilet in Rambouillet, after departing Rambouilet, players enroll at the nearby high school Lycée Louis Bascan de Rambouillet with hopes that they will earn their Baccalauréat. All costs required to attend an academy are borne by the federation and it is located in the valley of Chevreuse in the heart of the Rambouillet forest
4.
AJ Auxerre
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Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 2, Auxerre plays its home matches at the Stade lAbbé-Deschamps on the banks of the Yonne River. The team is managed by former football player Jean-Luc Vannuchi and captained by centre-back Sébastien Puygrenier, Auxerre was founded in 1905 and made its debut in the first division of French football in the 1980–81 season and have remained a fixture in the league until 2011–12 season. The club has won the Ligue 1 title once, in the 1995–96 season, two years prior, Auxerre achieved its first major honour by winning the Coupe de France in 1994. The club has added three more Coupe de France titles, which ties the club for fifth-best among teams who have won the trophy. Auxerre have unearthed several talented players in its existence, the club has most notably served as a springboard for several prominent French football players such as Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Philippe Mexès, Basile Boli, and Djibril Cissé, among others. All six players became French internationals with Blanc playing on the teams won the 1998 FIFA World Cup. From 1961 to 2005, the club was coached by Guy Roux. This included a period when Roux was in charge for 36 years between 1964 and 2000. The club Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise was founded in 1905, the club success, becoming a force in the Catholic league F. G. S. P. F. In 1908, the club reached the F. G. S. P. F. French Championship final, losing 8–1 however, at the end of the First World War, the club was expelled from its ground. Father Deschamps acquired several pieces of land along the Yonne on the Vaux road, Auxerre made its first steps in Division 1 on 24 July 1980 against Bastia in Toulon. On 20 November 1980, Andrzej Szarmach signed for Auxerre having received consent from the Polish Football Association and he started two days later at home against Lyon and scored the first of his ninety-four goals in Division 1. In the next two seasons, AJA finished fifteenth and eighth respectively, during the 1983–84 season, AJA climbed for the first time onto the podium in finishing third. Patrice Garande finished top scorer with twenty-one goals and that summer, Auxerre recruited Michel NGom. An international prospect, he left Paris Saint-Germain, during pre-season, he scored five goals in ten games. On the last weekend before the start of the season, he visited his former teammates in Paris, tragically, he died following a traffic accident on 12 August 1984
5.
FC Istres
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Football Club Istres Ouest Provence is a French association football club based in Istres. The club was formed in 1920 and currently play their matches at the Stade Parsemain in Fos-sur-Mer. FC Istres was founded in 1920 by Édouard Guizonnier as SS Istréenne, in 1969, SS Istréenne was merged into the more general sports club Istres Sports, who chose to keep Istréennes distinctive purple and black colours. In 1977 the club made young entrepreneur Michel Aviet the clubs president, during the Aviet-Korac years, the club advanced from Frances lower regional divisions all the way up to Ligue 2. In 2004, the club reached Ligue 1 but finished last and was relegated to Ligue 2 the following year, the club returned to Ligue 2 for the 2009–10 season after winning the Championnat National 2008–09. The club got relegated from Ligue 2 in 2013–14 season after a 2–4 defeat to Dijon FCO, in July 2015 the club was relegated the 7th tier for financial reasons. SS Istréenne Istres Sports FC Istres Ville Nouvelle For a list of former FC Istres players, see Category, the club has two major rivalries. First is with neighbours FC Martigues, with many encounters over the years, the second is the Provence derby against AC Arles-Avignon. National Champions, 2008–09 Méditerranée Division dHonneur Champions,1982,1990 Coupe de Provence Champions,1933,1982,1987,1989 Official website
6.
Aarhus Gymnastikforening
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Aarhus Gymnastikforening is one of the oldest sport clubs in Denmark. The club was founded in 1880, mainly with gymnastics but also fencing as the main sports, AGF, however, is best known for its football team, which was introduced in 1902. AGF has won the Danish Football Championship five times and the Danish Cup a record nine times, in 1961, it reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup, where the club lost to Benfica. In 1989, AGF again reached a European quarter-final, this time losing to Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, AGF played its first football match against Aarhus Idrætsklub Olympia in November 1902, a 5–2 loss. Six years later, the won the Jutland Football Championship by winning 3–2 over Ringkøbing in the final. AGF won the Jutland Football Championship seven times and was in three finals of the Danish Football Championship before AGF became a member of the newly founded Denmark Tournament in 1927, in 1911, AGF got its own clubhouse then the club brought the pitches at Dalgas Avenue. In 1920, AGF began to play its matches at the newly build Aarhus Stadion. In 1941, the club moved from the clubhouse at Dalgas Avenue to Fredensvang in the suburb Viby, AGF ended from 1949 to 1951 three times in a row as third in the 1. After spending the 1952–53 season in the 2, division, AGF returned strongly to the 1. Division and in the next 12 seasons won four Danish Football Championships, AGF also participated in the first edition of the European Cup, where it lost to French club Stade de Reims. In 1961, AGF reached the quarter-final in the tournament where it lost to eventual tournament winners Benfica. AGF was relegated to the 2, division in 1968 and in 1973 but returned to the 1. This was the start of 30 years in the best division, the introduction of professional football in Denmark had a big influence on the succes AGF experienced from the late 1970s and forward until 1998. With the former Real Madrid star Henning Jensen on the team was AGF close at winning the Danish Football Championship in 1982, AGF played 2–2 against B93 in the last game of the season sending the championship to Odense Boldklub. In 1984 AGF was again close at winning the championship but lost it by a point to the rivals from Vejle Boldklub. Finally in 1986 AGF won its fifth Danish Football Championship, flemming Povlsen, Jan Bartram and John Stampe was the profiles in the team. In 1987,1988 and 1992 AGF also won the Danish Cup, in 1996, with players like Stig Tøfting and Håvard Flo, was AGF again close at winning the Danish Football Championship but AGF was overtaken by Brøndby IF in the second last round of the tournament. AGF got revenge by winning the final of the Danish Cup against Brøndby IF in the same season, in 1998, AGF finished third in the Danish Superliga but financial problems resulted in some poor results the following years
7.
Pierikos F.C.
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Pierikos or Pierikos Syndesmos Filathlon Katerinis is a Greek football club based in Katerini, Greece. The club was founded on 11 April 1961 from the merger between Megas Alexandros Katerinis and Olympos Katerinis, unification of the two clubs has seen as the only way for the city of Katerini to have a team in the 1st Division. In its first season Pierikos took the place of Megas Alexandros in the 2nd Division and it played in the Group of Western and Central Macedonia and finished 1st. Therefore, it was able to play in the 2nd Division play-offs, in the final Pierikos won 2–0 in a match against Olympiakos Kozanis and gained promotion to the 1st Division. In this season Pierikos scored 108 goals and conceded 28. In its first season in the 1st division Pierikos finished in the 9th position scoring 36 goals and his biggest win was a 4–0 against Aris Thessaloniki F. C. Pierikos also played in the Greek Cup final this season. The club suffered a 3–0 defeat by Olympiacos CFP, in the 1963–64 season Pierikos finished in the 7th position. Its biggest wins were, a 5–1 against Doxa Dramas and a 4–0 against Ethnikos Piraeus. The club scored 34, Pierikos also played in the Greek Cup Semi-Final this season where was suffered a 3–1 defeat by AEK Athens FC. This was as Final because the other Semi-Final between Olympiacos CFP and Panathinaikos FC never ended and therefore AEK Athens FC was awarded the Greek Cup by E. P. O, the 1964–65 season is, probably, the best season in the History of Pierikos. Pierikos finished in the 5th position scoring 39 and conceding 39 and its biggest win was a 4–0 against Niki Volou. In the 1965–66 season Pierikos finished in the 8th position and its biggest win was a 5–1 against AO Trikala. The club scored 40 and conceded 40 goals, in the 1966–67 season Pierikos finished in the 14th position. Its biggest win was a 4–1 against Vyzas Megaron, the club scored 36 and conceded 51 goals. In the 1967–68 season Pierikos finished in the 5th position and its biggest win was a 9–1 against Olympiakos Nicosia. This is the biggest victory of the club, in the 1st Division, ever. The club scored 42 and conceded 46 goals, in the 1968–69 season Pierikos finished in the 9th position. Its biggest win was a 5–1 against Apollon Smyrnis, the club scored 31 and conceded 37 goals. In the 1969–70 season Pierikos finished in the 7th position and its biggest win was a 3–0 against Olympiakos Nicosia. The club scored 45 and conceded 44 goals, in the 1970–71 season Pierikos finished in the 14th position. The club didnt manage to win any game by more than one goal
8.
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv
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PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Plovdiv, that competes in Bulgarias primary football competition, the First League. Lokomotivs home ground is the homonymous Lokomotiv Stadium situated in the Lauta park of the city, established in 1926, in the 2003–04 season of the A Group, Lokomotiv became champions of Bulgaria, finishing the season with three points more than the second-ranked, Levski Sofia. Lokomotiv Plovdiv have also won one Bulgarian Supercup and one Cup of the Soviet Army in 1983, the clubs biggest success in Europe is reaching the third round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1965, after losing to the Italian Juventus F. C. in a play-off match. Description of the clubs history requires attention to the reorganisations that the team has undergone since its creation and how the members and fans of the team have reacted to these changes. In the case of PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv, these changes have led to the merger of two teams, that are different in nature, leading to misinterpretations of the history of the teams. This said, an approach is needed towards the history of the early years of the contemporary football club of Lokomotiv Plovdiv. These branches can be defined as that of Sportclub Plovdiv, two years later, in 1924, the sport club Atletik is formed in the same district of Plovdiv as Karadzha. On 26 July 1926 the two clubs from the same district, Karadzha and Atletik, unite to form the team of Sportclub. The football club chooses white, black and red as the colours of their kits and their crest, Sportclub had its home grounds in the city centre. However, after the earthquake in South Bulgaria in 1928. Because of that, from 1928 Sportclub did not have their own field for more than two decades. As a football team, in the years after Sportclub was created it competed in the Championship of Plovdiv. Sportclub participates in the division of the Championship of Plovdiv until 1933 when the team finishes first in the second division and is promoted to Plovdivs top tier as of 1934. In 1936 Sportclub becomes the Champion of Plovdiv for the first time, in 1938 the team joined the National Football Division - the countrywide football league formed a year earlier that included Bulgarias top ten teams. However, after three seasons in 1940 the tournament is disbanded because of the Bulgarias participation in World War II. By that time the club had changed its name to Plovdivski Sportclub since several other teams in the also had Sportclub in their name. In the Tsars Cup the team reaches the finals twice - in 1940, by 1944 the team is the biggest in the region of Plovdiv in terms of members, and has a dedicated following with its fans setting records for the period in attendance of football matches. In the mid-1930s the labour union of the workers and sailors establishes several cultural
9.
PFC Levski Sofia
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PFC Levski Sofia, commonly known as Levski Sofia, is a professional association football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The team competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system, Levski have participated in more seasons of the Bulgarian football championship than any other team, and are the only Bulgarian team to have never been relegated. They have won 73 trophies including 26 A Group titles,25 Bulgarian Cups and 3 Super Cups, on an international basis, Levski have reached three European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finals and two UEFA Cup quarter-finals. In 2006-07, they became the first Bulgarian club to reach the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The teams regular kit colour is all-blue, Levskis home ground is the Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov Stadium in Sofia, which has a capacity of 25,000 spectators. The clubs biggest rivals are CSKA Sofia, and matches between the two sides are commonly referred to as The Eternal Derby of Bulgaria. Levski is also a member of the European Club Association. Sport Club Levski was founded in 1911 by a group of students at the Second Male High School in Sofia, the clubs name was chosen in honour of the Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski, and the club was officially registered on May 24,1914. In 1914 Levski lost its first official match against FC13 Sofia by 0–2, in that period football wasnt a popular sport in Bulgaria, so there isnt any other information from the period concerning the club. In the summer of 1921, the Sofia Sports League was founded and it united 10 clubs from Sofia, marking the beginning of organized football competitions in the city. The Blues won the first match in the championship for the season 1921–22, held on September 18,1921, Levski captured the first place in the league in 1923 after a dramatic 3–2 win over bitter rival Slavia Sofia and successfully defended the title in the following season. The first National Championship was held in 1924 with Levski representing Sofia, the team went on to win the title in 1933,1937 and 1942, and established itself as the most popular football club in Bulgaria. Levski also became the holder for all times of the Ulpia Serdica Cup by virtue of winning it for the time in a row in 1933. In 1929 Levski became the first semi-professional football club in Bulgaria, after 12 players staged a boycott of the team in demand of financial remuneration, the same year Levski met its first international opponents, losing to Gallipoli Istanbul 0–1 and winning against Kuban Istanbul 6–0. After World War II, Levski became one of the two top clubs in Bulgaria, after winning the championship in 1946,1947,1949,1950 and 1953 Levski would not capture the domestic title again until the mid-1960s. In 1949 the authorities changed the name to Dinamo following the Soviet traditions. The 1960s were marked with return to both on the domestic and on the international stage. The tie against Benfica in the European Cup in 1965 remained memorable for the Eusébio versus Georgi Asparuhov clash, in January 1969 Levski was merged with Spartak Sofia and put under the auspice of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry
10.
SC Freiburg
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Sport-Club Freiburg e. V. commonly known as SC Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Freiburg has traditionally bounced between the first and second tier of the German football league system, leading to the fan chant, We go down, we go up, since 1954, the clubs stadium has been the Schwarzwald-Stadion. Volker Finke, who was the manager between 1991 and 2007, was the longest-serving manager in the history of professional football in Germany. Joachim Löw, current manager of the Germany national team, is the clubs leading goal scorer with 81 goals in 252 games during his three spells at SCF. The club traces its origins to a pair of clubs founded in 1904, Freiburger Fußballverein 04 was organised in March of that year, FC Schwalbe Freiburg just two months later. Both clubs underwent name changes, with Schwalbe becoming FC Mars in 1905, Mars becoming Union Freiburg in 1906, three years later, SV and Union formed Sportclub Freiburg, at the same time incorporating the griffin head. In 1918, after the devastation of World War I, SC Freiburg entered an arrangement with Freiburger FC to be able to field a full side called KSG Freiburg. SC Freiburg then picked up again with FT1844 Freiburg in 1938, the club managed to play on highest level from 1928, first in the Bezirksliga Baden, then in the Gauliga Baden, from which they were relegated in 1934. At the end of World War II, Allied occupation authorities disbanded most existing organizations in Germany, including football and sports clubs. The clubs were permitted to reconstitute themselves after about a year, SC Freiburg was therefore briefly known as VfL Freiburg. By 1950, French-occupation authorities had let up enough to allow the clubs to reclaim their old identities, finally, in 1952, SC Freiburg left FT Freiburg behind again. To this point, the history of the club had been characterised by only modest success, through the 1930s, SC Freiburg played in the Bezirkliga, with the occasional turn in the Gauliga Baden, and captured a handful of local titles. After World War II, they picked up where left off. While only a club, SC Freiburg became known for the fight. Bundesliga in 1978–79, which they would compete in for a decade-and-a-half before making the breakthrough to the top-flight Bundesliga in 1993–94 under the management of Volker Finke, in their first Bundesliga season, Freiburg narrowly avoided relegation. They made a run in their second season at the top level, finishing third. It was at time that they were first nicknamed Breisgau-Brasilianer due to their attractive style of play
11.
Wuhan Zall F.C.
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Wuhan Zall Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the China League One division under licence from the Chinese Football Association. The team is based in Wuhan, Hubei and their stadium is the Wuhan Sports Center Stadium that has a seating capacity of 60,000. Their current majority shareholder is the investment company Wuhan Zall Development Holding Co. Ltd, the Hubei Province soccer association decided to help form a new team with players mainly from the former Wuhan Guanggu and Hubei youth teams. They entered at the start of the 2009 league campaign at the bottom of the professional Chinese football league pyramid in the third tier. The team won promotion to the 2013 Chinese Super League after coming runners-up in the 2012 China League One division and spent only one season in the top flight. C. in a penalty shoot out. Despite the defeat the club would win promotion to the second tier, in 2015 the football club was sold to a private company of the chairman Yan Zhi and his relatives, for RMB20,630,000. 2009–2010, Hubei Greenery F. C.2011, Wuhan Zhongbo F. C. 2012–, as of 3 March 2017 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 the end of 2016 season. All-time League Rankings ^1 in group stage Key
12.
Dubai CSC
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Dubai Cultural Sports Club is a football club based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The club was relegated in 2007 to the UAE Second Division, Dubai Csc are to play Nottingham Forest in a pre-season friendly on July 11,2013, the first time that they will have hosted a European club. The stadium has been recently refurbised and has air conditioning. Federation Cup, Champion,2010 Junior dos Santos Néstor Clausen Umberto Barberis Marin Ion Ayman Al-Ramadi René Marsiglia Martin Rueda Umberto Barberis Guglielmo Arena Official site
13.
France national under-18 football team
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The France national under-18 football team is the national under-18 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The under-18 team matches are not competitive, merely for participate in matches and tournaments, such as the SBS Cup. The team serves as a team to the under-19 team. The 2012–13 international under-18 campaign began on 6 September 2012 and the current coach of the team is Philippe Bergeroo, a football player, notably for Bordeaux, Lille. Prior to coaching for the French Football Federation, Bergeroo had domestic coaching tenures at Paris Saint-Germain, the current captain of the team is Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Mike Maignan. The following players were called up for the 2015 Suwon JS Cup from 26 April to 4 May 2015, caps and goals as of 30 March 2015, after the teams match against Germany. These players are currently playing either on their clubs reserve team or in the youth academy
14.
France national under-19 football team
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The France national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the annual UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship and they were the 2010 champions of the competition having won on home soil. The under-19 team also contests the qualification matches needed to play in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, France have won the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship twice in 2005 and 2010. In 2005, striker Abdoulaye Baldé was awarded the Golden Player award, two players, Djamel Abdoun and Moussa Sow, have played for other national teams for which they were eligible. In 2010, the team was crowned champions on home soil after defeating Spain 2–1 in the final in Caen, gaël Kakuta was named the tournaments Golden Player. The 2012–13 international under-19 campaign will begin in August 2012 and will end following the conclusion of the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, the current under-19 team is coached by Ludovic Batelli, a former football player, notably with Valenciennes and Lorient. Prior to coaching for the French Football Federation, he had domestic coaching tenures at Troyes, on 6 July 2016, France named their squad for the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Head coach, Jean-Claude Giuntini Caps and goals as of 27 March 2017 after the match against Israel, *Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shootout. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won, red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil. UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship,1949,1983,1996,1997,2000,2005,2010,2016 Official site
15.
Mali national football team
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The Mali national football team, nicknamed Les Aigles, is the national team of Mali and is controlled by the Fédération Malienne de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals, Mali were suspended by FIFA on 17 March 2017. Mali reached the 1972 African Nations Cup final, but lost 3–2 to Congo and they failed to qualify for the finals again until 1994 when they reached the semi-finals, an achievement repeated in 2002,2004 and 2012. They played their first World Cup qualifier in 2000, as part of the CAFs qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Mali lost in the preliminary round to Libya. Two years later, the hosted the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. Malis under-23s team managed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, the team coached by Cheick Kone managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament before losing to Italy. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Mali beat Guinea-Bissau in the prelimaries, in the resulting second round, Mali finished fourth in its group. In March 2005, riots broke out in Bamako after Mali lost a World Cup qualifier to Togo, in the recent 2010 African Nations Cup, Mali made football headlines from coming back 4–0 with 11 minutes left to level 4–4 with Angola. The following players have called up for Mali in the last 12 months. Notes INJ Player withdrew from the due to an injury. RET Player has retired from international football, DEC Player has refused to join the team after the call-up. SUS Suspended from the national team, PRE Preliminary Squad. com Mali Football Courtney, Barrie. Mali – List of International Matches at RSSSF. com
16.
Mali
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Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres, the population of Mali is 14.5 million. The countrys economy centers on agriculture and fishing, some of Malis prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. A majority of the population are Muslims, present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegals withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, a conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state. The conflict was complicated by a coup that took place in March. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013, a month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round held on 11 August. The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire, the name was originally derived from the Mandinka or Bambara word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean the place where the king lives. The word carries the connotation of strength, D. Niane suggests in Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was indeed called Mali and this name could have formerly been that of a city. In old Mali there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali. ”Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/, Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities
17.
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
18.
Bulgaria
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Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, with a territory of 110,994 square kilometres, Bulgaria is Europes 16th-largest country. Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period and its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and Huns. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State, the following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc, in December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgarias transition into a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgarias population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised, most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are industry, power engineering. The countrys current political structure dates to the adoption of a constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative. Human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria can be traced back to the Paleolithic, animal bones incised with man-made markings from Kozarnika cave are assumed to be the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in humans. Organised prehistoric societies in Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture, Vinča culture, the latter is credited with inventing gold working and exploitation. Some of these first gold smelters produced the coins, weapons and jewellery of the Varna Necropolis treasure and this site also offers insights for understanding the social hierarchy of the earliest European societies. Thracians, one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians, began appearing in the region during the Iron Age. In the late 6th century BC, the Persians conquered most of present-day Bulgaria, and kept it until 479 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in the 5th century the area fell under Byzantine control, by this time, Christianity had already spread in the region. A small Gothic community in Nicopolis ad Istrum produced the first Germanic language book in the 4th century, the first Christian monastery in Europe was established around the same time by Saint Athanasius in central Bulgaria. From the 6th century the easternmost South Slavs gradually settled in the region, in 680 Bulgar tribes under the leadership of Asparukh moved south across the Danube and settled in the area between the lower Danube and the Balkan, establishing their capital at Pliska
19.
FC Metalist Kharkiv
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Football Club Metalist Kharkiv is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv. In 2016, the club ceased to operate and In 2016, the club was left without funds after owner Serhiy Kurchenko left Ukraine in February 2014 and was excluded from the Ukrainian Premier League in 2016 due to insolvency. Founded in 1925 FC Metalist Kharkiv worked its way up the rungs of the Soviet football system, after a difficult period which included relegation, Metalist was promoted to the Top League again in 1982, where it remained until the leagues dissolution. The club won the Soviet Cup once, and were also runners-up once and they have also won the bronze title of the Ukrainian Premier League six times in a row, starting in the 2006–07 season. Their home was the 40,003 capacity multi-use Metalist Stadium, the stadium was originally built in 1926 and was recently reconstructed to its current capacity to host Euro 2012 football matches. Following the demise of Metalist Kharkiv in 2016 two new clubs were created in Kharkiv with a variations of the name of the now not operating Metalist Kharkiv. Since July 2016 a team named SK Metalist Kharkiv is playing in the Kharkiv Oblast Championship, SK Metalist Kharkiv is owned Serhiy Kurchenko. In August 2016 a new club named FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv was established that immediately started to compete in the Ukrainian Amateur Football League, FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv intends to play in the Ukrainian Second League as soon as possible. FC Metalist 1925 Kharkiv is owned by a company not linked with the original FC Metalist Kharkiv, the team has played under the following names, KhPZ, Dzerzhinets, Avanhard/Avangard, Metalist/Metallist. FC Metalist Kharkiv was initially founded on 11 December 1925 as KhPZ, ten years later, the club won the city of Kharkiv championship, which allowed the club to enter the USSR Cup in the following season. Following World War II, the club under the name Dzerzhinets resumed playing in local competitions, in the first post-war decade the club was completely overshadowed by its city rival FC Lokomotyv Kharkiv which was member of the Soviet Lokomotiv sports society. In 1956, Metalist as Avanhard returned to the Soviet Second League B replacing its city rivals Lokomotyv Khakriv, soon thereafter it was promoted first to Soviet First League in 1958, and later to the Soviet Top League in 1960. The club stayed in Top League for 4 seasons, but was demoted to First League in 1963, in 1978, the club was promoted to the Soviet First League and two years later, the club finished third in the competition narrowly missing promotion to the top flight. The following season, the club improved on their previous performance, the club sustained 10 seasons of the Soviet Top League with several successes on the domestic front. In 1983, Metalist was the runner-up in the USSR Cup, as a result, Metalist Kharkiv earned a trip to the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Metalist only advanced to the last sixteen of the competition, beating Yugoslavian side Borac Banja Luka, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of an independent Ukraine, Metalist joined the inaugural season of the Ukrainian Premier League in 1992. The club finished in place, an achievement it would never top until the 2006–07 season. The club finished with 40 points, on a par with Metalurh Zaporizhzhya, yaroslavsky sold the club to new owner Serhiy Kurchenko late in December 2012
20.
Dundalk F.C.
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Dundalk Football Club is an Irish professional association football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division and are the current reigning champions, founded in 1903, it is the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The traditional colours of the club are white jerseys with black shorts, because of the white jerseys, the team has been nicknamed The Lilywhites. Home games are played in Oriel Park, a local rivalry is shared with Drogheda United, their Louth neighbours, who entered the League in 1963 as Drogheda FC and later became Drogheda United in 1975. In 2002, the won the FAI Cup for a ninth time. Dundalk celebrated its 2000th league game against Finn Harps on Thursday 8 March 2007 in Oriel Park to a crowd of 3,000 spectators. In 2016, the became the first Irish side to reach the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League after their shock 3–1 aggregate win over FC BATE Borisov. They were beaten by Legia Warsaw in the final play-off round and they became the first Irish side to win a group stage game in European competition when they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 at home. The Dundalk team had beaten Institution 2nd XI 1–0, the club continued to exist until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. However, other clubs began to make their presence felt in the locality. One in particular, the Great Northern Railway Association Club, otherwise known as the Dundalk GNR, founded in September 1903, the Dundalk GNR were located at the Athletic Grounds and competed in the Dundalk and District League from 1905 until 1914, although media coverage remained patchy. Sports coverage was re-instated in the media in 1919, with the Dundalk. Included among the teams was a representing the Dundalk GNR. The club were also partaking in the Newry League at the time, the Dundalk GNR was not involved in the fledgling League of Ireland, which began at the start of the 1921–22 season. It involved only Dublin-based clubs, all of which had stepped up from the Leinster Senior League Senior Division and this ultimately opened the way for the Dundalk GNR to move up to the Leinster Senior League. It was the club from outside the capital to compete in the 1922–23 season. The first game in the League of Ireland ended in a 2–1 loss to Fordsons on 21 August. The club, still known as the Dundalk GNR, and continuing in the black and amber kit from their pre-First World War origins, the match ended in a 2–1 defeat
21.
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)
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The First Professional Football League is a Bulgarian professional league for mens association football clubs. Standing at the top of the Bulgarian football league system, it serves as the primary football competition. The league determines the champion of Bulgaria and is contested by fourteen teams and it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the second tier of the Bulgarian football league pyramid, the Second League. Known by its previous name A Group, the Bulgarian top-tier was fully restructured during the summer of 2016, the Bulgarian football championship was inaugurated in 1924 as the Bulgarian State Football Championship and has been played in a league format since 1948, when the A Group was established. The champions of the First League have the right to participate in the rounds of the UEFA Champions League based on the leagues European coefficient. Additionally, two UEFA Europa League spots are allocated to the team in the final standings and the winner of the European playoffs. A further fourth spot may also be granted to the fourth placed team in the league ranking. A total of 67 clubs have competed in the Bulgarian top-tier since its establishment, in the last decade, many teams such as the current champions Ludogorets were introduced for the first time in the league. In 2016–17, Vereya Stara Zagora became the 67th club to participate in the competition, since 1948, eleven different teams have been crowned champions of Bulgaria. The three most successful clubs are CSKA Sofia with 31 titles, Levski Sofia with 26 titles, the current champions Ludogorets Razgrad won their fifth consecutive title in their fifth First League season in 2015–16. The first football championship of Bulgaria started in 1924 in a knockout format, an attempt to form a league as the top division of the Bulgarian football league system was made in 1937–1940, when the National Football Division was created. There were 10 teams, each playing twice against all the others, once home, the team that finished first in the table became champions. The first season of the A Republican Football Group started in the autumn of 1948. In that season, ten teams participated in the league, Levski, Septemvri, Lokomotiv, Slavia and Spartak from the capital city Sofia, the first football champion of the A Republican Football Group was Levski in 1948–49. The 1949/50 season in the A Group was not completed, the league was stopped after the first fixture. It was then decided that the championship of Bulgaria would be played in a cycle as in the Soviet Union. In the autumn of 1949, qualification tournaments were played to determine the teams that would play in the next 1950 season, in the next two seasons the number of teams in the league was increased to 12, and for the 1953 season there were 15 teams. In seasons 1954 and 1955 there were 14 teams in the league, in 1958, the championship was again stopped after the spring half-season, as had happened in 1948
22.
Eternal derby of Bulgarian football
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The clubs have won 26 and 31 national championship titles and 25 and 20 Bulgarian Cup titles, respectively. The rivalry started in the late 1940s when the newly founded club of CSKA became a champion in their first year in football in 1948. During the years, as the two became more and more successful, they gained large supporter bases. The confrontations between the clubs and their fans became commonplace and often resulted in tense encounters on the pitch, on 21 June, the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party issued a decree that disbanded both teams. CSKA Septemvriysko zname had to be re-founded as Sredets and Levski-Spartak as Vitosha, six players were banned for life from playing competitive football, many other players and staff members were banned for three months to one year. A year later, the decision was abolished and the players continued their sport careers, during the years, all the matches between Levski and CSKA were held at a neutral venue, in most cases at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. Only once in the history of the Eternal derby it was held outside Sofia – in 1991, note, All matches that have finished with a win after extra time are represented as a win for the respective club. All matches that have finished with a penalty shoot-out are represented as draws with the score after 120 minutes. • Total, Levski 26 times higher, CSKA30 times higher
23.
PFC CSKA Sofia
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PFC CSKA Sofia is a professional association football club from Sofia, Bulgaria, which currently competes in the countrys premier football competition, the First League. CSKA stands for Central Sports Club of the Army, established on May 5,1948, CSKA have won a record 31 Bulgarian titles, and 4 national supercups, as well as 20 Bulgarian Cups. The clubs home colours are red and white, CSKAs home ground is the Bulgarian Army stadium in Sofia. The clubs biggest rivals are Levski Sofia and matches between the two sides are known as The Eternal Derby of Bulgaria. With the help of Mihail Mihaylov again, in February 1948 Chavdar became the club of the Central House of the Troops. Looking for ways to halt the decline, CDVs administrators sought to merge it with another club. In May 1948, an agreement was reached between CDV and Septemvri Sofia for uniting the clubs under the name Septemvri pri CDV, the contract was signed on 5 May 1948, which is officially considered the clubs date of foundation. The clubs first official game took place on 19 May 1948, against Slavia Sofia at Yunak Stadium, Septemvri pri CDV eliminated Aprilov and Spartak Varna on its way to the final, where it faced Levski Sofia, losing 1–2 in the first leg. The decisive second match took place on 9 September 1948, the score was 3–3 on aggregate, as Septemvri pri CDV led 2–1 near the end of regulation time, when a last-minute goal by Nako Chakmakov gave the club its first title ever. The following two years, C. D. N. V. won two titles in a row, in 1951, the Army club clinched their first double. In 1953, the club was renamed by the authorities again, this time to Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon, in 1962, CDNA was united with DSO Cherveno Zname to form CSKA Cherveno Zname. The Central House of the Peoples Troops ceased its affiliation with the club, CSKA finished third after Spartak Plovdiv and Botev Plovdiv in the 1962–63 season. The following season, CSKA had its worst performance in the Bulgarian championship to date and this led to the sacking of legendary coach Krum Milev after 16 years. CSKA did not recapture the title until 1966, during the 1966–67 season, however, CSKA made its first major international achievement in reaching the semi finals of the European Cup for the first time, where it faced Italian grand Inter Milano. After two hard-fought 1–1 draws, a decisive match was played, which CSKA lost 0–1. The next two seasons were unmemorable for The Army Men, as finished in 5th and 2nd place consecutively. CSKA was again joined with Septemvri Sofia in 1968, and the club took the name CSKA Septemvriysko Zname. The club clinched the title in 1969 with the help of the recent acquisition of Petar Zhekov, the 1970s are widely considered the period when CSKA made its name on the European stage
24.
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
25.
Kalmar FF
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Kalmar Fotbollsförening, also known simply as Kalmar FF, Kalmar or KFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 10 January 1910 as IF Göta, the club have won one championship title. The club is playing in Allsvenskan, where the season lasts from April to November. Kalmar FFs local rivals are Kalmar AIK and Östers IF, on 15 June 1910, the club IF Göta was created, however they were not allowed to enter the Riksidrottsförbundet due to a conflict regarding the name. The name was taken by Stockholms-Göta and Karlstads-Göta. Later in 1912 the club changed its name to IF Gothia and was accepted by Riksidrottsförbundet. In 1927 Kalmar Idrotts Sällskap changed its name to Kalmar FF, in their first game they defeated KIS Malmö FF with 6–0. Between 1950 and 1955 the club went up and down between Allsvenskan and Division 2, in 1976 the club played its 100th game in Allsvenskan against GIF Sundsvall, however this ended with 9–2 defeat and led to manager Kay Wiestål being fired. In 1988 Kalmar FF won Division 2 without a defeat which is a record in Division 2. Between 1989 and 1997 the club spent most of its time in second highest league, after returning to Allsvenskan in 1998, but in 1999 the club fell out again, the only good thing was that the economy had been restored and was in good shape again. During the 2000 season club had to fight to avoid relegation from the second highest league and was able to do it in the end of the season. During the 2002 the first Brazilian, Alysson, arrived at the club, the spell in Superettan 2003 became only one year as Kalmar won the league well ahead of Trelleborgs FF, purchase of Daniel Mendes and Dudu helped the club a lot. The two following seasons,2005 and 2006, Kalmar ended up in 3rd and 5th respectively, then in 2007 they made a great run from start to finish and finally ended up in second place after champions IFK Göteborg. They won Svenska Cupen the same year by beating IFK Göteborg with 3–0 at Fredriksskans in Kalmar, the club had to wait until the last match of the season against Halmstads BK in Halmstad before they could become champions. Before the final match Elfsborg was behind with 3 points and 9 goals, the match against Halmstads BK ended 2–2 placing the club 1 point ahead of Elfsborg. Patrik Ingelsten also became the top goalscorer of the season with 19 goals scored. The team reached the final in Svenska Cupen yet again and also this year against IFK Göteborg, however this year IFK won 5–4 on penalties after full-time, the club also had the chance to reach the group stage of the UEFA Cup
26.
AIK Fotboll
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Competing in Swedens first tier, Allsvenskan, the club was formed in 1891 in Stockholm City Centre and the football department was formed in 1896. League champions eleven times, winning their latest championship title in 2009, the club holds the record for having played the most seasons in the Swedish top flight. In addition, AIK is the club that has finished top three in Allsvenskan the most times in the current century, AIK is the only side from the Stockholm urban area to have qualified for the group stage of a UEFA competition. The club reached the quarter-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners Cup, qualified for the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League group stage, the club is affiliated with the Stockholm Football Association. The name was chosen to reflect that the club was open for everyone, putting football into practice in 1896, AIK were runners-up in the championship only two years later, in 1898. AIK won its first Swedish championship title in 1900, beating Örgryte IS in the final, in 1901, AIK won another title, after a walk-over win against Örgryte IS team II. At the turn of the century, Swedish league football was dominated by Örgryte, however, in the period of 1898–1901 AIK won the championship twice and were runners-up three times. In 1899 the team faced Djurgårdens IF for the first time, AIK did not participate in the Swedish championships of 1902 and 1903, which meant these were played only with teams from Gothenburg. In 1902, AIK instead competed in Svenska bollspelsförbundets tävlingsserie, a competition open only to clubs from Stockholm. AIK competed with two teams in the first year of the competition, finishing fourth and last, as a result, the weaker AIK side was relegated, making the first team the only one from AIK in the highest division. The competition was played until 1909, with AIK winning it in 1908 and 1909, two years after the start of the tävlingsserie,1904, twelve teams participated in the championship, one of them being AIK for the first time since winning it. AIK went through to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by archrivals Djurgårdens IF, in 1905, AIK went just as far, this time being beaten by IFK Stockholm. AIK competed in the three times in 1906–1910 without any success, but in 1911 they won the championship for the third time after beating IFK Uppsala in the final. After that, AIK were eliminated in the semi-finals of 1912 and 1913, in 1915, AIK were again defeated by archrivals Djurgården in the semi-finals. In 1916, however, AIK came back and defeated future rivals IFK Göteborg in the semi-finals, in 1917, Djurgården mirrored AIKs achievement, winning against Göteborg in the semi-finals and then beating AIK with 3–1 in the final. Another couple of years passed by without any success for AIK, until 1923, from the years 1910 to 1924, a championship called Svenska Serien was played. AIK didnt win it, but were runners-up a couple of times, the status of this championship status increased in the beginning of the 1920s and it became more important than the Swedish championship. In 1924, Svenska Serien was replaced by the current highest league, the first years, the championship were dominated by teams from Gothenburg and by Hälsingborgs IF
27.
K.A.A. Gent
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Their football team have been playing in the Belgian Pro League since the 1989–90 season. They won the league once, in 2014–15, in addition to three Belgian Cup victories. Ghent played their matches in the Jules Ottenstadion in Gentbrugge from 1920 until 2013. Their team colours are blue and white, the principal sponsor is the financial institution VDK NV. The field hockey and track and field divisions were founded in 1864, the club was then known under its French name La Gantoise. They changed their name to the current Dutch version in 1971, the football division opened in 1900. The nickname of the club is De Buffalos, a term coined after a visit of the original Buffalo Bill, Ghent enjoyed a first spell at the highest level in Belgian football between 1913–14 and 1928–29, and a second one from 1936–37 to 1966–67. In the 1970s and 1980s, the club had several promotions and relegations between the first and second divisions, to back at the highest level in 1989. The club reached the 1991–92 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, which is their best achievement ever in European competitions, in 1864, an association called the Société Gymnastique la Gantoise, which was tasked with promoting gymnastics, was founded. Some branches quickly became independent and in 1891 the team merged with the Association Athlétique, in this context, the athletics team KAA Gent was founded. In the last decade of the 19th century, organized football was introduced in Ghent, different small teams were founded and some merged into Racing Club Gantois on 1 April 1899, which would later become the biggest challenger of KAA Gent. Only in 1900, a section was founded by the students of the College of Melle. The first president of the team was doctor Hector Priem, the games were played on the Carpentierplein, which was situated at the crossroads of the Kortrijksesteenweg, the Clementinalaan, the Oostendestraat and the Astridlaan. Initially, the black and white were chosen, but by 31 October 1900, when the team became an official member. On 15 November 1900, the first regular game was played, in January 1901, the team played against Racing Club Gantois, which was, at that time, the larger of the two. KAA Gent lost the game with 10–0, in 1901 AA La Gantoise played its first games in the lower divisions. For the first few years, the team played in the Belgian Second Division. In 1904 the team moved to the Mussenstraat, in 1913, the World Exposition was held at that place, and the team moved once more, this time to the Albertlaan
28.
Lille OSC
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LOSC Lille is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, Lille has played its home matches since 2012 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in nearby Villeneuve dAscq, which replaced the clubs previous home of Stade Lille-Metropole in the same community. The team is captained by French international Rio Mavuba, Lille was founded as a result of a merger between Olympique Lillois and SC Fives. Both clubs were founding members of the French Division 1 and Lillois was the inaugural champions. Under the Lille emblem, the club has won three titles in 1946,1954, and 2011 and six Coupe de France titles. Lille and Red Star FC are the only French clubs in the history to win the Coupe de France in three consecutive seasons. Lilles most successful period was the decade from 1946 to 1956 when the team was led by managers George Berry, Lille have a long-standing rivalry with its neighbours RC Lens. The two clubs regularly contest the Derby du Nord, Lille is presided over by Gérard Lopez, an entrepreneur-investor and an active Luxembourgish-Spanish businessman that invests in the sports industry. Before the Second World War, the city of Lille had two clubs in Ligue 1, Olympique Lillois and Sporting Club Fivois, weakened by the war, the two clubs decided to merge in the autumn of 1944, giving birth to Lille Olympique Sporting Club. Within its first decade of existence, the new club won two titles and reached the second place for four consecutive seasons. In the Coupe de France the club accumulated five wins in seven finals, the final of the Latin Cup was also reached. Lille was relegated for the first time in 1956, the club became a mid-table side and in the late 1960s, after a long period of anonymity, and weighed down by a lack of facilities and resources, Lille abandoned its professional status. It was feared that the club might disappear, however, some young leaders, such as Max Pommerolle, came and gave new impetus to the club. Nevertheless, the results remained erratic and the titles that ignited the fans passions were won in the Second Division. In July 1980, Lille was the first French club to opt for the status of a Mixed Economy Company, the team of presidents Amyot, Deschot and Dewailly all struggled to compete with the top teams in the country. Jacques Amyots resignation in 1990 led to three more years for the club which compromised its very existence. It took Bernard Lecomtes arrival in 1993 to set the club finances on the road to recovery, after a final relegation in 1997, the team trained by Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodžić was soon promoted back to the elite, in the same year the French Football League was privatised. In just its first season back in the top flight 2000–01 French Division 1, Lille qualified for Europe for the first time in the clubs history, booking its place in the 2000–01 Champions League
29.
Hat-trick
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A hat-trick or hat trick in sports is the achievement of a positive feat three times in a game, or another achievement based on the number three in some sports. In association and rugby football, the scoring of two goals or tries by one individual in a match is referred to as a brace. The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephensons taking three wickets with three consecutive deliveries, fans held a collection for Stephenson, and presented him with a hat bought with the proceeds. The term was used in print for the first time in 1865, the term was eventually adopted by many other sports including hockey, association football, water polo and team handball. A hat-trick occurs in association football when a player scores three goals in a game, whereas scoring two goals constitutes a brace. In common with other official record-keeping rules, goals in a penalty shootout are excluded from the tally, the extra time in a knockout cup match may also be calculated towards a players potential hat-trick. The fastest recorded time to score a hat-trick is 70 seconds, the previous Guinness world record of 90 seconds was held by Tommy Ross playing for Ross County against Nairn County on 28 November 1964. The first hat-trick in a game was by Scottish player John McDougall. American player Bert Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup, two hat-tricks have been scored in a final, by Geoff Hurst for England in the 1966 final during extra time against West Germany, and Carli Lloyd against Japan in the 2015 Womens World Cup final. Football has also extended the term to include the phrase perfect hat-trick, achieved when a player scores one right-footed goal, one left-footed goal and one headed goal within one match. In Germany, the term Hattrick refers to when a player scores three goals in a row in one half without the break or a goal scored by another player interfering the performance. In recent years, hat trick has been often used to describe when a player hits three home runs in a game. This new usage appears be the transposition of the term, by Canadian baseball fans, from ice hockey. For example, on 29 August 2015, Toronto Blue Jays fans celebrated Edwin Encarnacións third home run of the game by throwing hats onto the field, a hat-trick occurs in cricket when a bowler dismisses three batsmen with consecutive deliveries. Only wickets attributed to the count towards a hat-trick, run outs do not count. Hat-tricks are rare, and as such are treasured by bowlers, in Test cricket history there have been just 42 hat-tricks, the first achieved by Fred Spofforth for Australia against England in 1879. In 1912, Australian Jimmy Matthews achieved the feat twice in one game against South Africa, lasith Malinga achieved a hat-trick while playing for Sri Lanka against Australia on 22 August 2011 in the last match of the five-ODI series in Colombo. He is the bowler to take three hat-tricks in any form of international cricket
30.
PFC Lokomotiv Sofia
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FC Lokomotiv Sofia was a Bulgarian football club from the capital city of Sofia. Having been denied a license for the European tournaments and A Group due to debts after the 2014–15 A Group season. It was founded on September 2,1929 by a group of workers under the name Railway Sports Club. The clubs home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium in Sofia, which has a capacity of 22,000 spectators, Lokomotiv has won the Bulgarian championship four times and the Bulgarian Cup on four occasions. Lokomotiv was founded on 2 September 1929 as Railway Sports Club by a group of railway workers, rSCs first competitive game was an 2–1 victory against Zora Sofia on 3 October 1929. In the 1939–40 season, RSC won the Bulgarian title for first time in the teams history, the team was made by, Stoyo Nedyalkov, Sl. Videnov, K. Kostov, D. Marinov, St. Angelov, in 1945, the club had already been renamed Lokomotiv Sofia and won the title in the first post-war championship. During season 1963–64 after 30 games, Lokomotiv won their third title after they defeated main rivals to the title Levski Sofia and Slavia Sofia, in 1969 the club was united with Slavia Sofia for a brief period to 1971 and is associated with the Bulgarian railway workers. In 1978, led by Atanas Mihaylov and Boycho Velichkov Lokomotiv won their fourth title, in Europe the club won European championship of the railwaymen two times in 1961 and 1963, and Balkans Cup in 1973. In 1980 Lokomotiv reached a final in the UEFA Cup where they faced VfB Stuttgart, eliminating before that Ferencváros, AS Monaco. Against Stuttgart the team lost with 0–1 in Sofia and with 1–3 in Germany, the new era for Lokomotiv Sofia came in 1994 with the new president Nikolay Gigov. The football clubs status was turned professional, for merely one year, from a team struggling not to lose its place in the professional league, Lokomotiv won the silver medals in the Championship and the State Cup. The clubs home ground is Lokomotiv Stadium with 25,000 places, the team came fourth in the 2005–06 season in A PFG and qualified for the UEFA Cup 2006-07 first qualifying round, where they face FK Makedonija Gjorče Petrov from the Republic of Macedonia. Lokomotiv beat the Macedonian side 2–0 in the first match in Sofia on 13 July 2006 and finished 1–1 as a guest in Macedonia and continued to the next round of the tournament. Next, they faced the team of Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv and their next opponent in the first round of the tournament was the team of Feyenoord Rotterdam. The first game in Sofia ended with a 2–2 draw, after Lokomotiv went ahead 2–0 early in the first half, the second game finished 0–0 and Lokomotiv Sofia were out of the UEFA tournament. Domestically, Lokomotiv had a run of 10 consecutive wins. Eventually, Lokomotiv finished third with equal points with second-placed CSKA Sofia, the 2007–08 season started promisingly for the team
31.
Sporting CP
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Sporting Clube de Portugal, OM, ComC, MHIH or Sporting CP is a sports club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that is best known for its football team. As of 23 May 2016, Sporting is the worlds sixth-largest club in terms of members and is one of the Três Grandes football clubs in Portugal. They are nicknamed Leões and Verde e Brancos, the clubs anthem, A Marcha do Sporting, was written in 1955. Founded in Lisbon on 1 July 1906, Sporting were a member of the Primeira Liga and. Benfica and FC Porto, have never relegated from the top flight of Portuguese football since its establishment in 1934. Sporting are the third most successful Portuguese football club, with 50 titles in all the Portuguese competitions and one international title, domestically, they have won 18 Primeira Liga titles,16 Portuguese Cups, four Championships of Portugal and eight Portuguese Super Cup titles. Sportings football youth system has developed players such as Paulo Futre, Simão, Nani, Ricardo Quaresma and Ballon dOr recipients Cristiano Ronaldo. Sporting are currently ranked 54th in UEFA club rankings, Sporting Club de Portugal has its origins in June 1902, when young men Francisco da Ponte, Horta Gavazzo and his brother José Maria decided to create Sport Club de Belas. This club, the first ancestor of Sporting, played just one match and at the end of the years summer and they played their matches on the estate of Viscount of Alvalade, the grandfather of José Alvalade, with the clubs headquarters located at the house of Francisco Gavazzo. For two years, the club developed an activity on several sports, namely football, tennis. The club also organized parties and picnics, some time later, José Gavazzo, José Alvalade and 17 other members left the club, with the latter saying I am going to have with me my grandfather and he will give me the money to make another club. As such, a new club, Campo Grande Sporting Clube, was founded, the Viscount of Alvalade, whose money helped to fund the club, was the first president of Sporting. José Alvalade, as one of the founders, uttered on behalf of himself and his fellow co-founders, We want this club to be a great club. Three months later, on 1 July 1906, António Félix da Costa Júnior suggested the name Sporting Clube de Portugal, Sporting played their first Primeira Liga game ever on 20 January 1935, winning 0–6 against Académica de Coimbra. A year later, in 1936, the club had their heaviest defeat ever against Porto, Sporting, however, got their revenge a year later, when they humbled the same team with a 9–1 result. In 1941, under the guidance of Hungarian manager József Szabó, the football team had their height during the 1940s and 1950s. It was spearheaded by Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos, Albano Pereira, Jesus Correia and Manuel Vasques, with the violins help, Sporting won seven league titles in eight seasons between 1947 and 1954, including a then unprecedented four in a row from 1950–51 onwards. Fernando Peyroteo, the most known of the violins, is considered one of the greatest Portuguese players of all time, Sporting and the Yugoslavian team Partizan both made history on 4 September 1955, as they played the first-ever UEFA Champion Clubs Cup match
32.
Daniel Mladenov
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Daniel Mladenov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a winger for Pirin Blagoevgrad. Mladenov started his career in his home town Kyustendil in the local team, in June 2007, Mladenov signed a contract for three years with Marek Dupnitsa. One year later, in 2008, Daniel signed with PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad, on 9 June 2010, he signed his 3-year contract. On 30 June 2010, he made his debut for Levski in a match against FCM Târgu Mureş. Mladenov entered the match as a substitute and scored 2 goals, Mladenov officially debuted for Levski in a Europa League match against Dundalk F. C. The Blues won the first match and the result was 6,0, Mladenov scored two of the goals. On 16 December 2010, Mladenov netted the goal for Levski Sofia in the 1,0 home win against Sporting CP in the final UEFA Europa League match of the group phase. However, the team from Sofia had already been eliminated from the competition, on 3 August 2012, he signed a 2-year contract with Chernomorets Burgas for free. On 13 December, he was arrested for illegal betting, three days later he was released from the club. However, he did not face any legal charges, in February 2013, Montana acquired the services of Mladenov until the end of the 2012/13 A PFG season. At the end of season his contract had expired, on 2 June 2013 Mladenov played one match for Marek Dupnitsa in the amateur V Group against Slivnishki geroi and scored a goal. On 5 June 2013 he was signed by Cherno More, Mladenov at Levskis site Daniel Mladenov Facts
33.
FC Minyor Pernik
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FC Minyor Pernik is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Pernik, which currently competes in the Third League. The origins of the date back to 1919. Minyor came into existence with the merger of football clubs from Pernik. In 1944, SC Krakra, SC Svetkavitsa, SC Benkovski, after World War II, as Bulgaria became a Peoples Republic, the club was renamed to Republikanets 46. The club finally came to be known as Minyor in 1952, the club joined the Bulgarian top division in 1951. That same year, they laid the foundations of a strong team, the first match in the division was on March 2,1951 against Cherveno Zname Sofia. Minyors best seasons in the top division were in 1955 and 1961, in 1956, Minyors forward and captain Pavel Vladimirov became the top scorer of the division with 16 goals. Vladimirov holds Minyors overall appearance record -305 matches, the former forward is also the all-time leading scorer for the club with 98 goals. In 1958, the qualified for the final of the Bulgarian Cup. In 1962, Minyor was relegated to the second division, between 1962 and 2008, the club participated in the top and second divisions, regularly being promoted and relegated. Until the 2008–09 season, Minyor has played a total of 32 seasons in the first division, Minyors biggest victory in A PFG to date is the 6-0 win against Torpedo Pleven in 1951. Minyors largest defeat, 0–8, was against Beroe Stara Zagora in 1973, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
34.
FC Sevlievo
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FC Sevlievo is a Bulgarian association football club from Sevlievo, which currently competes in the Bulgarian Third League. Sevlievo plays its matches at the local Rakovski Stadium. The club was established on September 2,1997 as Vidima-Rakovski, but it was named as a predecessor of SC Rakovski, which was founded on December 19,1922. Vidima-Rakovski have spent most of their playing in the lower divisions of the Bulgarian football league system, until 2003. The clubs home ground is the Rakovski Stadium in Sevlievo, which has a capacity of 8,816 people, the club was dissolved due to financial troubles. The current club was established by the municipality on June 4,2015 after the dissolving of the previous top-flight PFC Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo, the new clubs name was shortened to FC Sevlievo. In the following weeks, the registered association bought the license of FC Era-1 and started participating in the 2015-16 V Group. As of 12 November 2015 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The football club also has a sports department named FC Sevlievo Ladies. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Bgclubs. eu Ladies bgclubs. eu Sellievo Ladies Facebook
35.
PFC Cherno More Varna
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Founded on March 3,1913, as an association football branch of the larger sports society SC Galata, the club has spent the majority of its existence playing in the top tier of Bulgarian football. Cherno More is named after the Black Sea, and the club is also known by its nickname The Sailors. Cherno Mores home ground is the Ticha Stadium, which has a capacity of 8,250 spectators. As one of the clubs in Bulgarian football outside the capital Sofia, the Sailors have won the Bulgarian championship on four different occasions. The club has a rivalry with neighbouring Spartak Varna, with matches between the two being commonly referred to as The Derby of Varna. Оn March 3,1913, Galata Sports Association was established in the male first high school in Varna, on May 24,1914 Sportist Sports Club, which was formed by Stefan Tonchev and a group of boys in 1909, joined Reka Ticha. Several years later, the first international friendly in Bulgarian club football history was played in 1915 between Reka Ticha and the 21st Pomeranian Regiment of Prussia, which ended in a 4-4 draw, the away match with Levski in Sofia however did not take place. It was written by the sports functionary and Reka Tichas member Stefan Tonchev, on January 21,1919, SC Reka Ticha changed its name to Sports Club Ticha, and the kit colours were chosen to be red and white. In the same year, the Bulgarian musician Nikola Nitsov wrote the anthem of the club. In 1921 Sports Club Granit left the collective membership with SK Ticha due to financial disputes and their emblem was the four-leaf clover and the kit colours were green and white which are still today the official colours of successor Cherno More. SC Vladislav was to become the first team to win the Tsars Cup in 1925 rendering them the first champions of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. The captain, Egon Terzetta is revered by the Cherno More fans as the scorer in the final match, later, in 1945 they will rejoin SK Ticha in a merger and the club will be known as Ticha-Vladislav 45. In 1925 SK Ticha won the Cup of Bucharest, after two wins against Tricolor and Sportul Sudenesc both from Bucharest. This turned to be the first international trophy won by a Bulgarian football club. In 1935 and 1936 SK Ticha finished as runners-up in the knockout National competition, in 1938 the club became Bulgarian champions winning the first edition of the United National Football league. Boyan Byanov of SK Ticha captained the National team in its first ever match against Austria in Vienna, the same year he also participated in the Olympic National team for the Paris games. With the establishment of Communist rule in Bulgaria after WWII, significant changes took place affecting all leading clubs without exception and it was a time for mergers, splits, changing of names and in some cases closure of clubs. All this, to suit the new vision of the new communist ruled government, on 18 February 1945, SC Ticha and SC Vladislav merged with all their available assets and the new name of the club was Ticha-Vladislav
36.
PFC Beroe Stara Zagora
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The club was founded in 1916 under the name Vereya. The clubs colours are green and white, since then the home ground of Beroe has been the homonymous Beroe Stadium in Stara Zagora with a seating capacity of 12,128. Beroe were the 1986 champions of Bulgaria and they won the Bulgarian Cup twice in 2010 and 2013. The clubs most noted and successful player is Petko Petkov,2 times A Group Top Scorer,1974 and 1976, Beroe can trace its roots back to 4 May 1924, when it was founded as Beroya, after the merger of two other clubs – Borislav and Rekord. It has also often been the platform for attempts to unite all the clubs in Stara Zagora and that club was Beroe, at first bearing the names of Udarnik and Botev, before finally restoring its old name in 1959. 1968 marked the beginning of Beroes golden age, during the summer transfer period, the forward Petko Petkov joined the club. In the next 12 years he scored 144 goals for the club in A Group, Beroe became all-powerful, winning the Balkans Cup in 1968 and 1969. In season 1971–72 in the league was very successful for the team, which finished 3rd. The clubs first participation in UEFA Cup was also promising, with Beroe eliminating the Austrian Austria Wien and the Hungarian Honvéd respectively and reaching the third round. In season 1973–74 Beroe reach the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners Cup, after eliminating the Luxembourg Fola Esch and the Basques of Athletic Bilbao, they were stopped in DDR by 1. Beroe have had success in Europe, such as the 1–0 win over Juventus in a Cup Winners Cup first-leg in 1979. Moreover, Beroe is one of the two Bulgarian football clubs that has a record of the matches played in European club competitions. In 1982 and 1984 Beroe won the Balkans Cup for the third, in 1986, the team led by the coach Evgeni Yanchovski won the Bulgarian title, the first in the clubs history. Beroe finished the season with 43 points, Beroe played in the 1986–87 UEFA European Champions Cup where they were eliminated in the first round to Dynamo Kyiv of the Soviet Union after 1–1 at Beroe Stadium and 0–2 loss in Kiev. The 1990s would see a decline as Beroe were relegated to B Group in season 1994–95. The advent of democracy in Bulgaria ushered a new period of chaos and economical hardship for the country, the first two seasons back in top division saw Beroe fight relegation, with safety being achieved by second half runs. In 2001–02 season the team again relegated, in the autumn of 2007 the actual majority shareholder of Professional Football Club Beroe JSCo Nikolay Banev gave up the financial support of the team. In spite of that, the team demonstrated good football in most of the games, on the 10th of January,200823 players and 3 coaches terminated their contracts with the club after a planned sale of the shares had failed
37.
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad
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PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad was a Bulgarian professional football club based in Blagoevgrad. Club was founded in 1928 as Makedonska Slava, in 1948 the club joined the newly established FD Julius Dermendzhiev and cease its independent existence. In 2000 Makedonska Slava was restored after unification with Granit Stara Kresna, in 2002–03 season was successful for the club, which finished 2nd, and won promotion to the A PFG for first time in the clubs history. In autumn 2006 the clubs name was again renamed to PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad. The following 2007/08 season, Pirin Blagoevgrad won the Western B PFG, in December 2008, club was merged with FC Pirin, which played in the Western B PFG. The new club was named FC Pirin Blagoevgrad and is officially the rightful holder of the records of the former Pirin. Note, For a complete list of PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad players, see Category, PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad players
38.
Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
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Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov, also known as Gerena, is a multi-purpose stadium situated in the Suhata reka neighbourhood of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Named after best Bulgarian footballer of the 20th century Georgi Asparuhov, Levski Sofia previously played their home matches at two different stadiums before the construction of their current stadium. Between 1936 and 1949 the club had its own ground which was named Igrishte Levski. As the construction of a new stadium emerged in the early 1950s, Levski Sofia was eventually relocated to the Yunak Stadium. In the late 1950s the club was granted a site where a new stadium could be built, the construction started in 1960 and the new stadium designed by Lazar Parashkevanov was built in three years. Its official name was Levski Stadium but it was called Gerena by the supporters after the name of the neighbourhood in which it was built, the ground was opened on 10 March 1963 when Levski Sofia hosted a Bulgarian championship match against PFC Spartak Pleven, winning 4-0. The stadium then had a field with dimensions 110 х80 m. The main stand of the stadium was covered, many reconstructions of the stadium started in 1969 after the unification of the sport and football clubs Levski Sofia and Spartak Sofia. New sport facilities were built inside and around the stadium turning it into a multi-use one hosting other events in gymnastics, boxing, weightlifting, volleyball. A training ground with four grass pitches was also built to the east of the stadium, in 1986 a scoreboard was installed above the north stand of the stadium and four floodlight pylons were erected. In 1990 the stadium was renamed after the forward of the club Georgi Asparuhov who died in a car accident in 1971. Today a monument of Georgi Asparuhov is erected next to the entrance of the main stand. In 1992 the stadium was closed for a reconstruction that would redevelop the venue into an all-seater one. During the redevelopment, the club played its home matches at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. The stadiums reconstruction however was delayed several times between 1993 and 1997 following the hyperinflation crisis in Bulgaria. In 1998, a development fund was established with the endorsement of Levski Sofias supporters to sponsor the stadiums refurbishment. The reconstruction of the stadium ended in 1999, and the venue was officially opened on May 5,1999 for Levski Sofias decisive league match against Litex Lovech. The athletics track was removed in order for the dimensions of the field to be expanded
39.
PFC Litex Lovech
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PFC Litex Lovech or simply Litex is a Bulgarian professional association football club from the town of Lovech, which currently competes in the Bulgarian Third League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Football Club, the clubs home ground is the Lovech Stadium, which has a capacity of 8,100 seats, electric floodlights and permission to stage European matches. As one of the most successful Bulgarian clubs outside the capital Sofia, Litex has won the championship four times. Together with CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia, Litex was also the football club to represent the country regularly in the European Club Association. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya and began playing football two years later, in 1923. Over the years, the club has changed its name several times, from 1957 it was named Karpachev, before becoming Osam in 1979. Under that name the club played constantly in the B Group, a notable player during this period was Plamen Linkov, who broke the clubs appearance record, playing 575 matches and scoring 167 goals respectively. In 1990, after Bulgarias transition to market economy, privately owned company LEX became the sponsor of the club. During the same year, the new owners changed the name of the club to LEX. The 1993–94 B Group proved to be impressive for the club, as the finished first in the second division and qualified for the A Group. LEXs debut season in the A Group was also noteworthy, as the team ranked 11th at the end of the season, the next season however proved to be unsuccessful and the club, renamed Lovech, was relegated to the B Group. In June 1996, the club was purchased by Grisha Ganchev, petrol businessman and a citizen of Lovech, the takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile players. Ferario Spasov was named as the new Litex coach and he led the club back to the A Group at their first attempt. During the 1996–97 season Litex also reached the quarter-finals of the Bulgarian Cup and the final of the Bulgarian League Cup, the striker of the team Dimcho Belyakov also became top goalscorer with his 21 goals contributed during the season. In addition, midfielder Stoycho Stoilov received the Best Player of the League award, a year later Litex successfully defended their league title, losing only two league games during the course of the season. They became the first provincial club to win league titles since the 1920s. During their campaign, Litex also inflicted the biggest defeat in CSKA Sofias history, in December 2007, Litex became the first Bulgarian club to have a branded mobile phone game, Litex Football. Before the start of the 2008–09 season, Litex lost the Bulgarian Supercup final with 0-1 from CSKA Sofia afer a goal from Kiril Kotev in the 65th minute
40.
TSG Balingen
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TSG Balingen is a German football club from the city of Balingen, Baden-Württemberg. In 2002 the first handball team merged with TV Weilstetten to HBW Balingen-Weilstetten, the team now plays in Handball-Bundesliga. The origins of the club go back to the 19th century founding of a gymnastics club, the footballers first came to notice in the mid-90s with their advance to the Verbandsliga Württemberg in 1995. Liga in 2008 as the new tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier, TSG plays in the Au-Stadion which has a capacity of 8,500, including 600 covered seats. Official team site TSG Balingen at Weltfussball. de
41.
Exhibition game
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An exhibition game is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the players or the teams rankings is either zero or otherwise greatly reduced. In team sports, matches of this type are used to help coaches and managers select. If the players play in different teams in other leagues. The games can be held between separate teams or between parts of the same team, international competitions like the Olympic Games may also hold exhibition games as part of a demonstration sport. In the early days of football, known simply as football or soccer. However, since the development of The Football League in England in 1888, league tournaments became established, in addition to lengthy derby, since the introduction of league football, most club sides play a number of friendlies before the start of each season. Friendly football matches are considered to be non-competitive and are used to warm up players for a new season/competitive match. There is generally nothing competitive at stake and some rules may be changed or experimented with, although these events may involve sponsorship deals and the awarding of a trophy and may even be broadcast on television, there is little prestige attached to them. Frequently such games take place between a club and small clubs that play nearby, such as those between Newcastle United and Gateshead. International teams also play friendlies, generally in preparation for the qualifying or final stages of major tournaments and this is essential, since national squads generally have much less time together in which to prepare. The biggest difference between friendlies at the club and international levels is that international friendlies mostly take place during club league seasons and this has on occasion led to disagreement between national associations and clubs as to the availability of players, who could become injured or fatigued in a friendly. Players can be booked in international friendlies, and can be suspended from international matches based on red cards or accumulated yellows in a specified period. Caps and goals scored also count towards a players career records, in the UK and Ireland, exhibition match and friendly match refer to two different types of matches. A bounce game is generally a non-competitive football match played between two sides usually as part of an exercise or to give players match practice. Managers may also use bounce games as an opportunity to observe a player in action before offering a contract, usually these games are played on a training ground rather than in a stadium with no spectators in attendance. Exhibition fights were common in boxing. Jack Dempsey fought many exhibition bouts after retiring, joe Louis fought a charity fight on his rematch with Buddy Baer, but this was not considered an exhibition as it was for Louis world Heavyweight title. Muhammad Ali fought many exhibitions, including one with Lyle Alzado, in more modern times, Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Jorge Castro have been involved in exhibition fights
42.
FC Augsburg
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Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V. commonly known as FC Augsburg or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, the team was founded as Fußball-Klub Alemania Augsburg in 1907 and played as BC Augsburg from 1921 to 1969. With over 12,200 members, it is the largest football club in Swabian Bavaria, FC Augsburg, which has long fluctuated between the second and third division, experienced a difficult time in the early 2000s, suffering relegation to the fourth division for two seasons. FCA recovered from this, returning to football in 2006. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Augsburg were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time, since 2009, FC Augsburgs stadium has been the WWK ARENA. A first serious meeting between the two sides was held in 1964, both clubs having dropped out of football by then. The leadership of the multi-sports club Schwaben was completely behind a merger but the football department was not. In 1968, with BCA struggling in the division after relegation from professional football the year before and Schwaben soon to follow. In April 1969, a meeting between the two club bosses brought the decision to merge the clubs and name the new side FC Augsburg. FCA was to be a football only with no other sports department. The then-mayor of Augsburg, Hans Breuer, was one of the forces behind the move. In June,256 of 265 of BCAs members present voted for the merger while, shortly after,75 percent of Schwabens members approved the motion, too. Schwaben, however, opted for the small club was to remain independent with only its football department merging into the new club. But even this move was not universally popular within the club, with former members forming a new football club, Eintracht Augsburg. For this reason, FCA is generally not considered to carry on the traditions of TSV Schwaben, a year later, the footballers of Eintracht rejoined Schwaben but, since then, have always remained an amateur club. It took the new department until 1981 to regain its third-division status. The new FCA played its first game on 30 July 1969, FC Nürnberg in Augsburg in front of 13,000, losing 0–3 in extra time. After the formation of the club in 1969, the side was to spend most of its time in tier-two, the new side, despite now concentrating Augsburgs football forces, was no instant success
43.
Bundesliga
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The Bundesliga, is a professional association football league in Germany and the football league with the highest average stadium attendance worldwide. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germanys primary football competition, the Bundesliga is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Seasons run from August to May, most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played on weekdays. All of the Bundesliga clubs qualify for the DFB-Pokal, the winner of the Bundesliga qualifies for the DFL-Supercup. A total of 54 clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding, FC Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga the most, winning the title 25 times. However, the Bundesliga has seen other champions with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Bundesliga is broadcast on television in over 200 countries. The Bundesliga was founded in 1962 in Dortmund and the first season started in 1963, the structure and organisation of the Bundesliga along with Germanys other football leagues have undergone frequent changes right up to the present day. The Bundesliga was founded by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund, but is now operated by the Deutsche Fußball Liga, the Bundesliga is composed of two divisions, the 1. Bundesliga, and, below that, the 2, Bundesliga, which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. Below the level of the 3, Liga, leagues are generally subdivided on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen are currently made up of Nord, Nordost, Süd, below this are thirteen parallel divisions, most of which are called Oberligen which represent federal states or large urban and geographical areas. The levels below the Oberligen differ between the local areas, the league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various parts of the country. In the early 1990s, changes were driven by the reunification of Germany, every team in the two Bundesligen must have a licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated into the regional leagues. To obtain a licence, teams must be healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations. As in other leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division. Bundesliga teams draw significantly greater levels of fan support, average attendance in the first league is 42,673 per game — more than twice the average of the 2. Greater exposure through television and higher attendance levels helps 1, Bundesliga teams attract the most lucrative sponsorships. Bundesliga teams develop substantial financial muscle through the combination of television and gate revenues, sponsorships and this allows them to attract and retain skilled players from domestic and international sources and to construct first-class stadium facilities
44.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer Leverkusen, Leverkusen or simply Bayer, is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, the club was founded in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, whose headquarters are in Leverkusen and from which the club draws its name. In 1999 the football department was separated from the club and is now a separate entity formally called Bayer 04 Leverkusen GmbH. Bayer Leverkusen have won one DFB-Pokal and one UEFA Cup, on 27 November 1903, Wilhelm Hauschild wrote a letter – signed by 170 of his fellow workers – to his employer, the Friedrich Bayer and Co. seeking the companys support in starting a sports club. The company agreed to support the initiative, and on 1 July 1904 Turn- und Spielverein Bayer 04 Leverkusen was founded, on 31 May 1907, a separate football department was formed within the club. In the culture of sports in Germany at the time, there was significant animosity between gymnasts and other types of athletes, SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen took with them the clubs traditional colours of red and black, with the gymnasts adopting blue and yellow. Through this period, and into the 1930s, SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen played third, in 1936, they earned promotion to the second highest class of play of the period. That was also the year that the club wore the familiar Bayer cross for the first time and they made their first appearance in upper league play in 1951, in the Oberliga West and played there until 1956, after which they were relegated. SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen would not return to the leagues until 1962, just one season before the formation of Germanys new professional league. The next year saw the club in the Regionalliga West, tier II, SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen made something of a breakthrough in 1968 by winning the division title, but was unable to advance through the playoff round to the first division. The club was relegated again in 1973, but made a return to what was now called the 2. Bundesliga after just one season spent in the third division, four years later, the club handily secured a place in the Bundesliga to start to play there in the 1979–80 season. By the mid-1980s, SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen had played its way into the half of the league table and was well-established there by the end of the decade. It was during time, in 1984, that the two-halves of the club that had parted ways over a half century earlier were re-united as TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e. V. The new club took red and white as its colours, in addition to becoming an established Bundesliga side, the club earned its first honours with a dramatic win in the 1988 UEFA Cup. Down 0–3 to Espanyol after the first leg of the final, Bayer Leverkusen drew even in the match and then captured the title on penalty kicks. That same year, long-time Bayer Leverkusen executive Reiner Calmund became the manager of the club. This is regarded as one of the most important moves in the history, as Calmund ushered in a decade
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TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
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Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e. V. The modern-day club was formed in 1945, when gymnastics club Turnverein Hoffenheim, at the beginning of the 1990s, the club was an obscure local amateur side playing in the eighth division Baden-Württemberg A-Liga. They steadily improved and by 1996 were competing in the Verbandsliga Nordbaden, around 2000, alumnus Dietmar Hopp returned to the club of his youth as a financial backer. Hopp was the co-founder of software firm SAP and he put some of his money into the club and his contributions generated almost immediate results, in 2000 Hoffenheim finished first in the Verbandsliga and was promoted to the fourth-division Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. Another first-place finish moved the club up to the Regionalliga Süd for the 2001–02 season and they finished 13th in their first season in the Regionalliga, but improved significantly the next year, earning a fifth-place result. Hoffenheim earned fifth and seventh-place finishes in the two seasons, before improving to fourth in 2005–06 to earn their best result to date. The club made its first DFB-Pokal appearance in the 2003–04 competition and performed well, Bundesliga sides Eintracht Trier and Karlsruher SC and Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen before being put out themselves by another 2. Team owner Hopp clearly preferred Heidelberg, but could not overcome the resistance of local firm Wild, the investment paid off in the 2006–07 season with the clubs promotion to the 2. Bundesliga after finishing second in Regionalliga Süd, the 2007–08 season was Hoffenheims first season in professional football. The team managed to defend their place until the end of the season, as a result of their second-place finish they received automatic promotion to the Bundesliga, the highest tier in German football, after just playing in the 2. The 2008–09 season was Hoffenheims first season in the German top division, ibišević scored a total of 18 goals in 17 matches, being the Bundesligas leading goal scorer after the first half of the season. Hoffenheim was now deprived of their biggest offensive threat and additionally had to deal with a number of other injuries. In the 2009–10 season, Hoffenheim improved their squad by signing midfielders Maicosuel and Franco Zuculini, however, the club again suffered from a large number of injuries and suspensions in the second half of the season and only won four of the 17 matches. The club finished in a disappointing 11th place with 42 points, head coach Ralf Rangnick was criticised in public for the poor results of his team, yet his contract was extended for two more years in May. On 1 January 2011, Hoffenheim sold Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo to league rivals Bayern Munich for a fee of €17 million. Immediately after the transfer had completed, Rangnick resigned and was replaced by Marco Pezzaiuoli. Rangnick had disapproved the transfer in the weeks before since Hoffenheim was in reach of the top five and had reached the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 DFB-Pokal, like in the previous season, the club finished the 2010–11 season 11th and below expectations. Hoffenheim signed former FC St. Pauli manager Holger Stanislawski in the summer of 2011 for the upcoming season, Stanislawski was sacked and replaced by Markus Babbel, who led the team to its third-straight 11th-place finish
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