1.
Florida, Buenos Aires
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Florida is a mostly residential barrio of the Vicente López Partido in the northern suburbs of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is principally a middle-class neighbourhood and is located between the barrios of Olivos and Vicente López, also in the same partido, the city is located between The Autopista Pascual Palazzo highway and the Maipú Avenue. The Acceso Norte splits the district into two neighborhoods, Florida Este and Florida Oeste, Florida is served by the Mitre Line, which provides easy access to the city of Buenos Aires. Due to the lines, Este and Oeste neighborhoods are also called Florida Mitre or Florida Belgrano. Its main commercial area is centered on General San Martín avenue, Florida was founded in 1891 when the Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway opened a station in the section from Belgrano that then reached Bartolomé Mitre, Borges and San Isidro. Some versions state that the station was named Florida to commemorate a victory over Spanish army in the Paraje La Florida of Alto Perú on May 25,1814, during the War of Independence. The official date of establishment was set by a decree that gave approval to the builder of the line to divide tha lands into lots for future sells. The date was set on May 7,1891, between 1895 and 1915 the Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Pobladores and the French Bank that owned lands in the zone, sold them to families that quickly arrived to the region and settled the area. The Florida station was a point of reunion among the inhabitants of the districts, most of the residential houses grouped near the station, while the country hoses located in current Melo street. Little farms where vegetables were grown, established near Mitre Avenue, by Municipal Ordinance, Florida was declared village, in 1907. Six years after, the bishop of La Plata, Juan Terrero, the Rossi family donated an image of Virgin Mary sculpted in Carrara marble in Italy. The first priest of the region was Father José A. Coffa, the temple, finished in 1931, was named Nuestra Señora de la Guardia being the first church in Florida. In the area there are a lot of centres, as per Vicente Lopez Municipality information in 2017 the offers are, Initial education Maternity Gartens. 4513-1933 Maternal Garden N °8, Santa Rosa 4148, Florida West,10, Aristóbulo del Valle 2375, Florida. María Florencia Guerci Phones, 5197-1515 5197-1154 5197-1589 5197-1836 Facebook, / CentroUniversitarioVL Private Schools The area had a German school, platenses home ground is Estadio Ciudad de Vicente López. Other notable clubs of the neighborhood is Sportivo Balcarce that played in Primera División during the 1920s, Municipal information, Municipal Affairs Federal Institute, Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina
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.
Parma Calcio 1913
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Commonly referred to as Parma, is an Italian football club based in the city of Parma that currently competes in Lega Pro, the third tier of Italian football. Founded as Parma Football Club in December 1913, the club plays its matches in the 22, 352-seat Stadio Ennio Tardini, often referred to as simply Il Tardini. It traditionally plays attractive football and develops players through the clubs academy. C, Milan and Inter Milan, the only Italian sides to have had more success in European competition than Parma. The club was declared bankrupt in 2015 and re-founded in Serie D by virtue of the Comma 10 of the Article 52 of N. O. I. F. A club was founded in July 1913 as Verdi Foot Ball Club in honour of the centenary of famous opera composer Giuseppe Verdi and it adopted yellow and blue as its colours. In December of the year, Parma Foot Ball Club was formed from many of the original clubs players. Parma began playing football during the 1919–20 season after the end of World War I. Construction of a stadium, the Stadio Ennio Tardini, began two years later, Parma became a founder member of Serie B after finishing as runners-up in the Prima Divisione in the 1928–29 season. The club would remain in Serie B for three years before being relegated and changing its name to Associazione Sportiva Parma in 1931, in the 1935–36 season, Parma became a founding member of Serie C, where the club stayed until winning promotion back to Serie B in 1943. Italian football was brought to a halt as the Second World War intensified. Following the restart of organised football, Parma spent three years in Serie B, then split into two divisions, before again being relegated in 1948–49 to Serie C. The side would spend five seasons in Serie C before an eleven-year spell in Serie B that included the achievement of ninth position in 1954–55. Parma made its debut in European competition during the 1960–61 season, defeating Swiss side AC Bellinzona in the Coppa delle Alpi, Parma spent just one season in Serie C before a second successive relegation, this time to Serie D, in 1966. The club was in turmoil and was ordered into liquidation by the Court of Parma in 1968, in 1969, another local team, Associazione Calcio Parmense, won promotion to Serie D. On 1 January 1970, A. C. Parmense adopted the sporting licence of the club which had been formed in 1913. This meant that it had the right to use the crociato shirts, the badge, the team was relegated back to Serie C in its second season in the division. A return to Serie B did not materialise until the end of the 1970s, the Ducali again only spent a year in Serie B, finishing third from bottom and succumbing to relegation as a consequence. Arrigo Sacchi did, however, manage to return the club to Serie B in 1986 after a season in the third tier
4.
S.S. Lazio
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Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football. Lazio have been Italian champions twice, and have won the Coppa Italia six times, the club had their first major success in 1958, winning the domestic cup. In 1974, they won their first Serie A title, Lazios traditional kit colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts with white socks, the colours are reminiscent of Romes ancient Hellenic legacy. Sky blue socks have also been used as home colours. Their home is the 70,634 capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Roma until the year 2018, when the latter will leave for the Stadio della Roma. Lazio have a rivalry with Roma, with whom they have contested the Derby della Capitale since 1929. Lazio is also a club that participate in 40 sports disciplines in total. Società Podistica Lazio was founded on 9 January 1900 in the Prati district of Rome, in 1927, Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regimes attempts to merge all the citys teams into what would become A. S. The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and, led by legendary Italian striker Silvio Piola, the 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results with a Coppa Italia win in 1958. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, after a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71. Lazio improved such successes the following season, ensuring its first title in 1973–74, however, tragic deaths of Re Cecconi and Scudetto trainer Maestrelli, as well as the departure of Chinaglia, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italys second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazios history and they would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. The 1984–85 season would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points, in 1986, Lazio was hit with a nine-point deduction for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti in 1992 changed the clubs due to his long-term investments in new players to make the team a Scudetto competitor. A notable early transfer during his tenure was the capture of English midfielder Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million, gascoignes transfer to Lazio is credited with the increase of interest in Serie A in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Lazio had two more Coppa Italia triumphs in 1998 and 2004, as well as the last ever UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and they also reached the UEFA Cup, but lost 0–3 against Internazionale
5.
Inter Milan
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The club have played continuously in the top tier of the Italian football league system since its debut in 1909. Inter have won 30 domestic trophies as well as local rivals A. C. Milan, from 2006 to 2010, the club won five successive league titles, equalling the all-time record. They have won the Champions League three times, two back-to-back in 1964 and 1965 and then another in 2010 and their latest win completed an unprecedented Italian seasonal treble, with Inter winning the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto the same year. The club has won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup. Inters home games are played at the San Siro stadium, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, shared with rivals A. C. Milan, the stadium is the largest in Italian football. The local team A. C. Milan are considered among their biggest rivals, as of 2010, Inter is the second-most supported team in Italy, and the sixth most-supported team in Europe. The club is one of the most valuable in Italian and world football and it was a founding member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europes leading football clubs. The club was founded on 9 March 1908 as Football Club Internazionale, following the schism with the Milan Cricket, the name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians. The club won its very first championship in 1910 and its second in 1920, the captain and coach of the first championship winning team was Virgilio Fossati, who was later killed in battle while serving in the Italian army during World War I. In 1922, Inter remained in the top league after winning two play-offs, six years later, during the Fascist era, the club was forced to merge with the Unione Sportiva Milanese and was renamed Società Sportiva Ambrosiana. The team wore white jerseys around this time with a red cross emblazoned on it, the jerseys design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan. Their first Coppa Italia was won in 1938–39, led by the iconic Giuseppe Meazza, a fifth championship followed in 1940, despite Meazza incurring an injury. After the end of World War II the club regained its name, winning its sixth championship in 1953. He would transform Inter into one of the greatest teams in Europe and he modified a 5–3–2 tactic known as the Verrou to include larger flexibility for counterattacks. The catenaccio system was invented by an Austrian coach Karl Rappan, herrera would modify it by adding a fifth defenders, the sweeper or libero behind the two centre backs. The sweeper or libero who acted as the man would deal with any attackers who went through the two centre backs. Inter finished third in the Serie A in his first season, second the next year, then followed a back-to-back European Cup victory in 1964 and 1965, earning him the title il Mago. In 1964, Inter reached the European Cup Final by beating Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final, in the final, they met Real Madrid, a team that had reached seven out of the nine finals to date
6.
Chelsea F.C.
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Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, that competes in the Premier League. Founded in 1905, the home ground since then has been Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had their first major success in 1955, when they won the league championship and they then won various cup competitions between 1965 and 1996. The clubs greatest period of success has come during the last two decades, winning 21 trophies since 1997. Chelsea are the only London club to win the UEFA Champions League, and one of four clubs, Chelseas regular kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The clubs crest has changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club. The current crest, featuring a lion rampant regardant holding a staff, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s. The club have the sixth-highest average all-time attendance in English football and their average home gate for the 2015–16 season was 41,500, the seventh highest in the Premier League. Since 2003, Chelsea have been owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, in 2016, they were ranked by Forbes magazine as the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £1.15 billion. In 1904, Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the aim of turning it into a football ground, an offer to lease it to nearby Fulham was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub, opposite the main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road. The club won promotion to the First Division in their second season and they reached the 1915 FA Cup Final, where they lost to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the clubs best league campaign to that point. Chelsea attracted large crowds and had a reputation for signing big-name players, former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions Cup, but after objections from The Football League, Chelsea failed to build on this success, and spent the remainder of the 1950s in mid-table. Drake was dismissed in 1961 and replaced by player-coach Tommy Docherty, Docherty built a new team around the group of talented young players emerging from the clubs youth set-up and Chelsea challenged for honours throughout the 1960s, enduring several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup. In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up, under Dochertys successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners Cup triumph, the year, with another replayed win
7.
A.C. Milan
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Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A. C. Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons, in the top flight of Italian football, known as Serie A since 1929–30. With 18 officially recognised UEFA and FIFA titles, they are the fourth most successful club in the world, with 18 league titles, Milan is the joint-second most successful club in Serie A, along with local rivals Internazionale. They have also won the Coppa Italia five times, and the Supercoppa Italiana seven, Milans home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium, which is shared with city rivals Internazionale, is the largest in Italian football, inter are considered their biggest rivals, and matches between the two teams are called Derby della Madonnina, which is one of the most followed derbies in football. The owner of the club is former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the club is one of the wealthiest in Italian and world football. It was a member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europes leading football clubs as well as its replacement. A. C. Milan was founded as Milan Cricket and Foot-Ball Club on 13 December 1899 by English expatriates Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin, who came from the English city of Nottingham. In honour of its English origins, the club has retained the English spelling of the name, as opposed to the Italian spelling Milano. Milan won its first Italian championship in 1901 and a two in succession in 1906 and 1907. In 1908, Milan experienced a split caused by disagreements over the signing of foreign players. Following these events, Milan did not manage to win a domestic title until 1950–51. The 1950s saw the return to the top of Italian football, headed by the famous Gre-No-Li Swedish trio Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl. This was one of the clubs most successful periods domestically, with the Scudetto going to Milan in 1951,1955,1957,1959 and 1962, in 1963, Milan won its first continental title by beating Benfica in the final of the European Cup. This success was repeated in 1969, with a 4–1 win over Ajax in the final, during this period Milan also won its first Coppa Italia, with victory over Padova in the 1967 final, and two European Cup Winners Cups, in 1967–68 and 1972–73. Milan won a league title in 1979, but after the retirement of Gianni Rivera in the same year. The club was involved in the 1980 Totonero scandal and as punishment was relegated to Serie B for the first time in its history, the scandal was centred around a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches. Milan achieved promotion back to Serie A at the first attempt, winning the 1980–81 Serie B title, in 1983, Milan won the Serie B title for the second time in three seasons to return to Serie A, where they achieved a sixth-place finish in 1983–84
8.
Genoa C.F.C.
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Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa, is a professional Italian football and cricket club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria. Established on 7 September 1893, it is Italys oldest football team currently active, during their long history, Genoa have won the Italian Championship nine times. Genoas first title came at the championship in 1898 and their most recent was in 1923–24. They also won the Coppa Italia once, historically, Genoa is the fourth most successful Italian club in terms of championships won. Brera went as far as creating the nickname Vecchio Balordo for Genoa, the club has played its home games at the 36,536 capacity Stadio Luigi Ferraris since 1911. Since 1946, the ground has been shared with local rivals Sampdoria, Genoa has spent most of its post-war history going up and down between Serie A and Serie B, with two brief spells in Serie C. For more details on this topic, see History of Genoa C. F. C, the club was founded on 7 September 1893 as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it competed in athletics and cricket. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the shirts worn by the organisation were white. At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a British sporting club abroad, Genoas activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza dArmi. It was among the oldest in Italian football at the time, Italians were allowed to join and found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega. The first friendly match took place at home, against a team of Internazionale Torino and FBC Torinese. Not long after, Genoa recorded its first victory away against UPS Alessandria winning 2–0, friendly games also took place against various British sailors such as those from HMS Revenge. Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation, Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin. They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, Genoa returned for the following season, this time with a few changes, the name of the club was altered to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, dropping the Athletic from its name. A change in colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes. Genoa won their second title on a tournament which took place on 16 April 1899. On their way to winning their third title in 1900 and also beat local rivals Sampierdarenese 7–0
9.
Argentina national under-23 football team
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The Argentina Olympic football team represents Argentina in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, the team is controlled by the Argentine Football Association. Argentina took part for the first time in 1928 Summer Olympics held in the Netherlands, the team advanced to the final after defeating United States with a thrashing 11–2 in the first round, and Belgium in the second. In the semi-finals, the team smashed Egypt by 6–0 to qualify for the final against Uruguay. The first match ended in a 1–1 tie so a game had to be played three days later. In the decisive match, Uruguay won the tournament after defeating Argentina 2–1, the Argentine line-up was Bossio, Bidoglio, Paternóster, Médice, Monti, Evaristo, Carricaberri, Tarasconi, Ferreira, Perduca, Orsi. In 1932 no football tournament was held, restarting the activities in 1936, because of an agreement between FIFA and IOC, only amateur players were allowed to play the football tournaments from then on. Argentina returned to competition in the 1960 games held in Rome. The squad was eliminated in the first round after a 3–2 loss to Denmark, although the team won its games against Tunisia. Argentinas next participation was in the 1964 Summer Olympics organized by Tokyo, where the finished in the last position of the groupd after a 1–1 draw with Ghana. Since then, Argentina had an absence of the games. The national team returned for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, in the group stage, Argentina tied 1–1 to the United States then defeated South Korea 2–1, finishing second to the Soviet Union and qualifying to the next stage. In the quarter-finals, Argentina lost to Brazil 2–1, being eliminated from the competition, since 1992, male competitors must be under 23 years old, then since 199623 years old players with three over-23 players allowed per squad. Nevertheless, Argentina did not qualify to play that edition, Argentina came back to the competition in the 1996 edition held in Atlanta, United States. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the IOC allowed football representatives to register a maximum of three above-23 players, the Argentine players registered under that condition were Diego Simeone, José Chamot and Roberto Sensini. Former senior team captain Daniel Passarella was the manager, the national team debuted with a 3–1 victory over the United States, then tied to Portugal and Tunisia, both 1–1, to finish first the group and qualify for the second round. In the quarter-finals, Argentina trashed Spain 4–0 which allowed the team to pass to the semi-finals, after 66 years since the first final played in Amsterdam, Argentina reached its second Olympic final. The match was played on 3 August 1996 and Argentina lost to Nigeria 2–3
10.
Argentina national football team
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The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentinas home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti in Buenos Aires, la Selección, also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their final appearance in 1978, beating the Netherlands at extra time. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany and they again made the World Cup finals in 1990, and lost 1–0 to West Germany following a controversial penalty call in the 87th minute. Argentina made their appearance in a World Cup final in 2014, again losing to Germany. Argentinas World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times and also winning the extra South American Championships in 1941,1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and the Argentine olympic team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Argentina, Brazil and France are the national teams that have won the three most important mens titles recognized by FIFA, the World Cup, the Confederations Cup. They have also won their continental championship. Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England, the first match ever recorded by Argentina was against Uruguay. The game was held in Montevideo on 16 May 1901 and Argentina won 3–2, during the first years of its existence, the Argentina national team only played friendly matches against other South American teams. The reasons for this varied, including long travel times between countries and World War I, la Selección, also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost, 4–2, to Uruguay. Argentina won in their final in 1978, beating the Netherlands. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany and their most recent World Cup final was in 2014, which they lost 1–0 to Germany. Previous to this their last World Cup final was in 1990, argentinas World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986. Argentina has been successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentina team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Argentina also won six of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, in March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time
11.
Modena F.C.
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Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1912 and has spent the majority of its playing in Serie B. Currently it plays in Lega Pro after being relegated in 2016 after a years stint in Serie B. Modena Football Club was formed in on 5 April 1912 as the result of a merging between existing Modenese clubs, Football Club Audax Modena and l Associazione Studentesca del Calcio Modena, the new colours were to be yellow and blue. Modenas first friendly match was played on 3 November 1912 in the Piazza dArmi against Venezia, Modena first took part Italian football league in 1912–13, where they competed in the top division. These early years saw the purchase of Attilio Fresia, perhaps the greatest player in the clubs history, during the period of the first world war, the team won the 1916 Coppa Federale. In 1920–21, Modena lost 4–0 in the championship semi-finals to Alessandria, in 1929–30, their first in Serie A, the club finished in 12th place with 30 points. In 1931–32 came the clubs first relegation to Serie B, where remained until 1937. The 1936–37 season featured the inauguration of Modenas new stadium, dedicated to Cesare Marzari, during these years, the name was changed to Modena Calcio following directives of the regime aimed at eliminating all foreign words in the sports lexicon. In the 1937–38 season, there was a return to Serie A led by the Hungarian player/coach János Nehadoma, the following season, Modena escapted relegation by just one point. The 1939–40 campaign was the year when the numbers first appeared on the shirts of players, but at the end of the season, in 1940–41, Modena returned to Serie A despite World War II considerably reducing the workforce. The following year, they fell back to Serie B, at the end of the War, however, Modena finished third in Serie A, just behind Torino and Juventus. Following the resignation of both the president and coach in 1948–49, however, the squad was relegated back Serie B, the club remained in Serie B throughout the 1950s. Tenor Luciano Pavarotti played on the team, making appearances as a winger. In 1957–58, Zenit became the sponsor of the team, providing 100 million lira for promotion to Serie A, in 1959–60, the sponsor withdrew and the team relegated for the first time to Serie C. The 1960s began with Modena in Serie C, in 1960–61, with the coach Malagoli, the team was promoted to Serie B and the next year on the back of striker Enrico Pagliari found Modena back in the top flight. For the remainder of the 1960s, the played in Serie B. In 1971–72, after changing three coaches, Modena again fell down to Serie C, following consecutive seventh-place finishes in Serie C, Modena finally was promoted back to Serie B in 1974–75
12.
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
13.
Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games are considered the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in changes to the Olympic Games. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, as a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship, World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916,1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games, the Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, the IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals, gold, silver, the Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to themselves to the world. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat such as wrestling. It has been written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce and this idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus
14.
1996 Summer Olympics
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A record 197 nations, all current IOC member nations, took part in the Games, comprising 10,318 athletes. The 1996 Summer Games were the first to be staged in a different year from the Winter Games, Atlanta became the fifth American city to host the Olympic Games and the third to hold a Summer Olympic Games. Atlanta was selected on September 18,1990, in Tokyo, Japan, over Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto at the 96th IOC Session. Atlantas bid to host the Summer Games that began in 1987 was considered a long-shot and this would be Torontos fourth failed attempt since 1960. The Athens bid was based on the fact that 1996 marked 100 years since the first Summer Games in Greece in 1896, though Athens would eventually host the 2004 Summer Olympics. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics at USD4.1 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 151% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the committee for the purpose of staging the Games. The competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Atlanta 1996 compares with costs of USD4.6 billion, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. The 1996 Olympics was predicated on the model established by the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The cost to stage the Games was US$1.8 billion, to pay for the games, Atlanta relied on commercial sponsorship and ticket sales, resulting in a profit of $10 million. Events of the 1996 Games were held in a variety of areas, a number were held within the Olympic Ring, a 3 mi circle from the center of Atlanta. Others were held at Stone Mountain, about 20 miles outside of the city, to broaden ticket sales, other events, such as soccer, occurred in various cities in the Southeast. The opening ceremony featured Céline Dion singing The Power of the Dream, the mascot for the Olympiad was an abstract, animated character named Izzy. In contrast to the tradition of mascots of national or regional significance in the city hosting the Olympiad, Izzy was an amorphous. The 1996 Olympics were the first to have two separate opening ceremony events, Savannah, because of its geographical separation from Atlanta, had its own opening ceremonies on July 18,1996. The event featured Worldwide Connection, a composed by Savannah native Jeffrey Reed and a concert by Trisha Yearwood. Atlantas Olympic slogan Come Celebrate Our Dream was written by Jack Arogeti, the slogan was selected from more than 5,000 submitted by the public to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
15.
Pan American Games
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The Pan-American or Pan American Games is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, the only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. The Pan American Sports Organization is the body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure. The XVII Pan American Games were held in Toronto from July 10–26,2015, since 2007, host cities are contracted to manage both the Pan American and the Parapan American Games, in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with one another. The Parapan American Games are held following the Pan American Games. The Pan American Games Movement consists of sports federations, National Olympic Committees that are recognized by PASO. As the decision-making body, PASO is responsible for choosing the host city for each Pan American Games, the host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter and rules. The Pan American Games program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is determined by PASO, the celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the flag and torch, and the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Pan American Games in 36 sports, the first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. At the first Pan American Sports Congress, held in Buenos Aires in 1940, the plans had to be postponed because of World War II. A second Pan American Sports Congress held in London during the 1948 Summer Olympics reconfirmed Buenos Aires as the choice of host city for the inaugural games, countries that were part of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Canada did not compete at the first Pan American Games. The second games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, competitions started on March 12 and included 2,583 athletes from 22 countries, competing in 17 sports. The Pan American Games were held every four years in the cities of Chicago, United States in 1959, São Paulo, Brazil in 1963 and Winnipeg. While the inaugural 1951 Games hosted 2,513 participants representing 14 nations, during the games most athletes and officials are housed in the Pan American Games village. This village is intended to be a home for all the participants. It is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression, PASO allows nations to compete that do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organizations demand. As a result, colonies and dependencies are permitted to set up their own National Olympic Committees, examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico and Bermuda which compete as separate nations despite being legally under the jurisdiction of another power. There have been attempts to hold Winter Pan American Games throughout the history of the games, reliable winter snow in the Americas is limited to two countries, the United States and Canada
16.
1995 Pan American Games
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The 12th Pan American Games were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from March 12 to March 26,1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games first return to the country hosted the first Games. The seaside resort city of Mar del Plata hosted the XII Pan American Games, the city of 600,000 is located 400 km south of Buenos Aires. Welcoming 5,144 athletes from 42 countries of PASO community, the Games were held early by Northern Hemisphere standards, but in early autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Organizers spread the 1995 games throughout Argentina, including Buenos Aires, Parana and he stands for the host city and is displayed with welcoming open arms. The words in the poster are constructed to imply a launching point or podium, to sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the icon next to the column title. Note ^ The medal count for the United States is disputed, the sports of basque pelota, karate, racquetball, squash and triathlon appeared on the schedule for the first time
17.
Football at the 1995 Pan American Games
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The twelfth edition of the Mens Football Tournament at the Pan American Games was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina from March 10 to March 24,1995. Twelve teams competed, with title defender USA being eliminated in the first round, after the preliminary round there was a knock-out stage. Notes Honduras won 8–7 on penalties, goalkeeper Milton Flores saved three penalties and scored the decisive one, notes Arley Betancourt was sent off, after the referee in the face. He was suspended for one year
18.
Gabriel Batistuta
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Gabriel Omar Batistuta, nicknamed Batigol as well as El Ángel Gabriel, is a retired Argentine professional footballer. When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and he became a popular sporting figure in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for the club. After an unsuccessful spell with Inter in 2003, he played his last two seasons in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005. At international level, he was Argentinas all-time leading goalscorer with 56 goals in 78 official matches until Lionel Messi surpassed him during the Copa América Centenario. Batistuta played at three World Cups, scoring 10 goals, which make him Argentinas all-time top scorer in the competition, Batistuta is the only player in football history to score two hat-tricks in different FIFA World Cup editions. With the Argentina national team he won two consecutive Copa América titles and the FIFA Confederations Cup and he has three younger sisters, named Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela. At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his wife, at her quinceañera. On 28 December 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church, the couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentine national team, Batistuta gained fame and he filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man. In 1997, Batistutas second son, Lucas, was born, and he now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his moved to Rome, where he played for Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter, in 2003, after 12 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi. Batistuta ended his career at Al-Arabi, retiring in March 2005, soon afterwards he moved to Perth, Australia. In April 2006, the citys established A-League franchise, Perth Glory was put up for sale however Batistuta was not interested in the purchase seeing no real potential in the club and he moved back to Argentina in 2007. Speaking in a interview in Argentina, Batistuta said the pain suffered in his ankles after retiring in 2005 became so intense that he urinated in bed with the toilet only a few steps away. He visited a doctor he knew asking his legs be amputated and he expressed an interest in coaching Australias national team and Argentinas team. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup he worked as a commentator for Televisa Deportes, Batistuta currently runs his own construction company in Argentina. He also worked as secretary in the professional football club Colón, joining the clubs staff in January 2012
19.
Lionel Messi
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Lionel Andrés Leo Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. With Barcelona he has won eight La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and he has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country. Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child, at age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelonas youth academy, Messi made his debut aged 17 in October 2004. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008–09 season, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football, at 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon dOr and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins. Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons dOr, including an unprecedented fourth and he again struggled with injury during the following two seasons, twice finishing second for the Ballon dOr behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. An Argentine international, Messi is his countrys leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and his style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who declared the teenager his successor. As the squads captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three finals, the 2014 World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball. On his fathers side, he is of Italian and Spanish heritage, the great-grandson of immigrants from Marche and Catalonia, a lifelong supporter of Newells Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six years old. However, his future as a player was threatened when, at age 10. As his fathers health insurance covered only two years of growth hormone treatment, which cost at least $1,000 per month, Newells agreed to contribute, but later reneged on their promise. He was scouted by Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker, Pablo Aimar, he idolised, as the Messi family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September 2000. On 14 December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, in February 2001, the family relocated to Barcelona, where they moved into an apartment near the clubs stadium, Camp Nou. During his first year in Spain, Messi rarely played with the Infantiles due to a conflict with Newells, as a foreigner, he could only be fielded in friendlies. Without football, he struggled to integrate into the team, already reserved by nature, at home, he suffered from homesickness after his mother moved back to Rosario with his brothers and little sister, María Sol, while he stayed in Barcelona with his father. After a year at Barcelonas youth academy, La Masia, Messi was finally enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation in February 2002, now playing in all competitions, he befriended his teammates, among whom were Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué. After completing his growth hormone treatment aged 14, Messi became a part of the Baby Dream Team
20.
FIFA World Cup
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The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America
21.
1998 FIFA World Cup
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The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for mens national association football teams. It was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998, the country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the time that France staged the competition. Qualification for the finals began in March 1996 and concluded in November 1997, for the first time in the competition, the group stage was expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. A total of 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums located across 10 different host cities, with the match and final staged at the Stade de France. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3–0 in the final, France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth to win the tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals, France was awarded the 1998 World Cup on 2 July 1992 by the executive committee of FIFA during a general meeting in Zürich, Switzerland. They defeated Morocco by 12 votes to 7, Switzerland withdrew, due to being unable to meet FIFAs requirements. This made France the third country to host two World Cups, after Mexico and Italy in 1986 and 1990 respectively, France previously hosted the third edition of the World Cup in 1938. England, who hosted the competition in 1966 and won it, were among the original applicants, blazer stated that we facilitated bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. Since France won the selection process it was thought the bribery came from its bid committee. It eventually transpired that the payment was from the failed Moroccan bid. The qualification draw for the 1998 World Cup finals took place in the Musée du Louvre, as tournament hosts, France was exempt from the draw as was Brazil the defending champions. 174 teams from six confederations participated, up 24 from the previous round, in Europe, fourteen countries qualified excluding France. Ten were determined after group play, nine group winners and the best second-placed team, the other eight group runners-up were drawn into pairs of four play-off matches – the winners of which qualifying for the finals as well. The winner of the Oceanian zone advanced through to an intercontinental play-off against the runner-up of the Asian play-off, four nations qualified for the World Cup for the first time, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa. The last team to qualify was Iran by virtue of beating Australia in a tie on 29 November 1997. It marked their first appearance in the finals since 1978, the last time Tunisia also qualified for the tournament, chile qualified for the first time since 1982
22.
2002 FIFA World Cup
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The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup which took place from 31 May to 30 June 2002 in South Korea and Japan. Brazil won the tournament for a fifth time, winning the final against Germany 2–0. The victory meant Brazil qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup for the fifth time, in the third place play-off match against South Korea, Turkey won 3–2 taking third place in only their second ever FIFA World Cup finals. China PR, Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia made their first appearances at the finals with Turkey making its first appearance since 1954, additionally, Turkey took third place and South Korea managed to reach the semi-finals, beating Spain, Italy and Portugal en route. South Korea in particular, faced scrutiny and allegations of corruption due to their victories over Italy. However, the most potent team at the tournament, Brazil, prevailed, South Korea and Japan were selected as hosts by FIFA on 31 May 1996. Initially, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico presented three rival bids, however, the two Asian countries agreed to unite their bids shortly before the decision was made, and they were chosen unanimously in preference to Mexico. This was the first World Cup to be hosted by two countries, at the time the decision was made, Japan had never qualified for a World Cup finals. The only other countries to have awarded a World Cup without previously having competed in a final tournament are Italy in 1934. The unusual choice of host proved an issue for fans in Europe. With games taking place in the European morning, some schools, a total of 199 teams attempted to qualify for the 2002 World Cup which qualification process began with the preliminary draw held in Tokyo on 7 December 1999. Defending champions France and co-hosts South Korea and Japan qualified automatically and this was the final World Cup in which the defending champions qualified automatically. 14 places were contested by UEFA teams, five by CAF teams, four by CONMEBOL teams, four by AFC teams, the remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and UEFA and between CONMEBOL and OFC. Four nations qualified for the finals for the first time, China, Ecuador, Senegal, as of 2014, this was the last time Turkey, China, Republic of Ireland and Senegal qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals. Turkey qualified for the first time since 1954, and both Poland and Portugal for the first time since 1986, all seven previous World Cup-winning nations qualified, the first time so many previous champions had been present at a finals tournament. The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament, the seeds comprised Pot A in the draw. Pot B contained the remaining 11 European sides, Pot C contained five unseeded qualifiers from CONMEBOL, Pot D contained unseeded sides from the CONCACAF region and Africa. This was the last FIFA World Cup with the champion in Group A
23.
2006 FIFA World Cup
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The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation, Germany and it was the second time that Germany staged the competition, and the tenth time that it was held in Europe. Italy won the tournament, claiming their fourth World Cup title and they defeated France 5–3 in a penalty shootout in the final, after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw. Germany defeated Portugal 3–1 to finish in third place, Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Serbia and Montenegro, Trinidad and Tobago, and Togo made their first appearances in the finals. The 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion non-unique viewers. The final attracted an audience of 715.1 million people. The 2006 World Cup ranks fourth in non-unique viewers, behind the World Cup in 1994,2002, as the winner, Italy represented the World in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The vote to choose the hosts of the 2006 tournament was held in July 2000 in Zürich and it involved four bidding nations after Brazil had withdrawn three days earlier, Germany, South Africa, England and Morocco. Three rounds of voting were required, each round eliminating the nation with the least votes, the first two rounds were held on 6 July 2000, and the final round was held on 7 July 2000, which Germany won over South Africa. Accusations of bribery and corruption have marred the success of Germanys bid from the very beginning, on the very day of the vote, a hoax bribery affair was made public, leading to calls for a re-vote. Oceania delegate Charlie Dempsey, who had initially backed England, had then been instructed to support South Africa following Englands elimination and he abstained, citing intolerable pressure on the eve of the vote. Just a week before the vote, the German government under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lifted their arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, daimlerChrysler invested several hundred million Euro in Hyundai, while one of the sons of the companys founders was a member of FIFAs executive committee. Both Volkswagen and Bayer announced investments in Thailand and South Korea, whose respective delegates Worawi Makudi, the sum of 6.7 million Euro was later demanded back by Dreyfus. In order to retrieve the money, the Organizing Committee paid an aquivalent sum to the FIFA, allegedly as a German share for the cost of a closing ceremony, the DFB announced they would consider seeking legal action against Der Spiegel. During a press conference on 22 October 2015, Nierbach repeated his stance, according to Niersbach, the payment had been agreed upon during a meeting between Franz Beckenbauer and FIFA president Blatter, with the money being provided by Dreyfus. On the same day, FIFA contradicted Niersbachs statement, saying, By our current state of knowledge, the following day, former DFB president Theo Zwanziger publicly accused Niersbach of lying, saying, It is evident that there was a slush fund for the German World Cup application. According to Zwanziger, the 6.7 million Euros went to Mohamed Bin Hammam, on 22 March 2016 it was announced that the FIFA Ethics Committee was opening proceedings into the bid
24.
Scudetto
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The Scudetto is a decoration worn by Italian sports clubs that win the annual championship of their respective sport in the previous season. It was created in the 1920s to honour the winner of the association football league. Later it was adopted by the teams of other sports, sources generally agree that the inventor of the Scudetto was the Italian poet and playwright Gabriele DAnnunzio. In 1924 the Italian Football Federation approved the decision to honour the incumbent champion allowing them to wear the Scudetto on their jerseys, since then the Scudetto has become the symbol of the incumbent champions of every sports league in Italy. The Italian rugby union championship which started in 1928 adopted the Scudetto on the teams jerseys, too
25.
Copa Libertadores
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The CONMEBOL Libertadores, named as Copa Libertadores de América, is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, the tournament is currently sponsored by Bridgestone and is thus known as the CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone. The competition has had different formats over its lifetime. At the beginning, only the champions of the South American leagues participated, in 1966, the runners-up of the South American leagues began to join. In 1998, Mexican teams were invited to compete, and have contested regularly since 2000, today at least three clubs per country compete in the tournament, while Argentina and Brazil each have five clubs participating. Traditionally, a stage has always been used but the number of teams per group has varied several times. In the present format, the tournament consists of six stages, the six surviving teams from the first stage join 26 teams in the second stage, in which there are eight groups consisting of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the four stages, better known as the knockout stages. The winner of the Copa Libertadores becomes eligible to play in the FIFA Club World Cup, Independiente of Argentina are the most successful club in the cups history, having won the tournament seven times. Argentine clubs have accumulated the most victories with 24 wins, while Brazil has the largest number of different winning teams, the cup has been won by 24 different clubs,13 of which have won the title more than once, and won consecutively by six clubs. The clashes for the Copa Río de La Plata between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay kindled the idea of a competition in the 1930s. In 1948, the South American Championship of Champions, the most direct precursor to the Copa Libertadores, was played and organized by Chilean club Colo-Colo after years of planning, held in Santiago, it brought together the champions of each nations top national leagues. The tournament was won by Vasco da Gama of Brazil, in 1958, the basis and format of the competition was created by Peñarols board leaders. On March 5,1959, at the 24th South American Congress held in Buenos Aires, the competition was approved by the International Affairs Committee. In 1966, it was named in honor of the heroes of South American liberation, such as José Gervasio Artigas, Bernardo OHiggins, José de San Martín, Pedro I, the first edition of the Copa Libertadores took place in 1960. Seven teams participated, Bahia of Brazil, Jorge Wilstermann of Bolivia, Millonarios of Colombia, Olimpia of Paraguay, Peñarol of Uruguay, San Lorenzo of Argentina, all these teams were domestic champions of their respective leagues in 1959. The first Copa Libertadores match took place on April 19,1960 and it was won by Peñarol, who defeated Jorge Wilstermann 7–1. The first goal in Copa Libertadores history was scored by Carlos Borges of Peñarol, the Uruguayans won the first ever edition, defeating Olimpia in the finals, and successfully defended the title in 1961
26.
Premier League
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The Premier League is an English professional league for mens association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League, Welsh clubs that compete in the English football league system can also qualify. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders, seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season, most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, others during weekday evenings. It is colloquially known as the Premiership and outside the UK it is referred to as the English Premier League. The deal was worth £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with BSkyB, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. In 2014/15, teams were apportioned revenues of £1.6 billion, the Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. In the 2014–15 season, the average Premier League match attendance exceeded 36,000, most stadium occupancies are near capacity. The Premier League ranks third in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons. While 47 clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, only six have won the title, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, the current champions are Leicester City, who won the title in 2015–16. Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 80s marked a low point for English football, the 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league, ten clubs threatened to leave and form a super league, but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the influx of money into the sport. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the games top-flight clubs, the argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. The managing director of London Weekend Television, Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the big five clubs in England in 1990. The meeting was to pave the way for an away from The Football League. The FA did not enjoy a relationship with the Football League at the time
27.
FIFA 100
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The FIFA100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelés choice of the greatest living footballers. The list contains 123 professional male and 2 female players, at the time the FIFA100 was selected,50 of the players were still active, with the remaining 75 retired from the game. Some football observers have questioned the methodology of the list. David Mellor, politician turned football pundit, wrote in his column in the Evening Standard that he felt the selections were politically motivated rather than made on purely footballing grounds and he suggested that the selections looked as if they came from the pen of Sepp Blatter rather than Pelé. As evidence for this, Mellor noted the geographical spread of the selected players. Such assertions were also forwarded by BBC columnist Tim Vickery, one of Pelés old team-mates, the former Brazil midfielder Gérson, reacted to his omission from the FIFA100 by tearing up a copy of the list on a Brazilian television programme. Marco van Basten and Uwe Seeler refused to part in the project on a point of principle. Following is the list of the FIFA100 greatest living footballers as nominated by Pelé, Players active at the time of announcement are marked by. Players who are active are in italics. World Soccers Greatest Players of the 20th Century World Team of the 20th Century The FIFA100
28.
Apertura and Clausura
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Apertura and Clausura are the Spanish words for opening and closing. In French-speaking Haiti, these are known as the Ouverture and the Fermeture, while in English-speaking Belize, they are respectively the Opening and Closing seasons. The North American Soccer League, the league in both the United States and Canada, adopted a split season in 2013, the season is divided into a Spring Championship. The words Apertura and Clausura are used in most Latin American countries, thus, two championship titles are awarded per year in the first group of leagues, and only one in the second. Some Apertura and Clausura tournaments also have second stages to decide the winner, in leagues with 16 or more teams, each tournament has a single round-robin format. Relegations, if any, are done on an aggregate basis, in some leagues, the average points over the previous two or three seasons are used to determine relegation. Peru abolished its Apertura and Clausura format after the 2008 season, starting in 2009, the Ecuadorian championships were decided by a final between stage or group winners, maintaining the half-year tournament format. The Premier League of Belize, created in 2012 by the merger of two rival leagues, began a split season in 2012–13. The Opening Season takes place in the half of the calendar year. Like most Latin American leagues, it crowns two champions in each season. However, its format is different from that of most other leagues, being more similar to the system used by Major League Soccer in the United States. In the first split season, the leagues 12 teams were divided into two six-team zones, during the first half of the season, every team played a double round-robin within its zone, plus single games against four teams from the opposite zone, resulting in a 14-game schedule. The top two teams from each qualified for a playoff round, with the top team from each zone matched against the second-place team from the other zone in the two-legged semifinals. The semifinal winners advanced to a two-legged final, in the second half of the season, only eight of the initial 12 teams competed, all teams played a double round-robin in that half of the season, followed by a four-team knockout playoff. The number of participating in the top flight dropped to seven for the 2013–14 season. Each half of season will have the same format as the 2013 Closing Season. Brazilian clubs also participate in the state leagues from January to April, brazil also has, unlike most Latin American nations, a national cup. For most of its history the J. League in Japan had a system for its first division, although it was called 1st Stage
29.
Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Provinces capital, rather, in 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores, the 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996, previously, Buenos Aires is considered an alpha city by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires quality of life was ranked 81st in the world and one of the best in Latin America in 2012 and it is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its preserved Spanish/European-style architecture, Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires will host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple ethnic and religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture, the hill was known to them as Buen Ayre, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Aragonese built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill, in 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea, the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the Fair Winds to aid them in their navigation, a sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be later erected in Seville. Pedro de Mendoza called the city Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, and was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, a second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción. Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form Buenos Aires became the common usage during the 17th century, the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As. It is common as well to refer to it as B. A. or BA /ˌbiːˈeɪ/ bee-AY), while BA is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more often use the abbreviation Baires, in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516 and his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay
30.
Carlo Ancelotti
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Carlo Ancelotti OSI is a retired footballer and Italian football manager. He is currently managing Bayern Munich, Ancelotti is the only manager to have won the UEFA Champions League three times and reached four finals. He is also the first manager to have won the FIFA Club World Cup for the European clubs, Ancelotti is regarded as one of the best and most successful managers of all time. Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and began his career with Italian club Parma, helping the club to Serie B promotion in 1979. As a manager, he has worked for Reggiana, Parma, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma. He made his debut in Serie C during the 1976–77 season. Under manager Cesare Maldini, he was deployed behind the forwards, or as a second striker. Ancelotti excelled in this role and helped Parma to a place in the Serie C1 girone A during the 1978–79 season. In the decisive match in Vicenza, against Triestina, with the tied at 1–1. After attracting strong interest from Inter Milan, in the summer of 1979 Ancelotti transferred to Roma, during his eight seasons at the club, he won the Coppa Italia a total of four times. He went on to play all 90 minutes in Milans 4–0 dismantling of Steaua București in the final. He was very likely to be capped for the 1982 World Cup campaign and he was a part of Italys World Cup squad in the 1986 World Cup, where he did not make a single appearance, however. An injury to the meniscus of his knee, however, prevented him from taking part in the tournament. Ancelotti made a total of 26 performances for the Italian national side, Ancelotti was a talented, cautious, efficient and composed creative midfielder, who was capable of being deployed in several positions. A world-class midfielder, he was known for his leadership and organisational skills and is regarded as one of the best Italian midfielders of his generation, despite his ability, his career was affected by several injuries, which limited his playing time, and forced his retirement in 1992. Ancelotti undertook his studies at Coverciano, where he penned a research article entitled Il Futuro del Calcio. Ancelotti made his debut in the Coppa Italia in a 3–1 loss to Pescara, in February 1999, Ancelotti was appointed Juventus manager, where he both succeeded and preceded Marcello Lippi, who returned to the club when Ancelotti left. The following season, Ancelotti went trophyless, finishing runner-up in Serie A yet again, to Roma, Ancelotti finished his tenure with Juventus with a record of 63 wins,33 draws and 18 losses
31.
Juventus F.C.
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Juventus Football Club S. p. A. colloquially known as Juve, is a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont. The clubs fan base is larger than any other Italian football club and is one of the largest worldwide, support for Juventus is widespread throughout the country and abroad, mainly in countries with a significant presence of Italian immigrants. Juventus is the most successful club in Italian football and one of the most awarded globally, Juventus were founded as Sport-Club Juventus in late 1897 by pupils from the Massimo DAzeglio Lyceum school in Turin, but were renamed as Foot-Ball Club Juventus two years later. The club joined the Italian Football Championship during 1900, during this period the team wore a pink and black kit. Juventus first won the championship in 1905 while playing at their Velodrome Umberto I ground. By this time the colours had changed to black and white stripes. There was a split at the club in 1906, after some of the staff considered moving Juve out of Turin, President Alfred Dick was unhappy with this and left with some prominent players to found FBC Torino which in turn spawned the Derby della Mole. Juventus spent much of this period steadily rebuilding after the split, fiat owner Edoardo Agnelli gained control of the club in 1923, and built a new stadium. This helped the club to its second scudetto in the 1925–26 season beating Alba Roma with a score of 12–1. With star players such as Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari, Juventus moved to the Stadio Comunale, but for the rest of the 1930s and the majority of the 1940s they were unable to recapture championship dominance. After the Second World War, Gianni Agnelli was appointed honorary president, the club added two more league championships to its name in the 1949–50 and 1951–52 seasons, the latter of which was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver. Two new strikers were signed during 1957–58, Welshman John Charles and Italo-Argentine Omar Sívori and that season saw Juventus awarded with the Golden Star for Sport Excellence to wear on their shirts after becoming the first Italian side to win ten league titles. In the same season, Sívori became the first ever player at the club to win the European Footballer of the Year, the following season they beat Fiorentina to complete their first league and cup double, winning Serie A and Coppa Italia. Boniperti retired in 1961 as the top scorer at the club, with 182 goals in all competitions. During the rest of the decade, the won the league just once more in 1966–67, The 1970s, however. Under former player Čestmír Vycpálek, they won the scudetto in 1971–72 and 1972–73, with such as Roberto Bettega, Franco Causio. During the rest of the decade, they won the league twice more, the Trapattoni era was highly successful in the 1980s, the club started the decade off well, winning the league title three more times by 1984. This meant Juventus had won 20 Italian league titles and were allowed to add a golden star to their shirt
32.
Cagliari Calcio
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Cagliari Calcio, before,1970 US Cagliari is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club currently plays in Serie A and they won their only Scudetto in 1969–70, when they were led by the Italy national teams all-time leading scorer, Luigi Riva. The triumph was also the first by a club south of Rome. Cagliaris colours are blue and red, the clubs stadium is the 16,000 seat Stadio SantElia in Cagliari. During the 2012–13 season, however, the team played their home games at the Stadio Is Arenas. The clubs best European performance was in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, Cagliari became the first ever out-right champions of Serie C during the 1951–52 season, prior to that in the league, the championship was shared amongst more than one team. They spent the 1950s from then on in Serie B, losing a promotion play-off in 1954, after descending to Serie C in the early 1960s, Cagliaris rise would be meteoric, eventually achieving promotion to Serie A in 1964. The squad for the Rossoblus debut season in Serie A featured players like defender Mario Martiradonna, midfielders Pierluigi Cera, Nené and Ricciotti Greatti, a poor first half of the season, however, saw Cagliari in last place with nine points at the halfway mark. An astonishing second half of the season saw Cagliari defeat the likes of Juventus and Milan, two seasons later, Riva finished as Serie As top scorer for the first time while Cagliari finished with the leagues best defensive record. During the summer of 1967, Cagliari played a season in North America as part of a league called the United Soccer Association. This league from Europe and South America to play in American and Canadian cities, Cagliari played as the Chicago Mustangs, and finished joint second in the leagues Western Division with 13 points, two behind the division champion and eventual league champion Los Angeles Wolves. The leagues leading scorer was Chicago/Cagliaris Roberto Boninsegna, who scored ten goals while playing in 9 of the teams 12 games, Cagliari first emerged as serious Serie A title contenders in 1968–69 with a three-horse race involving them, Fiorentina and Milan. Fiorentina would win the league, but the season would bring ultimate glory. With Angelo Domenghini joining the side, Cagliari would win the title in 1970 with only two games lost,11 goals conceded and Riva as league top scorer once more. Players like Albertosi, Niccolai, Boninsegna, Gori, Cera, Domenghini, the 1970s would see a gradual decline. Cagliari were finally relegated in 1976, with Rivas career having effectively ended during that season, after relegation, Cagliari lost a play-off for promotion the following season and would return to Serie A in 1979. Players like Franco Selvaggi, Mario Brugnera and Alberto Marchetti ensured a respectable four-year stay in the top flight before a relegation in 1983. The 1980s would then prove to be a time compared to the previous two decades with relegation to Serie C1 in 1987
33.
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
34.
1999 UEFA Cup Final
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The 1999 UEFA Cup Final was a football match between Parma of Italy and Marseille of France on 12 May 1999 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. In doing so, Parma won their second UEFA Cup title and fourth European trophy, having won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Although this was just Parmas third entry into the UEFA Cup, they were contesting their second UEFA Cup final, winning the other one in 1995. Having also won the Coppa Italia that year, Parma were attempting a rare cup double, Parma lost by two goals to one in France before thumping them at home, scoring six goals without reply. Marseille had also had European success, but had won just one trophy and that victory was marred by match-fixing accusations and, although the title was not stripped from the French club, their participation in the UEFA Super Cup was barred. Coincidentally, Parma would have been their opponents had they been granted permission to compete, the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia played host to the match, having never previously hosted a major European final. Its capacity stood at 78,360, making it Russias largest sports stadium, fabrizio Ravanelli and William Gallas both received yellow cards which barred their participation in the final. Christophe Dugarry and Hamada Jambay would serve the first match of their respective and five-, roberto Sensini, Parmas captain, chose to kick the match off. The first 25 minutes saw a cautious Marseille side play much of their football in their own half, only to knock it long to their isolated frontmen Robert Pirès and Florian Maurice. On the second occasion, Thuram was able to slide in to find Diego Fuser five yards from the byline and he whipped in a deep cross which Paolo Vanoli, the Gialloblùs car mechanic turned midfield player, expertly directed past Marseilles goalkeeper into the net to double Parmas advantage. Five minutes before the mark, Thuram surged forward down the right before giving the ball to Verón outside him. In April 2005 a video tape was released which showed Cannavaro being injected with a substance the night before the final, the substance was found to be neoton, which is used in cardiac surgery to protect the heart during periods of anoxia and stress. It is not on the banned substance list and this chemical is, in partnership with adenosine triphosphate, fundamental to the ability of the body to produce muscular energy. Phosphocreatine is formed naturally within the body, with over 95% of the compound stored within the muscle cells, approximately 5 oz of phosphocreatine is present in the body of a healthy adult, the levels of the compound do not fluctuate to a significant degree. When phosphocreatine stores become reduced, the body replenishes its supply from one of two sources, the first source is amino acids, the muscle- and tissue-building blocks present in all proteins. The liver produces phosphocreatine from amino acids, the body also receives dietary creatine primarily through the consumption of meat. No action was taken regarding this incident. 1998–99 UEFA Cup 1998–99 season at UEFA. com
35.
Olympique de Marseille
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Olympique de Marseille or simply Marseille, is a French football club in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the play in Ligue 1 and have spent most of their history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions ten times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times, in 1993, coach Raymond Goethals led the team to become the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League. In 1994, Marseille were relegated because of a scandal, losing their domestic trophy. In 2010, Marseille became French champions again under the stewardship of club captain Didier Deschamps. Marseilles home ground is the 67, 000-person-capacity Stade Vélodrome in the part of the city. The club has a large fan-base, having regularly averaged the highest all-time attendance in French football, Marseilles average home gate for the 2008–09 season was 52,276, the highest in Ligue 1. The stadium underwent renovation in 2011, going from its previous capacity of 60,031 to 42,000, following completion in August 2014, the final capacity is 67,000 ahead of Frances hosting of UEFA Euro 2016. The club is ranked 16th globally in terms of annual revenue, in 1997, Marseille was purchased by Franco-Swiss businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus. Following his death in 2009, his widow Margarita became the majority shareholder in 2010. On 29 August 2016, U. S. businessman Frank McCourt announced a deal to buy the club from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, the deal was completed on 17 October 2016. McCourt appointed businessman Jacques-Henri Eyraud as the president, with Rudi García appointed as the manager of the clubs first team. Olympique de Marseille was founded by René Dufaure de Montmirail, a French sports official, at first, rugby union was the most important team sport of the club, the motto Droit au but coming from rugby. Richer and better organised than other teams of Marseille, Olympique de Marseille, then playing at the Stade de lHuveaune. In 1904, Olympique de Marseille won the first Championnat du Littoral, involving opposing teams from Marseille and its suburbs, at that time, the word football applied to rugby, and people used the word Association for football. During the 1920s, Olympique de Marseille became an important team in France, the team won the French championship in 1929, defeating Club français. The Coupe de France in 1924 was the clubs first major title, won against FC Sète, in the 20s, numerous French internationals, such as Jules Dewaquez, Jean Boyer or Joseph Alcazar, played for Marseille. In 1930, Marseille lost against Sète, which would be the winner, in 1931, the team became champion of the South-East, with victories against rivals such as Sète
36.
Jaap Stam
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Jakob Jaap Stam is a Dutch football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Reading. Born in Kampen, he played for several European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lazio, Milan, as well as club trophies, he won several personal awards, including being voted the best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. A large centre-back, he was known for possessing a combination of speed, strength and ball-playing ability. Due to his range of skills, he was also capable of playing as a full-back. Stam played 67 international matches for the Netherlands, scoring three goals and he was in their squads for three UEFA European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Stam started his career with amateur football club DOS Kampen. On 15 August 1992, Stam made his debut for FC Zwolle in a 1–1 draw against SC Heracles in the Eerste Divisie. He became a first team right away and moved to Eredivisie side Cambuur Leeuwarden for the following season. Two seasons at Cambuur earned him a transfer to Eredivisie side Willem II, at Willem II, he immediately impressed at the Eredivisie level, which meant his final breakthrough. A shock 1–0 home victory over Ajax led to Stams transfer to PSV Eindhoven in the season in which they eventually won the KNVB Cup. Stam was a key player for PSV in the 1996–97 season, as the team won the Eredivisie Championship, individually, Stam won the VVCS Footballer of the Year award. In 1998, Stam became the then most expensive Dutch football player in history, Stam spent three seasons at Manchester United, during which time United won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He scored his goal for the club in a 6–2 away victory against Leicester City. Stam made numerous statements in the book about his views on opposing players, laurent Blanc was signed as his replacement. In 2007, however, Ferguson described the decision to sell Stam as an error, At the time he had just come back from an achilles injury and we got the offer from Lazio, £16. 5m for a centre-back who was 29. It was an offer I couldnt refuse, but in playing terms it was a mistake. He is still playing for Ajax at a good level. On the financial report, Manchester United announced the fee was £15.3 million and he was the second Lazio player suspended in 2001, after Fernando Couto
37.
Gaizka Mendieta
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Gaizka Mendieta Zabala is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder. Over the course of ten seasons he amassed La Liga totals of 263 games and 48 goals, Mendieta played 40 times with the Spanish national team, appearing with it in one World Cup and one European Championship. Born in Bilbao, Basque Country, Mendieta made his debut at just 17 with CD Castellón. The 1997–98 campaign was Mendietas breakthrough season, under new manager Claudio Ranieri and he played 30 league matches and scored ten goals, soon making his debut for the national team. In June 1999 he won his first trophy with Valencia, beating Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey, under new manager Héctor Cúper, Mendieta had an even better year in 1999–2000. He helped Valencia beat FC Barcelona 4–3 on aggregate to win the Spanish Supercup, Valencia reached the final of the Champions League in the following year and lost it again, this time to FC Bayern Munich after a penalty shootout. Mendieta scored a penalty in time and also converted his attempt in the shootout. However, he disappointed in Serie A, spending one year with the Rome club while failing to match the performances of departed playmakers Pavel Nedvěd. Mendieta was loaned to FC Barcelona for the 2002–03 season – he started most of the year, in his first season at Middlesbrough, Mendieta was part of the team that won the Football League Cup, bringing the Teesside club its first ever silverware. At the end of the season, the move was made permanent, in his last two years at Middlesbrough, a string of injuries and long duration of regaining match fitness relegated Mendieta to the substitutes bench. He fell out of favour with manager Gareth Southgate, who made it clear that the no longer featured in his first team plans. A day later, Boros chief executive Keith Lamb disregarded his comments saying that there was no chance of him entering the first team and he played his last game on 26 December 2006, against Everton. On 3 November 2009, Mendieta was quoted as saying a part of him would be interested in football management when interviewed by the BBC and he said, A part of me can see the excitement and challenge of being a manager, definitely. After retiring, he settled with his family near Middlesbrough, in Yarm, in March/May 1996, Mendieta was part of the Spanish under-21 national team which was runner-up in the UEFA European Championship. Despite his form slump at Lazio, Mendieta was picked for the squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the last of his 40 caps was gained in a friendly with Bulgaria in Granada, four months after the World Cup. Mendieta was sponsored by sportswear company Nike, and appeared in commercials for the brand. com Gaizka Mendieta – FIFA competition record
38.
Alessandro Nesta
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Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He is the coach of Miami FC of the North American Soccer League. He also had a stint with Chennaiyin FC of the Indian Super League, Nesta is a four-time Serie A Defender of the Year and a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year. In 2004, he was named as one of the Top 100 greatest living footballers as part of FIFAs 100th anniversary celebration, Nesta was a member of the Italy national team for a decade from his debut in 1996, earning 78 caps in total. At international level, he competed at the 1996 Olympics, three UEFA European Championships, and three FIFA World Cups, Nesta was a member of the Italian team that won the 2006 World Cup, and he also represented the Italian side that reached the final of Euro 2000. Nesta was first discovered by Francesco Rocca, a scout for Roma, but his father and he began his youth career with Lazio in 1985, playing in various roles, including as a striker and midfielder, before being placed in the role of a defender. In the 1993–94 season he was called up to the first team and he assumed the team captaincy in 1997 under Sven-Göran Eriksson, and helped Lazio win the 1998 Coppa Italia against Milan in the final, in which he scored the winning goal. He would also make the UEFA Cup Final that season, losing out to Internazionale, Nesta was awarded the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award at the 1998 Italian footballing awards for his performance throughout the season. The following year he was forced to out for nearly half the season due to ligament injuries suffered during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He returned to the field in December, and, as captain, led Lazio in the title race, lost by a single point on the final day of the season. He did, however, win the first two trophies at the level of his team, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, won against Mallorca, and, in August. In the 1999–2000 season he led Lazio to the Scudetto and Coppa Italia, financial problems for Lazio and then President Sergio Cragnotti led to the sale of Nesta to Milan in 2002. Nesta left the club with a salary of €2 million. Just before the 2002–03 Serie A campaign, financial woes forced Lazio to sell many of their best players, Nesta was transferred to Milan for €30,987,000. During this time, he would form a defensive line alongside Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Alessandro Costacurta and Japp Stam. Nestas first two seasons with the Rossoneri were very successful, Nesta helped Milan keep a clean sheet during the match, which went to a penalty shootout following a 0–0 deadlock after extra time. Nesta was able to net his penalty, and Milan won the shootout 3–2, Nesta also won the Coppa Italia over Roma during his first season at the club, while Milan finished third in Serie A that season. Nesta was once awarded the Serie A Defender of the Year award for his performances
39.
Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)
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Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Popularly dubbed The Phenomenon, he is considered to be one of the greatest football players of all time. A three-time FIFA World Player of the Year and two-time Ballon dOr recipient, Ronaldo, in his 1990s prime, was known for his dribbling at speed, feints and clinical finishing. He was named in the FIFA100, a list of the greatest living players compiled in 2004, and was inducted into the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame and the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals, at age 17, Ronaldo was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 World Cup, he received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament in helping Brazil reach the final where he suffered a convulsive fit hours before the defeat to France. He won a second World Cup in 2002 where he starred in a front three with Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, Ronaldo scored twice in the final, and received the Golden Boot as tournaments top goalscorer. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal, at age 23 he had scored over 200 goals for club and country. After almost three years of inactivity due to knee injuries and recuperation, Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2002. Having suffered further injuries, Ronaldo retired from football in 2011. Post-retirement, he has continued his work as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador and he served as an ambassador for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 1993, Ronaldo began his career playing for Cruzeiro. Aged 16, he made his debut on 25 May 1993 against Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship. Ronaldo came to public attention on 7 November 1993, scoring five goals in the game against Bahia. Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 47 games with Cruzeiro, leading them to their first Copa do Brasil in 1993, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1994. Before joining Cruzeiro, he was turned down by his favourite team Flamengo. Ronaldo chose to join PSV after the 1994 World Cup, for which he was selected despite being just 17 and it was Romário who advised Ronaldo to start his European career at PSV, Romário being a former striker of the team from 1988 to 1993. Ronaldo scored 30 league goals in his first season in the Netherlands and his second season was marred by a knee injury which kept him out of most of the campaign, but he still averaged nearly a goal a game in the league, scoring 12 goals in 13 appearances
40.
Bernardo Corradi
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Bernardo Corradi is an Italian footballer. He has played in the highest leagues of Italy, Spain, and England, Corradi was a tall, strong striker who excelled in the air, during his prime, his playing style drew comparisons with that of Pierluigi Casiraghi. He is a former Italian international, with 13 caps and two goals from 2003 to 2004, Corradi represented his country at UEFA Euro 2004. Corradi began his career in Italy with Siena, at time at Serie C1. He then left for U. S. Poggibonsi of Serie C2 and he played there for two seasons, one in Serie C2 and the second in Serie D. In 1996, he left for Serie C2 club A. S. D, mobilieri Ponsacco Calcio, also located in Tuscany. In mid-1997, he joined Cagliari of Sardinia, and after two matches, he was loaned to Montevarchi in November, in the next season, he was loaned to Andria. In 1999, he returned to Cagliari and played his first Serie A match, in 2000, Corradi was jointly-signed by Chievo and Inter Milan. Using his height as ability, he started showing his talent as central forward and he stayed at the club for two seasons, until Inter paid €4 million to purchase him outright. Considered the ideal understudy to Christian Vieri, he played his first, Lazio later brought down Corradis value to €5.5 million and the rest deferred to amortize in a 10-year special amortization fund. At Lazio, Corradi scored on his debut, and formed a partnership with Claudio López, while Enrico Chiesa. He was offered an extension in July 2003. In the second season, he was the first choice, and partnered with Roberto Muzzi, Corradi scored ten goals in both his league seasons with the club, and also scored a vital away goal when Lazio beat Juventus to the 2004 Coppa Italia title. Corradi opened his season with the Spanish club by winning the UEFA Supercup, however, once compatriot coach Claudio Ranieri left the club, he found his first team appearances becoming less frequent, as he fell out of form. He was loaned back to Italy, playing for Parma for the 2005–06 season, in the 2006 close season he was sold by Valencia to Manchester City for an undisclosed fee on 20 July, signing a three-year contract with the Premier League club. In December Corradi was again sent off for two yellow cards, this time against Manchester United, Corradi lost his starting place to Emile Mpenza, as he only scored three league goals during the 2006–07 season, his other goal coming in a defeat to Portsmouth in February. Corradi looked to be leaving Manchester City after his poor season, when Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed as their new manager, Corradi was given a chance to impress and took it well by scoring four goals in the pre-season of 2007. However, he did not feature in any of their Premier League or League Cup games and was loaned out again to Parma for the rest of the season
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