1.
Viseu
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Settled during the period of the early Iberian castro culture, the territory of Viseu was populated by a series of cultures, that include the Romans, Suebs, Visigoths and Moors. During the Roman occupation of Iberia, Viriathus, rebel leader of the Lusitanians, is assumed to have lived for a time in territory. During the Middle Ages, the city served as seat for Visigothic nobles. Viseu is an economic hub with a strong wine industry and is the seat of international conglomerate Visabeira. The origins of the city of Viseu date back to the Celtic period, with its Romanization, the settlement gained importance, being at the intersection of a series of Roman roads linking Mérida, Lisbon, and Galicia. Viseu is associated with Viriathus, since it is thought that the Lusitanian hero may have born in this region. After the Roman occupation of the peninsula, under the Visigoths, the origins of Viseu extends to proto-history, when migrating groups settled the territory, including the Celts and Luistanians. Roman colonists settled in territories during eras of prosperity and peace, leading eventually to Suebics, Goths. The Suebic peoples, by the middle of the 6th century, had already an established community, with the arrival of north African Muslims, the Visigoths escaped the territory and refuged in the distant mountains of Asturias. The lands of Viseu frequently switched hands between the Christians and Moors, and was taken in 1058, due to the victory of Ferdinand I of León. But, his siege left such destruction that only in 1147-1148, during the Reconquista, for many years it had been absorbed by the Bishopric of Coimbra, due to the intervention of the priors, including S. Teotónio. Viseu began recuperating its importance as a centre, rapidly, recuperated its lost transitory brilliance or worsened its activities. It was another three centuries of peace that allowed it to grow once more. It was following the death of D. Fernando, the Castilians sought to enforce, during Countship of Portugal, Viseu served as the seat of the Corte of Henry, Count of Portugal and Countess Teresa, who granted a foral to the city in 1123. Viseu is one of the birthplaces of their son Afonso Henriques in 1109. Following his successful defense of his rights, and supported by nobles and clergy. Viseu was granted a new charter 1187, that was reinforced by his grandson, King Afonso II of Portugal. The city became part of a fiefdom, when Prince Henry the Navigator, son of King John I of Portugal, was made Duke of Viseu, in 1415
2.
Midfielder
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A midfielder is an association football position. Midfielders are generally positioned on the field between their teams defenders and forwards, some midfielders play a disciplined defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are otherwise known as defensive midfielders. Others blur the boundaries, being mobile and efficient in passing, they are commonly referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box. The number of midfielders on a team and their assigned roles depends on the teams formation, most managers assign at least one midfielder to disrupt the opposing teams attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match, central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided roughly equally between attack and defence. When the opposing team has the ball, a midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward. The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders, the 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders, and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who have abilities and are skilled at both defending and attacking. These players can track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots. A good box-to-box midfielder needs good passing, vision, control, stamina, tackling and marking in defence, left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence, similar to that of central midfielders, but they are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates. Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1, a notable example of a right midfielder is David Beckham. Defensive midfielders are players who focus on protecting their teams goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their teams defence, defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack. Sergio Busquets described his attitude, The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someones position, great. A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina. A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their teams defence, a player in this role will try to protect their goal by disrupting the opponents attacking moves and stopping long shots on the goal. The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball and this player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the teams strategy
3.
Tianjin Quanjian F.C.
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Tianjian Quanjian F. C. is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League division under licence from the Chinese Football Association. The team is based in Tianjin and their stadium is the Haihe Educational Football Stadium that has a seating capacity of 30,000. Their current owners are Quanjian Nature Medicine who officially took over the club on 7 July 2015 and they would move into the Hohhot Peoples Stadium while taking part at the bottom of the Chinese pyramid within the third tier at the start of the 2007 league season. By May 5,2007 Tianjin Songjiang Sports Culture Industry Co, ltd would take a controlling interest within the club and hired another former Chinese international player in Hao Haidong to be the clubs general manager. This saw Patrick De Wilde exit soon after and the decided to promote his assistant as well as Hao Haidongs cousin Hao Haitao into the management chair. On 23 June 2014 Portuguese manager Manuel Cajuda came in for the remainder of the season, the club would once again start the following season with a new manager when Croatian coach Dražen Besek joined the team 15 December 2014. After a series of defeats, Besek was replaced by another Croatian in Goran Tomić who joined the management on 12 May 2015, on 7 July 2015 Quanjian Nature Medicine officially took over the club. This would be their second foray into Chinese football after their sponsorship of Tianjin Teda F. C. On 22 October 2016, under the guidance of Fabio Cannavaro, Tianjin Quanjian defeated Meizhou Hakka 3–0 to win the 2016 China League One title, 2006–2007 Hohhot Binhai F. C. 呼和浩特滨海 2008–2015 Tianjin Songjiang F. C. 天津松江 2015– Tianjin Quanjian F. C. 天津权健 As of 2 March 2017 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. China League One Winners,2016 All-time League Rankings As of the end of 2016 season, ^Note 1, In North League ^Note 2, In group stage
4.
S.L. Benfica
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Sport Lisboa e Benfica, commonly known as Benfica, is a Portuguese sports club based in Lisbon, Portugal. It is best known for the football team playing in the Primeira Liga. Benfica are the current Portuguese champions, having won three league titles. The team is nicknamed Águias for the symbol atop the clubs crest, since 2003, their home ground has been the Estádio da Luz, which replaced the original one. Benfica is the most supported Portuguese club, with a fan base of 14 million supporters worldwide. By August 2015, it had 156,916 paying members, the clubs official anthem, Ser Benfiquista, refers to its supporters who are called Benfiquistas. Benfica is honoured in three Portuguese Orders, those of Christ, of Merit and of Prince Henry. Benfica is the most successful Portuguese club in terms of domestic and overall titles –79 including the Latin Cup – and is the only one to have won all national competitions. They have won a record 35 Primeira Liga titles, a record 25 Taça de Portugal, internationally, Benfica won two consecutive European Cup titles, in 1961 and 1962, a unique feat in Portuguese football. In addition, they were runners-up at the Intercontinental Cup in 1961 and 62, at the European Cup in 1963,65,68,88 and 90 and they have reached ten European finals, which ranks seventh all-time among UEFA clubs and is a domestic record. Furthermore, they hold the European record for the most consecutive wins in domestic league, in the 1972–73 campaign, Benfica became the first undefeated Portuguese champions. In 2000, Benfica was ranked twelfth in the FIFA Club of the Century award, Benficas all-time top goalscorer is Eusébio, who won one Ballon dOr and two European Golden Boots while at the club. On 28 February 1904, a group of students from the Real Casa Pia de Lisboa. Their goal was to form a social and cultural football club, there were a total of 24 people who attended the meeting, including the 18-year-old co-founder and future soul of the club, Cosme Damião. In this meeting, José Rosa Rodrigues was appointed as president, along with Daniel Brito as secretary. It was defined that the colours would be red for bravery. The founders also decided that the crest would be composed of an eagle, the motto E pluribus unum, on 1 January 1905, Benfica played their first match ever, winning 1–0 against Campo de Ourique. Despite important victories in the first few years, the club suffered because of operating conditions
5.
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
6.
Borussia Dortmund
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Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, BVB, or simply Dortmund, is a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. The football team is part of a large membership-based sports club more than 145,000 members. Dortmund plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, Dortmund is one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund was founded in 1909 by eighteen football players from Dortmund, Borussia Dortmund have won eight German championships, three DFB-Pokals, five DFL-Supercups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup. Their Cup Winners Cup win in 1966 made them the first German club to win a European title, since 1974, Dortmund have played their home games at Westfalenstadion, named after its home region of Westphalia. The stadium is the largest in Germany and Dortmund has the highest average attendance of any football club in the world. Borussia Dortmunds colours are black and yellow, giving the club its nickname die Schwarzgelben, Dortmund holds a long-standing rivalry with Ruhr neighbours Schalke 04, known as the Revierderby. In terms of Deloittes annual Football Money League, Dortmund is the second biggest sports club in Germany, father Dewald was blocked at the door when he tried to break up the organizing meeting being held in a room of the local pub, Zum Wildschütz. The name Borussia is Latin for Prussia but was taken from Borussia beer from the nearby Borussia brewery in Dortmund, the team began playing in blue and white striped shirts with a red sash, and black shorts. In 1913, they donned the black and yellow stripes so familiar today, over the next decades the club enjoyed only modest success playing in local leagues. They had a brush with bankruptcy in 1929 when an attempt to boost the clubs fortunes by signing some paid professional footballers failed miserably and they survived only through the generosity of a local supporter who covered the teams shortfall out of his own pocket. The 1930s saw the rise of the Third Reich, which restructured sports, the club did have greater success in the newly established Gauliga Westfalen, but would have to wait until after World War II to make a breakthrough. It was during this time that Borussia developed its intense rivalry with Schalke 04 of suburban Gelsenkirchen, like every other organisation in Germany, Borussia was dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities after the war in an attempt to distance the countrys institutions from its so-recent Nazi past. Between 1946 and 1963, Borussia featured in the Oberliga West, in 1949, Borussia reached the final in Stuttgart against VfR Mannheim, which they lost 2–3 after extra time. The club claimed its first national title in 1956 with a 4–2 win against Karlsruher SC, one year later, Borussia defeated Hamburger SV 4–1 to win their second national title. After this coup, the three Alfredos were legends in Dortmund, in 1963, Borussia won the last edition of the German Football Championship to secure their third national title. In 1962, the DFB met in Dortmund and voted to establish a professional football league in Germany. Borussia Dortmund earned its place among the first sixteen clubs to play in the new league by winning the last pre-Bundesliga national championship, FC Köln also earned an automatic berth
7.
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
8.
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
9.
Panathinaikos F.C.
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Panathinaikos F. C. also known simply as Panathinaikos, or with its full name Panathinaikos A. O. are a Greek professional football club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos can literally be translated as Panathenaic, which means of all Athens, today a part of Panathinaikos A. O. they are the oldest active football club in Greece, initially founded only to practice this sport. Amongst their major titles are twenty-six Greek Championships, twenty-one Greek Cups, achieving eight times the Double, and five official Greek Super Cups. They are also the club that won a championship undefeated, going without a loss in a top-flight campaign. Panathinaikos is also the most successful Greek club in terms of achievements in the European competitions and it is the only Greek team that has reached the European Cup final in 1971, and also the semi-finals twice, in 1985 and 1996. It is also the only Greek team that has played for the Intercontinental Cup, furthermore, they have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League on another two occasions, as well as the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup twice. They have also won the Balkans Cup in 1977, Panathinaikos is a member of the European Club Association. Panathinaikos became professional and independent in 1979 and they have played their home games in the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, considered their traditional home ground, and the Athens Olympic Stadium. The club has million of fans inside Greece and millions of others in the Greek communities all over the world and they hold a long-term rivalry with Olympiacos, the clash between the two teams being referred to as the Derby of the eternal enemies. The name of the new club was Podosferikos Omilos Athinon and it was founded with the aim of spreading and making more known this new sport to the Athenian and Greek public in general. Also, intension of the founders was to create a team for all of Athens and to be connected with the rest of the European football movement, the first president elected was Alexandros Kalafatis, brother of Giorgos. The ground of the team was in Patission Street, oxford University athlete John Cyril Campbell was brought in as coach, the first time that a foreigner was appointed as the coach of a Greek team. Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, the great Greek athlete of the early 20th century, in 1910, after a dispute among a number of board members, Kalafatis with most of the players—also followed by Campbell—decided to pull out of POA and secured a new ground in Amerikis Square. Subsequently, the name of the changed to Panellinios Podosferikos Omilos and its colours to green. By 1914, Campbell had returned to England but the club was already at the top of Greek football with such as Michalis Papazoglou, Michalis Rokkos. In 1918, the team adopted the trifolium as its emblem, in 1921 and 1922, the Athens-Piraeus FCA organized the first two post-WWI championships, in both of which PPO was declared champion. After long discussions with the Municipality of Athens, an agreement was finally reached, the move to a permanent home ground also heralded another—final—name change to Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos, Panathenaic Athletic Club, on 15 March 1924, from now on a multi-sport club. However, the decision was taken by 1922
10.
RCD Espanyol
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Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona, commonly known as RCD Espanyol, or simply as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1900, the plays in La Liga, the highest division of Spanish football. It has won the Copa del Rey four times, most recently in 2006, the team compete in the Derbi barceloní against FC Barcelona. Espanyol play at the 40, 500-capacity Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, having played at grounds including the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Espanyol was founded on 28 October 1900 by Ángel Rodríguez Ruiz, the clubs original home was in the well-off district of Sarrià and was initially known as the Sociedad Española de Football. One year later, the changed its name to Club Español de Fútbol. Espanyol was the first club in Spain to be formed exclusively by Spanish fans of the game, the club originally played in bright yellow shirts, with the colour of the shorts being left to the individual player. A friend of the club owned a textile business and happened to have an abundance of yellow material left over from a job. In 1910, the changed its name to Club Deportivo Español and chose blue and white stripes as shirt colours. The club were successful from the beginning, winning the Campionat de Catalunya in 1903. In 1906, the club folded due to financial reasons and most of the joined the X Sporting Club. This club won the Campionat de Catalunya three times between 1906 and 1908, in 1909, this club was effectively relaunched as Club Deportivo Español, and in 1910, they adopted their present-day colours. Espanyol are one of several Spanish football clubs granted patronage by the Spanish crown and thus entitled to use Real in their names and this right was granted to Espanyol in 1912 by Alfonso XIII and the club subsequently became known as Real Club Deportivo Español. After the Spanish Civil War, the name reverted, the club took the Catalan spelling for its name in February 1995. The word Deportiu in Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a Catalanised form of the original word Deportivo and this choice was made in order to retain the initials RCD in the clubs name. In 1994, Espanyol created its reserve team, Espanyol B, with their win in the Copa del Rey the previous season, Espanyol entered the UEFA Cup. Following a 5–3 aggregate success against Slovak side Artmedia Bratislava, they were drawn in Group F alongside Ajax, Belgian minnows Zulte Waregem, Espanyol were group winners, victorious in all four of their ties. Their opponent in the Round of 32 was Livorno, who had just scraped into the knockout stages, Espanyol were 4–1 victors on aggregate, recording a 2–1 win in Tuscany and finishing the job 2–0 in Barcelona
11.
Portugal national under-20 football team
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The Portugal national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. The U20 team acts mainly as a team for the under-21s. The team qualified for its only match, FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Portuguese team has 8 participations in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and 12 in the Toulon Tournament, the Golden Generation was the Generation of the players that won consecutive FIFA Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991. The Courage Generation was the Generation of players that was runner up in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won, ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil. * Portugal also participated in the 1975,1976,1977,1981,1982,1986,1987,1990,1992,1993, and 2009 tournaments but with the u-21 squad instead of the u-20 squad
12.
Portugal national under-21 football team
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The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation. Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugals hopes for the future, following the realignment of UEFAs youth competitions in 1976, the Portuguese under-21 team was formed. Until 1994, the team had a poor record, failing to qualify for each of the first eight UEFA under-21 Championships. Since 1994, the team has improved its record greatly, qualifying for five of the seven tournaments. Having qualified for the 2006 tournament finals, UEFA announced that Portugal would host the finals in May, from 2007 onwards, host nations will be announced before the qualification stage and will not need to qualify. *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks, **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil, the following squad was selected for the friendly matches against Norway on 24 March 2017 and Germany on 28 March 2017
13.
Portugal national football team
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The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in international mens association football competition since 1921. It is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the body for football in Portugal. Portugals first participation in a tournament finals, at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The next two times Portugal qualified for the World Cup finals were in 1986 and 2002, going out in the first round both times. Portugal also made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Euro 1984 final tournament, losing 3–2 after extra time to the hosts and eventual winners France. The team reached the semi-finals of Euro 2000, the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012, as well as the final of Euro 2004, the latter on home soil. At Euro 2016, Portugal won its first ever trophy, defeating hosts France 1–0 after extra time. With the win, Portugal qualified and will make its first appearance in the FIFA Confederations Cup held the year in Russia. The teams home stadium is the Estádio Nacional, in Oeiras, the current head coach is Fernando Santos and the captain is Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds the team records for most caps and goals. Portugal was not invited to the 1930 World Cup, which featured a final stage. In the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, the Seleção played one game against Switzerland in a ground, held in Milan, losing 2–1 against the Swiss. Because of the conflict due to the World War II, there was no World Cup held until the 1950 competition and subsequently. On the restart of games, the team was to play a round against Spain. After a 5–1 defeat in Madrid, they managed to draw in the second game 2–2, for the qualification of the 1954 World Cup, the team would play Austria. The Austrians won the first game with a humiliating 9–1 result, the best the national team could do was hold the team to a goalless draw in Lisbon, and the round ended with a 9–1 defeat. In the 1958 qualification, Portugal won a match for the first time. Nevertheless, they finished last in the stage that also featured Northern Ireland, only the first-placed team, Northern Ireland. The year 1960 was the year that UEFA created the European Football Championship, the first edition was a knock-out tournament, the last four teams participating in final stage that only featured one leg while the older stages had two legs
14.
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
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Queens Park Rangers Football Club is a professional association football club based in White City, London, that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Their honours include winning the League Cup in 1967, as well as finishing top of the tier in 1983 and 2011. QPR were also runners-up of the Football League First Division in 1975–76, Queens Park Rangers were founded in 1886 after the merger of Christchurch Rangers and St. Judes Institute. Owing to their proximity to other west London clubs, QPR maintain long-standing rivalries with other clubs in the area. The most notable of these are Chelsea, Fulham and Brentford, outside London, QPR also traditionally share rivalries with Watford, Luton and Cardiff, although in recent years these fixtures have become less prominent. For the current season see 2015–16 Queens Park Rangers F. C. season The club was formed in 1886, the resulting team was called Queens Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queens Park area of north-west London. QPR were promoted as champions of Division 3 South in the 1947–48 season, Dave Mangnall was the manager as the club participated in four seasons of the Second Division, being relegated in 1951–52. Tony Ingham was signed from Leeds United and went on to make the most ever league appearances for QPR, arguably the clubs greatest ever manager, Alec Stock, arrived prior to the start of the 1959–60 season. The 1960–61 season saw QPR achieve their biggest win to date, in time, Stock, together with Jim Gregory who arrived as chairman in the mid-1960s, helped to achieve a total transformation of the club and its surroundings. It is still the major trophy that QPR have won. It was also the first League Cup final to be held at Wembley Stadium, after winning promotion in 1968 to the top flight for the first time in their history, Rangers were relegated after just one season and spent the next four years in Division Two. Terry Venables joined from Spurs at the beginning of the 1969–70 season, during this time, new QPR heroes emerged including Phil Parkes, Don Givens, Dave Thomas and Stan Bowles. These new signings were in addition to home-grown talent such as Dave Clement, Ian Gillard, Mick Leach, after completing their 42-game season, QPR sat at the top of the league, one point ahead of Liverpool who went on to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers to clinch the title. Wolves were relegated to the Second Division that same season, following Sextons departure in 1977 the club eventually slipped into the Second Division in 1979. In 1980 Terry Venables took over as manager and the club installed a plastic pitch, in 1982 QPR, still playing in the Second Division, reached the FA Cup Final for the only time in the clubs history, facing holders Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham won 1–0 in a replay, the following season QPR went on to win the Second Division championship and returned to English footballs top division. After a respectable fifth-place finish, and UEFA Cup qualification, the following year, in 1988 the club had a new chairman, Richard Thompson. Who at 24 was the Premier Leagues youngest ever chairman, over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road and the club spent many seasons finishing mid table but avoided relegation
15.
Swansea City A.F.C.
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Swansea City Association Football Club is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales, that plays in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Swansea City represent England when playing in European competitions, although they have represented Wales in the past, the club was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921. The club changed their name in 1969, when adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swanseas new status as a city. Swansea have played their matches at the Liberty Stadium since 2005. In 1981, the club was promoted to the original Football League First Division and it was during the following season they came close to winning the league title, but a decline then set near the seasons end before finishing sixth, although a club record. The clubs subsequent climb from the division of English football to the top division is chronicled in the 2014 film. In 2011, Swansea were promoted to the Premier League, following the lead of many other South Wales sides, joined the second division of the Southern League for the following season. J. W. Thorpe was the clubs first chairman, a site owned by Swansea Gaslight Co. called Vetch Field due to the vegetables that grew there, was rented to be the clubs ground. The clubs first professional match was a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field against Cardiff City on 7 September 1912. During that first season the Welsh Cup was won for the first time, before the game Bradshaw had scored with thirty-six consecutive spot kicks. Remarkably, the Swans played most of the half with ten men. The Swans drew at another First Division side, Newcastle United, in the next round, following the First World War the Southern League dropped its second division, and with many clubs dropping out due to financial difficulties, the Swans were placed in the first division. After just four seasons in the Southern League, Swansea Town became founder members of the new Third Division of The Football League in 1920, the side had remained unbeaten at home in the league all season – something the next promotion team would emulate over twenty years later. Sadly for the Swans, an experienced Bolton side won the game 3–0, Swans record their highest average attendance during the season of 16,118 for pre-war league games. During the 1926–27 season they beat Real Madrid 3–0 on tour, during the 1931–32 season they finished 1st and went out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. However they won the Welsh Cup after beating Wrexham 2–0 away after a replay and it was not until the 1933–34 season that Wilfred Milne scored his first goal for Swansea at Lincoln City after 501 appearances without a goal. After just one back from wartime football, the Swans finished 21st in the Second Division. The following season was one of consolidation, however in 1948–1949 the Swans stormed their way to winning the division for the second time
16.
Leicester City F.C.
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Leicester City Football Club, also known as the Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. They compete in the Premier League, Englands top tier of football, having been promoted as champions of the Football League Championship in 2013–14, this signalled a return to the top flight of English football after a decade away. The club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse F. C. playing on a field near Fosse Road and they moved to Filbert Street in 1891, were elected to the Football League in 1894 and adopted the name Leicester City in 1919. They moved to the nearby Walkers Stadium in 2002, which was renamed the King Power Stadium after a change of ownership in 2011, Leicester City won the 2015–16 Premier League, their first top-level football championship. They are one of six clubs to have won the Premier League since its inception in 1992. A number of newspapers described their title win as the greatest sporting upset ever, multiple bookmakers had never paid out at such long odds for any sport. Due to the magnitude of the title win, it went down in English football history as one of the games finest ever achievements. The clubs previous highest ever finish was second place in the top flight, throughout Leicesters history, they have spent all but one season within the top two leagues of English football. They hold a joint-highest seven second-tier titles, the club have been FA Cup finalists four times, in 1948–49, 1960–61, 1962–63 and 1968–69. This is a tournament record for the most defeats in the final without having won the competition, City have several promotions to their name, two play-off final wins, and one League One title. In 1971, they won the FA Community Shield, and in 2016 and they have also won the League Cup three times in 1964,1997 and 2000, as well as being runners up in 1964–65 and 1999. Formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of Wyggeston School as Leicester Fosse, before moving to Filbert Street in 1891, the club played at five different grounds, including Victoria Park south-east of the city centre and the Belgrave Road Cycle and Cricket Ground. The club also joined the Midland League in 1891, and were elected to Division Two of the Football League in 1894 after finishing second. Leicesters first ever Football League game was a 4–3 defeat at Grimsby Town, with a first League win the following week, the same season also saw the clubs largest win to date, a 13–0 victory over Notts Olympic in an FA Cup qualifying game. In 1907–08 the club finished as Second Division runners-up, gaining promotion to the First Division, however, the club were relegated after a single season which included the clubs record defeat, a 12–0 loss against Nottingham Forest. In 1919, when League football resumed after World War I, the club was reformed as Leicester City Football Club, particularly appropriate as the borough of Leicester had recently been given city status. However the 1930s saw a downturn in fortunes, with the relegated in 1934–35 and, after promotion in 1936–37. City reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history in 1949, the club, however, was celebrating a week later when a draw on the last day of the season ensured survival in Division Two
17.
Videoton FC
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Videoton Football Club is a Hungarian professional football club based in Székesfehérvár, in the west of Hungary, playing in the first division Hungarian League. Videoton won the Hungarian League twice in 2011 and 2015, Hungarian Cup once, the defunct Hungarian League Cup thrice, Videoton is best known in Europe for reaching the 1985 UEFA Cup Final. Videoton was founded in 1941 and its colours are blue and red, the club has played at its home ground, Sóstói Stadion, since 1967. The most successful period in Videotons history came in the mid-1980s when Ferenc Kovács led the club to the final of the UEFA Cup in 1985, Videoton won its first Hungarian League title in 2011 and managed to reach the group stages of the Europa League in the 2012–13 season. The team first entered the Fejér County Championship in 1942–43 and went on to win the championship. In 1948 the club was broken into three teams, with one playing in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III, one in the County Championship. In 1950, the workers of the factory assembled their own team in the hope of achieving results. Later on they agreed on 3 January 1956, that all teams would join forces in a unified team built on Vadásztölténygyár. The first opportunity to play in Hungarys highest league came along only a few years later, in the 1961–62 season the team finished in third position – barely qualifying for the first division. Known then as VT Vasas, the dream came true in 1967 when the team finished second in the second division and was promoted to the top league. On 22 January 1968, the club was renamed Videoton SC, the first season in the top league wasnt very successful. The team won 9 games but lost 18 matches, finishing in 15th place, however, the following year, Videoton bounced back and won the second division. The next five years saw the club consolidate its position in the first division by finishing tenth, seventh, fifth, fourth, then in the 1975–76 season the team achieved the best position in its history by finishing second. Videoton went on to produce modest results in the ensuing years, finally, in 1982, the Fehervar club reached the final of the Hungarian Cup, but were defeated 2–0 by Újpest. This was the beginning of the golden age. In 1984, the finished third with the same number of points as ETO Győr, who finished second. That season saw, József Szabó become the top goal-scorer in the 1st division with 19 goals, the club caught international attention when it reached the 1985 UEFA Cup Final during a campaign under the management of Ferenc Kovács. In the UEFA Cup 1984–85 season Videoton overcame Dukla Prague in the first round, Paris Saint-Germain in the second round and they then had further success in the quarter-finals where Videoton played against Manchester United
18.
Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.
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Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club is an Israeli football club and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv sports club. Founded in 1906 as the HaRishon Le Zion-Yafo Association, Maccabi Tel Aviv is the oldest, largest and most decorated club in Israel. With the establishment of the city of Tel Aviv in 1909, in 1922 they became the first Jewish football club to participate in local competitions. Maccabi Tel Aviv have won more titles than any other Israeli club, winning 22 League Championships,23 prestigious State Cups, the club is named after the Maccabees. Maccabi Tel Aviv FC invest a lot of money in the development, the clubs youth system operate football academies at three sites in the Tel Aviv area, working with over 750 children aged 6–15. The club also runs 17 youth teams with 400 players between 9 and 19 years old and these teams tend to compete very successfully in local and national leagues. Durims decided to establish the Palestine League, in the same year the State Cup was founded under the name People Cup. That same year, the first Tel Aviv derby was played, with Maccabi winning, Maccabi won their first State Cup in 1929 after beating Maccabi HaShmonai. Maccabi won the State Cup for a time in 1930, beating the 48th Regiment of Foot 2–1, and a third in 1933. In 1936 the club was invited to play in the United States, on their way, Maccabi played in France, losing, 2–0, to Racing Paris and 3–1 to Lille. In the United States, Maccabi defeated the All-star team of New York City in front of 50,000 in Yankee Stadium. Maccabi also defeated the American Soccer League team in Brooklyn and Philadelphia on their ground, 1–0, and also played in Canada. Maccabi continued their tour in the USA and lost, 3–2, to St. Louis Stars, after returning from the United States, Maccabi players went on strike because they had not been paid. In 1937, after a year of action, the Football Association accepted their demands. In that year, Maccabi Tel Aviv also won their first league title, in 1939, after the start of World War II, Maccabi won their second championship. At the end of the season, Maccabi went to another tour and they played 18 games, winning 11, losing 5 and drawing 2. The games were against State sides, regional sides and five tests against the Australian national team, winning one, drawing one, in 1941 Maccabi won their first double, Winning both the league and State Cup, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv, 2–1, in the final. Between 1941 and 1945 the league was suspended because of the war, in 1946, the league was still suspended but the State Cup returned with Maccabi beating Hapoel Rishon LeZion, 6–0, on aggregate in the final
19.
FC Basel
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FC Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel or just Basel, and sometimes referred to as FC Basle in English or FCB, is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 19 times, besides their current dynasty, they were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the title a total of seven times between 1967 and 1980. The 1980s saw hard times for Basel, as they were absent from European competition for many years and suffered relegation in 1987. In the 2000s, Basel returned to the top of Swiss football, winning their first title for 22 years in 2002, Basel have also won the Swiss Cup 11 times. Basel have competed in European competition every season since 1999–2000 and they have been in the Champions League more times than any other Swiss club — a total of six times — and are the only Swiss club to have ever qualified directly for the Champions League group stages. In the 2011–12 season, Basel produced some outstanding results in the Champions League, after a 1–1 away draw against Benfica, Basel tied away 3–3 and then won at home 2–1 against Manchester United, which saw them progress to the knockout phase. Here they were defeated by Bayern Munich on aggregate despite a 1–0 home win, the 2012–13 season saw them scale greater heights as the RotBlau advanced as far as the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, but there they were beaten by eventual champions Chelsea. During the following season, however, Basel avenged that defeat with two-straight wins during the 2013–14 Champions League group stage, the advert had been placed by Roland Geldner, who was later elected as first president. Eleven men attended the meeting, Emil Abderhalden, Max Born, Josef Ebinger, Max Geldner, Wilhelm Glaser, Jean Grieder, Ferdinand Isler, Wilhelm Oser, Lucien Schmoll, thus, Fussball Club Basel was founded on 15 November 1893. The founding members were generally from the academic community, the club colours from the first day on were red and blue. Basels first game was on 26 November 1893 against itself, a match between two ad hoc formed FCB teams against each other. Two weeks later, FCB had their first official appearance in a game against a team formed by students from the high school gymnastic club. In the early days, the team played only friendly matches, for example the local derby against BSC Old Boys. One of the club captains was Hans Gamper, who later founded FC Barcelona in Spain. Basel did not compete in the first Swiss football championship held 1897–98 and they did, however, contest in the second Serie A championship which was organized by the Swiss Football Association. The Serie A was divided into three groups, an east, a central and a west group. The winners of each qualified for the finals. Basel did not qualify for the finals and they did not compete in the championship the following season, the Serie A 1900–01 was divided into two groups, an east and a west group
20.
ACF Fiorentina
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ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies, on the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later. Since 1931, the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, the stadium has used several names over the years and has undergone several renovations. Fiorentina are known widely by the nickname Viola, a reference to their distinctive purple colours, the aim of the merger was to give Florence a strong club to rival those of the more dominant Italian Football Championship sides of the time from Northwest Italy. Also influential was the revival and rediscovery of Calcio Fiorentino. After a rough start and three seasons in lower leagues, Fiorentina reached the Serie A in 1931 and that same year saw the opening of the new stadium, originally named after Giovanni Berta, after a prominent fascist, but now known as Stadio Artemio Franchi. At the time, the stadium was a masterpiece of engineering, to be able to compete with the best teams in Italy, Fiorentina strengthened their team with some new players, notably the Uruguayan Pedro Petrone, nicknamed el Artillero. Despite enjoying a season and finishing in fourth place, Fiorentina were relegated the following year. In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, but the team were unable to build on their success during the 1940s because of World War II, in 1950, Fiorentina started to achieve consistent top-five finishes in the domestic league. This team won Fiorentinas first scudetto in 1955–56,12 points ahead of second-place Milan, Fiorentina were runners-up again in the three subsequent seasons. In the 1960–61 season, the won the Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe. After several years of runner-up finishes, Fiorentina dropped away slightly in the 1960s, bouncing from fourth to sixth place, although the club won the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966. While the 1960s did result in some trophies and good Serie A finishes for Fiorentina, the 1968–69 season started with Milan as frontrunners, but on matchday 7, they lost to Bologna and were overtaken by Gigi Rivas Cagliari. Fiorentina, after a start, then moved to the top of the Serie A. The second half of the season was a battle between the three contending teams, Milan, Cagliari and Fiorentina. Milan fell away, instead focusing their efforts on the European Cup, after Cagliari lost against Juventus, however, Fiorentina took over at the top. The team then won all of their matches, beating rivals Juve in Turin on the penultimate matchday to seal their second. Viola players began the 1970s decade with Scudetto sewed on their breast, after a fifth-place finish in 1971, they finished in mid-table almost every year, even flirting with relegation in 1972 and 1978
21.
Order of Prince Henry
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Minor reforms of the constitution of the Order occurred in 1962 and 1980. It is an order, whose titles are awarded for relevant services to Portugal and for services in the expansion of the Portuguese culture, its history. The number of members in each grade is restricted by its constitution, the order includes several classes, in decreasing order of seniority, these are, Grand Collar Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Knight / Dame There is also a Silver Medal and a Gold Medal. The special distinction of Grand Collar can be awarded only to heads of state, ribbons and medals are characterized by equal stripes of blue, white and black and a ruby-enameled golden cross pattée. The stars of Grand Officer and Grand Cross bear the inscription Talant de bien faire, membership to the Order is conferred by the President, either on his own initiative, upon the recommendation of his Ministers or following nomination by the Council of the Order. Honorific orders of Portugal List of the Grand Collar of the Order of Infante D. Henrique
22.
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
23.
Primeira Liga
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The Primeira Liga, also known as Liga NOS for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system. It is organised and supervised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional, as of the 2014–15 season, the Primeira Liga is contested by 18 teams, with the two lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda Liga and replaced by the top-two non-reserve teams from this division. Founded in 1934 as a league, it was officialised in 1938 and named Primeira Divisão until 1999. A total of 70 teams have competed in the Primeira Liga, among them, the Big Three – Benfica, Porto and Sporting CP – have won all but two Primeira Liga titles, the other winners are Belenenses and Boavista. The Primeira Liga has increased its reputation in the last few years, occupying as of February 2017, the 7th place of UEFAs league ranking. It broke into the top five for the first time in the 2011–12 season, passing the French Ligue 1, one of the big five European leagues. The Primeira Liga also reached a ranking of 4th according to IFFHSs 2011 ranking. Before the Portuguese football reform of 1938, a competition on a round-basis was already being held – the Primeira Liga. Then, with the reform, a round-robin basis competition was implemented as the most important of the calendar, from 1938 to 1999, the name Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão or just Primeira Divisão, was used. Porto won the edition of the new league championship and successfully defended the title in the next season. FPF came out with a decision to both clubs, expanding the championship to 10 teams and annulling the result from the repetition match. With this decision, FC Porto lost the Regional title and finished in 3rd, Leixões SC became the new regional champion, all 3 teams qualified for 1939–40 Primeira Divisão. In the 1941–42 season, it was decided to expand the championship from 8 to 10 teams to admit Braga FA, Porto finished the regional championship in third place again, which did not grant entry into the Primeira Liga. However, a second expand in the season was decided. After the 1945–46 season, the system based on regional championships was abandoned and adopted a pyramid system. The clubs in Primeira Divisão, Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão no longer had to play their district championships on the season as they had been doing since the first seasons of the Liga. When the Portuguese League for Professional Football took control of the two leagues in 1999, it was renamed Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Liga, or simply Primeira Liga. The Big Three is a nickname for the three most powerful clubs in Portugal
24.
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
25.
UEFA European Championship
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Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form UEFA Euro, prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations compete in a qualifying process. The championship winners earn the opportunity to compete in the following FIFA Confederations Cup, to date, Spain is the only team in history to have won consecutive titles, doing so in 2008 and 2012. It is the second most watched football tournament in the world after the FIFA World Cup, the Euro 2012 final was watched by a global audience of around 300 million. The most recent championship, hosted by France in 2016, was won by Portugal, in honour of Delaunay, the trophy awarded to the champions is named after him. The 1960 tournament, held in France, had four competing in the finals out of 17 that entered the competition. It was won by the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a final in Paris. Spain withdrew from its quarter-final match against the USSR because of two political protests, of the 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable absentees were England, the Netherlands, West Germany and Italy. The hosts beat the holders, the Soviet Union, 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The tournament format stayed the same for the 1968 tournament, hosted, for the first and only time a match was decided on a coin toss and the final went to a replay, after the match against Yugoslavia finished 1–1. More teams entered this tournament, a testament to its burgeoning popularity, Belgium hosted the 1972 tournament, which West Germany won, beating the USSR 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Müller and Herbert Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. This tournament would provide a taste of things to come, as the German side contained many of the key members of the 1974 FIFA World Cup Champions. The 1976 tournament in Yugoslavia was the last in which four teams took part in the final tournament. Czechoslovakia beat West Germany in the newly introduced penalty shootout, after seven successful conversions, Uli Hoeneß missed, leaving Czechoslovakian Antonín Panenka with the opportunity to score and win the tournament. An audacious chipped shot, described by UEFA as perhaps the most famous spot kick of all time secured the victory as Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties, the competition was expanded to eight teams in the 1980 tournament, again hosted by Italy. It involved a stage, with the winners of the groups going on to contest the final. West Germany won their second European title by beating Belgium 2–1, Horst Hrubesch scored early in the first half before René Vandereycken equalised for Belgium with a penalty in the second half. With two minutes remaining, Hrubesch headed the winner for West Germany from a Karl-Heinz Rummenigge corner, the format also changed, with the top two teams in each group going through to a semi-final stage, instead of the winners of each group going straight into the final
26.
UEFA Champions League
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The UEFA Champions League is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations and contested by top-division European clubs. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, the UEFA Champions League final is the most watched annual sporting event worldwide. The final of the 2012–13 tournament had the highest TV ratings to date, the pre-1992 competition was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champion club of each country. During the 1990s, the format was expanded, incorporating a round-robin group stage to include clubs that finished runner-up of some nations top-level league. Clubs that finish next-in-line in each top level league, having not qualified for the UEFA Champions League competition. In its present format, the UEFA Champions League begins in mid-July with three qualifying rounds and a play-off round. The 10 surviving teams enter the stage, joining 22 other teams qualified in advance. The 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four teams, the eight group winners and eight runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match in May. The winner of the UEFA Champions League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup, Real Madrid is the most successful club in the competitions history, having won the tournament 11 times, including its first five seasons. Spanish clubs have accumulated the highest number of victories, followed by England, the competition has been won by 22 different clubs,12 of which have won it more than once. Since the tournament changed name and structure in 1992, no club has managed consecutive wins, Milan were the last holders to defend their title. The reigning champions are Real Madrid, who secured their title in the competition after defeating Atlético Madrid on penalties following a 1–1 draw in the 2016 final. The first pan-European tournament was the Challenge Cup, a competition between clubs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Mitropa Cup, a competition modelled after the Challenge Cup, was created in 1927, an idea of Austrian Hugo Meisl, and played between Central European clubs. In 1930, the Coupe des Nations, the first attempt to create a cup for national clubs of Europe, was played and organised by Swiss club Servette. Held in Geneva, it brought together ten champions from across the continent, the tournament was won by Újpest of Hungary. Latin European nations came together to form the Latin Cup in 1949 and it was conceived in Paris in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs Cup. The first edition of the European Cup took place during the 1955–56 season, the first European Cup match took place on 4 September 1955, and ended in a 3–3 draw between Sporting CP and Partizan. The first goal in European Cup history was scored by João Baptista Martins of Sporting CP, the inaugural final took place at the Parc des Princes between Stade de Reims and Real Madrid
27.
Intercontinental Cup (football)
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The competition has since been replaced by the FIFA Club World Cup. From its formation in 1960 to 1979, the competition was contested over a two legged tie, with a playoff if necessary until 1968, and penalty kicks later. During the 1970s, European participation in the Intercontinental Cup became a question due to controversial events in the 1969 final. From 1980 until 2004, the competition was contested over a match held in Japan and sponsored by multinational automaker Toyota, which offered a secondary trophy. All the winning teams are regarded by mass media and footballs community as world champions. The first winner of the cup was Spanish side Real Madrid, the last winner was Portuguese side Porto, defeating Colombian side Once Caldas in a penalty shoot-out in 2004. The aforementioned final match of the 1957 Tournoi de Paris, as well as a Real Madrid C. F and it was the brainchild of UEFA president Henri Delaunay, who also helped Jules Rimet in the realization of the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930. Initially played over two legs, with a match if required in the early years, the competition had a rather turbulent existence. The first winners of the competition were Spanish club Real Madrid, Real Madrid managed to hold Uruguayan side Peñarol 0-0 in Montevideo and trounce the South Americans 5-1 in Madrid to win. In 1962 the tournament grew more in worldwide attention after it was swept through the football of a Santos team led by Pelé. Santos would successfully defend the title in 1963 after being pushed all the way by Milan, after each side won 4-2 at their respective home legs, a playoff match at the Maracanã saw Santos keep the title after a tight 1-0 victory. The competition had attracted the interest of other continents, the North and Central America condeferation, CONCACAF, had asked, unsuccessfully, to participate. Milans fierce rivals, Inter Milan, would go on to win the 1964 and 1965 editions, Peñarol gain revenge for their loss in 1960 by crushing Real Madrid 4-0 in aggregate in 1966. During this time, the competition became dogged by foul play, calendar problems, acts of brutality, even on the pitch, and boycotts tarnished its image, to the point of bringing into question the wisdom of organizing it at all. A fourth Celtic player was dismissed, but amid the chaos he got away with staying on. The following season, Argentine side Estudiantes de La Plata faced Englands Manchester United in which the return leg saw Estudiantes come out on top of a bad-tempered series, but it was the events of 1969 which damaged the competitions integrity. After a 3-0 win at San Siro, Milan went to Buenos Aires to play Estudiantes at La Bombonera, Estudiantes players booted balls at the Milan team as they warmed up and hot coffee was poured on the Italians as they emerged from the tunnel by Estudiantes fans. Estudiantes resorted to inflicting elbows and allegedly even needles at the Milanese team in order to intimidate them, pierino Prati was knocked unconscious and continued for a further 20 minutes despite suffering from a mild concussion
28.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
29.
Lisbon
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Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and it is continental Europes westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost areas of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education. It is one of the economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector. Humberto Delgado Airport serves over 20 million passengers annually, as of 2015, and the motorway network, the city is the 7th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan, with 1,740,000 tourists in 2009. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita, the city occupies 32nd place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinationals in the country are located in the Lisbon area and it is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, in 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbons status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. It has one of the warmest winters of any metropolis in Europe, the typical summer season lasts about four months, from June to September, although also in April temperatures sometimes reach around 25 °C. Although modern archaeological excavations show a Phoenician presence at this location since 1200 BC, another conjecture based on ancient hydronymy suggests that the name of the settlement derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus, Lisso or Lucio. Lisbons name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela and it was later referred to as Olisippo by Pliny the Elder and by the Greeks as Olissipo or Olissipona. The Indo-European Celts invaded in the 1st millennium BC, mixing with the Pre-Indo-European population and this indigenous settlement maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which would account for the recent findings of Phoenician pottery and other material objects
30.
Krasimir Balakov
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Krasimir Genchev Balakov is a Bulgarian former footballer turned manager. A former attacking midfielder, he was a key member of the Bulgarian national team finished fourth in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. After Hristo Stoichkov, he is considered the greatest Bulgarian footballer of his generation, though Sporting had a quality squad, Balakov only managed to win the 1994–95 Portuguese Cup during his time at the club. Today, fans still remember him as an exceptional player, in 1995, he transferred to Germanys VfB Stuttgart where he won two UEFA Intertoto Cups and a DFB-Pokal, before retiring in 2003. As an attacking midfielder Balakov formed an attacking partnership with strikers Fredi Bobic. The trio were known as the magic triangle and he was voted as Stuttgarts best player of all time. The year after he retired, Krasimir became assistant coach of the club he had just retired from and he stayed in this position for two years before deciding to become a player-manager at VFC Plauen, where he remained for just a short time. He had been appointed on 16 January 2006 as a manager of Grasshopper Club Zürich to replace Hanspeter Latour who left for 1, Balakov managed to win the Intertoto Cup thus qualified the club to the UEFA Cup for 2006–07 season. He had been appointed on 29 October 2007 as a manager of FC St. Gallen to replace Rolf Fringer, three days before the season ended, he was fired by the club management. In December 2008, he became manager of PFC Chernomorets Burgas in his homeland, taking over from Dimitar Dimitrov, after also having considered an offer to coach the national team of his country. On 6 December 2010, he was released from PFC Chernomorets Burgas after mutual consent, on 27 May 2011, it was announced that Balakov will take over the helm of Croatian club Hajduk Split. On 22 March 2012, Balakov was appointed the manager of 1 and he was sacked on 17 May 2012, after being unable to prevent Kaiserslauterns relegation to the 2. He subsequently continued his career as manager in his country, Balakov made 92 appearances for Bulgaria, between 1988 and 2003 and scored 16 goals. Other than the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he played for his country at Euro 1996. At age 37 he played in the qualifications for Euro 2004 to help his teammates qualify but retired from football before the final stage in Portugal
31.
Turin
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Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
32.
Serie A
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It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new league, the Lega Serie A, was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world, Serie A led the UEFA ranking from 1986 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1999. In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, the championship titles won prior to 1929 are officially recognised by FIGC with the same weighting as titles that were subsequently awarded. However, the 1945–46 season, when the league was played over two groups due to the ravages of WWII, is not statistically considered, even if its title is fully official. All the winning teams are recognised with the title of Campione dItalia, Juventus, Italys most successful club of the 20th century and the most successful Italian team, is tied for fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most official international titles. The club is also the one in the world to have won all possible official continental competitions. Milan is joint third club for international titles won in the world. Internazionale, following their achievements in the 2009–10 season, became the first Italian team to have achieved a treble, Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. For most of Serie As history, there were 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level, since 2004–05, however, there have been 20 clubs altogether. One season was played with 21 teams for political reasons, thus, in Italian football a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called the andata, each team plays once against each league opponent, since the 1994–95 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Since Italy is currently rated fourth in Europe in terms of club football ratings, teams finishing fourth and fifth qualify for the UEFA Europa League tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia, if both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top five teams in Serie A, the sixth-ranked team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot. The three lowest-placed teams are relegated to Serie B, any play-off was held after the end of regular season. The last championship playoff occurred in the 1963-64 season when Bologna, below is a list of Serie A clubs who have competed in the competition when it has been a league format. There are 66 teams that have taken part in 85 Serie A championships in a round that was played from the 1929–30 season until the 2016–17 season. The teams in bold compete in Serie A currently, Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season. Serie A, as it is structured today, began during the 1929–1930 season, from 1898 to 1922, the competition was organised into regional groups
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
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