1.
Spanish naming customs
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Spanish naming customs are historical traditions for naming children practised in Spain. According to these customs, a persons name consists of a name followed by two family names. The first surname is usually the fathers first surname, and the second the mothers first surname, in recent years, the order of the surnames can be reversed at birth if it is so decided by the parents. Currently in Spain, people bear a single or composite given name, a composite given name comprises two single names, for example Juan Pablo is considered not to be a first and a second forename, but a single composite forename. The two surnames refer to each of the parental families, traditionally, a persons first surname is the fathers first surname, and the second one is the mothers first surname. From 2013, if the parents of a child are unable to agree on order of surnames, the law also grants a person the option, upon reaching adulthood, of reversing the order of their surnames. Each surname can also be composite, the parts usually linked by the y or e. For example, a name might be Juan Pablo Fernández de Calderón García-Iglesias, consisting of a forename, a paternal surname. There are times when it is impossible, by inspection of a name, for example, the writer Sebastià Juan Arbó was alphabetised by the Library of Congress for many years under Arbó, assuming that Sebastiá and Juan were both given names. However, Juan was actually his first surname, to resolve questions like this, which typically involve very common names, one must consult the person involved, or legal documents. A man named José Antonio Gómez Iglesias would normally be addressed as either señor Gómez or señor Gómez Iglesias instead of señor Iglesias, because Gómez is his first surname. Furthermore, Mr. Gómez might be addressed as José Antonio, José, Pepe, Antonio, or Toño Jose, Joselito, Josito, Joselillo, Josico or Joselín, Antoñito, Tonín or Nono. Very formally, he could be addressed with an honorific as don José Antonio or don José, colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez is sometimes incorrectly referred to in English media as Mr. Márquez, when it should be Mr. García Márquez or, simply, Mr. García. It is not unusual, when the first surname is very common, for example, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is often called simply Zapatero, the name he inherited from his mothers family, since Rodríguez is a common surname and may be ambiguous. The same occurs with another former Spanish Socialist leader, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, with the poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca, as these peoples paternal names are very common, they are often called with their maternal names. It would nonetheless be a mistake to index José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero under Z as Zapatero, a practical option to spare an explanation is using a single surname composed of two separate words. Parents choose their childs name, which must be recorded in the Registro Civil to establish his or her legal identity. With few restrictions, parents can now choose any name, common sources of names are the parents taste, honouring a relative, the General Roman Calendar nomina, legislation in Spain under Franco legally limited cultural naming customs to only Christian and typical Spanish names
2.
Spain national football team
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The Spain national football team represents Spain in mens International association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Julen Lopetegui after Vicente del Bosque stepped down following Euro 2016, the Spanish side is commonly referred to as La Roja, La Furia Roja, La Furia Española or simply La Furia. Spain became a member of FIFA in 1904 even though the Spanish Football Federation was first established in 1909, Spains national team debuted in 1920. Since then, the Spanish national team has participated in a total of 14 of 20 FIFA World Cups and 9 of 14 UEFA European Championships. These three successive titles make them the national team so far with three consecutive wins of either the applicable continental championship or the World Cup. From 2008 to 2013, a span, the national team won FIFA Team of the Year. Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain went undefeated for a record-equalling 35 consecutive matches before their loss to the United States. The teams achievements have led many commentators, experts and former players to consider the 2010 and 2012 Spanish sides among the best ever international sides in world football. The first Spain national football team was constituted in 1920, with the objective of finding a team that would represent Spain at the Summer Olympics held in Belgium in that same year. Spain made their debut at the tournament on 28 August 1920 against Denmark, the Spanish managed to win that match by a scoreline of 1–0, eventually finishing with the silver medal. Spain qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 1934, defeating Brazil in their first game and losing in a replay to the hosts, the Spanish Civil War and World War II prevented Spain from playing any competitive matches between the 1934 World Cup and the 1950 editions qualifiers. At the 1950 finals in Brazil, they topped their group to progress to the final round, until 2010, this had been Spains highest finish in a FIFA World Cup finals, which had given them the name of the underachievers. Spain won its first major title when hosting the 1964 European Championship held in Spain. The victory would stand as Spains lone major title for 44 years, Spain was selected as host of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, reaching the second round, and four years later they reached the quarter-finals before a penalty shootout defeat to Belgium. Javier Clemente was appointed as Spains coach in 1992, leading them to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, had the official acknowledged the foul, Spain would have merited a penalty kick. In the 2002 World Cup, Spain won its three group matches, then defeated the Republic of Ireland on penalties in the second round. They faced co-hosts South Korea in the quarter-finals, losing in a shootout after having two goals called back for alleged infractions during regular and extra time, at UEFA Euro 2008, Spain won all their games in Group D. Italy were the opponents in the match, which Spain won 4–2 on penalties
3.
2018 FIFA World Cup
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The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the mens national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, the final tournament will involve 32 national teams, which include 31 teams determined through qualifying competitions and the automatically qualified host team. A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities, the final will take place on 15 July in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium. The winners will qualify for the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup, the bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. During the bidding process, the three remaining non-UEFA nations gradually withdrew from the 2018 bids, and the UEFA nations were thus ruled out of the 2022 bid. As such, there were four bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium. The twenty-two-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments, Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Spain/Portugal bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third, Englands bid to host its second tournament fell at the first hurdle. For the branding, a typeface called Dusha was created by Portuguese design agency Brandia Central in 2014, apart from Russia, who qualified automatically for the tournament as the hosts, all FIFA member associations were eligible to enter the qualification process. On 12 March 2015, prior to the start of qualification, Indonesia were suspended and then expelled before playing a single qualifying match, as part of punishment for government interference in the Football Association of Indonesia. The qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, qualifying matches for AFC and CONCACAF started in March 2015, prior to the qualifying draw. The allocation of slots for each confederation was decided to be unchanged by the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015 in Zürich, on 13 May 2016, Gibraltar and Kosovo became FIFA members and eligible for the World Cup qualifying. In October 2013, UEFA President Michel Platini proposed that the World Cup finals should be expanded from 32 to 40 teams starting from 2018, the format would have been the same, but in groups of five instead of four. This was in response to FIFA President Sepp Blatters comments that Africa and Asia deserved more spots in the World Cup finals at the expense of European and South American teams. Russia proposed the following host cities, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg. All the cities are in or just outside European Russia to reduce time for the teams in the huge country. The bid evaluation report stated, The Russian bid proposes 13 host cities and 16 stadiums, three of the 16 stadiums would be renovated, and 13 would be newly constructed. In October 2011 Russia decreased the number of stadiums from 16 to 14, the final choice of host cities was announced on 29 September 2012
4.
Sabadell
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Sabadell is the second largest city in the comarca of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the comarca, on the River Ripoll,20 km north of Barcelona, Sabadell is located 190 m above sea level and is the co-capital of the comarca. Sabadell pioneered the Industrial Revolution in Catalonia with its textile mills, thus, in the mid 19th century, it became the most important wool city in Spain, being nicknamed the Catalan Manchester. Even today many mills from that period can still be seen, nowadays Sabadell is basically a commercial and industrial city, there are no significant agricultural activities. Sabadell is an important communications point, a railroad line crosses the city and another one terminates in the city. In Roman times a village called Arragone existed near where the church of La Salut now stands. This grew into the town called Arraona or Arrahona in the Middle Ages, another little village was built just on the other side of the river. This second village, called Sabadell, located on a plain, began to grow, Sabadell was enclosed by a wall, but due to population growth in the 16th century, some houses were built outside the wall. At that time the first textile industries appeared in the town, the woolen industry grew over the next centuries, and in 1800 the towns population was about 2000 people. The 19th century brought two important developments to the town, in 1856 the railroad arrived, and in 1877 the town was dubbed a city, in the 1897 census the population of the city was 23,044 people. The city had become the most important producer of clothing in Spain. In the early 20th century and alongside Terrassa, Sabadell was the textile city par excellence, the population was multiplied by eight, its industry boosted, particularly textiles and metals, and its economy was modernized in the service sector. Nowadays, still there are popular sayings, Sabadell mala pell. The victory of the Fascist faction in the war was a step backwards for the city, industries needed workers, and many people came from Andalusia, Murcia, Extremadura, Castile and other parts of Spain to work in the textile and metal industry. Again, a new workers’ and Catalanist movement emerged, this time against Francisco Franco’s regime, the 1973 oil crisis and Francos death in 1975 meant an important change in Spain and, of course, in Sabadell. The economic crisis compelled the city to diversify its economic activities, new commercial and leisure areas appeared next to the traditional industries, leading to important economic development for the city. It borders with Castellar del Vallès, Sentmenat, Polinyà, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barberà del Vallès, Badia del Vallès, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Sant Quirze del Vallès and Terrassa. The city covers an area of 37.79 km2 and its density is 5,337. 57/km2 as of 2007
5.
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
6.
FC Barcelona
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Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the second most valuable team in the world, worth $3.56 billion. The official Barcelona anthem is the Cant del Barça, written by Jaume Picas, Barcelona was ranked first in the IFFHS Club World Ranking for 1997,2009,2011,2012 and 2015 and currently occupies the third position on the UEFA club rankings. The club has a rivalry with Real Madrid, matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico. Barcelona is one of the most supported teams in the world, Barcelonas players have won a record number of Ballon dOr awards, as well as a record number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao. In 2011, the club became European champions again and won five trophies, by winning their fifth Champions League trophy on 6 June 2015, Barcelona became the first European club in history to achieve the continental treble twice. On 22 October 1899, Hans Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club, FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya and he said in a meeting, Barcelona cannot die and must not die. If there is nobody who is going to try, then I will assume the responsibility of running the club now on. Club president on five occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium. On 14 March 1909, the moved into the Camp de la Indústria. To celebrate their new surroundings, the club conducted a logo contest the following year, Carles Comamala won the contest, and his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears – with some minor changes – as of the present day. The contest was the most prestigious in that era, from the inaugural year in 1910 to 1913, Barcelona won the competition four consecutive times. Carles Comamala played a part of the four-time champion, managing the side along with Amechazurra. The latter became the clubs first full-time coach in 1917, the last edition was held in 1914 in the city of Barcelona, which local rivals Espanyol won
7.
UE Lleida
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Unió Esportiva Lleida was a Spanish football team based in Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. It was founded as Lérida Balompié-AEM on 30 October 1939, and became Unión Deportiva Lérida in 1947 and it held home matches at Camp d´Esports, with a 13, 500-seat capacity. The soul of the club was reformed as Lleida Esportiu, Lleida adopted the Catalan version of its name in 1978. The club spent most of its history in the divisions, but in the early 1950s and early 1990s. During the 1990s the club was managed by Mané, Juande Ramos and Víctor Muñoz, from 1987 the club organised its own summer trophy, the Ciutat de Lleida Trophy. Football was first introduced to Lleida in 1910 by Manuel Azoz, among the earliest clubs in the city were Montserrat, founded in 1913 by Marist Brothers, and FC Lleida founded in 1914. Both played their games in the district of Pla d’en Gardeny. In 1915, the Associació Cultural Lleidatana was founded by Catalan nationalists, by 1917 two other clubs, Club Colonial and Athlètic Metalúrgic, began playing at the Camp de Mart. In 1918 FC Joventut was formed by left-wing Catalan republicans and during the 1920s they emerged as the city’s strongest side, in 1919, Lleida became the first club to use the Camp d´Esports, but this team was dissolved in 1927. Other clubs of the 1920s included AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida, after the Spanish Civil War, former members of AE Lleida Calaveres, Lleida Sport Club and AEM Lleida formed Lérida Balompié-AEM. After playing in regional leagues for four seasons they made their debut in the division in 1943. The following year, the split into two separate clubs, Lérida Balompié and AEM. Meanwhile, in 1941 Spanish nationalists formed CD Leridano, and a rivalry developed between that club and Lérida Balompié. On March 9,1947, these two merged to become Unión Deportiva Lérida. The new team retained both the blue and white colours and club shield of Lérida Balompié, the first president of the new club being Eduard Estadella. UD Lérida enjoyed a golden age in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in 1949, they won the third-tier and, the following season, 1949–50, they made their debut in Segunda División. The club achieved their biggest league in history in this season, 9–2 win against CD Lugo, as it also finished runner-up in the league, which meant promotion to the topflight for the first time ever. However, during its season, it was heavily defeated on several occasions, 9–0 to CD Málaga, 10–1 to Deportivo de La Coruña and 10–0 to Athletic Bilbao
8.
FC Barcelona B
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Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team based in Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1970 as FC Barcelona Atlètic, it is the team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in Spain play in the league system as the senior team. They must play at least one level below their main side and they also cannot play in the Copa del Rey. Founded on 1 August 1934 as Societat Esportiva Industrial Espanya, the club was originally the team of the factory with the same name. Initially, Industrial played in the regional leagues but, in 1950, it was promoted to Tercera División. In 1953 the club finished as runners-up in both the league and the promotion play-off but, being a club of Barcelona, it was unable to move up a division. After winning another promotion play-off in 1956, Espanya Industrial became independent of FC Barcelona and was renamed Club Deportivo Condal, the club wore blue shirts with two white diagonals stripes. Condal competed once in La Liga, in the 1956–57 season, being relegated as 16th, in 1968 the club rejoined the Barcelona family as its reserve team, and adopted the blaugrana colours. In 1970, Barcelona president Agustí Montal decided to merge Condal with another club, Atlètic Catalunya. Atlètic was founded in 1965 as a result of the merger of two teams, UE Catalunya de Les Corts and CD Fabra Coats. Under the new denomination the B-team played a total of ten seasons in the second level, at the end of 1988–89 the side returned to Segunda División B – the new third level created in 1977 – after ranking 17th. In 1990 the team was renamed Barcelona B, but club president Joan Laporta changed the back to Barcelona Atlètic in 2008. Two years later, his successor Sandro Rosell returned to the previous denomination, former club player Luis Enrique succeeded Pep Guardiola as team manager in the summer of 2008, as the latter was appointed main squad coach. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, bold denotes players still playing in Barcelona B On 23 September 1982 the Mini Estadi was inaugurated by Barcelona president Josep Lluís Núñez. Next to the ground there are two training pitches, pitch 3 and 4, which have artificial turf – the latter has a size of 100 x 70 metres and has seating for 1,000 spectators. Mini Estadi has also hosted games for the Andorra national football team, inaugurated on 26 September 1966, La Masia is the name given to Barcelonas training facilities located near the Camp Nou in the Les Corts district of Barcelona. It is an ancient country residence built in 1702 and once Camp Nou was inaugurated in 1957, in 1979, La Masia became the residence of young players from outside of the city
9.
Spain national under-21 football team
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The Spain national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team, nicknamed La Rojita, competes in the biennial UEFA European Under-21 Championship, following the realignment of UEFAs youth competitions in 1976, the Spanish under-21 team was formed. Spain has a record, having consecutively won the 2011 and 2013 Championships. Only Italy with five titles has won the more often than Spain. Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, for this reason, Spains brief record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown, though in actuality, Spain played only three competitive U-23 matches. The first was in the under-23 Challenge, which they lost, Spains youth development programs has been challenging the South American dominance in the FIFA U-17 World Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In fact,20 of the Spanish 23-man squad that won the Euro 2008 came through the ranks of the youth teams, *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Gold background color indicates first-place finish, silver background color indicates second-place finish. Bronze background color indicates third-place finish, red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil. In addition to team victories, Spanish players have won awards at UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. Note, Club represents the permanent clubs during the time in the Under-21s. Note, Club represents the permanent clubs during the time in the Under-21s. Caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2017 The following players were named in the squad for matches against Denmark and Italy. Caps and goals as of 27 March 2017, player those had been capped in senior level will be shown in italic. The following players have called up for the team in the last twelve months. com Europe – U-23/U-21 Tournaments at rsssf
10.
Catalonia national football team
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The Catalonia national football team is the official football team of the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia. It is organised by the Catalan Football Federation, the team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI. Catalonia is not affiliated with either FIFA or UEFA and is not allowed to participate in either the FIFA World Cup or the European Championship. Catalan players are full Spanish citizens who are eligible to play for Spain, since 1904, the team has played nearly 200 games against various national, regional and club teams. International friendly games have been played regularly since 1997. Among the teams they have played are Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina, recent friendly games include a 4–2 win over Argentina at Camp Nou in December 2009, and a 4–0 win over Honduras in December 2010. Catalonia national football team made their debut in 1904, initially they played against various club teams such as Club Espanyol, Madrid CF, FC Barcelona and Irún Sporting Club. On 2 February 1912, they made their international debut against France. The team was, Reñé, Irízar, Amecharruza, Alemany, Peris, Armet, Forns, Rodríguez, Comamala, Morales, on 1 December 1912, the two teams met again in Barcelona and this time the Catalans won 1–0. In 1914, the Catalan XI played the Basque Country XI for the first time, the first recorded game between the two teams took place on 3 January 1915 at San Mamés Stadium, the Catalan XI lost 6–1. Between 1915 and 1926, the Catalan XI competed in an inter-regional competition and they finished as runners-up in 1915 and won the Copa Príncep dAstúries for the first time in 1916, beating a Castile XI 8–5 over two games. They then retained the trophy in 1917 after beating the Castile XI 2–0, during the 1920s, a team featuring Josep Samitier, Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarba and Ricardo Zamora helped the Catalan XI win the competition in 1922,1924 and 1926. The last competition in 1926 was a play-off between the two teams who had won the competition the most, the Catalans beat an Asturias XI 6–3 over two games. As well as playing other teams from throughout Spain and Europe. On 13 March 1924, at the Camp de Les Corts, the Spain XI included Josep Samitier and Ricardo Zamora, two of the best Catalan players of the era, while the Catalan XI featured Paulino Alcántara and Sagibarba. Samiter scored twice as the Spain XI won 7–0, on 13 December 1925, Samitier, Zamora, Alcántara and Sagibarba were on the same side as the Catalan XI beat Czechoslovakia at the Estadi de Sarrià. After conceding a penalty and going down 1–0, Sagibarba then equalised with another penalty before Samitier clinched a 2–1 win, on 7 July 1926, the Catalan XI played Czechoslovakia in Prague. Despite Samitier putting the Catalans 1–0 ahead, they eventually lost 2–1, during the 1930s, Catalonia continued playing friendly games against an array of teams,1934 was a particularly good year
11.
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
12.
2010 FIFA World Cup
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The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for mens national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010, the matches were played in 10 stadiums in nine host cities around the country, with the final played at the Soccer City stadium in South Africas largest city, Johannesburg. Thirty-two teams were selected for participation via a qualification tournament that began in August 2007. In the first round of the tournament finals, the competed in round-robin groups of four teams for points. These 16 teams advanced to the stage, where three rounds of play decided which teams would participate in the final. In the final, Spain, the European champions, defeated the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time, as a result of their win, Spain represented the World in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Host nation South Africa,2006 champions Italy and 2006 runners-up France were all eliminated in the first round of the tournament and it was the first time that the hosts had been eliminated in the first round. New Zealand, with their three draws, were the undefeated team in the tournament, but they were also eliminated in the first round. Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a policy, abandoned in 2007. Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libyas solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements. South Africa, which had failed to win the right to host the 2006 event, was thus awarded the right to host the tournament. Having successfully campaigned for South Africa to be granted host status, during 2006 and 2007, rumours circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country. Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africas preparations. Blazer stated, I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup. On 6 June 2015, The Daily Telegraph reported that Morocco had actually won the vote, the qualification draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban on 25 November 2007. As the host nation, South Africa qualified automatically for the tournament, as happened in the previous tournament, the defending champions were not given an automatic berth, and Italy had to participate in qualification. With a pool of entrants comprising 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams at the time, some controversies arose during the qualifications
13.
UEFA Euro 2012
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The 2012 UEFA European Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for mens national football teams organised by UEFA. Poland and Ukraines bid was chosen by UEFAs Executive Committee on 18 April 2007, the two host teams qualified automatically while the remaining 14 finalists were decided through a qualifying competition, featuring 51 teams, from August 2010 to November 2011. This was the last European Championship to employ the 16-team finals format in use since 1996, from Euro 2016 onward, Euro 2012 was played at eight venues, four in each host country. Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and the hosts invested heavily in improving infrastructure such as railways, Euro 2012 set attendance records for the 16-team format, for the highest aggregate attendance and average per game. Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and also three major tournaments. Spain had already gained entry to the 2013 Confederations Cup by winning the 2010 World Cup, as at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, both 2012 host nations were eliminated in the group stage. The hosting of the event was contested by five bids representing seven countries, Croatia–Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland–Ukraine. In November 2005, after a consideration of the bid data by UEFA. In May 2006, this was followed by a round of the selection process. The final decision was due to be announced on 8 December 2006 in Nyon, on 18 April 2007, the Poland–Ukraine bid was chosen by a vote of the UEFA Executive Committee, at a meeting in Cardiff. Poland–Ukraine became the successful joint bid for the European Championship, after those of Belgium–Netherlands. Their bid received a majority of votes, and was therefore announced the winner. There were some alterations from the initial bid plan, regarding the venues. The draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying competition took place in Warsaw on 7 February 2010, fifty-one teams entered to compete for the fourteen remaining places in the finals, alongside co-hosts Poland and Ukraine. The teams were divided into nine groups, with the using the new UEFA national team coefficient for the first time in order to determine the seedings. As defending champions, Spain was automatically top seeded, the qualifying process began in August 2010 and concluded in November 2011. At the conclusion of the group stage in October 2011. The remaining eight-second placed teams contested two-legged play-offs, and the four qualified for the finals
14.
FIFA World Cup
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The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America
15.
UEFA Euro 2016
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It was held in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016. Spain were the defending champions, having won the 2008 and 2012 tournaments. Portugal won the tournament for the first time, following a 1–0 victory after extra time over the host team, France, for the first time, the European Championship final tournament was contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format used since 1996. Under the new format, the finalists contested a group consisting of six groups of four teams. France was chosen as the host nation on 28 May 2010, after a process in which they beat Italy. The matches were played in ten stadiums in ten cities, Bordeaux, Lens, Lille Métropole, Décines-Charpieu, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Étienne and it was the third time that France hosted the finals, after the inaugural tournament in 1960 and the 1984 finals. As the winners, Portugal earned the right to compete at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, four bids came before the deadline on 9 March 2009. France, Italy and Turkey put in single bids while Norway, Norway and Sweden eventually withdrew their bid in December 2009. The host was selected on 28 May 2010, Round 1, Each of the thirteen members of the UEFA Executive Committee ranked the 3 bids first, second, and third. First place ranking received 5 points, second place 2 points, Executive members from the countries bidding were not allowed to vote. Round 2, The same thirteen-member committee voted for either of the two finalists, the qualifying draw took place at the Palais des Congrès Acropolis in Nice, on 23 February 2014, with the first matches being played in September 2014. A total of 53 teams competed for 23 places in the tournament to join France. Gibraltar competed in a European Championship qualifying for the first time since their affiliation to UEFA in 2013, the seeding pots were formed on the basis of the UEFA national team coefficients, with the Euro 2012 champions Spain and hosts France automatically top seeded. The 53 national sides were drawn into eight groups of six teams, the group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed team qualify directly for the final tournament. The remaining eight third-placed teams contested two-legged play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers, in March 2012, Gianni Infantino, the UEFA General Secretary at the time, stated that UEFA would review the qualification competition to ensure that it was not boring. In May 2013, Platini confirmed a similar qualifying format would be discussed during the September 2013 UEFA executive committee meeting in Dubrovnik. Thirteen of the sixteen teams qualified for Euro 2012 qualified again for the 2016 final tournament. Romania, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland all returned after missing out in 2012, with the Austrians qualifying for just their second final Euro tournament, five teams secured their first-ever qualification to a UEFA European Championship final tournament, Albania, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Wales
16.
Province of Barcelona
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Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, the capital of the province is the city of Barcelona, and the provincial council is based in the Casa Serra on the Rambla de Catalunya in that city. See also List of municipalities in Barcelona, since the division by provinces in Spain and the division by comarques in Catalonia do not completely agree, the term comarques of the province of Barcelona would not be entirely correct
17.
Pep Guardiola
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Josep Pep Guardiola Sala is a Spanish professional football coach and former player who is the current manager of Manchester City. Regarded as one of the best players of his generation, Guardiola was a creative and technically gifted midfielder who usually played in a deep-lying playmaking role as a defensive midfielder. He spent the majority of his career with Barcelona, forming a part of Johan Cruyffs Dream Team that won the clubs first European Cup in 1992 and he later captained the team from 1997 to 2001. He then played for Brescia and Roma in Italy, Al-Ahli in Qatar, Guardiola was capped 47 times for Spain, winning the Olympic Gold Medal in 1992, and later appeared at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. He also played matches for Catalonia. After retiring as a player, Guardiola became coach of Barcelona B, in his first season as manager, Guardiola guided Barcelona to a treble, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. In doing so, Guardiola became the youngest manager to win the Champions League, the following season, Guardiola led Barcelona to win the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and a second La Liga title. In 2011, after leading Barcelona to another La Liga, Supercopa de España and UEFA Champions League, Guardiola was awarded the Catalan Parliaments Gold Medal and that same year, Guardiola was also named the FIFA World Coach of the Year. In Guardiolas fourth season, he won the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, on 30 June 2012, Guardiola announced his departure from Barcelona. After a sabbatical period, Bayern Munich announced on 16 January 2013 that Guardiola would join the club as manager for the 2013–14 season following the retirement of Jupp Heynckes. In his first season at the club, Guardiola won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Super Cup and he finished his term at Bayern with seven trophies won, winning the Bundesliga all three seasons he was there, including two domestic doubles. As a manager, Guardiola won 14 trophies in the first four years of his managing career and he is one of the most successful managers in the world and is considered by a number of players, managers and commentators to be one of the best managers in the world. Born in Santpedor, Barcelona, Catalonia, Guardiola joined La Masia at the age of 13 and rose through the ranks at the academy of Barcelona for six years. As Phil Ball writes in Morbo, In his first week at the club, Johan Cruyff turned up unannounced at the Mini stadium, a venue just down the road from Camp Nou used by the youth and B teams. Just before half-time he wandered into the dug-out and asked Charly Rexach, the team manager at the time. Guardiola – good lad came the reply, Cruyff ignored the comment and told Rexach to move him into the middle for the second half, to play as pivot. It was a position to adapt to and one not used by many teams in Spain at the time. Guardiola adjusted immediately, as Cruyff had suspected he would, Johan Cruyff utilised the young midfielder in the absence of the suspended Guillermo Amor
18.
Substitute (association football)
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In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is performing poorly, unlike some sports, a player who has been substituted during a match may take no further part in it. Most competitions only allow each team to make a maximum of three substitutions during a game, although more substitutions are permitted in non-competitive fixtures such as friendlies. A fourth substitution in extra time is currently being trialled at several tournaments over a two-year period. Each team nominates a number of players who may be used as substitutes, these players typically sit in the area with the coaches. A player who is noted for making appearances, or scoring important goals. The origin of football substitutes goes back to at least the early 1860s as part of English public school football games, the original use of the term substitute in football was to describe the replacement of players who failed to turn up for matches. The substitution of absent players happened as early as the 1850s, the first use of a substitute in international football was on 15 April 1889, in the match between Wales and Scotland at Wrexham. Waless original goalkeeper, Jim Trainer, failed to arrive, local amateur player Alf Pugh started the match and played for some 20 minutes until the arrival of Sam Gillam, however, the use of substitutes in finals matches was not allowed until the 1970 tournament. The number of substitutes usable in a match has increased from zero to one. Substitutions during matches in the English Football League were first permitted in the 1965–66 season, during the first two seasons after the law was introduced, each side was permitted only one substitution during a game. Moreover, the substitute could only replace an injured player, from the 1967–68 season, this rule was relaxed to allow substitutions for tactical reasons. On the same day, Bobby Knox became the first ever substitute to score a goal when he scored for Barrow against Wrexham. Archie Gemmill of St Mirren was the first substitute to come on in a Scottish first-class match, the first official substitute in a Scottish League match was Paul Conn for Queens Park vs Albion Rovers in a Division 2 match on 24 August 1966. In England, the Premier League increased the number of players on the bench to five in 1996, according to the Laws of the Game, A player may only be substituted during a stoppage in play and with the permission of the referee. The incoming player may enter the field at the half-way line. Failure to comply with these provisions may be punished by a caution, a player that has been substituted may take no further part in a match, except where return substitutions are permitted. Unused substitutes still on the bench, as well as players who have been already substituted and these are liable for misconduct, though cannot be said to have committed a foul
19.
La Liga
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The Primera División, commonly known as La Liga and as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. A total of 60 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception, nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 24 times. Real Madrid dominated the championship from the 1950s through the 1980s, from the 1990s onwards, Barcelona and Real Madrid both dominated, though La Liga also saw other champions, including Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de La Coruña. In more recent years, Atlético Madrid has joined a coalition of now three teams dominating La Liga alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona. Its clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup titles, and its players have accumulated the highest number of Ballon dOr awards. La Liga is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format, during the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss, teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion. A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División, the top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The first, second, and third placed teams enter the group stage. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, if both teams in the cup final finish in the top six, an additional berth in the Europa League is given to the team that finishes in seventh. In April 1927, José María Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up, only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933, in 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won their only title to date. Primera División was suspended during the Spanish Civil War, in 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on 28 September 2007, Barcelona requested the RFEF to recognise that title as a Liga title and this action was taken after RFEF was asked to recognise Levante FCs Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy. Nevertheless, the body of Spanish football has not made an outright decision yet
20.
Racing de Santander
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Real Racing Club de Santander, S. A. D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913 it plays in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, Racing de Santander played its first match on 23 February 1913, losing 1–2 to neighbouring Strong. In 1950 the Cantabrians returned to the top flight after a ten-year absence, during the period of Francoist Spain, the club was renamed Real Santander in 1941, because of the prohibition of non-Spanish names. The name was restored in 1973 as the returned to the first division one year after nearly relegating. Racing de Santander was immediately relegated, going on to spend the following years bouncing between divisions one and two, also being crowned champions in Segunda División B in 1991. Veteran Quique Setién returned to his club the following year, helping it return to the top flight and scoring in the 1994–95 campaign against FC Barcelona. In the 2000s Racing only played one season in the second division, the 2011–12 season brought with it three different managers, and the side returned to the second level after one full decade in the top division. At the end of the campaign, Racing again finished in 20th position and suffered relegation, also being immersed in a severe institutional. On 27 January 2014 Racings players, citing several months of wages, announced that they would not play their upcoming Cup match unless the clubs president. Three days later, prior to the leg against Real Sociedad and after a 1–3 loss in the first match, Racing players gathered at the centre circle immediately after kick-off. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality, note, this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status. Racing de Santander B – Racings B team Official website Futbolme team profile BDFutbol team profile Club & Stadium History at Estadios de España
21.
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
22.
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
23.
St. Jakob-Park
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St. Jakob Park is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel, Joggeli, as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats. The capacity was increased to 42,500 for Euro 2008, after the Euro 2008 a number of seats were removed, thus creating more space between them. The capacity was reduced to 38,512 for Swiss Super League matches or 37,500 seats for international matches The maximum capacity for concerts is 60,000. The stadium is named after the village of St. Jakob an der Birs, the name Joggeli is the diminutive of Jakob in the local dialect, making it the equivalent of Jake. The stadium is divided into four blocks, A, B, C and D, each block covering one side of the stadium. St. Jakob Park is a modern stadium, construction started on 13 December 1998. The re-opening game took place 15 March 2001, the Genossenschaft S. J. P officially owns the stadium, while the stadium itself is managed by Basel United. The stadium cost around CHF220 million to build, within the stadium, there are 32 shops on three different floors, as well as two restaurants. The stadium has parking spaces for 680 cars on two different floors, the stadium can be reached either by bus, tram or train. The stadium has been awarded 4 stars by UEFA, which is the highest number of stars that can be awarded to a stadium of that size, in 2006, there was a riot after a match between FC Basel and FC Zürich. See 2006 Basel Hooligan Incident for more details, for Euro 2008, the St. Jakob Park hosted 6 games –3 group games, two quarter-finals and one semi-final. Torrential rain during the June 11 match left the pitch in such a state that the entire grass surface was re-laid. The stadium hosted the 2016 final of the Europa League, list of football stadiums in Switzerland Basel United Website FC Basel Website Saint Jakob and Me from JustCantBeatThat. com St. Jakob-Park
24.
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
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Football Club Shakhtar is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Starting in 2014 the club has played out of Lviv before moving early 2017 to Kharkiv with its headquarters in Kyiv, Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first club in independent Ukraine to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, FC Shakhtar Donetsk is one of two Ukrainian clubs, the other one is Dynamo Kyiv, who have won a major UEFA competition. The club formerly played its matches at the Donbass Arena, however, due to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Following the winter break of the 2016–17 season the club moved to the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv early 2017, Shakhtar Donetsk is Ukraines most popular football club. The club is the favorite of football fans in the Donbas. The club draws its history from the start of the Soviet football league competitions and is one of the oldest clubs in Ukraine. The club was a member of the Soviet Voluntary Sports Society of Shakhtyor, having connections with other Soviet teams from Karaganda, Soligorsk, among others. In the late Soviet period, Shakhtar was considered a tough mid-table club of the Soviet Top League, the team has played under the following names, Stakhanovets, Shakhtyor, and FC Shakhtar. The first team was based upon two other teams, the participants of the All-Ukrainian Spartakiads, Dynamo Horlivka and Dynamo Stalino. The first game was unofficial against Dynamo Odessa and took place on 12 May 1936 at Balitsky Stadium in Horlivka, the team lost it 3–2 after scoring the first goal. Its first official game with Dynamo Kazan was even more disappointing, nonetheless, the selective job conducted constructively by the clubs administration allowed the club to compete successfully at the top level by the end of the 1930s. During the war championship of 1941, which was interrupted unexpectedly, in the last game of that championship, played on 24 June, two days after the start of the Great Patriotic War, which they lost at home to Traktor Stalingrad. The All-Union coal mining society of Stakhanovite had changed its name in July 1946 to Shakhtyor, in 1950, Viktor Fomin was named Ukrainian Footballer of the Year, despite the club finishing only 11th in the league. The first success for the team was in 1951, when it achieved third place in the USSR Championship, in 1954, Shakhtar under Ponomarev won the Class B League, thus sealing a return to the top league. In 1958, the players of the club received less yellow and red cards then any other team in the championship, in the 1960s, Shakhtar, under Oleg Oshenkov’s coaching, were three-time USSR Cup finalists, winning it twice in 1961 and 1962. Among the players playing for the club then where defenders Viacheslav Aliabiev, the club was nicknamed The Cup Team due to Shakhtar’s success in vying for the trophy every year. The Miners’ more notable achievements, however, occurred later from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, at the end of the season, Shakhtar received the Progress Cup for making the biggest progress from previous season in the league
25.
Athletic Bilbao
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Athletic Club, also commonly known as Athletic Bilbao, is a professional football club, based in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. They are known as Los Leones because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés, mammes was a semi-legendary early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. Mammes pacified the lions and was made a saint. The club is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never relegated from the top division. Athletic have won La Liga on eight occasions, fourth most in the history of the league, in the table of Copa del Rey titles, Athletic is second only to Barcelona, having won it 24 times. The club also has one of the most successful teams in Spain. The club is known for its policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks. Since its foundation, Athletic has played exclusively with players meeting the criteria to be deemed as Basque players and this can be seen as a unique case in European football, it has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty, Athletic is one of only three professional clubs in Spain in La Liga that is not a sports corporation, it is owned and operated by its club members. Athletics main rivals are Real Sociedad, against whom it plays the Basque derby, Football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups of players, both with British connections, British steel and shipyard workers and Basque students returning from schools in Britain. In the late 19th century, Bilbao was a port of an important industrial area with iron mines. It was the force of the Spanish economy and as a result attracted many migrant workers. Among them were miners from the north-east of England, and shipyard workers from Southampton, Portsmouth, the British workers brought with them the game of football. In the early 1890s, these workers came together and formed Bilbao Football Club, meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes had made the opposite journey and went to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce. While in the United Kingdom, these developed a interest in football. In 1898, students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois founded the Athletic Club, in 1901, a meeting was held in the Café García, which established more formal rules and regulations. In 1902, the two Bilbao clubs formed a team, known as Bizcaya, in the first Copa del Rey. They returned with the trophy after defeating Barcelona in the final and this would lead to the eventual merger of the two clubs as Athletic Club in 1903
26.
2009 UEFA Champions League Final
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The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, the match was won by Barcelona of Spain, who beat Englands Manchester United 2–0. The match was refereed by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca and this was Barcelonas third victory in the competition,17 years after they first won the European Cup in 1992. Manchester United went into the match as the defending champions. Manchester United also sought to be the first team to retain the European Cup since Milan in 1990 and it was the fifth year in a row in which the final involved at least one English team. The Stadio Olimpico had hosted three previous Champions League finals, following the 1977,1984 and 1996 matches, despite winning the Champions League final, Barcelona won €8 million less prize money from the tournament than Manchester United. Barcelona and Manchester United had previously faced each other nine times in European competitions, of those nine matches, Manchester United had recorded three wins to Barcelonas two, with the remaining four matches finishing in draws. The only time that the two met in a final came in 1991, when they contested the 1991 Cup Winners Cup final. That result marked Manchester Uniteds biggest win over Barcelona, Barcelonas biggest win was a 4–0 home victory in the stage of the 1994–95 Champions League. The most recent meeting between the teams came in the semi-finals of the 2007–08 Champions League, when United held Barcelona to a 0–0 draw at the Camp Nou before beating them 1–0 at Old Trafford. Despite their record against Manchester United, Barcelona had a winning record against English clubs, having won 20. Manchester United, on the hand, had a losing record against Spanish teams, they had lost 11. Both teams had won the UEFA Champions League before, Manchester United had three titles, while Barcelona had two, the most recent of these had come only the season before, when Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Prior to 2009, unlike Barcelona, Manchester United had never lost a European Cup final, by virtue of their third-place finish in the 2007–08 Primera División, Barcelona entered the 2008–09 Champions League at the third qualifying round. Based on their UEFA coefficient, Barcelona were seeded for the qualifying round draw. A 4–0 win in the first leg at the Camp Nou made defeat in the second leg immaterial, however, they could still draw Bayern Munich, Roma or Juventus. In the end, Barcelona were drawn into Group C against Sporting CP, Basel, the draw eventually paired them with Olympique Lyonnais and, as group winners, they were given the right to play the second leg at home. They needed a win or a draw to guarantee passage
27.
Manchester United F.C.
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Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Nicknamed the Red Devils, the club was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to its current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. Manchester United have won a record 20 League Titles, a joint-record 12 FA Cups,5 League Cups, the club has also won three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the became the first in the history of English football to achieve the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup. The 1958 Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players, in 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United became the first English football club to win the European Cup. Alex Ferguson won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles,5 FA Cups and 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, José Mourinho is the clubs current manager, having been appointed on 27 May 2016. As of June 2015, it is the worlds most valuable football brand and it is one of the most widely supported football teams in the world. In August 2012, Manchester United made a public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The club holds several rivalries, most notably with Liverpool, Manchester City and Leeds United, Manchester United was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. By 1888, the club had become a member of The Combination. Following the leagues dissolution after only one season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance and this resulted in the club starting the 1892–93 season in the First Division, by which time it had become independent of the railway company and dropped the LYR from its name. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the Second Division, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 – equivalent to £260,000 in 2017 – the club was served with a winding-up order. The following season began with victory in the first ever Charity Shield, Manchester United won the First Division for the second time in 1911, but at the end of the following season, Mangnall left the club to join Manchester City. In 1922, three years after the resumption of football following the First World War, the club was relegated to the Second Division, relegated again in 1931, Manchester United became a yo-yo club, achieving its all-time lowest position of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934. Gibson, who, in December 1931, invested £2,000, in the 1938–39 season, the last year of football before the Second World War, the club finished 14th in the First Division. Busby led the team to second-place league finishes in 1947,1948 and 1949, in 1952, the club won the First Division, its first league title for 41 years. With an average age of 22, the title winning side of 1956 were labelled the Busby Babes by the media. In 1957, Manchester United became the first English team to compete in the European Cup, despite objections from The Football League, who had denied Chelsea the same opportunity the previous season
28.
Real Madrid C.F.
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Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real outside Spain frontiers, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the team has worn a white home kit since inception. The word Real is Spanish for Royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the crown in the emblem. The team has played its matches in the 85, 454-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrids members have owned and operated the club throughout its history. The club was estimated to be worth €3.24 billion in 2015, the club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world. Real Madrid is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona, Real Madrid established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s, winning five consecutive European Cups and reaching the final seven times. This success was replicated in the league, where the club won five times in the space of seven years. In domestic football, the club has won a record 32 La Liga titles,19 Copa del Rey, nine Supercopa de España, a Copa Eva Duarte, and a Copa de la Liga. Real Madrid was recognised as the FIFA Club of the 20th Century on 23 December 2000, the club received the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. The club is ranked first in the latest IFFHS Club World Ranking, setting a new ranking-points record, the club also leads the current UEFA club rankings. They founded Football Club Sky in 1897, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa and it split into two clubs in 1900, New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Madrid Football Club. On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, three years after its foundation, in 1905, Madrid FC won its first title after defeating Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final. The club became one of the sides of the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 4 January 1909. After moving between grounds the team moved to the Campo de ODonnell in 1912, in 1920, the clubs name was changed to Real Madrid after King Alfonso XIII granted the title of Real to the club. In 1929, the first Spanish football league was founded, Real Madrid led the first league season until the last match, a loss to Athletic Bilbao, meant they finished runners-up to Barcelona. Real Madrid won its first League title in the 1931–32 season, Real won the League again the following year, becoming the first team to have won the championship twice
29.
Cesare Maldini
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Cesare Maldini was an Italian professional football manager and player, who played as a defender. He retired in 1967, after a season with Torino, internationally, he played for the Italian national team, earning 14 caps and participating in the 1962 World Cup. He served as captain for both Milan and Italy. As a manager, he coached his former club Milan on two occasions, as well as Italian sides Foggia, Ternana and Parma. The son of Albino Maldini, a sailor, and Maria, Cesare Maldini was born in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Cesare Maldinis mother may have been an ethnic Slovenian but reference to this is not very reliable. His fathers roots were from Padova, however, as a lineage of Maldinis originated from there. Cesare Maldini never referenced any origins other than his Italian ones and he married Maria Luisa in 1962, together they had six children, three sons and three daughters. One of his sons, Paolo, also had a football career as a defender with Milan. The younger Maldini captained Milan to the UEFA Champions League title in 2003 and 2007, Maldinis grandsons Christian and Daniel play football in the Milan youth teams. Maldini began his career with local side Triestina, in 1952. In total, he made 347 appearances for Milan in Serie A, scoring 3 goals, and made 412 appearances for the club in all competitions. Maldini won four titles with Milan, and also later became the teams captain in 1961, a role which he held for several years, until he left the club. He made his appearance for Milan on 22 May 1966, in a 6–1 home win over Catania. In 1966 he moved to Torino for a season, before retiring in 1967, he made his final Serie A appearance on 28 May, the team suffered a disappointing and controversial first-round elimination, although he was named to the team of the tournament for his performances. He made his appearance for Italy in a European championship qualifier in Moscow, in 1963. He was sacked by the club in 1974, following a disappointing 2–1 defeat to Verona on 6 April, and was replaced by Giovanni Trapattoni for the final few games of the season. Between 1980 and 1986, he was one of Enzo Bearzots assistants for the Italian national team, and even served as his assistant manager during the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and he also coached the Italian Olympic teams that took part at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. Following his successes with the Under-21 side, Maldini took charge of the team in December 1996
30.
Paolo Maldini
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Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left back and central defender for A. C. Milan and the Italy national team. He spent all 25 seasons of his career in the Serie A with Milan, Maldini made his debut for Italy in 1988 before retiring in 2002 with 126 caps, a record which was only bettered by Fabio Cannavaro in 2009 and Gianluigi Buffon in 2013. Maldini captained Italy for eight years and held the record for appearances made as Italys captain, wearing the armband 74 times, until he was again overtaken by Cannavaro. With Italy, Maldini took part in three UEFA European Championship and four FIFA World Cups, although he did not win a tournament with Italy, he reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000, and the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1988. He was elected into the teams for each of these tournaments. Maldini is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time and he came second to George Weah for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1995. Maldini also placed third in the Ballon dOr on two occasions, in 1994 and 2003, in 1999, he was voted 21st in World Soccers list of the 100 greatest football players of the 20th century. In 2002, he was chosen as a defender on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team, Maldini was also the Milan and Italy captain for many years and was considered a leader by fellow footballers, leading to the nickname Il Capitano. He is also the record holder for Milan with 902 appearances in all competitions. He is one of only 18 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances. Following his retirement after the 2008–09 season, his lifelong club Milan retired his number 3 shirt in his honour, and in December 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Paolos father Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan, and was a successful national under-21 manager, as of 2015, Paolo Maldini is the co-owner of North American Soccer League club Miami FC. Originally a Milan youth squad product, Maldini also went on to play his club career with the Milan senior side. It was his league appearance of the campaign, but he was immediately made a member of the starting eleven the following season, at age 17, at right back. He was later switched to his more iconic position of left back due to his ability with his left foot, Maldini scored the first of his 29 goals in Serie A on 4 January 1987 in a 1–0 win against Como. The 1987–88 Scudetto under Arrigo Sacchi marked Maldinis first trophy, during the 1987–88 Serie A season, Milan only conceded 14 goals, finishing with the best defence in Italy, as they went on to win the Serie A title. Following Baresis retirement, he would form a formidable and successful partnership with Alessandro Nesta. To this day, Milan are the last team to have defended the European Cup trophy
31.
A.C. Milan
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Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A. C. Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons, in the top flight of Italian football, known as Serie A since 1929–30. With 18 officially recognised UEFA and FIFA titles, they are the fourth most successful club in the world, with 18 league titles, Milan is the joint-second most successful club in Serie A, along with local rivals Internazionale. They have also won the Coppa Italia five times, and the Supercoppa Italiana seven, Milans home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium, which is shared with city rivals Internazionale, is the largest in Italian football, inter are considered their biggest rivals, and matches between the two teams are called Derby della Madonnina, which is one of the most followed derbies in football. The owner of the club is former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the club is one of the wealthiest in Italian and world football. It was a member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europes leading football clubs as well as its replacement. A. C. Milan was founded as Milan Cricket and Foot-Ball Club on 13 December 1899 by English expatriates Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin, who came from the English city of Nottingham. In honour of its English origins, the club has retained the English spelling of the name, as opposed to the Italian spelling Milano. Milan won its first Italian championship in 1901 and a two in succession in 1906 and 1907. In 1908, Milan experienced a split caused by disagreements over the signing of foreign players. Following these events, Milan did not manage to win a domestic title until 1950–51. The 1950s saw the return to the top of Italian football, headed by the famous Gre-No-Li Swedish trio Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl. This was one of the clubs most successful periods domestically, with the Scudetto going to Milan in 1951,1955,1957,1959 and 1962, in 1963, Milan won its first continental title by beating Benfica in the final of the European Cup. This success was repeated in 1969, with a 4–1 win over Ajax in the final, during this period Milan also won its first Coppa Italia, with victory over Padova in the 1967 final, and two European Cup Winners Cups, in 1967–68 and 1972–73. Milan won a league title in 1979, but after the retirement of Gianni Rivera in the same year. The club was involved in the 1980 Totonero scandal and as punishment was relegated to Serie B for the first time in its history, the scandal was centred around a betting syndicate paying players and officials to fix the outcome of matches. Milan achieved promotion back to Serie A at the first attempt, winning the 1980–81 Serie B title, in 1983, Milan won the Serie B title for the second time in three seasons to return to Serie A, where they achieved a sixth-place finish in 1983–84
32.
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
33.
Camp Nou
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Camp Nou is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It has been the home of FC Barcelona since its completion in 1957, with a seating capacity of 99,354, it is the largest stadium in Spain, also the largest in Europe and the third largest association football stadium in the world in terms of capacity. The construction of Camp Nou started on 28 March 1954 as Barcelonas previous stadium, although originally planned to be called Estadi del FC Barcelona, the more popular name Camp Nou was used. The June 1950 signing of László Kubala, regarded as one of Barcelonas greatest players, the architects were Francesc Mitjans and Josep Soteras, with the collaboration of Lorenzo García-Barbón. In May 1972, Camp Nou hosted its first European Cup Winners Cup final between Rangers and Dynamo Moscow, Rangers won the match with a score of 3–2. The 1970s marked a point for Barcelona with the signing of a new player, Johan Cruyff. Electronic scoreboards were installed in the two years later.60 meters compared to the original design of 52.50 meters. FC Barcelonas record attendance was set on 5 March 1986 in the European Cup quarter final against Juventus in front of 120,000 spectators, Camp Nou was one of several stadiums used throughout the 1982 World Cup, hosting the inauguration ceremony on 13 June. It also hosted matches in that tournament than any of the 16 other stadiums used all over Spain, including the opening match. In front of 95,000, Belgium upset the defending champions Argentina 1–0 in that opening match, the stadium’s capacity has varied greatly over the years, opening at 106,146, but growing to 121,749 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Apart from hosting FC Barcelona, Camp Nou is home to the Catalan national team, the stadium is frequently used for other football events. The European Cup final between Milan and Steaua Bucureşti was held on 24 May 1989, with the Italian club winning 4–0, Camp Nou hosted part of the football competition, including the final, in the 1992 Summer Olympics. In preparation for games, two additional tiers of seating were installed over the previous roof-line. Camp Nou underwent little change after 1982, except for the opening of the museum in 1984. A new press box, renovation of the grandstand and boxes, new parking under the main grandstand. In 1999 the UEFA outlawed standing sections in stadiums, and Camp Nou’s capacity settled to its current level, the stadium hosted the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final later that year where Manchester United played Bayern Munich. United won 2–1, coming back from 0–1 down in injury time, during 1998–99, UEFA rated Camp Nou a five-star stadium for its services and functionalities. However, as per the 2010 regulations, UEFA does not publish a list of the top venues, in 2000, fans were polled concerning the stadium’s name
34.
Thiago Motta
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Thiago Motta is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Paris Saint-Germain F. C. and the Italian national team. He spent his career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He also played two-and-a-half seasons with Internazionale before joining Paris Saint-Germain, born in Brazil, Motta is also a citizen of Italy. He represented the national team since 2011, appearing at the 2014 World Cup. Born in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Motta signed with FC Barcelona in 1999 at age 17, from local Clube Atlético Juventus, initially being assigned to the clubs B-side. He eventually graduated to the first team in 2001, making his debut on 3 October against RCD Mallorca in a 3–0 home win. In the 2001–02 edition of the UEFA Champions League, Motta made seven appearances, Motta was also dogged by several injuries, particularly one suffered on 11 September 2004 against Sevilla FC, which sidelined him for seven months, during his time at Barcelona. In late August 2007 Motta signed a contract with Atlético Madrid. Due to injury to regular starter Raúl García and the departure of Maniche in January 2008, in September 2008 Motta joined Genoa C. F. C. on a free transfer, after passing a medical. During his debut campaign he performed well and was a regular in the starting eleven. On 11 April 2009, Motta scored two goals in a final 3–2 home win over Juventus FC and he finished the year with a career-best six goals, and his club qualified for the Europa League. Mottas agent, Dario Canovi, later revealed that his Genoa contract with the club included a buy-out fee of €10 million, Mottas debut came in the 2009–10 seasons opener, a 1–1 home draw against A. S. Bari, and his first goal came the next round as he opened the scoresheet in the Derby della Madonnina after an assist by Milito, as Inter defeated A. C. Milan 4–0. Having been in and out of the team for the duration of the campaign, Motta also appeared in eight games during the clubs victorious Champions League campaign, including the 0–1 loss at former side Barcelona for the semifinals. During that match, he was sent off after apparently striking Sergio Busquets in the face with his hand, the incident gathered attention due to Busquets apparent feigning of injury. On 23 October 2011, from a corner taken by Wesley Sneijder, Motta scored through a header in a 1–0 win against A. C. Chievo Verona, which was Inters first home win in 2011–12. S. Città di Palermo, Motta signed with Paris Saint-Germain F. C. in France, four days after signing for the club, Motta made his debut for PSG, against Evian Thonon Gaillard F. C. in a 3–1 home win, being booked in the process. On 22 April 2012, in another home fixture, he scored his first goal in Ligue 1, on 21 February 2014, aged 31, Motta extended his contract until June 2016
35.
Ejection (sports)
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In sports, an ejection is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sports rules. Most sports have provisions that allow players to be ejected, and many allow for the ejection of coaches, managers, the decision to eject a participant usually lies with one or more officials present at the contest. In addition to removal from the contest, many sports leagues provide additional sanctions against participants who have been ejected, such as monetary fines or suspensions from future contests. In many youth sports leagues, ejected players are required to stay with their coach in the team area, if a participant refuses to cooperate with an ejection, additional sanctions may be levied, such as forfeiture of the contest, monetary fines, or suspensions. In NBA and most other games, a player or coach is ejected from the game if he accumulates two technical fouls of an unsportsmanlike nature over the course of the game. Participants who commit fouls of violence or enter the stands are ejected summarily regardless of the number of technical fouls accumulated, ejected players/coaches must leave the court area for the remainder of play, and must do so immediately, or else risk even heavier fines/suspensions. In the NBA, an ejection will result in, at minimum, a $1,000 fine, in domestic games, refusing to leave after being ejected can result in a player being put on report. If being put on report does not provide enough encouragement for a player to leave the court, players who incur 16 technical fouls in a single NBA season are automatically suspended for one game, an additional suspension is imposed for each increment of two thereafter. In the playoffs, players are suspended if they receive seven technical fouls, a significant rule change was made in 1981 whereby the NBA eliminated the ejection of a coach for three technical fouls caused by an illegal defense. These technical fouls are referenced as Non-Unsportsmanlike Conduct Technical Fouls, the NBA all-time leader in disqualifications is Vern Mikkelsen, who was disqualified 127 times in 631 games. In FIBA sanctioned games, a player is ejected for two technicals, unsportsmanlike fouls or one disqualifying foul, Technical fouls in FIBA include swinging of elbows without contact and flopping, which are not fouls in the NBA. A coach can be ejected upon having incurred two coach technical fouls, or a combination of three bench and coach technical fouls, there is no separation regarding a non-unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul, as in the NBA, so two delay of game violations result in an ejection. In NFHS contests, ejected players must remain on the team bench, in NCAA contests, ejected players are dismissed to the locker room, no adult supervision is required as NCAA players are assumed to be legally of adult age. Basketball also features disqualification, also known as fouling out, a player who commits a certain number of personal fouls in a game, is removed from the game and is said to have fouled out. Unlike ejection, disqualification is not considered an action but rather a natural consequence of a very physical sport with many instances of contact. Disqualified players are permitted to remain on the bench with the team and are not subject to any further penalties, they can resume play in their next game. In the NBA, a foul is also assessed for re-entering a game after fouling out of a game in emergency situations listed in Rule 3. Disqualification also occurs at the school level as the result of two technical fouls
36.
Defender (association football)
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In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. There are four types of defenders, centre-back, sweeper, full-back, the centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations, a centre-back defends in the area directly in front of the goal, and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers, with the ball, centre-backs are generally expected to make long and pinpoint passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed long balls down the field. For example, a clearance is a long unaimed kick intended to move the ball as far as possible from the defenders goal, during normal play, centre-backs are unlikely to score goals. In this case, other defenders or midfielders will temporarily move into the centre-back positions, in the modern game, most teams employ two or three centre-backs in front of the goalkeeper. The 4–2–3–1, 4–3–3, and 4–4–2 formations all use two centre-backs, the sweeper is a more versatile centre-back who sweeps up the ball if an opponent manages to breach the defensive line. This position is more fluid than that of other defenders who man-mark their designated opponents. Because of this, it is referred to as libero. For example, the system of play, used in Italian football in the 1960s. The more modern libero possesses the qualities of the typical libero while being able to expose the opposition during counterattacks. The Fundell-libero has become popular in recent time with the sweeper transitioning to the most advanced forward in an attack. This variation on the position requires great pace and fitness, while rarely seen in professional football, the position has been extensively used in lower leagues. Modern libero sit behind centre-backs as a sweeper before charging through the team to join in the attack, some sweepers move forward and distribute the ball up-field, while others intercept passes and get the ball off the opposition without needing to hurl themselves into tackles. If the sweeper does move up the field to distribute the ball, they will need to make a speedy recovery, in modern football, its usage has been fairly restricted, with few clubs in the biggest leagues using the position. Though it is used in modern football, it remains a highly respected. A recent and successful use of the sweeper was made by Otto Rehhagel, Greeces manager, Rehhagel utilized Traianos Dellas as Greeces sweeper to great success, as Greece surprisingly became European champions. The full-backs take up the wide positions and traditionally stayed in defence at all times
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Macedonia
Belarus
