1.
Round-robin tournament
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A round-robin tournament is a competition in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn. It contrasts with an elimination tournament, the term round-robin is derived from the French term ruban, meaning ribbon. Over a long period of time, the term was corrupted and idiomized to robin, in a single round-robin schedule, each participant plays every other participant once. If each participant plays all others twice, this is called a double round-robin. The term is used when all participants play one another more than twice. In the United Kingdom, a tournament is often called an American tournament in sports such as tennis or billiards which usually have knockout tournaments. In Italian it is called girone allitaliana, in Serbian it is called the Berger system, after chess player Johann Berger. A round-robin tournament with four players is sometimes called quad or foursome, in sports with a large number of competitive matches for season, double round-robins are common. Most association football leagues in the world are organized on a double round-robin basis, in every team plays all others in its league once at home. This system is used during qualification for major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup. There are also round-robin chess, draughts, go, curling, the World Chess Championship decided in 2005 and in 2007 on an eight-player double round-robin tournament where each player faces every other player once as white and once as black. Group tournaments rankings usually go by number of matches won and drawn, frequently, pool stages within a wider tournament are conducted on a round-robin basis. In theory, a tournament is the fairest way to determine the champion among a known. Each participant, player or team, has equal chances against all other opposites, the element of luck is seen to be reduced as compared to a knockout system since bad performances need not cripple a competitors chance of ultimate victory. Final records of participants are, thus, seen to be accurate as they represent the results over a longer period against equal competition. This can also be used to determine which teams are the poorest performers and this is also helpful to determine the final rank of all competitors from strongest to weakest for purposes of qualification for another stage or competition as well as for prize money. In team sport the major league champions is generally regarded as the best team in the land, the top one, two, or occasionally three teams in these groups then proceed to a straight knockout stage for the remainder of the tournament. The main disadvantage of a round robin tournament is the time needed to complete it, for instance, a tournament of 16 teams can be completed in just 4 rounds in a knockout format, a round-robin would require 15 rounds to finish
Round-robin tournament
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Round Robin Schedule Span Diagram
2.
Geography of association football
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The following article gives a list of association football confederations, sub-confederations and associations around the world. The sports international governing body is FIFA, but those not affiliated to FIFA are also included in this article. In the Americas, leagues are organised as either multi-stage tournaments or separate Apertura and Clausura stages. The football associations listed in this section are members of FIFA-affiliated confederations, all UEFA associations are affiliated with FIFA. All CONMEBOL associations are affiliated with FIFA, the football associations in this section represent fully or partially recognized sovereign states or dependent territories, but are not part of FIFA or a FIFA confederation. Beneath the national level, governance of football may be divided up into regional or territorial associations, other non-national associations represent stateless populations, diasporas or micronations. Details of these are listed at non-FIFA international football
Geography of association football
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Map of
CAF 's five regional federations. Out of 22 members, the
Union of Arab Football Associations (green dots) hosts 10 CAF associations.
3.
UEFA
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The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world footballs governing body FIFA, UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Until 1959 the main headquarters were located in Paris, and later in Bern, in 1995, UEFA headquarters were transferred to Nyon, Switzerland. Henri Delaunay was the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the first president, UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. The European football union began with 25 members, that number doubled by the early 1990s, UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe, although there are some exceptions. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a recognized sovereign state in the context of international law. Some UEFA members are transcontinental states, countries which had been members of the Asian Football Confederation were also admitted to the European football association, particularly Israel and Kazakhstan. Additionally some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their associations main territory to take part in their domestic competition, saarland Football Union 1954–1956 German football association of the German Democratic Republic 1954–1990 Football Federation of the Soviet Union 1954–1991, in 1992 became Russian Football Union. The newly independent 14 Soviet Republics created their own football associations, Football Association of Yugoslavia 1954–1992, became Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia became independent, Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro 1992–2006, became Football Association of Serbia. Montenegro, which became independent, created its own football association, the main competition for mens national teams is the UEFA European Football Championship, started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. It is also called UEFA or the EURO, UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For womens national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Womens Championship for senior sides as well as Womens Under-19. UEFA also organized the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship, the Italian, German, Spanish and French mens national teams are the sole teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. A second, lower-ranked competition is the UEFA Europa League and this competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, which had started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999, in womens football UEFA also conducts the UEFA Womens Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and known as the UEFA Womens Cup until 2009, the UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League, and came into being in 1973
UEFA
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Henri Delaunay, the first general secretary of UEFA
UEFA
–
Union of European Football Associations
4.
Promotion and relegation
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In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between two divisions based on their performance for the completed season. In some leagues, playoffs or qualifying rounds are used to determine rankings. This process can continue through several levels of divisions, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and 3, levels 3 and 4, the number of teams exchanged between the divisions is almost always identical. Such variations will almost inevitably cause an effect through the lower divisions. Even in the absence of such circumstances, the pyramid-like nature of most European football league systems can still create knock-on effects at the regional level. The system is said to be the characteristic of the European form of professional sports league organization. Promotion and relegation have the effect of allowing the maintenance of a hierarchy of leagues and divisions and they also maintain the importance of games played by many low-ranked teams near the end of the season, which may be at risk of relegation. In contrast, a low-ranked US or Canadian teams final games serve little purpose, although not intrinsic to the system, problems can occur due to the differing monetary payouts and revenue-generating potential that different divisions provide to their clubs. For example, financial hardship has sometimes occurred in leagues where clubs do not reduce their wage bill once relegated, some leagues offer parachute payments to its relegated teams for the following year. The payouts are higher than the money received by some non-relegated teams and are designed to soften the financial hit that clubs take whilst dropping out of the Premier League. However, in many cases these parachute payments just serve to inflate the costs of competing for promotion among the lower division clubs as newly relegated teams retain a financial advantage. If these are not satisfied, a team may be promoted in their place. While the primary purpose of the system is to maintain competitive balance. On several occasions, the Italian Football Federation has relegated clubs found to have involved in match-fixing. This occurred most recently in 2006, when the initial champions Juventus were relegated to Serie B. An exception is the proposed UEFA Nations League, which will feature promotion and relegation across four levels, in tennis, the Davis Cup has promotion and relegation where each group uses a knockout tournament format in which first-round losers play off to avoid relegation. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, teams are not promoted or relegated. The USL set up two leagues, now known as the United Soccer League and the Premier Development League, although the system is now in place, it is not compulsory and is rarely used
Promotion and relegation
–
Association
football
5.
Coppa Italia
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The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the champions were not crowned until 1936. Juventus is the competitions most successful club with 11 wins, followed by Roma with 9, Roma has contested the most finals with 17, followed by Juventus with 16. The holder can wear a cockade, like the roundels that appear on military aircraft. The competition is a tournament with pairings for each round made in advance. Each tie is played as a leg, with the exception of the two-legged semi-finals. If a match is drawn, extra time is played, in the event of a draw after 120 minutes, a penalty shoot-out is contested. As well as being presented with the trophy, the team also qualifies for the UEFA Europa League. There are a total of eight rounds in the competition, the competition begins in August with the first round and is contested only by the lowest-ranked clubs – those outside the top two divisions. The remaining eight Serie A teams join the competition in the round in January. The rather unusual two-leg final was eliminated since the 2007–08 edition, note,1922 tournament was contested only by minor teams, the biggest clubs having left FIGC to form a private league of their own. Note, from 1968 to 1971, FIGC introduced a group instead of semifinals and finals. For statistical equity, only champions and runners-up of those groups are counted as finalists, moreover, in 1971, a decisive match between the two best clubs was played to assign the cup. The later stages of the competition are broadcast by BT Sport in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, in Spain, the later stages of the competition are broadcast by Teledeporte since the 2016–17 edition. In MENA, Abu Dhabi Sports started broadcasting the competition since the 2015–16 edition, italy – List of Cup Finals from RSSSF Coppa Italia Fixtures and Results Coppa Italia all matches by season
Coppa Italia
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Logo 2009-10
Coppa Italia
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Coppa Italia
6.
Supercoppa Italiana
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The Supercoppa Italiana is an annual football competition usually held the week before the season begins in Italy, but it has been played as late as December. Since 2009, the venue chosen has mostly been outside of Italy and this has happened so far six times,1995,2015, and 2016,2000,2006 and 2010. Juventus and Milan jointly hold the record for winning the cup the most times, on 23 December 2016, Milan became the first Coppa Italia runner-up to win Supercoppa Italiana after defeating Juventus on penalties. *Finished as Coppa Italia runners-up Alessandro Del Piero Samuel Etoo Andriy Shevchenko Carlos Tevez Supercoppa Italiana on RSSSF
Supercoppa Italiana
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The Supercoppa Italiana won by Lazio in 2009.
Supercoppa Italiana
–
Supercoppa Italiana
7.
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
UEFA Champions League
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Barcelona –
Hamburg, 12 April 1961
UEFA Champions League
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UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
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Official trophy retained by
Liverpool 's museum.
UEFA Champions League
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The competition's logo is displayed in the centre of the
pitch before every Champions League match.
8.
UEFA Europa League
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The UEFA Europa League, previously called the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organized by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues, previously called the UEFA Cup, the competition has been known as the UEFA Europa League since the 2009–10 season, following a change in format. For UEFA footballing records purposes, the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League are considered the same competition, in 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. For the 2004–05 competition a group stage was added prior to the knockout phase, the 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and changed qualifying criteria. The winner enters at least at the round, and will enter the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders is not used. The title has been won by 27 different clubs,12 of which have won the more than once. The UEFA Cup was preceded by the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971, the competition grew from 11 teams during the first cup to 64 teams by the last cup which was played in 1970–71. It had become so important on the European football scene that in the end it was taken over by UEFA, the UEFA Cup was first played in the 1971–72 season, with an all-English final of Wolverhampton Wanderers versus Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs taking the first honours. The title was retained by another English club, Liverpool in 1973, Borussia would win the competition in 1975 and 1979, and reach the final again in 1980. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 1976, beating Club Brugge in the final. During the 1980s, IFK Göteborg and Real Madrid won the competition twice each,1989 saw the commencement of the Italian clubs domination, when Maradonas Napoli beat Stuttgart. The 1990s started with two finals, and in 1992, Torino lost the final to Ajax on the away goals rule. Juventus won the competition for a time in 1993 and Internazionale kept the cup in Italy the following year. 1995 saw a third final, with Parma proving their consistency. The only final with no Italians during that decade was in 1996, Parma won the cup in 1999, which ended the Italian club era. Liverpool won the competition for the time in 2001 and Porto triumphed in the 2003 and 2011 tournaments. In 2004, the cup returned to Spain with Valencia being victorious, either side of Sevillas success, two Russian teams, CSKA Moscow in 2005 and Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008, had their glory and yet another former Soviet club, Ukraines Shakhtar Donetsk, won in 2009. Atlético Madrid would themselves win twice in three seasons, in 2010 and 2012, the latter in another all-Spanish final, in 2013, Chelsea would become the first Champions League holders to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League the following year
UEFA Europa League
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UEFA Europa League
9.
Juventus F.C.
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Juventus Football Club S. p. A. colloquially known as Juve, is a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont. The clubs fan base is larger than any other Italian football club and is one of the largest worldwide, support for Juventus is widespread throughout the country and abroad, mainly in countries with a significant presence of Italian immigrants. Juventus is the most successful club in Italian football and one of the most awarded globally, Juventus were founded as Sport-Club Juventus in late 1897 by pupils from the Massimo DAzeglio Lyceum school in Turin, but were renamed as Foot-Ball Club Juventus two years later. The club joined the Italian Football Championship during 1900, during this period the team wore a pink and black kit. Juventus first won the championship in 1905 while playing at their Velodrome Umberto I ground. By this time the colours had changed to black and white stripes. There was a split at the club in 1906, after some of the staff considered moving Juve out of Turin, President Alfred Dick was unhappy with this and left with some prominent players to found FBC Torino which in turn spawned the Derby della Mole. Juventus spent much of this period steadily rebuilding after the split, fiat owner Edoardo Agnelli gained control of the club in 1923, and built a new stadium. This helped the club to its second scudetto in the 1925–26 season beating Alba Roma with a score of 12–1. With star players such as Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari, Juventus moved to the Stadio Comunale, but for the rest of the 1930s and the majority of the 1940s they were unable to recapture championship dominance. After the Second World War, Gianni Agnelli was appointed honorary president, the club added two more league championships to its name in the 1949–50 and 1951–52 seasons, the latter of which was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver. Two new strikers were signed during 1957–58, Welshman John Charles and Italo-Argentine Omar Sívori and that season saw Juventus awarded with the Golden Star for Sport Excellence to wear on their shirts after becoming the first Italian side to win ten league titles. In the same season, Sívori became the first ever player at the club to win the European Footballer of the Year, the following season they beat Fiorentina to complete their first league and cup double, winning Serie A and Coppa Italia. Boniperti retired in 1961 as the top scorer at the club, with 182 goals in all competitions. During the rest of the decade, the won the league just once more in 1966–67, The 1970s, however. Under former player Čestmír Vycpálek, they won the scudetto in 1971–72 and 1972–73, with such as Roberto Bettega, Franco Causio. During the rest of the decade, they won the league twice more, the Trapattoni era was highly successful in the 1980s, the club started the decade off well, winning the league title three more times by 1984. This meant Juventus had won 20 Italian league titles and were allowed to add a golden star to their shirt
Juventus F.C.
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Sivori,
Charles, and
Boniperti: the Magical Trio.
Juventus F.C.
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Juventus
Juventus F.C.
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Michel Platini holding the
Ballon d'Or in bianconeri colours.
Juventus F.C.
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Alessandro Del Piero, the Juventus all-time leading goal scorer and appearance maker, during the 2007–08 season.
10.
SKY Italia
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Sky Italia is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by Sky plc. It is similar in ways to Sky in the United Kingdom and Sky Ireland in Ireland, which is partly owned by 21st Century Fox. Pay TV services on Sky Italia are encrypted in NDS VideoGuard, the VideoGuard set-top boxes that have been provided since July 2010 are identical to the Sky+ HD boxes used in the UK. Sky Italia was founded in July 2003 by the merger of TELE+, since July 2010 Sky Italia has been giving the Sky Digital Key and the My Sky HD box for free to every new customer. The My Sky boxes launched on 22 November 2005 - based on a new digital receiver with HDD recording capabilities, subsequently, the My Sky HD boxes were added. The My Sky HD service had provided with an extra charge until July 2010. The service is identical to the BSkyB Sky+ HD. On 28 June 2010, Sky Italia changed its brands and logos, Sky Italia offers eight packages of channels, five base-level Channel Packs and three optional Sky Packs enhancements. Sky Primafila has got some similarities to BSkyBs Sky Movies Box Office, the HD service has been offered without any extra charge since 2009. There are 37 HDTV channels so far broadcasting on Sky, due to become 50 by the end of 2011, on 1 October 2010, Sky activated its first 3D channel, Sky Sport 3D, available without any extra cost to the Sport pack subscribers. The very first event Sky Sport 3D aired was the 2010 Ryder Cup, on 25 December 2010, Sky launched another 3D channel, Sky Cinema 3D, airing 3D movies, available for free for Cinema pack subscribers. These channel have been replaced by Sky 3D on 6 September 2011, on many channels, foreign-sourced content is broadcast either with an option to choose between Italian and English language soundtracks, or with Italian subtitles. Sky Italia uses the Hot Bird 6/8/9 satellites at 13. 0°E, Tom Mockridge, the then head of Sky Italia replaced Rebekah Brooks as chief executive of News International after she had resigned on 15 July 2011. Andrea Zappia replaced Tom Mockridge as CEO on 1 August 2011, on 7 October 2011 Sky Italia announced it reached the 5 million subscribers benchmark. The enlarged company would be likely to be called Sky Europe, the sale was announced on 25 July 2014 which was subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. The acquisition was completed on 13 November, March, the European Commission approves the merger between TELE+ and Stream TV. 31 July, Sky Italia is founded, April, Sky Italia abandons SECA encryption system to switch to the NDS, managed by the News Corporation. November, Skys subscribers reach 3 million, may, Sky Italia are awarded the broadcast rights to the 2006 FIFA World Cup
SKY Italia
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Sky Box HD
Pace
SKY Italia
11.
Mediaset Premium
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Mediaset Premium is an Italian digital terrestrial television service provided by Mediaset. It provides pay TV and pay-per-view through the use of a card as well as video on demand through its Premium Play. Mediaset Premium was launched on January 20,2005, initially offering only pay-per-view services for movies, in January 2008, it became a full pay TV, launching the package Premium Gallery, available, with a package for football matches, through monthly subscription or prepaid. Over time, new packages and new channels enrich the offered, in 2015, the new offering provides channels of movies, TV series, sport, documentaries, cartoons and interactive services Premium Play and Premium Online. From 2016, Premium will also broadcast on satellite TV, broadcast until 2018 the UEFA Champions League exclusive in Italy on channels Premium Sports and Premium Calcio also in HD. It also owns the rights, in addition to the Serie A, of foreign tournaments as the Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France. There are also channels Eurosport and Eurosport 2, in 2016 Vivendi agreed to buy 100% stake of Mediaset Premium and 3. 5% stake of Mediaset by selling 3. 5% stake of Vivendis shares. Fininvest, the majority owner of Mediaset, had choose to start legal action to Vivendi, the offer is currently divided main packages, available in prepaid or through monthly subscriptions. Premium Play is a service on PC, iPad, Android, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Samsung Smart TV
Mediaset Premium
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Premium Sport logo
12.
Sponsor (commercial)
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Sponsoring something is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is known as sponsor. Sponsorship is a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property in return for access to the commercial potential associated with that property. While the sponsoree may be nonprofit, unlike philanthropy, sponsorship is done with the expectation of a commercial return, while sponsorship can deliver increased awareness, brand building and propensity to purchase, it is different from advertising. Unlike advertising, sponsorship can not communicate specific product attributes, nor can it stand alone, as sponsorship requires support elements. A range of psychological and communications theories have been used to explain how commercial sponsorship works to impact consumer audiences, cornwell, Weeks and Roy have published an extensive review of the theories so far used to explain commercial sponsorship effects. Title sponsor is highest status of sponsorship and it characterizes the most significant contribution to a company in organizing and hosting an event. Often the name of sponsor is placed next to the name of competition, teams. In case of title sponsors presence the general sponsor position may remain free, general sponsor is a sponsor that makes one of the largest contributions and that receives for it the right to use the image of competition as well as extensive media coverage. If necessary, the status of the sponsor may be supplemented by the general sponsors for certain categories. Official sponsor is a sponsor that makes a part of raised funds. Typically, the status may be granted by category. Technical sponsor is a sponsor which promotes organization of sporting events through the partial or full payment of goods, participating sponsor is a company, the sponsorship fee size of which usually does not exceed 10% of total raised funds. Informational sponsor is an organization that provides support through media coverage, conducting PR-actions, joint actions. All sponsorship should be based on contractual obligations between the sponsor and the sponsored party, sponsors and sponsored parties should set out clear terms and conditions with all other partners involved, to define their expectations regarding all aspects of the sponsorship deal. Sponsorship should be recognisable as such, the terms and conduct of sponsorship should be based upon the principle of good faith between all parties to the sponsorship. There should be clarity regarding the rights being sold and confirmation that these are available for sponsorship from the rights holder. Sponsored parties should have the right to decide on the value of the sponsorship rights that they are offering
Sponsor (commercial)
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Corporate logos showing
NASCAR team sponsors.
Sponsor (commercial)
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Sponsorship of an automotive company in equestrian sports.
13.
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
Association football
–
The attacking player (No. 10) attempts to kick the ball beyond the opposing team's goalkeeper and between the goalposts and beneath the crossbar to score a
goal
Association football
–
Children playing
cuju in
Song dynasty China
Association football
–
Ebenezer Cobb Morley, who is regarded as the "father of football"
Association football
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A women's international match between the United States and Germany
14.
Lega Nazionale Professionisti
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The Lega Nazionale Professionisti, commonly known as Lega Calcio, was the governing body that ran the two highest football divisions in Italy, namely Serie A and Serie B, from 1946 to 2010. It has ceased to exist on 1 July 2010, following a split between Serie A and Serie B clubs, which led to the creation of two new leagues, the Lega Serie A and Lega Serie B respectively. Its predecessor during the fascist era, between 1926 and 1944, was the Direttorio Divisioni Superiori, a league president was appointed by the FIGC. Earlier still before, the first football league in Italy was the Lega Nord, besides, the Lega Calcio also organized the main Italian cup competition, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana. The member clubs of the Lega Calcio were grouped into two divisions, the Serie A and Serie B, in any given season a club played each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. Clubs gained three points for a win one for a draw, and none for a defeat, at the end of each season, the club with the most points in the Serie A was crowned champion. If points were equal, the head-to-head records determined the winner, if still equal, the goal difference and then goals scored became the deciding factors. As for Serie B, at the top end three clubs won promotion to Serie A, with the bottom three Serie A clubs taking their places. At the lower end, four club were relegated to the Lega Pro Prima Divisione and it was therefore possible for a team finishing sixth in the championship to be promoted rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings. Likewise, one place to the Prima Divisione was decided according to a playoff between two clubs. Youth teams of Lega Calcio clubs played in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera, as well as competing in their own cup competitions, such as the Coppa Italia Primavera and the Supercoppa Primavera. The Lega Calcio organised a cup competition, the Coppa Italia, open to all Serie A and Serie B clubs and some clubs from the Lega Pro and the LND. The Lega Calcio also organised the Supercoppa Italiana, between the champions of the Serie A and the winners of the Coppa Italia. Subsequently, on 1 July 2010, the Lega Calcio has officially ceased to exist and replaced by the two newly formed leagues, Lega Serie A and Lega Serie B
Lega Nazionale Professionisti
–
Lega Nazionale Professionisti
15.
IFFHS
–
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics is an organization that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded on 27 March 1984 in Leipzig by Dr. Alfredo Pöge with the blessings of general secretary of the FIFA at the time, the IFFHS was based at Al-Muroor Street 147, Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany. During its early stages, and until 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing the quarterly magazines Fußball-Weltzeitschrift, Libero spezial deutsch and Libero international. When these had to be discontinued for reasons which were not officially told, since 1991, the entity has produced a monthly Club World Ranking. The ranking takes into consideration the results of twelve months of continental and intercontinental competitions, national league matches and the most important national cup. All countries are rated at four levels based upon the national league performance—clubs in the highest level leagues receive 4 points for each match won,2 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. Level 2 is assigned 3 pts.1.5 and 0, in continental competitions, all clubs receive the same number of points at all stages regardless of the performance level of their leagues. However, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores yield more points than UEFA Europa League and Copa Sudamericana, the point assignment system is still lower for the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC continental tournaments. Competitions between two continents are evaluated depending upon their importance, competitions not organized by a continental confederation, or any intercontinental events not recognized by FIFA, are not taken into consideration. In 2009, the IFFHS released the results of a study which determined the best continental clubs of the 20th century. Based on this study series, the below six clubs were named as continental clubs of the century by the IFFHS between 10 September and 13 October 2009. These clubs were awarded with a trophy and a certificate during the World Football Gala celebrated at Fulham. The award is awarded every January at the World Football Gala, spains Xavi has won the award a record four consecutive times, while compatriot Andrés Iniesta and Argentinian Lionel Messi have won the award twice. Barcelona is the club with the most wins, with eight in total, karl Lennartz, a sports historian and professor at the University of Cologne, Germany, called the organization obscure, describing it as a one man show of its chairman Alfredo Pöge. The IFFHS rankings and their significance have been a matter of criticism, furthermore, it has been stated that the rankings of the IFFHS are not official and the titles they bear serve merely for publicity. Official website Official website Newly launched website Annual Awards
IFFHS
–
International Federation of Football History & Statistics
16.
UEFA coefficient
–
In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979, the coefficients are calculated by UEFA, who administer football within Europe and it was first introduced in 2003 and used for seeding the 2004 European Final tournament and 2006 World Cup qualification. Results from the tournaments, Play-off matches and friendly games were all ignored. In those cases where a nation did not take part at one of the two latest qualifying rounds, due to being qualified as a host, only one qualifying round would be taken into account. If two or more nations ended up with exactly the same coefficient, the ranking criteria was applied. Biggest average goal difference per game, found by dividing the sum of all differences by the number of ranked matches. Highest average number of goals scored per game, Highest average number of away goals scored per game. The last three times UEFA used this method was for the final UEFA coefficients in 2003,2005 and 2007. On 20 May 2008, UEFA announced changes to the coefficient ranking system, Ranking points for all games played inside those two and a half cycles, will be awarded according to the rules listed below. 10,000 points are awarded for each match played, regardless of the match result, each team earns an additional 30,000 for winning and 10,000 for drawing. In case of a game decided by penalty shoot-out, the points are allocated as a draw,501 points are earned for each goal scored, and -500 are given for each goal conceded. Coefficients are calculated for each two and a cycle, by dividing the sum of earned points with the number of games played. When calculating the overall average coefficient for the cycles, the latest full cycle and half cycle will each have double the weight, special arrangements are in place for those nations that did not participate in one of the previous qualifying tournaments due to hosting the competition. The UEFA ranking determines the number of competing in the season after the next. This coefficient is determined by the results of the clubs of the associations in the UEFA Champions League, two points are awarded for each win by a club, and one for a draw. The number of points awarded each season is divided by the number of teams participated for that association in that season. This number is rounded down to three decimal places. To determine a countrys coefficient for a season, the coefficients for the last five seasons are added
UEFA coefficient
–
UEFA member country that has been represented in the group stage
17.
La Liga
–
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
La Liga
–
Barcelona against
Schalke in the UEFA Champions League in 2008
La Liga
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Real Madrid C.F. against
Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League in 2013
18.
Premier League
–
The Premier League is an English professional league for mens association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League, Welsh clubs that compete in the English football league system can also qualify. The Premier League is a corporation in which the 20 member clubs act as shareholders, seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season, most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, others during weekday evenings. It is colloquially known as the Premiership and outside the UK it is referred to as the English Premier League. The deal was worth £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with BSkyB, the league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights. In 2014/15, teams were apportioned revenues of £1.6 billion, the Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people. In the 2014–15 season, the average Premier League match attendance exceeded 36,000, most stadium occupancies are near capacity. The Premier League ranks third in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons. While 47 clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, only six have won the title, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, the current champions are Leicester City, who won the title in 2015–16. Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 80s marked a low point for English football, the 1988 negotiations were the first signs of a breakaway league, ten clubs threatened to leave and form a super league, but were eventually persuaded to stay. As stadiums improved and match attendance and revenues rose, the top teams again considered leaving the Football League in order to capitalise on the influx of money into the sport. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the games top-flight clubs, the argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. The managing director of London Weekend Television, Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the big five clubs in England in 1990. The meeting was to pave the way for an away from The Football League. The FA did not enjoy a relationship with the Football League at the time
Premier League
–
Arsenal against
Borussia Dortmund in the
UEFA Champions League in 2011
Premier League
–
Premier League
Premier League
–
A 2012 match between
Chelsea and
Norwich City.
Premier League
–
Cristiano Ronaldo preparing to take a free kick in a 2009 match between
Manchester United and
Liverpool.
19.
Bundesliga
–
The Bundesliga, is a professional association football league in Germany and the football league with the highest average stadium attendance worldwide. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germanys primary football competition, the Bundesliga is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Seasons run from August to May, most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played on weekdays. All of the Bundesliga clubs qualify for the DFB-Pokal, the winner of the Bundesliga qualifies for the DFL-Supercup. A total of 54 clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding, FC Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga the most, winning the title 25 times. However, the Bundesliga has seen other champions with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Bundesliga is broadcast on television in over 200 countries. The Bundesliga was founded in 1962 in Dortmund and the first season started in 1963, the structure and organisation of the Bundesliga along with Germanys other football leagues have undergone frequent changes right up to the present day. The Bundesliga was founded by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund, but is now operated by the Deutsche Fußball Liga, the Bundesliga is composed of two divisions, the 1. Bundesliga, and, below that, the 2, Bundesliga, which has been the second tier of German football since 1974. Below the level of the 3, Liga, leagues are generally subdivided on a regional basis. For example, the Regionalligen are currently made up of Nord, Nordost, Süd, below this are thirteen parallel divisions, most of which are called Oberligen which represent federal states or large urban and geographical areas. The levels below the Oberligen differ between the local areas, the league structure has changed frequently and typically reflects the degree of participation in the sport in various parts of the country. In the early 1990s, changes were driven by the reunification of Germany, every team in the two Bundesligen must have a licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated into the regional leagues. To obtain a licence, teams must be healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations. As in other leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division. Bundesliga teams draw significantly greater levels of fan support, average attendance in the first league is 42,673 per game — more than twice the average of the 2. Greater exposure through television and higher attendance levels helps 1, Bundesliga teams attract the most lucrative sponsorships. Bundesliga teams develop substantial financial muscle through the combination of television and gate revenues, sponsorships and this allows them to attract and retain skilled players from domestic and international sources and to construct first-class stadium facilities
Bundesliga
–
The winner of the Bundesliga receives the "Deutsche Meisterschale" (English: "German championship trophy")
Bundesliga
–
Bundesliga
Bundesliga
–
Borussia Dortmund against rivals
Schalke, known as the
Revierderby, in the Bundesliga in 2009
Bundesliga
–
The Bundesliga was founded at the annual DFB convention at the
Westfalenhallen in
Dortmund on 28 July 1962
20.
Ligue 1
–
Ligue 1, is a French professional league for mens association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the primary football competition. Administrated by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1 is contested by 20 clubs, seasons run from August to May. Teams play 38 matches each, totaling 380 matches in the season, most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the week of January. The name lasted until 2002 before switching to its current name, AS Saint-Étienne is the most successful club with ten league titles in France while Olympique Lyon is the club that has won the most consecutive titles. With the presence of 67 seasons in Ligue 1, Olympique de Marseille hold the record for most seasons among the elite, the current champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who won their sixth title in the 2015–16 season. Prior to 1930, professionalism in French football was non-existent, in July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. The founding fathers of professionalism in French football are Georges Bayrou, Emmanuel Gambardella, professionalism was officially implemented in 1932. In order to create a professional football league in the country. In order to participate in the competition, clubs were subjected to three important criteria, The incoming club must have had positive results in the past, the incoming club must be able to pull in enough revenue to balance its finances. The incoming club must be able to recruit at least eight professional players. Jooris feared his league would fold and proposed it become the division of the new league. The leagues inaugural season of the league, called National, was held in 1932–1933. The 20 clubs were inserted into two groups of 10 with the three of each group suffering relegation to Division 2. The two winners of each group would face each other in a final held at a neutral venue. The first final was held on 14 May 1933 and it matched the winner of Group A, Olympique Lillois, against the runner-up of Group B, Cannes. Antibes, the winner of Group B, was supposed to take part in the final but was suspected of bribery by the French Football Federation and was forced into disqualification, in the first final, Lillois were crowned the inaugural champions following the clubs 4–3 victory
Ligue 1
–
Ligue 1
21.
Italian Football Championship
–
It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new league, the Lega Serie A, was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world, Serie A led the UEFA ranking from 1986 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1999. In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, the championship titles won prior to 1929 are officially recognised by FIGC with the same weighting as titles that were subsequently awarded. However, the 1945–46 season, when the league was played over two groups due to the ravages of WWII, is not statistically considered, even if its title is fully official. All the winning teams are recognised with the title of Campione dItalia, Juventus, Italys most successful club of the 20th century and the most successful Italian team, is tied for fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most official international titles. The club is also the one in the world to have won all possible official continental competitions. Milan is joint third club for international titles won in the world. Internazionale, following their achievements in the 2009–10 season, became the first Italian team to have achieved a treble, Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. For most of Serie As history, there were 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level, since 2004–05, however, there have been 20 clubs altogether. One season was played with 21 teams for political reasons, thus, in Italian football a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called the andata, each team plays once against each league opponent, since the 1994–95 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Since Italy is currently rated fourth in Europe in terms of club football ratings, teams finishing fourth and fifth qualify for the UEFA Europa League tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia, if both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top five teams in Serie A, the sixth-ranked team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot. The three lowest-placed teams are relegated to Serie B, any play-off was held after the end of regular season. The last championship playoff occurred in the 1963-64 season when Bologna, below is a list of Serie A clubs who have competed in the competition when it has been a league format. There are 66 teams that have taken part in 85 Serie A championships in a round that was played from the 1929–30 season until the 2016–17 season. The teams in bold compete in Serie A currently, Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season. Serie A, as it is structured today, began during the 1929–1930 season, from 1898 to 1922, the competition was organised into regional groups
Italian Football Championship
–
The old Logo
Italian Football Championship
–
Serie A
Italian Football Championship
–
Paolo Maldini has made the most appearances in Serie A (647)
Italian Football Championship
–
Silvio Piola is the highest goalscorer in Serie A with 274 goals
22.
FIGC
–
The Italian Football Federation, also known as Federcalcio, is the governing body of football in Italy. It organises the Italian football league, Coppa Italia, Italian national football team, and it is based in Rome, and technical department in Florence, and is a founding member of UEFA and a member of FIFA. The Federation was founded in 1898 when the sport was picking up in the country and it needed a structure to take football. The first presidency was decided in the Piedmontese capital of Turin, when created, this football federation was given a different name, Federazione Italiana Football because all play terms and rules were the same as the official FA rules. In the few years before and after the introduction of the Federation, clubs all over the country from Genoa, Turin, Milan, Naples, Rome, Palermo, and others were forming. The new name approved was Federazione Italiana Giuoco del Calcio and since then this has been the name of the Italian Football Federation, the debut of the Mens National Team was on 15 May 1910, at Arena Civica, wearing a white jersey where Italy defeated France 6–2. The following year, the jersey was introduced on the occasion of the match against Hungary. This Italian Federation was an amateur federation respecting FIFA rules when it became a member in 1905, at the end of World War 1, the federation had seen impressive development and several footballers were judged to be professional players and banned according to FIFA agreements. Foreigners had to live in the country in order to get a residence visa and they had to sign the declaration not being professional players so that FIFA rules were respected because for FIGC they were appearing as amateurs receiving just refunds. It was the beginning of the professionalism in Italy, the Carta di Viareggio reduced the number of foreign players to be fielded to just one per match so that the majority of Hungarians remained jobless and got back to their country. Commissioner Bruno Zauli led the FIGC renovation process, with the establishment of three Leagues and the creation of the Technical and the Youth Sectors, between 1964 and 1980, foreign players were banned from the Italian league, primarily to revive the national team. In December 1998, the FIGC celebrated its centenary at the Stadio Olimpico in a match featuring Italy vs World XI, the FIGC was placed in administration in May 2006 as a result of the 2006 Italian football scandal and was put under the management of Guido Rossi. In May 2006, Rossi was chosen and accepted the role of President of Telecom Italia and this appointment caused angry reactions from club presidents in Italy. On September 19, Rossi resigned his position as Commissioner of FIGC, on September 21, Luca Pancalli, head of the Italian Paralympic Committee, was chosen to replace Rossi. On April 2,2007, a new President was elected, following the 2014 FIFA World Cup Abete resigned and Carlo Tavecchio was elected President of the Federation and Michele Uva as general manager. In support of the activity and with a view of maximum transparency, World Cup,4 times European Football Championship, once Olympics, once Central European International Cup, twice Official site Italy at FIFA site Italy at UEFA site Italian calcio glossary
FIGC
–
Italian Football Federation
23.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
World War II
–
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
World War II
–
The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
World War II
–
Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
World War II
–
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
24.
A.C. Milan
–
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
A.C. Milan
–
Herbert Kilpin, the first captain of A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
–
Milan
A.C. Milan
–
Carlo Ancelotti won the
UEFA Champions League twice as Milan manager
A.C. Milan
–
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
25.
Inter Milan
–
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
Inter Milan
–
Giuseppe Meazza made 408 appearances for Inter. He is the all-time top scorer of the club, with 284 goals
Inter Milan
–
Inter Milan
Inter Milan
–
The Inter team which won the
Intercontinental Cup in 1965
Inter Milan
–
Javier Zanetti was captain of Inter from August 1999 to his retirement in 2014
26.
European Club Association
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The European Club Association is a body representing the interests of association football clubs in UEFA. It is the sole such body recognised by UEFA, and has member clubs in each UEFA member association and it was formed in 2008 to replace the G-14, which comprised a small number of élite clubs and was unrecognised by UEFA. The ECAs mission statement is to create a new, more democratic governance model that reflects the key role of the clubs. In addition to replacing the G-14, which was dissolved in favour of the ECA on 15 February 2008, the European Club Forum utilized a similar membership selection process as the European Club Association, with 102 members picked every two years. It was decided that the ECA Board would comprise eleven members, the European Club Association will also provide half of the members of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee. The transitional ECA Board was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Joan Laporta, John McClelland, Umberto Gandini, Peter Kenyon, Maarten Fontein, elections for the Executive Board for the 2017-19 cycle are set to take place at the next General Assembly in Geneva in September 2017. The European Club Association is made up of bodies including working groups, expert panels. These are as follows, Since the creation of the ECA and they provide active advice and support to the ECA Executive Board and to ECA representatives participating in committees or working groups at UEFA, FIFA and EU level. Their contribution is key and strategic to the association, in addition, they drive membership engagement and communication across the organisation on key issues, challenges and opportunities. All working groups are made up of both Ordinary Member and Associated Member Clubs from all four subdivisions, Youth Working Group, Chaired by ECA Executive Board Member Edwin van der Sar, the Youth Working Group attempts to stimulate, develop and protect the grassroots of European club football. Financial Fair Play Panel, charged with collaborating with UEFA in order to elaborate, implement and assess the UEFA Club Licensing. Statutory Affairs Panel, Entrusted with dealing with and analyzing membership applications, issues of eligibility of Members, Womens Football Committee, Acts as a platform to discuss issues related to womens football and to establish a dialogue with relevant stakeholders in womens football. The committee originally consists of 23 clubs including the section of 18 ECA members and 5 non-ECA member womens teams ranked top of their respective National Associations. FFC Turbine Potsdam, Bayern Munich, PAOK, Torres, FC Skonto, Birkirkara, Twente, Lillestrøm FK Kvinner, FC Rossiyanka, Slovan Bratislava, Elitdamfotbal, Zürich Frauen. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by UEFA in 2008, the European Club Association was recognized as the body representing the interests of clubs at European level. The target distribution amount for Euro 2008 is €43.5 million, a renewed Memorandum of Understanding for the period 2012-2018 was signed on 22 March 2012 between ECA and UEFA at the occasion of the XXXVI Ordinary UEFA Congress. The memorandum was signed by ECA Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and UEFA President Michel Platini and it paves the way for a fruitful relationship between European clubs and Europes football governing body, reflecting an improved balance between national team and club football. The new MoU supersedes the 2008 MoU and is now in effect until 30 May 2018
European Club Association
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European Club Association
27.
A.S. Roma
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Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence except for 1951–52, for their 65th season in a row, Roma are competing in Serie A for the 2016–17 season. Roma have won Serie A three times, first in 1941–42 then in 1982–83 and again in 2000–01, as well as winning nine Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. On the European stage Roma won an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960–61, coming close to European Cup victory in 1983–84, therefore, Roma is the fourth Italian club by major honours won, behind Juventus, Milan and Inter. Home games are played at the Stadio Olimpico, a venue they share with city rivals Lazio. With a capacity of over 72,000, it is the second largest of its kind in Italy, in September 2009 the club unveiled plans to build a Stadio della Roma in the western suburbs of Rome. Its design was modelled after English football stadiums with the objective being to give fans a view of the pitch. In September 2011, it was announced that the new president, Thomas R. DiBenedetto, had reached an agreement with the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to have the new stadium completed by 2016. The purpose of the merger was to give the Italian capital a strong club to rival that of the more dominant Northern Italian clubs of the time. The only major Roman club to resist the merger was S. S. Lazio because of the intervention of the army General Vaccaro, member of the club and executive of Italian Football Federation. An early season in which Roma made a mark was the 1930–31 championship. Captain Attilio Ferraris along with Guido Masetti, Fulvio Bernardini and Rodolfo Volk were highly important players during this period, after a slump in league form and the departure of high key players, Roma eventually rebuilt their squad adding goalscorers such as the Argentine Enrique Guaita. Under the management of Luigi Barbesino, the Roman club came close to their first title in 1935–36, Roma returned to form after being inconsistent for much of the late 1930s, Roma recorded an unexpected title triumph in the 1941–42 season by winning their first ever scudetto title. The eighteen goals scored by local player Amedeo Amadei were essential to the Alfréd Schaffer coached Roma side winning the title, at the time Italy was involved in World War II and Roma were playing at the Stadio del Partito Nazionale Fascista. In the years just after the war, Roma were unable to recapture their league stature from the early 1940s, under future national team manager Giuseppe Viani, promotion straight back up was achieved. After returning to the Serie A, Roma managed to stabilise themselves as a top half club again with such as Egisto Pandolfini, Dino Da Costa. Although Roma were unable to break into the top four during the following decade and their first honour outside of Italy was recorded in 1960–61 when Roma won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup by beating Birmingham City 4–2 in the finals. A few years later Roma won their first Coppa Italia trophy in 1963–64, supporters kept the club going with a fundraiser at the Sistine Theatre and bankruptcy was avoided with the election of a new club president Franco Evangelisti
A.S. Roma
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17 June 2001 – Roma-Parma 3–1: Roma won its third Italian championship in its history. Fans of the
Curva Sud are overjoyed
A.S. Roma
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Roma
A.S. Roma
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Francesco Totti, current captain, with the
2007–08 Coppa Italia
A.S. Roma
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Stadio Olimpico
28.
ACF Fiorentina
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ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies, on the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later. Since 1931, the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, the stadium has used several names over the years and has undergone several renovations. Fiorentina are known widely by the nickname Viola, a reference to their distinctive purple colours, the aim of the merger was to give Florence a strong club to rival those of the more dominant Italian Football Championship sides of the time from Northwest Italy. Also influential was the revival and rediscovery of Calcio Fiorentino. After a rough start and three seasons in lower leagues, Fiorentina reached the Serie A in 1931 and that same year saw the opening of the new stadium, originally named after Giovanni Berta, after a prominent fascist, but now known as Stadio Artemio Franchi. At the time, the stadium was a masterpiece of engineering, to be able to compete with the best teams in Italy, Fiorentina strengthened their team with some new players, notably the Uruguayan Pedro Petrone, nicknamed el Artillero. Despite enjoying a season and finishing in fourth place, Fiorentina were relegated the following year. In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, but the team were unable to build on their success during the 1940s because of World War II, in 1950, Fiorentina started to achieve consistent top-five finishes in the domestic league. This team won Fiorentinas first scudetto in 1955–56,12 points ahead of second-place Milan, Fiorentina were runners-up again in the three subsequent seasons. In the 1960–61 season, the won the Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe. After several years of runner-up finishes, Fiorentina dropped away slightly in the 1960s, bouncing from fourth to sixth place, although the club won the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966. While the 1960s did result in some trophies and good Serie A finishes for Fiorentina, the 1968–69 season started with Milan as frontrunners, but on matchday 7, they lost to Bologna and were overtaken by Gigi Rivas Cagliari. Fiorentina, after a start, then moved to the top of the Serie A. The second half of the season was a battle between the three contending teams, Milan, Cagliari and Fiorentina. Milan fell away, instead focusing their efforts on the European Cup, after Cagliari lost against Juventus, however, Fiorentina took over at the top. The team then won all of their matches, beating rivals Juve in Turin on the penultimate matchday to seal their second. Viola players began the 1970s decade with Scudetto sewed on their breast, after a fifth-place finish in 1971, they finished in mid-table almost every year, even flirting with relegation in 1972 and 1978
ACF Fiorentina
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The first Italian champion Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
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Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
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Giancarlo Antognoni, former captain of Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
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Roberto Baggio (on his
Serie A debut with Fiorentina, in 1986) helped the club to the
1990 UEFA Cup Final
29.
S.S. Lazio
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Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football. Lazio have been Italian champions twice, and have won the Coppa Italia six times, the club had their first major success in 1958, winning the domestic cup. In 1974, they won their first Serie A title, Lazios traditional kit colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts with white socks, the colours are reminiscent of Romes ancient Hellenic legacy. Sky blue socks have also been used as home colours. Their home is the 70,634 capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Roma until the year 2018, when the latter will leave for the Stadio della Roma. Lazio have a rivalry with Roma, with whom they have contested the Derby della Capitale since 1929. Lazio is also a club that participate in 40 sports disciplines in total. Società Podistica Lazio was founded on 9 January 1900 in the Prati district of Rome, in 1927, Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regimes attempts to merge all the citys teams into what would become A. S. The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and, led by legendary Italian striker Silvio Piola, the 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results with a Coppa Italia win in 1958. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, after a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71. Lazio improved such successes the following season, ensuring its first title in 1973–74, however, tragic deaths of Re Cecconi and Scudetto trainer Maestrelli, as well as the departure of Chinaglia, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italys second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazios history and they would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. The 1984–85 season would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points, in 1986, Lazio was hit with a nine-point deduction for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti in 1992 changed the clubs due to his long-term investments in new players to make the team a Scudetto competitor. A notable early transfer during his tenure was the capture of English midfielder Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million, gascoignes transfer to Lazio is credited with the increase of interest in Serie A in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Lazio had two more Coppa Italia triumphs in 1998 and 2004, as well as the last ever UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and they also reached the UEFA Cup, but lost 0–3 against Internazionale
S.S. Lazio
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Plaque commemorating the foundation of Lazio at Piazza della Libertà (Roma, Prati).
S.S. Lazio
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Lazio
S.S. Lazio
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Bruno Giordano with the S.S. Lazio jersey.
S.S. Lazio
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Alessandro Nesta, homegrown player and captain of Lazio 1999–2002
30.
S.S.C. Napoli
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Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples, Campania. Formed in 1926, the plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club has won Serie A twice, and been runners-up six times, the Coppa Italia five times, the Supercoppa Italiana twice, the club is one of the associate members of the European Club Association. In the January 2016 UEFA ratings, Napoli are ranked the eighth best club in European Football, since 1959 the club has played their home games at Stadio San Paolo in the Fuorigrotta suburb of Naples. Their home colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts, the official anthem of the club is O surdato nnammurato. Former players include Diego Maradona, Gianfranco Zola, Fabio Cannavaro, Edinson Cavani, the first club was founded as Naples Foot-Ball & Cricket Club in 1904 by English sailor William Poths and his associate Hector M. Bayon. Neapolitans such as Conforti, Catterina and Amedeo Salsi were also involved, the original kit of the club was a sky blue and navy blue striped shirt, with black shorts. Naples first match was a 3–2 win against the English crew of the boat Arabik with goals from MacPherson, Scafoglio, the name of the club was shortened to Naples Foot-Ball Club in 1906. Early into its existence, the Italian Football Championship was limited to just Northern clubs, in the cup competed between Naples and Palermo FBC, Naples won three finals. The foreign contingent at the club broke off in 1912 to form Internazionale Napoli, under the presidency of Giorgio Ascarelli, the club changed its name to Associazione Calcio Napoli on 23 August 1926. He was a capable goal-scorer and eventually set the all-time goal-scoring record for Napoli, Napoli entered the Serie A-era under the management of William Garbutt. During his six-year stint, the club would be dramatically transformed and this included two third-place finishes during the 1932–33 and 1933–34 seasons, with added notables such as Antonio Vojak, Arnaldo Sentimenti and Carlo Buscaglia. For the years leading up to World War II Napoli went into decline, Napoli lost a closely contested relegation battle at the end of 1942 and were relegated to Serie B. They moved from Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli to Stadio Arturo Collana and stayed in Serie B until after the war, when play continued, Napoli earned the right to compete in Serie A, but were relegated after two seasons for a bribery scandal. The club bounced back to top flight football at the start of the 1950s. Napoli moved to their new home ground Stadio San Paolo in 1959 and their fourth relegation cut celebrations short the following season. As the club changed their name to Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli on 25 June 1964 they began to rise up again, gaining promotion in 1964–65. Under the management of former player Bruno Pesaola, they won the Coppa delle Alpi and were back amongst the elite in Serie A, Napoli came very close to winning the league in 1967–68, finishing just behind AC Milan in second place
S.S.C. Napoli
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Attila Sallustro in the middle, with Napoli teammates in 1927
S.S.C. Napoli
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Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
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Napoli moved to the new
Stadio San Paolo in 1959, where they have played since.
S.S.C. Napoli
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Napoli at the start of the 1970s with
Dino Zoff,
José Altafini, and others.
31.
Football in Italy
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Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team is considered to be one of the best national teams in the world and they have won the FIFA World Cup four times, trailing only Brazil, runners-up in two finals and reaching a third place. They have also won one European championship, also appearing in two finals, one Olympic football tournament and two Central European International Cups. Italys top domestic league, the Serie A, is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. Italys club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football, Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Napoli are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. Italian managers are the most successful in European Football, especially in such as the Champions League. More players have won the coveted Ballon dOr award while playing at a Serie A club than any other league in the world, other forms of football were played in Italy in ancient times, the earliest of which was Harpastum, played during the times of the Roman Empire. This game may have also been influential to other forms throughout Europe due to the expansion of the Empire, from the 16th century onwards, Calcio Fiorentino, another code of football distinct from the modern game, was played in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. Some famous Florentines were amongst players of the game, particularly the Medici family including Piero, Lorenzo, as well as Popes such as Clement VII, Leo XI and Urban VIII who played the game in the Vatican. The name calcio was later adopted for football in Italy, the modern variation of the game was brought to Italy during the 1880s. Three years later in 1896 a man named James Richardson Spensley arrived in Genoa introducing the football section of the club, however, evidence exists to suggest that the first club may have been from Turin. Edoardo Bosio, a merchant worker in the British textile industry had visited England and he returned to Turin in 1887 and was motivated to help spread football in his homeland. He founded Torino Football and Cricket Club that year while Nobili Torino soon followed, the second club bore the name of noble because it contained the Duke of the Abruzzi and Alfonso Ferrero di Ventimiglia. FIGC created the Italian Football Championship with the four founder clubs been, Genoa, FBC Torinese, Ginnastica Torino, the first competition of which was held at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin on 8 May 1898 and was won by Genoa. While it was common for clubs to compete in both FIGC and FNGI competitions early on, the won in the FIGC championship are the only ones officially recognised by the modern day league. In the following years, the tournament was structured into regional groups with the winners of each participating in a playoff with the eventual winners being declared champions. Until to 1904 the tournament was dominated by Genoa, who won 6 titles in 7 years, between 1905 and 1908 a Final Group among regional champions was contested to award the title and the Spensley Cup. Juventus won his first title and Spensley Cup in 1905, the former championship, where foreign players, too, were allowed to play, was renamed Federal Championship
Football in Italy
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Illustration of a game of Calcio Fiorentino from 1688
32.
Scudetto
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The Scudetto is a decoration worn by Italian sports clubs that win the annual championship of their respective sport in the previous season. It was created in the 1920s to honour the winner of the association football league. Later it was adopted by the teams of other sports, sources generally agree that the inventor of the Scudetto was the Italian poet and playwright Gabriele DAnnunzio. In 1924 the Italian Football Federation approved the decision to honour the incumbent champion allowing them to wear the Scudetto on their jerseys, since then the Scudetto has become the symbol of the incumbent champions of every sports league in Italy. The Italian rugby union championship which started in 1928 adopted the Scudetto on the teams jerseys, too
Scudetto
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Scudetto
33.
Atalanta B.C.
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Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy. The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained the promotion from Serie B in 2010–11 and they are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the Orobici. Atalanta play in blue-and-black vertically striped shirts, black shorts and black socks, the club stadium is the 26,638 seater Atleti Azzurri dItalia. The club won the Coppa Italia in 1963 and reached the Cup Winners Cup semi-final in 1988 and this is still the best ever performance by a non-first division club in a major UEFA competition. Atalanta also participated twice in the UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals in 1990–91, the club was founded in 1907. A football club had existed in Bergamo since 1904, founded by Swiss immigrants, it was known as Foot Ball Club Bergamo. The rival Atalanta club grew out of a division between different sporting societies in the town, the name is taken from the female athlete of Greek mythology. The FIGC was unimpressed with the new club and did not officially recognize them until 1914, the current club is the result of a merger between Atalanta and a third team called Bergamasca. The first, black and white coloured and the wearing a blue and white shirt. The team moved to the site of the current ground, on the Viale Giulio Cesare, Atalanta joined the Italian league in 1929. The club first reached Serie A in 1937, but was relegated immediately, the club achieved its highest position in 1948, finishing in fifth place. In 1981, the fell into Serie C1, a blow which revitalised the club. The team returned to Serie B the next season and made it back to Serie A in 1984, the clubs form in Serie A remains uncertain, as it was relegated in 1987,1994,1998,2003,2005 and 2010. After a change of ownership, in 2011, Atalanta immediately came back to Serie A, in terms of titles the club has won little, their sole silverware is the 1963 Coppa Italia. The club has had a few runs in Europe, on several occasions being eliminated by the eventual winners. Welsh club Merthyr Tydfil caused an upset in the 1987–88 European Cup Winners Cup, oddly enough, the only other team to do so being Merthyr Tydfils countrymen at Cardiff City. Atalanta reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in the 1990–91 season, losing to local rivals Internazionale, in recent years, the club was relegated after the 2002–03, 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons, but gained the promotion to Serie A after only one season every time. In 2011–12, Atalanta was docked six points in the table due to the outcomes of an Italian football scandal
Atalanta B.C.
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Atalanta
34.
Benevento Calcio
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Benevento Calcio is an Italian association football club based in Benevento, Campania. The club was founded in 1929 and refounded in 2005, currently it plays in Serie B. The club was founded as Associazione Calcio Benevento in 1929, their home was the Meomartini which was built by Ciccio Minocchia. After working their way up lower divisions in their earliest years, Benevento reached Prima Divisione, here it finished above clubs such as Reggina in its first season within the league. Although it did not win promotion to Serie B, the team did qualify to remain in the tier of Italian football for the 1935–36 season. At the same time Benevento Calcio S. p. A. was found, in the 2007–08 Serie C2 regular season the team finished first in Girone C, winning direct promotion to the now called Lega Pro Prima Divisione for the 2008–09 season. In the 2008–09 season, Beneventos first season in Lega Pro Prima Divisione and this meant Benevento would be in a 2 leg play-off. They won their first 2 legged play-off, but lost to Crotone 1–0 on aggregate in the final, gaetano Auteri was appointed as the head manager for the 2015–16 season. In this season, Benevento won its league and reached the Serie B for the first time in its history, the mathematical certainty arrived on April 30,2016, after defeating Lecce 3–0. The teams colors are yellow and red, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
Benevento Calcio
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Benevento
35.
Bologna F.C. 1909
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Bologna Football Club 1909, known simply as Bologna, is an Italian football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, formed in 1909. The club are nicknamed the rossoblu due to the striped shirts which they wear. Bologna were founding members of Serie A in 1929, during its history, the club has won the Italian league championship seven times, making them the sixth most successful team in the history of the league. Bologna Football Clubs formation was orchestrated by Emilio Arnstein, an Austrian who became interested in football at university in Vienna and he and his brother had previously founded another football club, Black Star, in Austria. The club was founded on 3 October 1909, in the Northern Italian city of Bologna, on 20 March 1910, Bologna played their first ever game, against Virtus, who wore white shirts. Bologna outclassed their opponents, winning 9–1, the first football squad featured, Koch, Chiara, Pessarelli, Bragaglia, Guido Della Valle, Nanni, Donati, Rauch, Bernabeu, Mezzano, and Gradi. Their formative season was spent in the league under Arrigo Gradi as captain. They spent four seasons in league, never finishing lower than fifth. Bologna were entered into the Northern League before all football leagues were postponed for World War I, after the first war, Bologna began to become more successful. First reaching the semi-finals of the Northern Italian competition in 1919–20, they went one better the season by reaching the Northern League finals. They would equal this again in 1923–24, coming runner up to national champions Genoa. Bologna became Northern and National League champions for the first time during 1924–25, the finals against the Ligurian giants were marred by heavy crowd troubles. The Scudetto was won by Bologna four more times before World War II, after World War II, the club was less successful. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the club generally floated between fourth, fifth and sixth position in the league, until they took the title back in 1963–64. To date this remains their last Serie A championship, bringing the total to seven. This qualified Bologna to the 1964–65 European Cup, but they were eliminated in the round against Anderlecht. It was not all doom and gloom for the club, however, in the 1970s, they won the Italian Cup twice, the game was tense and finished 1–1 before going to a penalty shootout, where Bologna won 4–3. Beginning in the 1981–82 season, the club began to slide, first, they were relegated from Serie A after battling it out for survival with Cagliari and Genoa
Bologna F.C. 1909
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Bologna squad from the 1912 season.
Bologna F.C. 1909
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Bologna
Bologna F.C. 1909
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Stadio Renato Dall'Ara seen from Curva Bulgarelli
36.
Cagliari Calcio
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Cagliari Calcio, before,1970 US Cagliari is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. The club currently plays in Serie A and they won their only Scudetto in 1969–70, when they were led by the Italy national teams all-time leading scorer, Luigi Riva. The triumph was also the first by a club south of Rome. Cagliaris colours are blue and red, the clubs stadium is the 16,000 seat Stadio SantElia in Cagliari. During the 2012–13 season, however, the team played their home games at the Stadio Is Arenas. The clubs best European performance was in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, Cagliari became the first ever out-right champions of Serie C during the 1951–52 season, prior to that in the league, the championship was shared amongst more than one team. They spent the 1950s from then on in Serie B, losing a promotion play-off in 1954, after descending to Serie C in the early 1960s, Cagliaris rise would be meteoric, eventually achieving promotion to Serie A in 1964. The squad for the Rossoblus debut season in Serie A featured players like defender Mario Martiradonna, midfielders Pierluigi Cera, Nené and Ricciotti Greatti, a poor first half of the season, however, saw Cagliari in last place with nine points at the halfway mark. An astonishing second half of the season saw Cagliari defeat the likes of Juventus and Milan, two seasons later, Riva finished as Serie As top scorer for the first time while Cagliari finished with the leagues best defensive record. During the summer of 1967, Cagliari played a season in North America as part of a league called the United Soccer Association. This league from Europe and South America to play in American and Canadian cities, Cagliari played as the Chicago Mustangs, and finished joint second in the leagues Western Division with 13 points, two behind the division champion and eventual league champion Los Angeles Wolves. The leagues leading scorer was Chicago/Cagliaris Roberto Boninsegna, who scored ten goals while playing in 9 of the teams 12 games, Cagliari first emerged as serious Serie A title contenders in 1968–69 with a three-horse race involving them, Fiorentina and Milan. Fiorentina would win the league, but the season would bring ultimate glory. With Angelo Domenghini joining the side, Cagliari would win the title in 1970 with only two games lost,11 goals conceded and Riva as league top scorer once more. Players like Albertosi, Niccolai, Boninsegna, Gori, Cera, Domenghini, the 1970s would see a gradual decline. Cagliari were finally relegated in 1976, with Rivas career having effectively ended during that season, after relegation, Cagliari lost a play-off for promotion the following season and would return to Serie A in 1979. Players like Franco Selvaggi, Mario Brugnera and Alberto Marchetti ensured a respectable four-year stay in the top flight before a relegation in 1983. The 1980s would then prove to be a time compared to the previous two decades with relegation to Serie C1 in 1987
Cagliari Calcio
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Forward
Luigi Riva led Cagliari to their first
Serie A title in 1969–70.
Cagliari Calcio
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Cagliari
Cagliari Calcio
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Cagliari spent the 2012–13 season at the
Stadio Is Arenas in
Quartu Sant'Elena
37.
A.C. ChievoVerona
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The club is nicknamed alternatively Gialloblu, Mussi volanti or Ceo, and shares the 38,402 seater MarcAntonio Bentegodi stadium with its cross-town rivals Hellas Verona. The team was founded in 1929 by a number of football fans from the small borough of Chievo. Initially the club was not officially affiliated to the Italian Football Federation, Chievo, a title imposed by the fascist regime. The clubs formal debut in a league was on 8 November 1931. The team colours at the time were blue and white, Chievo disbanded in 1936, however, due to economic woes but returned to play in 1948 after World War II, being registered in the regional league of Seconda Divisione. In 1957, the moved to the Carlantonio Bottagisio parish field. In 1959, after the restructuring of the leagues, Chievo was admitted to play the Seconda Categoria. That year, Chievo changed its name to Cardi Chievo, after a new sponsor, in 1964, Luigi Campedelli, a businessman and owner of the Paluani company, was named new Chievo chairman. Under Campedellis presidency, Chievo climbed through the entire Italian football pyramid, under the name Paluani Chievo, the team was promoted to Serie C2 in 1986. As a consequence of promotion, Chievo was forced to move to the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, in 1990, the team changed its name to its current one, A. C. ChievoVerona. Campedelli promoted Giovanni Sartori to director of football and named Alberto Malesani as the new head coach, under Malesani, the team astonishingly won the Serie C1 and was promoted to Serie B, where city rival Hellas Verona was playing at the time. In 1997, after Malesani signed for Fiorentina, Silvio Baldini was appointed the new head coach. The following season, with Domenico Caso as the coach, saw the first dismissal of a coach during the presidency of Luca Campedelli and it was during these years that the nickname mussi volanti was born. It originated from supporters of their crosstown rivals Hellas, who would mock long-suffering Chievo supporters that Chievo will only be promoted if donkeys could fly, in its 2001–02, Chievos Serie A debut season, the team was most critics choice for an instant return to Serie B. However, they became the team in the league, playing often spectacular and entertaining football. The club finally ended the season with a highly respectable fifth-place finish, in 2002–03, Chievo debuted at the European level but were eliminated in the first round by Red Star Belgrade. The team finished the Serie A season in place, again proving itself one of the better Serie A teams. The 2003–04 season, the last with Delneri at the helm, the 2004–05 season is remembered as one of the toughest ever in Chievos history
A.C. ChievoVerona
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ChievoVerona
38.
F.C. Crotone
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Football Club Crotone is an Italian football club based in Crotone, Calabria. Founded in 1910, holding home games at Stadio Ezio Scida, the club is playing its first season in Serie A after being promoted from Serie B in 2016. The first team from Crotone, Milone Crotone, was founded in 1910, following World War II, a new club, Unione Sportiva Crotone replaced the previous one, playing seven seasons in Serie C. In 1978, following the Italian football league reorganisation, Crotone was relegated to Serie C2, a new club, Associazione Sportiva Crotone, began competing again in the Prima Categoria. Crotone was promoted to Serie C2 in 1984–85, but only for one season, the teams name was changed to Kroton Calcio, and the club was promoted again to C2 after the 1986–87 season, where it played until 1991. A second bankruptcy led to the foundation of Football Club Crotone Calcio with Raffaele Vrenna as chairman, Crotone gained successive promotions to Serie C2 and C1, winning in the play-offs against Locri and Benevento, respectively. Under Antonello Cuccureddu, Crotone first reached Serie B in 2000, again in division two in 2004, after disposing of Viterbese in the promotion play-offs, it remained in the category until the 2006–07 season. After being beaten by Taranto in the 2008 play-offs, Crotone returned to the division the following season. The team was promoted to the Italian top flight, for the 2016–17 season for the first time in its history, team colours are dark blue and red. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
F.C. Crotone
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Crotone
39.
Genoa C.F.C.
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Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa, is a professional Italian football and cricket club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria. Established on 7 September 1893, it is Italys oldest football team currently active, during their long history, Genoa have won the Italian Championship nine times. Genoas first title came at the championship in 1898 and their most recent was in 1923–24. They also won the Coppa Italia once, historically, Genoa is the fourth most successful Italian club in terms of championships won. Brera went as far as creating the nickname Vecchio Balordo for Genoa, the club has played its home games at the 36,536 capacity Stadio Luigi Ferraris since 1911. Since 1946, the ground has been shared with local rivals Sampdoria, Genoa has spent most of its post-war history going up and down between Serie A and Serie B, with two brief spells in Serie C. For more details on this topic, see History of Genoa C. F. C, the club was founded on 7 September 1893 as Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. In its earliest years, it competed in athletics and cricket. Since the club was set up to represent England abroad, the shirts worn by the organisation were white. At first Italians were not permitted to join as it was a British sporting club abroad, Genoas activities took place in the north-west of the city in the Campasso area, at the Piazza dArmi. It was among the oldest in Italian football at the time, Italians were allowed to join and found a new ground in the form of Ponte Carrega. The first friendly match took place at home, against a team of Internazionale Torino and FBC Torinese. Not long after, Genoa recorded its first victory away against UPS Alessandria winning 2–0, friendly games also took place against various British sailors such as those from HMS Revenge. Football in Italy stepped up a level with the creation of the Italian Football Federation, Genoa competed in the first Italian Championship in 1898 at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin. They defeated Ginnastica Torino 2–1 in their first official game on 8 May, Genoa returned for the following season, this time with a few changes, the name of the club was altered to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, dropping the Athletic from its name. A change in colour was also in order, as they changed to white and blue vertical stripes. Genoa won their second title on a tournament which took place on 16 April 1899. On their way to winning their third title in 1900 and also beat local rivals Sampierdarenese 7–0
Genoa C.F.C.
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Founding constitution. Long thought to be lost this historical document was retrieved among the papers of renowned sports journalist
Gianni Brera (himself a Genoa supporter) after his death and donated back to the club by his relatives.
Genoa C.F.C.
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Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
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The last Genoa side to win the Italian Football Championship, in 1924
Genoa C.F.C.
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Genoa
Coppa Italia winning side of 1937, celebrating in Florence.
40.
Hellas Verona F.C.
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Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian football club, based in Verona, Veneto. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85, and currently plays in Serie B, founded in 1903 by a group of high school students, the club was named Hellas, at the request of a professor of classics. At a time in football was played seriously only in the larger cities of the northwest of Italy. However, when in 1906 two city teams chose the citys Roman amphitheatre as a venue to showcase the game, crowd enthusiasm and media interest began to rise. During these first few years, Hellas was one of three or four teams playing mainly at a municipal level while fighting against city rivals Bentegodi to become the citys premier football outfit. By the 1907–08 season, Hellas was playing against regional teams, from 1898 to 1926, Italian football was organised into regional groups. In this period, Hellas was one of the teams of the early league. In 1911, the city helped Hellas replace the early, gritty football fields with a proper venue and this allowed the team to take part in its first regional tournament, which until 1926, was the qualifying stage for the national title. Between 1926 and 1929, the elite Campionato Nazionale assimilated the top sides from the regional groups and Hellas Verona joined the privileged teams. Serie A, as it is structured today, began in 1929, still an amateur team, Hellas merged with two city rivals, Bentegodi and Scaligera, to form AC Verona. Hoping to build a first class contender for future years the new team debuted in Serie B in 1929 and it would take the gialloblu 28 years to finally achieve their goal. After first being promoted to Serie A for one season in 1957–58, in 1959, coached by Nils Liedholm, the team returned to Serie A in 1968 and remained in the elite league almost without interruption until 1990. Along the way, it scored a famous 5–3 win in the 1972–73 season that cost Milan the scudetto, the fact that the result came late during the last matchday of the season makes the sudden and unexpected end to the rossoneris title ambitions all the more memorable. After a year in Serie B, Hellas returned to Serie A, in the 1975–76 season, the team had a successful run in the Coppa Italia, eliminating highly rated teams such as Torino, Cagliari and Internazionale from the tournament. However, in their first ever final in the competition, Hellas were trounced 4–0 by Napoli, under the leadership of coach Osvaldo Bagnoli, in 1982–83 the team secured a fourth-place in Serie A and even led the Serie A standings for a few weeks. The same season Hellas again reached the Coppa Italia final, after a 2–0 home victory, Hellas then travelled to Turin to play Juventus but were defeated 3–0 after extra time. In 1988, the team had their best international result when they reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals with four victories, the decisive defeat came from German side Werder Bremen. Hellas finished the year with a 15–13–2 record and 43 points, four ahead of Torino with Internazionale
Hellas Verona F.C.
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Verona
41.
U.C. Sampdoria
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Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly known as Sampdoria, is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria, Sampdoria currently compete in Serie A. Both the team name and jersey do reflect this, the first being a combination of the former names, the teams colours are blue with white, red and black hoops, hence the nickname blucerchiati. Sampdoria play at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, capacity 36,536, the derby between the two teams is commonly known as the Derby della Lanterna. Sampdoria have won the Scudetto only once in their history, in 1990–91, the club has also won the Coppa Italia four times and one Supercoppa Italiana. Their biggest European success came when they won the Cup Winners Cup in 1989–90 and they also reached the European Cup final in 1991–92, losing the final 1–0 to Barcelona after extra time. The Ginnastica Sampierdarenese was founded in 1891, opening its section in 1899. Also around this time, a club named Society Andrea Doria was founded in 1895, the club eventually joined the competition for the 1903 Italian Football Championship, but did not win a game in the tournament until 1907, when they beat local rivals Genoa 3–1. It was not until 1910–11 that the club began to show promise, during that seasons tournament, they finished above Juventus, Internazionale and Genoa in the Piedmont-Lombardy-Liguria section. After World War I, Sampierdarenese finally began to compete in the Italian Championship, after they bought a club of Genoa province. With the 1921–22 season, the Italian top league was split into two competitions, both of the clubs in Sampdorias history were in competitions that year too. Sampierdarenese played in the FIGC-run competition, whereas Andrea Doria played in the CCI variation, Sampierdarenese won the Ligura section and then went on to the semi-finals, finishing top out of three clubs, this lead them to the final against Novese. Both legs of the final ended in 0–0 draws, thus a repetition match was played in Cremona on 21 May 1922, still intensely difficult to separate, the match went into extra time with Novese eventually winning the tie 2–1. After the league system in Italy was brought back into one item, at the end of the 1926–27 season, the clubs merged by fascist authorities under the name La Dominante. Wearing green and black striped shirts, La Dominante Genova were admitted to the first ever season of Serie B, the next season, under the name Liguria, they had a disastrous year, finishing bottom of the table and suffering relegation. Because of this, both Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria reverted to their previous names as separate clubs, Sampierdarenese were back in Serie B for the 1932–33 season and finished in the upper part. The following year, they were crowned champions and were promoted into Serie A for the first time, in the early 1940s, the club was relegated, but bounced straight back up as Serie B champions in 1941. After World War II, both clubs were competing in Serie A, in a reverse of pre-war situations, Andrea Doria were now the top out of the two
U.C. Sampdoria
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Early photograph of Andrea Doria players.
U.C. Sampdoria
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Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
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Sampdoria's starting line-up during the
1990–91 Serie A title-winning season.
42.
U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
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Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio is an Italian professional football club based in Sassuolo, in the province of Modena. Their colours are black and green, hence the nickname neroverdi. Founded in 1920, Sassuolo have played in Serie A from the 2013–14 season, joining a group of teams not belonging to a provincial capital city, Empoli, Legnano, Pro Patria, Carpi. The club was founded in 1920 and played in the Emilian amateur divisions for most of its history until its first promotion to Serie D in 1968, in this era, the club merged with other local football teams to eventually form the current US Sassuolo Calcio in 1974. In 1984, it first gained promotion to Serie C2, the lowest level of football in Italy. However, they were relegated again in 1990 and subsequently spent most of the back in Serie D. In 1998, a second-place finish ensured promotion back to Serie C2, Sassuolo reached Serie C1 in 2006 after winning the Serie C2 promotion play-offs by beating Sansovino in the final. Remondina then left Sassuolo to join Serie Bs Piacenza, and former Serie A player Massimiliano Allegri was then chosen as new head coach, following Sassuolos promotion to the Italian second tier, Allegri left Sassuolo to fill the head coaching position at Serie A team Cagliari. On July 2008, the club appointed former Atalanta and Siena boss Andrea Mandorlini for the 2008–09 season, Sassuolo had a surprisingly good start to the 2008–09 campaign and held a promotion playoff place for very long time. They only won two points in their last five matches to finish in seventh place. Despite a successful season, Mandorlini left Sassuolo by mutual consent in June 2009, Sassuolo successively qualified to the Serie B promotion playoffs in 2009–10 by placing fourth, and 2011–12 in third, being eliminated at the semi-finals in both seasons. On 25 August 2013, Sassuolo played their first-ever Serie A match, the teams second match was their first at home, against Livorno, where striker Simone Zaza scored Sassuolos first top-flight goal as they lost 4–1. On 22 September 2013, Sassuolo endured a heavy 7–0 defeat at home to Internazionale, the team earned their first point in their fifth match, on 25 September away to Napoli. Zaza equalised as the game finished 1–1, ending the perfect start to the season. This was followed by a first home point on 29 September, on 20 October 2013, Sassuolo won their first Serie A game, defeating Bologna 2–1 at home with goals from Domenico Berardi and Antonio Floro Flores, moving the club off bottom place. Sassuolo won away for the first time in Serie A on 3 November against Sampdoria, since the following match, a 1–1 draw at Roma on 10 November, the club has been outside the relegation zone. On 12 January 2014, Berardi was the player in the season to score four goals in a game. Towards the end of January 2014, Sassuolo were in place and so manager Di Francesco was relieved of his duties. The managerial change did not have the effects and so in early March
U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
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The Sassuolo team of 1983-84, winner of the Interregional Championship and promoted for the first time ever to professional football in
Serie C2
U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
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U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
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Massimiliano Allegri, manager of Sassuolo in 2008 who won promotion to
Serie B, winning group A of
Serie C1 and the
Supercoppa Lega Pro.
U.S. Sassuolo Calcio
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Eusebio Di Francesco, manager of the historic promotion to Serie A for the neroverdi in 2014.
43.
S.P.A.L. 2013
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2013, better known as Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor is a professional Italian football club, based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. The club currently plays in Serie B, the level of the Italian football league system. SPAL has played its matches since 1928 at Stadio Paolo Mazza. The club has played 21 seasons in the league, the best result being a 5th place finish in the 1959–60 season. It last played in Serie A during the 1967–68 season where it finished 14th out of 16 clubs, after spending 14 years between Serie B and Serie C, the club, struggling with multiple difficulties, stayed most of the following decades between the 3rd and 4th tiers. Finally came back to Serie B after a 1st place finish in the group B of the 2015–16 Lega Pro, the club was founded in 1907 as Circolo Ars et Labor by the Salesian priest Pietro Acerbis, then was renamed in 1913 as Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor. The team played in Serie A from 1920 to 1925, then again from 1951 to 1968 and it was refounded in 2005, after a bankruptcy, as Spal 1907. At the end of the 2012–13 Serie D season the club took back its original denomination. P. A. L. and Giacomense, with the latter giving its sports title to S. P. A. L. and continuing to play in Ferrara. The club changed its name to S. P. A. L,2013 in order to continue the soccer history of S. P. A. L. The new club completed the 2013–14 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione season in sixth place, on Saturday 23 April 2016, the squad secured promotion to Serie B for the first time since the 1992–93 season. The teams colours are blue and white, as of 5 January 2017 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
S.P.A.L. 2013
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SPAL
44.
Torino F.C.
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Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that plays in Serie A. That entire team was killed in the 1949 Superga air disaster and they have also won the Coppa Italia five times, the last of which was in the 1992–93 season. Internationally, Torino won the Mitropa Cup in 1991 and were finalists in the UEFA Cup in 1991–92, Torino plays all of its home games at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. The clubs colour is maroon, and its symbol is a rampant bull, in the city of Turin, the game of football arrived at the end of the 19th century, first introduced by the industrial Swiss and English. By 1887, Football & Cricket Club – the oldest Italian football club – had already founded in the capital of Piedmont. In 1891 the two merged to form Internazionale Torino, after which Football Club Torinese was founded in 1894. The new game quickly supplanted the popularity of pallapugno, which led to the foundation of the sections of the sports club Ginnastica Torino. Faelmdrich, A. Boulaz and Walter Streule, franz Schoenbrod, the president, was absent, with the cashier, Luigi Custer, randomly seated in his elected seat. While not intervening, Giacomo Zuffi, Gian Luigi Delleani, Vittorio Morelli di Popolo, Ademaro Biano, Ettore Ghiglione, Vittorio Berrà, through the merger of Football Club Torinese and the aforementioned group of dissidents Foot-Ball Club Torino was born. The new club chose to use different colours, opting in the end for granata, the historic photo of that first meeting portrays a boy destined to play an important role in the history of Italian football, Vittorio Pozzo. The first derby was played in the new year at the Velodrome Umberto I, dated 13 January 1907, Torino successfully replicated this by a margin of 4–1 a month later and gained the right to enter the final round of the Italian Football Championship, placed second behind Milan. Torinos home ground would be, until 1910, the aforementioned Velodrome Umberto I, Torino did not participate in the 1908 Italian Football Championship as a rule was passed which limited the use of foreign players. Torino lost in the final to Swiss side Servette, in 1915, Torino were denied their first real championship attempt by the outbreak of World War I. With one match left to play, Torino, were two points behind leaders Genoa, in the final game of the championship, Torino would have had the opportunity to play the Genoese head-on after defeating them in the first leg 6–1. At that time, albeit in different years, four different siblings played for Torino, the Mossos, after the War, the league resumed in October 1919. Like other teams, Torino lost many of its players during the war, the recovery was muted when Torino squad came 3rd in the Piedmont group, behind Pro Vercelli and Juventus. Even in 1920–21, there was not a league but a series of regional groups. The referee decided to play an extra time, but after eight minutes the teams mutually agreed to not continue
Torino F.C.
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Alfred Dick, founder and then president of the newly born Foot-Ball Club Torino
Torino F.C.
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Torino
Torino F.C.
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Torino players pose for a photograph dating back to 1906
Torino F.C.
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The Invincibles of the "Grande Torino", winners of 5 consecutive
Serie A titles
45.
Udinese Calcio
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Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in Italy, the traditional team home kit is black and white striped shirt, black shorts, and white socks. The club also broadcasts on channel 110 on digital television in north-east of Italy. It has a number of fans in Friuli and surrounding areas. Udinese Calcio was established in 1896 as part of the Società Udinese di Ginnastica e Scherma, in its inaugural year, the club won the Torneo FNGI in Treviso beating Ferrara 2–0, however this title is not recognised as official. On 5 July 1911, some gymnasts of Udinese, headed by Luigi Dal Dan, founded the A. C. Udinese, the new side made its debut in a friendly match against Juventus Palmanova, and won 6–0. It was only in 1912–13 that Udinese first took part in an official FIGC championship, in that year they enrolled in the Campionato Veneto di Promozione, which consisted of just three teams. With two victories against Padova, Udinese finished the tournament in place behind Petrarca and were promoted to first-level Prima Categoria. In Prima Categoria, Udinese failed to reach the national stage, in 1922, Udinese, taking advantage of the absence of big clubs, entered the FIGC Italian Football Championship and reached the Coppa Italia final losing 1–0 against Vado, thanks to an overtime goal. The 1922–23 season was a one for Udinese, as they came last in and were relegated to the second division. The team risked failure for debts in 1923, on 24 August 1923, AS Udinese separated from AC Udinese Friuli, and the club was forced to set up a budget and an autonomous board. Fortunately, all debts were paid by President Alessandro Del Torso through the sale of some of his paintings, the team was included in Group F II Division. The championship was very even and at the end of the tournament three teams were in contention to win, Udinese, Vicenza and Olympia River, playoffs were needed to determine who would reach the final round. Udinese beat Olympia in a playoff 1–0 and drew 1–1 with Vicenza, in the play-off standings, Udinese and Vicenza were still in the lead with 3 points each. Another play-off was then played to determine the winner, after a first encounter finished 0–0, Udinese lost a replay 2–1 but were awarded the win as Vicenza fielded an ineligible player, a Hungarian called Horwart. Udinese reached the finals in place of Vicenza, in the final round, Udinese finished first and was promoted, alongside Parma, to First Division. In the following season, Udinese finished 10th and was relegated again, however, the format of the championship was again reformed and Udinese had another chance to reclaim their place in the top flight. They competed in play-offs with seven other sides for the right to play in Serie A, the winner would remain in the top flight
Udinese Calcio
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Ciro Bilardi
Udinese Calcio
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Udinese
Udinese Calcio
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Stadio Friuli before a Champions League match
Udinese Calcio
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Mauricio Isla (left) and
Alexis Sánchez (right) playing for Udinese in the UEFA Cup.
46.
Bergamo
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Bergamo is a city in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan and 30 km from the lakes Como and Iseo. The foothills of the Bergamo Alps begin immediately north of the town, Bergamo is the seat of the Province of Bergamo. With a population of around 120,000, Bergamo is the fourth-largest city in Lombardy, the metropolitan area of Bergamo extends beyond the administrative city limits, spanning over a densely urbanized area with slightly less than 500,000 inhabitants. The Bergamo metropolitan area is part of the broader Milan metropolitan area. As of 2015, Bergamo is the second most visited city in Lombardy after Milan, Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of Bergomum, founded as a settlement of the Celtic tribe of Cenomani. In 49 BC it became a Roman municipality, containing c.10,000 inhabitants at its peak, an important hub on the military road between Friuli and Raetia, it was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century. From the 6th century Bergamo was the seat of one of the most important Lombard duchies of northern Italy, together with Brescia, Trento, after the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne, it became the seat of a county under one Auteramus. An important Lombardic hoard dating from the 6th to 7th centuries was found in the vicinity of the city in the 19th century and is now in the British Museum. From the 11th century onwards, Bergamo was an independent commune, the local Guelph and Ghibelline factions were the Colleoni and Suardi, respectively. Feuding between the two initially caused the family of Omodeo Tasso to flee north c, from 1264, Bergamo was intermittently under the rule of Milan. In 1331, it gave itself to John of Bohemia, after a short conquest by the Malatesta in 1407, in 1428 it fell under the control of the Venetian Republic, remaining part of it until 1797. Between 1797 and 1815, Bergamo and its territory were included in the political entities born in North Italy during the French, notably, the Venetians fortified the higher portion of the town. In 1815, it was assigned to the Austrian Empire, giuseppe Garibaldi freed it in 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, when Bergamo became part of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 20th century Bergamo became one of Italys most industrialized cities and it is also one of the few Italian cities that did not suffer major destruction during World War II. Bergamo experiences a subtropical climate characteristic of Northern Italy. While most of Italy is characterized by dry summers with little to no precipitation, Bergamo has the reverse trend, the two parts of the town are connected by funicular/cable car, roads, and foot-paths. Parking spaces are limited in the upper city. The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 16th century, Città Alta is an extremely expensive place to live in, with properties being sold for five to twelve thousand euro per square meter
Bergamo
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Top: City skyline at sunrise. Second row. Left: Palazzo della Ragione and
Bergamo Cathedral. Right:
Cappella Colleoni. Third row. Left: asymptote architecture. Middle: Contarini Fountain in Piazza Vecchia. Right: Biblioteca Angelo Mai. Fourth row. Left:
Bergamo–Albino light rail station. Right: Passeggiata in the central district.
Bergamo
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Bergamo in the year 1450
Bergamo
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The Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza Vecchia
Bergamo
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Upper city
47.
Benevento
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Benevento listen is a city and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento,50 kilometres northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 metres above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and it is also the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop. Benevento occupies the site of the ancient Beneventum, originally Maleventum or still earlier Maloenton, the -vent portion of the name probably refers to a market-place and is a common element in ancient place names. The Romans theorized that it meant the site of bad events, in the imperial period it was supposed to have been founded by Diomedes after the Trojan War. A patron saint of Benevento is Saint Bartholomew, the Apostle, Benevento, as Maleventum, was one of the chief cities of Samnium, situated on the Via Appia at a distance of 51 kilometres east from Capua on the banks of the river Calor. Festus, on the contrary, related that it was founded by Auson, a son of Ulysses and Circe, a tradition which indicates that it was an ancient Ausonian city, previous to its conquest by the Samnites. But it first appears in history as a Samnite city, and must have already been a place of strength and it appears, however, to have fallen into their hands during the Third Samnite War, though the exact occasion is unknown. Benevento was certainly in the power of the Romans in 274 BC, six years later they further sought to secure its possession by establishing there a Roman colony with Latin rights. It is probable that the Oscan or Samnite name was Maloeis, or Malieis, whence the form Maleventum would derive, like Agrigentum from Acragas, Selinuntium from Selinus and its wealth is also evidenced by the quantity of coins minted by Beneventum. Horace famously notes Beneventum on his journey from Rome to Brundusium and it was indebted to the same circumstance for the honor of repeated visits from the emperors of Rome, among which those of Nero, Trajan, and Septimus Severus, are particularly recorded. It was probably for the reason that the triumphal arch. The Arch of Trajan is one of the best-preserved Roman structures in the Campania and it repeats the formula of the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum, with reliefs of Trajans life and exploits of his reign. Some of the sculptures are in the British Museum, successive emperors seem to have bestowed on the city accessions of territory, and erected, or at least given name to, various public buildings. Its inhabitants were included in the Stellatine tribe, diaconus speaks of it as a very wealthy city, and the capital of all the surrounding provinces. The territory of Beneventum under the Roman Empire was of considerable extent. An inscription has preserved to us the names of several of the pagi or villages dependent upon Beneventum, the citys most ancient coins bear the legend Malies or Maliesa, which have been supposed to belong to the Samnite, or pre-Samnite, Maleventum. Coins with the legend BENVENTOD, must have struck after it became a Latin colony. Not long after it had been sacked by Totila and its walls razed, the circumstances of the creation of duchy of Benevento are disputed
Benevento
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Main landmarks in Benevento. Clockwise from the upper left: the Arch of Trajan, the church of Santa Sofia, the Cathedral's main portal, the castle and the Roman theatre
Benevento
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Panoramic view of Benevento from the mount Pentime, part of the
Taburnus mountain range
Benevento
–
View of the Roman Theatre of Benevento.
Benevento
–
The Arch of Trajan, provided with a
portcullis, as it appeared in the 18th century, etching by
Piranesi. Some of the bas-reliefs are now in the
British Museum.
48.
Bologna
–
Bologna is the largest city of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, located in the heart of an area of about one million. The first settlements back to at least 1000 BC. The city has been a centre, first under the Etruscans. Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is also an important transportation crossroad for the roads and trains of Northern Italy, where many important mechanical, electronic and nutritional industries have their headquarters. According to the most recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city, Bologna is home to numerous prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions as well as one of the most impressive trade fair districts in Europe. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, the city of Bologna was selected to participate in the Universal Exposition of Shanghai 2010 together with 45 other cities from around the world. Bologna is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy, often ranking as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in the country, after a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. According to legend, St. Petronius built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome, Bologna was a stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna in the Po plain. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard king Liutprand, the Germanic conquerors formed a district called addizione longobarda near the complex of S. Stefano. Charlemagne stayed in this district in 786, traditionally said to be founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered to be the first university. The university originated as a centre of study of medieval Roman law under major glossators. It numbered Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca among its students, the medical school is especially famous. In the 12th century, the families engaged in continual internecine fighting. Troops of Pope Julius II besieged Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace, in 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII. Then a plague at the end of the 16th century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, the population later recovered to a stable 60, 000–65,000. However, there was also great progress during this era, in 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the centre of the University
Bologna
–
A collage of the city, showing
Fountain of Neptune,
Piazza Maggiore,
Basilica of San Petronio,
Two towers (Due Torri),
Tagliatelle al
ragù bolognese (dish of Bologna origin), and endless city arcades typical for Bologna
Bologna
–
Porta Maggiore, one of the twelve medieval city gates of Bologna.
Bologna
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Depiction of a 14th-century fight between the militias of the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Bologna, from the Croniche of Giovanni Sercambi of Lucca.
Bologna
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Bologna in 1640.
49.
Cagliari
–
Cagliari is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliaris Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle and it has about 150,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city has more than 431,000 inhabitants. According to Eurostat, the population of the Functional urban area, Cagliari is the 26th largest city in Italy and the largest city on the island of Sardinia. An ancient city with a history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilisations. Under the buildings of the city there is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some five thousand years. Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1324 to 1848, today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture and several monuments. It is also the seat of the University of Cagliari, founded in 1607, the Cagliari area has been inhabited since the Neolithic. It occupies a position between the sea and a fertile plain and is surrounded by two swamps. There are high mountains nearby, to people could evacuate if the settlement had to be given up. Relics of prehistoric inhabitants were found in the hill of Monte Claro, krly was established around the 8th/7th century BC as one of a string of Phoenician colonies in Sardinia, including Tharros. Its founding is linked to its position along communication routes with Africa as well as to its excellent port, the Phoenician settlement was located in the Stagno di Santa Gilla, west of the present centre of Cagliari. This was also the site of the Roman Portus Scipio, other Phoenician settlements have been found at Cape SantElia. In the late 6th century BC Carthage took control of Sardinia, Cagliari was a fortified settlement in what is now the modern Marina quarter, with an annexed holy area in the modern Stampace. Sardinia and Cagliari came under Roman rule in 238 BC, shortly after the First Punic War, at other times it was also the Romans chief naval station on the island, and the residence of the praetor. The Romans built a new settlement east of the old Punic city, the two urban agglomerations merged gradually during the second century B. C. to this process is perhaps attributable the plural form Carales. A few years later, when Sardinia fell into the hands of Menas, the lieutenant of Sextus Pompeius, Caralis was the city which offered any resistance. Cagliari continued to be regarded as the capital of the island under the Roman Empire, remains of Roman public buildings were found to the west of Marina in Piazza del Carmine. There was an area of housing near the modern Via Roma
Cagliari
–
Descending, from top: St. Anne's Church, view of the
port, Bastione of Saint Remy, statue of
King Charles Felix of Sardinia and Cala Fighera
Cagliari
–
Necropolis of Tuvixeddu
Cagliari
–
Karalitan ship owners and traders, mosaic in
Ostia Antica
Cagliari
–
Is Centu Scalas ("a hundred steps"), the Roman amphitheatre of Cagliari
2017–18 Serie A
Paolo Maldini
Javier Zanetti
Gunnar Nordahl
Lothar Matthäus: 1991 (Internazionale)
Marco van Basten: 1992 (Milan)
Roberto Baggio: 1993 (Juventus)
George Weah: 1995 (Milan2)
Ronaldo: 19972 and 20021 (Internazionale)
Zinedine Zidane: 1998, 2000 (Juventus)
Pavel Nedvěd: 2003 (Juventus)
