1.
Kerkrade
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Kerkrade is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. Kerkrade is the half of a divided city, it was part of the German town of Herzogenrath until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 drew the current Dutch-German border. The two towns, including outlying suburban settlements, have a population approaching 100,000, of which nearly 47,000 in Kerkrade, the history of Kerkrade is closely linked with that of the adjacent town of Herzogenrath, just across the German border. Herzogenrath began as a settlement, called Rode, near the river Worm in the 11th century, in 1104 Augustinian monks founded an abbey, called Kloosterrade, to the west of this settlement. It was called s-Hertogenrode or s-Hertogenrade after the duchy of Brabant took control over the region, as is the case for many parts of the Southern Netherlands, the place changed hands several times in the last few centuries. It was under Spanish control from 1661, Austrian between 1713 and 1785 and French between 1795 and 1813, in 1815, when the kingdom of the Netherlands was formed, the border was drawn through Herzogenrath, the western part being Kerkrade. In the 18th century the monks of Rolduc began small-scale coal mines, when the Willem Sophia mine was opened around 1900, the town grew even more rapidly, absorbing old villages like Chèvremont. In the decades following 1960, all the mines in Limburg were closed, one of the oldest buildings in the municipality is Erenstein, a castle the origins of which lie in the 14th century. One part of the border between the Netherlands and Germany runs along the middle of the street Nieuwstraat/Neustraße, there was a separate 2-way road on each side, and cars had to pass through the official crossing points, but pedestrians could readily step over the wall. In 1995, the wall was removed completely as part of the new Schengen Area agreement, Nieuwstraat/Neustraße is now a single two-way road, with the extra space now occupied with trees and bicycle lanes. The border is unmarked, and is crossed even when going round a roundabout or overtaking a vehicle, the two towns now share some of their public services, and promote themselves as a binational City of Eurode for economic development purposes. Kerkrades outlying neighborhoods and housing developments include, Every fourth year the World Music Contest, a competition for amateur, professional, also, for the last three years, the Drum Corps Europe championships have been held here. The building of a dam in the Anstel, a brook flowing west of Kerkrade, has led to the formation of a reservoir with an area of about 20 ha and this and its surroundings are very rich in flora and fauna. It is the reservoir in the Netherlands
2.
Goalkeeper (association football)
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Goalkeeper, often shortened to keeper or goalie, is one of the major positions of association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport, the goalkeepers primary role is to prevent the opposing team from successfully moving the ball over the defended goal-line. This is accomplished by the moving into the path of the ball. Within the penalty area goalkeepers are able to use their hands, goalkeepers usually perform goal kicks, and also give commands to their defence during corner kicks, direct and indirect free kicks, and marking. Goalkeepers play an important role in directing on field strategy as they have a view of the entire pitch. If an attacker on the opposing team obstructs the keeper from catching or saving the ball, for example, in a corner, it will normally be a free kick. If a goalkeeper is injured or sent off, a goalkeeper has to take their place. In order to replace a goalkeeper who is sent off, a team usually substitutes an outfield player for the backup keeper and they then play the remainder of the match with nine outfield players. Goalkeepers often have longer playing careers than players, many not retiring until their late thirties or early forties. This can be explained by noting that goalkeepers play a physically demanding position that requires significantly less running. For example, Peter Shilton played for 31 years between 1966 and 1997 before retiring at the age of 47. Because only one player can play in goal and the position is so specialised many professional teams on average especially at the highest level have one player as first-choice for many years, for example Gianlugi Buffon has played as first choice keeper for Juventus for more than 15 years. Petr Cech prior to his move to Aresnal was first choice keeper for Chelsea between 2004 and 2015, the squad number for a first choice goalkeeper is generally number 1. Although this is common, some goalkeepers now wear other numbers when in goal, association football, like many sports, has experienced many changes in tactics resulting in the generation and elimination of different positions. Goalkeeper is the position that is certain to have existed since the codification of the sport. The earliest account of football teams with player positions comes from Richard Mulcaster in 1581, the earliest specific reference to keeping goal comes from Cornish Hurling in 1602. One of these is appointed by lots, to the one side, there is assigned for their guard, a couple of their best stopping Hurlers. Other references to scoring goals begin in English literature in the early 16th century, for example, in John Days play The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, Ill play a gole at camp-ball
3.
Fortuna Sittard
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Fortuna Sittard is a football club in Sittard, The Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Offermans Joosten Stadion, the club was a merger of former clubs Fortuna 54 and Sittardia who merged as the Fortuna Sittard Combinatie on 1 July 1968. Another KNVB Cup triumph was celebrated by Fortuna 54 in 1964 before the merging of the two clubs in 1968 due to financial difficulties. On 19 May 2009 the KNVB announced it would withdraw the license to play of Fortuna Sittard for the 2010–2011 season, after going to civil court, this decision was revoked and the club did not lose its license. These players later joined PSV Eindhoven and Rangers thereafter featured for the Dutch team, the teams management also had an eye for talent, as they snapped up Wilfred Bouma and Patrick Paauwe from the youth setup of PSV. Both players developed well under manager Bert van Marwijk, before breaking into the Dutch national side, at the end of the 1999–2000 season, successful manager Bert van Marwijk left to join Feyenoord and the team seemed to collapse. Due to poor management, the signed a number of over-paid. Fortuna relegated to the First Division in the 2001–2002 season, where things were getting bad to worse very quickly. Financial irregularities had been discovered and the team has been facing bankruptcy for the past 4 seasons, a little highlight came in the winter of 2003, when two of the clubs fans won the Dutch lottery and donated all of the prize money to the club. Things started to look up for Fortuna, when they were able to clear most of their debts by selling of the new stadium, unfortunately, the team hasnt been performing on the pitch and finished dead-last in the Dutch First Division for three consecutive seasons. In the 2005–2006 season, the managed to set a new record in Dutch professional football. The club also set a new record by finishing last for the time in a row. Even though financial troubles kept plaguing the club, recent years have seen a slow, as of 12 January 2017 For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2016 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
4.
Coach (sport)
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In sports, a coach is a person involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. A coach may also be a teacher, the original sense of the word coach is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hungarian city of Kocs where such vehicles were first made. Britain took the lead in upgrading the status of sports in the 19th century, for sports to become professionalized, coacher had to become established. It gradually professionalized in the Victorian era and the role was established by 1914. In the First World War, military units sought out the coaches to supervise physical conditioning, a coach, particularly in a professional league, is usually supported by one or more assistant coaches and specialist support staff. The staff may include coordinators, strength and fitness specialists, in elite sport, the role of nutritionists, biomechanists and physiotherapists will all become critical to the overall long-term success of a coach and athlete. In association football, the duties of a coach can vary depending on the level they are coaching at, in professional football, the role of the coach or trainer is limited to the training and development of a clubs first team in most countries. The coach is aided by a number of assistant coaches, one of which carries the responsibility for the training, the coach is also assisted by medical staff and athletic trainers. The medium to long term strategy of a club, with regard to transfer policies, youth development. The system also provides a level of protection against overspending on players in search of instant success. In football, the director of a football team is more commonly awarded the position of manager. Baseball coaches at that level are members of the staff under the overall supervision of the manager. The baseball field manager is essentially equivalent to head coaches in other American professional sports leagues, the term manager used without qualification almost always refers to the field manager, while the general manager is often called the GM. At amateur levels, the terminology is similar to that of other sports. The person known as the manager in professional leagues is called the head coach in amateur leagues. In American football, like other sports, there are many coaches. Sports coaching in the UK follows a structured pattern in principle. In June 2008, the Sports Councils together with the governing bodies of sport formally adopted the UK Coaching Framework at the UK Coaching Summit in Coventry
5.
Roda JC Kerkrade
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Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade, also known as Roda JC Kerkrade is a Dutch professional association football club located in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eredivisie, the club was founded by a merger between Rapid JC and Roda Sport in 1962. They were placed in the Eerste Divisie, and after a relegation they were promoted back to the top division in 1973, in the 2009 season they added Kerkrade to the name to create brand awareness and get financial support. Roda JC is known as the coal-miners club, fans of arch rival, MVV, from the provincial capital of Maastricht, say those words condescendingly. In Kerkrade and the area, however, they are said with pride. The last Dutch coal mines were closed in the 1960s, but the part of the Netherlands most southern province. The coal mines are still recalled in folk songs in the dialect and in the stories of old miners. Southern Limburg will always be their home and their team, in most cases, is Roda JC. Roda JCs club honours include seven European campaigns and six KNVB cup finals, one of its predecessors in clubs family tree of mergers, Rapid JC, were champions of the Netherlands in 1956. Ten out of players on that Rapid JC team were coal miners. Roda JC Kerkrade came into being as the result of a merger of football clubs from Kerkrade. In 1954, SV Kerkrade and SV Bleijerheide merged to form Roda Sport and that same year, Rapid 54 and amateur club Juliana merged to form Rapid JC. Rapid JC was one of the most successful clubs of that time, in later years they would only finish in the top 10 once, when they finished second in the 1958–59 season. Roda Sport, however, were relegated to the Tweede Divisie and stayed there until the latest merger with Rapid JC, after the merger they began in the Eerste Divisie in the 1962–63 season, but were relegated the same season after finishing 16th. The following season they almost achieved promotion again, but they lost in the play-off, after their return to the Eerste Divisie, it only took a further two seasons before they were promoted to the Eredivisie, when they finished first. The club are finally in the division, but did not manage to qualify for a European competition even though they finished near the top several times. They only qualified for Europe once when they lost in the finals of the KNVB Cup in 1975, in the 1986–87 season they finally finished high enough for the European Cup play-offs in the Netherlands, but lost their place to FC Utrecht. One year later they finished 15th and struggled to avoid relegation to the Eerste Divisie and they did, however, reach the finals of the KNVB Cup
6.
AZ Alkmaar
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Alkmaar Zaanstreek, better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ, is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaanstreek. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional league in the Netherlands. AZ has won the Eredivisie twice, in 1980–81 and 2008–09, in the same season as their first league title, they also reached the UEFA Cup Final, which they lost to Ipswich Town. In addition, the team has won the KNVB Cup on four occasions, AZ was founded on 10 May 1967 as AZ67, the result of a merger of Alkmaar 54 and FC Zaanstreek. FC Zaanstreek was formed in 1964, continuing the adventure of the Kooger Football Club. KFC had been founded in 1910, had nearly become National Champion in 1934 through a loss to Ajax in the finals. After this merger failed, they successfully merged KFC with Alkmaar 54, partially through the hiring of expensive foreign players, the new club soon acquired large debts. They won the title with overwhelming power, winning 27 of 34 matches and only losing once while scoring a club record 101 goals and that same season, AZ reached the final of the UEFA Cup, losing 5–4 on aggregate to Ipswich Town. The next year, in the European Cup, they lost in the second round 3–2 on aggregate to Liverpool. Additional stars included John Metgod, who spent six years at AZ playing 195 games as a defender, like Hovenkamp, Metgod was also included in the Dutch squad for Euro 1980. Meanwhile, Danish forward Kristen Nygaard spent ten years at AZ, the club deteriorated after Klaas Molenaar left the club in 1985. AZ were relegated in 1988 from the Eredivisie, the involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-1990s marked the revival of the club as AZ returned to the Eredivisie in 1998. After a 22-year hiatus from European football, AZ appeared in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, in the same season, AZ finished third in the Eredivisie, thus also qualifying for the subsequent seasons UEFA Cup. In the summer of 2006, the moved to a new 17,000 capacity stadium AZ Stadion. Despite playing strongly for the majority of the 2006–07 season, AZs season ended in disappointment, additionally, AZ then lost the KNVB Cup final to Ajax 8–7 after a penalty shoot-out, while also falling to Ajax over two play-off games for participation in the Champions League. After the season, key players like Tim de Cler, Danny Koevermans, AZ had a poor season, suffering elimination in the first round of the KNVB Cup and the group stage of the UEFA Cup, as well as finishing the 2007–08 Eredivisie in 11th place. The 2008–09 season had a start after two opening defeats against NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag. Three weeks before the end of the season, AZ became Eredivisie champions, edging nearest title rivals Twente, being league champions, AZ qualified for the Champions League for the second time, but only took four points from six matches and finished bottom of their group
7.
Motherwell F.C.
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Motherwell Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premiership, Motherwell have not dropped out of the top-flight of Scottish football since 1985, but have only lifted one trophy in that time – the Scottish Cup in 1991. Clad in their traditional claret and amber, Motherwell play their matches at Fir Park Stadium and have done since 1896. The clubs main rivals over the years have been Hamilton Academical and Airdrieonians and these matches are known as the Lanarkshire derby. Motherwells debut fixture proved to be a one as they overcame Hamilton Academical 3–2. On 5 August 1893 the decision was made to professional. Up until 1895 the club had played at a few different venues, including a site at Roman Road, the small pitch and muddy conditions at Dalziel Park were deemed unsuitable and fortunately Lord Hamilton granted a lease on a plot of land on his Dalzell estate. This new ground was named Fir Park and has remained the home for over one hundred years. The following years saw the club grow, appointing their first and longest serving manager to date, John Sailor Hunter, in 1913 the decision was made to change the clubs colours from blue to the now signature claret and amber. Motherwell enjoyed a period in the aftermath of World War I. The club placed third in the 1919–20 season and, although narrowly avoiding relegation in 1924–25, they climbed the table. In the summer of 1927, the made a very successful tour of Spain, winning six out of the eight games they played. These results included an emphatic 3–1 victory over Real Madrid and a 2–2 draw with Barcelona, following their success in Spain, the club went on another summer tour, this time of South America. After losing only three of their previous ten games, the tour culminated in a 5–0 defeat by a Brazilian League Select side, the championship was sealed on 23 April 1932, when Rangers could only draw at home against Clyde, handing Motherwell the title without kicking a ball. This was also the only League title won by a club outside the Old Firm between 1904 and 1947, in the two seasons following the league title win, Well finished runners up. Motherwell also contested three Scottish Cup finals in this period – in 1931,1933 and 1939, following the break-up of the squad after World War II, the club were not instantly successful. It then captured two trophies in as many years with victories in the 1950 Scottish League Cup Final. The club was relegated for the first time ever at the end of the 1952–53 season
8.
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
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Queens Park Rangers Football Club is a professional association football club based in White City, London, that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Their honours include winning the League Cup in 1967, as well as finishing top of the tier in 1983 and 2011. QPR were also runners-up of the Football League First Division in 1975–76, Queens Park Rangers were founded in 1886 after the merger of Christchurch Rangers and St. Judes Institute. Owing to their proximity to other west London clubs, QPR maintain long-standing rivalries with other clubs in the area. The most notable of these are Chelsea, Fulham and Brentford, outside London, QPR also traditionally share rivalries with Watford, Luton and Cardiff, although in recent years these fixtures have become less prominent. For the current season see 2015–16 Queens Park Rangers F. C. season The club was formed in 1886, the resulting team was called Queens Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queens Park area of north-west London. QPR were promoted as champions of Division 3 South in the 1947–48 season, Dave Mangnall was the manager as the club participated in four seasons of the Second Division, being relegated in 1951–52. Tony Ingham was signed from Leeds United and went on to make the most ever league appearances for QPR, arguably the clubs greatest ever manager, Alec Stock, arrived prior to the start of the 1959–60 season. The 1960–61 season saw QPR achieve their biggest win to date, in time, Stock, together with Jim Gregory who arrived as chairman in the mid-1960s, helped to achieve a total transformation of the club and its surroundings. It is still the major trophy that QPR have won. It was also the first League Cup final to be held at Wembley Stadium, after winning promotion in 1968 to the top flight for the first time in their history, Rangers were relegated after just one season and spent the next four years in Division Two. Terry Venables joined from Spurs at the beginning of the 1969–70 season, during this time, new QPR heroes emerged including Phil Parkes, Don Givens, Dave Thomas and Stan Bowles. These new signings were in addition to home-grown talent such as Dave Clement, Ian Gillard, Mick Leach, after completing their 42-game season, QPR sat at the top of the league, one point ahead of Liverpool who went on to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers to clinch the title. Wolves were relegated to the Second Division that same season, following Sextons departure in 1977 the club eventually slipped into the Second Division in 1979. In 1980 Terry Venables took over as manager and the club installed a plastic pitch, in 1982 QPR, still playing in the Second Division, reached the FA Cup Final for the only time in the clubs history, facing holders Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham won 1–0 in a replay, the following season QPR went on to win the Second Division championship and returned to English footballs top division. After a respectable fifth-place finish, and UEFA Cup qualification, the following year, in 1988 the club had a new chairman, Richard Thompson. Who at 24 was the Premier Leagues youngest ever chairman, over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road and the club spent many seasons finishing mid table but avoided relegation
9.
Bristol City F.C.
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Bristol City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bristol, England. Their ground is Ashton Gate, located in the southwest of the city and they currently play in the Championship, the second tier of English football, after winning League One during the 2014–15 season. In sealing the League One title, Bristol City became only the team to win both the third-tier championship and Football League Trophy double during the same season. Bristol City won the Welsh Cup – despite being an English club – in 1934, in 1907 they finished runners-up in Football League Division One, which is their highest ever final position. In 1909 they lost the FA Cup final to Manchester United, since relegation in 1911, however, they only returned to the top division from 1976 to 1980 and did not contend for any honours then. In 1982, Bristol City became the first English club to three consecutive relegations. With victories in 1986,2003 and 2015, Bristol City are now the most successful team in the Football League Trophy, the clubs nickname is The Robins, and a robin featured on the clubs badge from 1976 to 1994. Official club merchandise, including replica kits, still has a showing a robin. An attempt by the club to alter the badge was abandoned after it was criticised fiercely by fans, the teams main rivals are Bristol Rovers in the Bristol derby and Cardiff City in the Severnside derby, along with other regional teams in the West Country derby. Bristol Citys current manager is Lee Johnson, a former Bristol City player who made 199 appearances for the club. Coincidentally, he is the son of former City manager Gary Johnson, who took City to the Championship play-off final in 2008, where they eventually lost 0–1 to Hull City. The club was founded in 1894 as Bristol South End and changed their name to Bristol City on adopting professionalism three years later when they were admitted into the Southern League. Finishing as runners-up in three of the first four seasons, in 1900 the club amalgamated with local Southern League rivals Bedminster, City joined the Football League in 1901 when they became only the third club south of Birmingham to perform in the competition. Their first game in the Football League was on 7 September 1901 at Bloomfield Road, nicknamed the Bristol Babe at this time, they finished as runners-up in their inaugural First Division campaign. Unfortunately, there was no such award to help them in the Final at the Crystal Palace as Manchester United took the honours 1–0. The 1920s were a time as City bounced between the Second Division and the Southern Section of the Third Division. By the 1930s they had slumped into the division. Harry Dolman became chairman in 1949, a post he would hold for over 30 years, an engineer who had bought out the firm he worked for, he designed the first set of floodlights installed at Ashton Gate in the early 1950s
