1.
Robbio
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Robbio is a city and comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 45 km west of Pavia. It is part of Lomellina traditional region, Robbio borders the following municipalities, Borgolavezzaro, Castelnovetto, Confienza, Nicorvo, Palestro, Rosasco, Vespolate. The area of Robbio was settled since Neolithic times, a Roman centre name Redobium is attested by Pliny the Elder. Later it was a Lombard town and, later, a possession of the Catholic diocese of Vercelli. Around the 11th century it was acquired by the De Robbio family, who ruled it, together with the area, until the 13th century. In 1220 the latter acquired it through a diploma issued by Emperor Frederick II. Then part of the Duchy of Milan, it was entrusted to several feudal families, in 1748 it was acquired by the Kingdom of Sardinia and, in the 19th century, it became part of the province of Pavia under the newly formed Kingdom of Italy. The medieval Castle, now a public park, romanesque church of St. Peter, housing 16th-century frescoes attributed to Tommasino da Mortara. The 15th-century church of San Michele, with a late Gothic-style façade, church of San Valeriano, enlarged by Cluniac monks in the late 11th century. The apse is now separated from the main building, people closely associated with Robbio include, Silvio Piola, a famous Italian soccer player
2.
Forward (association football)
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Forwards are the players on an association football team who play nearest to the opposing teams goal, and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals. Their advanced position and limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals on behalf of their team than other players, modern team formations generally include one to three forwards, for example, the common 4–2–3–1 formation includes one forward. Unconventional formations may include more than three forwards, or none, the centre-forward is often a tall player, typically known as a target man, whose main function is to score the majority of goals on behalf of the team. Most modern centre-forwards operate in front of the strikers or central attacking midfielders. The present role of centre-forward is sometimes interchangeable with that of an attacking midfielder, a centre-forward usually must be strong, to win key headers and outmuscle defenders. The term centre-forward is taken from the football playing formation in which there were five forward players. The number would become synonymous with the centre-forward position. Strikers are known for their ability to peel off defenders and to run into space via the side of the defender and to receive the ball in a good goalscoring position. They are typically fast players with ball control and dribbling abilities. More agile strikers like Michael Owen have an advantage over taller defenders due to their short burst speed, a good striker should be able to shoot confidently with either foot, possess great power and accuracy, and have the ability to pass the ball under pressure in breakaway situations. Deep-lying forwards have a history in the game, but the terminology to describe their playing activity has varied over the years. Originally such players were termed inside forwards, creative or deep-lying centre-forwards, in fact, a coined term, the nine-and-a-half, has been an attempt to become a standard in defining the position. In Italy, this role is known as a rifinitore or seconda punta, whereas in Brazil, it is known as segundo atacante. An outside forward plays as the forward on the right or left wing – as an outside right or outside left. As football tactics have largely developed, and wingers have dropped back to become midfielders, many commentators and football analysts still refer to the wing positions as outside right and outside left. However, in the British game they are counted as part of the midfield. It is a duty to beat opposing full-backs, deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions and, to a lesser extent, to beat defenders. They are usually some of the quickest players in the team, in their Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese usage, the defensive duties of the winger have been usually confined to pressing the opposition fullbacks when they have the ball
3.
F.C. Pro Vercelli 1892
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Football Club Pro Vercelli, commonly known as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian association football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. Mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early era of Italy, with seven national titles. The origins of football in Vercelli go back to 1892 when it was founded as Società Ginnastica Pro Vercelli, the first official match for the football division of S. G. Pro Vercelli took place on 3 August 1903 against the Forza e Costanza, the club won seven Italian Football Championships from 1908 to 1922,1908,1909, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, and 1921–22. The introduction of professionalism in Italian football, and the rise of teams from larger industrial and business such as Milan and Turin, led Pro Vercelli to a slow. They regained professional status for good after winning promotion and the Scudetto Dilettanti in the season 1993–94, in the early 2000s, Pro Vercelli also had to challenge crosstown rivalry from a new team, A. S. Pro Belvedere Vercelli, founded in the summer of 2006 as a merger between A. S, trino Calcio, who played in Serie D and minor league team P. G. S. In the 2006–07 Serie D, the team finished 9th in Girone A, a year later, in the Serie D 2007–08 season, the team finished 3rd in the same division, qualifying for the Serie D play-offs. It won its way to the stage of the tournament. In the 2008–09 Serie D, Pro Belvedere finished first in Girone B, in order to keep the old Pro Vercelli alive, Pro Belvedere changed its name to U. S. In the season 2011–12 of Lega Pro Prima Divisione the club was promoted to Serie B after 64 years, the club had a very unsuccessful return to Serie B, finishing 21st of 22 teams and with a goal difference −30, the worst in the league. Their placing in the league meant that they were relegated to Lega Pro Prima Divisione, striker Ettore Marchi starred throughout the season, scoring 15 goals. In the promotion play-offs, Pro Vercelli eliminated FeralpiSalò, Savona and ultimately defeated Südtirol in the final, Pro Vercelli finished 16th in Serie B in the 2014–15 season and 17th in the 2015–16 season. The historical color of the shirts of Pro Vercelli is white, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
4.
S.S. Lazio
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Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football. Lazio have been Italian champions twice, and have won the Coppa Italia six times, the club had their first major success in 1958, winning the domestic cup. In 1974, they won their first Serie A title, Lazios traditional kit colours are sky blue shirts and white shorts with white socks, the colours are reminiscent of Romes ancient Hellenic legacy. Sky blue socks have also been used as home colours. Their home is the 70,634 capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Roma until the year 2018, when the latter will leave for the Stadio della Roma. Lazio have a rivalry with Roma, with whom they have contested the Derby della Capitale since 1929. Lazio is also a club that participate in 40 sports disciplines in total. Società Podistica Lazio was founded on 9 January 1900 in the Prati district of Rome, in 1927, Lazio was the only major Roman club which resisted the Fascist regimes attempts to merge all the citys teams into what would become A. S. The club played in the first organised Serie A in 1929 and, led by legendary Italian striker Silvio Piola, the 1950s produced a mix of mid and upper table results with a Coppa Italia win in 1958. Lazio was relegated for the first time in 1961 to the Serie B, after a number of mid-table placements, another relegation followed in 1970–71. Lazio improved such successes the following season, ensuring its first title in 1973–74, however, tragic deaths of Re Cecconi and Scudetto trainer Maestrelli, as well as the departure of Chinaglia, would be a triple blow for Lazio. The emergence of Bruno Giordano during this period provided some relief as he finished League top scorer in 1979, Lazio were forcibly relegated to Serie B in 1980 due to a remarkable scandal concerning illegal bets on their own matches, along with Milan. They remained in Italys second division for three seasons in what would mark the darkest period in Lazios history and they would return in 1983 and manage a last-day escape from relegation the following season. The 1984–85 season would prove harrowing, with a pitiful 15 points, in 1986, Lazio was hit with a nine-point deduction for a betting scandal involving player Claudio Vinazzani. The arrival of Sergio Cragnotti in 1992 changed the clubs due to his long-term investments in new players to make the team a Scudetto competitor. A notable early transfer during his tenure was the capture of English midfielder Paul Gascoigne from Tottenham Hotspur for £5.5 million, gascoignes transfer to Lazio is credited with the increase of interest in Serie A in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Lazio had two more Coppa Italia triumphs in 1998 and 2004, as well as the last ever UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and they also reached the UEFA Cup, but lost 0–3 against Internazionale
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Novara Calcio
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Novara Calcio is an Italian football club based in Novara, Piedmont. In December 1908 the F. A. S. was created by eight students of Liceo Carlo Alberto, aged between 15–16 years, among them an engineer, Gianni Canestrini, and a lawyer, Piero Zorini. In Novara in those days, there were small clubs like Voluntas, Pro Scalon, Ginnastica e Scherma, Forza & Speranza, Collegio Gallarini. The best players from these teams came together to form Novara Calcio, the first match was played against a team already then established as Torino, who won 2–1, with the first Novara goal scored by Mario Menendez. In the years between World War I and World War II, Novara merged with Pro Vercelli, Alessandria, novaras highest finish came in 1952 when they finished in eighth place in Serie A. During these years of staying in the top flight, Novara had Silvio Piola to thank and his many goals, made a huge contribution to the cause of Novara. Following his death in 1996, the stadium at which Novara play was dedicated in his name, in 1956 came relegation to Serie B, and another five years afterwards, they slipped down to Serie C due to a fraudulent complaint by a Sambenedettese player. A few successful seasons in Serie B followed, but then Novara stumbled again in 1977 with relegation to Serie C and worse in 1981 to Serie C2. In the 1995–96 season, Novara were back in Serie C1, but this joy was short-lived as the following year, years were spent in the shadows of Italian football until more recently when the league was won in the 2002–03 season. Consolidation in Serie C1 followed, later becoming Lega Pro Prima Divisione, on 12 June 2011, Novara remarkably secured its promotion to Serie A after a 55-year absence from the league, by defeating Padova in the play-off final. Both consecutive promotions were achieved under the tenure of head coach Attilio Tesser, on 20 September 2011, the first home game in Serie A for 55 years, Novara recorded an historic 3–1 victory over the World Champions of Inter. This remarkable feat, however, was not representative of their season as Novara managed to win one more game until the end of January. The manager Attilio Tesser was replaced by veteran coach Emiliano Mondonico and re-hired one month later in a desperate, the club was immediately relegated again to Serie B after one season. The decision of the club to sign Greek footballer Giorgos Katidis caused worldwide condemnation, Katidis was banned for life from the Greek league after he showed the nazi Sieg Heil salute on the field. Novara finished 5th in 2012–13 season but were eliminated by Empoli in the promotion play-offs, the following season was terrible for Novara as the club finished 19th in Serie B and lost in a play-out against Varese, losing 4–2 on aggregate. Thus, Novara were relegated to Lega Pro, Novara were crowned as champions of Group A of Lega Pro in 2014–15 and immediately returned to Serie B. 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
8.
Italy national football team
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The Italian national football team represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is one of the most successful teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles. In 1938, they became the first team to defend their previous World Cup tournament victory and they have also won a European Championship, as well as appearing in two other finals, one Olympic football tournament and two Central European International Cups. Italys highest finish at the FIFA Confederations Cup was in 2013, the national football team is known as Gli Azzurri from the traditional colour of Italian national teams and athletes representing Italy. The primary training ground is at the FIGC headquarters in Coverciano, Florence, the teams first match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910. Italy defeated France by a score of 6–2, with Italys first goal scored by Pietro Lana, some turmoil kept the players of Pro Vercelli, who were the best team in the league, out of the game. At the end of the match, the players received some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators as a prize. The Italian team played with a system and consisted of, De Simoni, Varisco, Calì, Trerè, Fossati, Capello, Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, first captain of the team was Francesco Calì. The first success in a tournament came with the bronze medal in 1928 Summer Olympics. After losing the semi-final against Uruguay, an 11–3 victory against Egypt secured third place in the competition. In the 1927–30 and 1933–35 Central European International Cup, Italy achieved the first place out of five Central European teams, other stars of that era included Luis Monti, Giovanni Ferrari, Giuseppe Ruffino and Virginio Rosetta. The hosts, Azzurri, defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in extra time in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and they achieved their second title in a 4–2 defeat of Hungary, with two goals by Gino Colaussi and two goals by Silvio Piola in the World Cup that followed. In 1949,10 of the 11 players in the teams initial line-up were killed in the Superga air disaster that affected Torino, Italy did not advance further than the first round of the 1950 World Cup, as they were weakened severely due to the air disaster. The team had travelled by boat rather than by plane, fearing another accident, in the World Cup finals of 1954 and the 1962 that followed, Italy failed to progress past the first round, and did not qualify for the 1958 World Cup. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 and their participation in the 1966 World Cup was ended by a 0–1 defeat at the hands of North Korea. Despite being the tournament favourites, the Azzurri, whose 1966 squad included Gianni Rivera, the Italian team was bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Doo-ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath. In 1968, the Azzurri won their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, the match holds the distinction of being the only European Championship or World Cup final to go to a replay. After extra time the final ended in a 1–1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, Italy won the replay 2–0 to take the trophy
9.
FIFA World Cup
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The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America
10.
1938 FIFA World Cup
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The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final, France was chosen as hosts by FIFA in Berlin on August 13,1936. France defeated Argentina and Germany in the first round of voting, the decision caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents, instead, it was the second tournament in a row to be played in Europe. This was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the Second World War and it was the first time that the hosts and the title holders qualified automatically. Title holders were given an entry into the World Cup until 2006 when this was abolished. Of the 14 remaining places, eleven were allocated to Europe, as a result, only three non-European nations took part, Brazil, Cuba and the Dutch East Indies. This is the smallest ever number of teams from outside the host continent to compete at a FIFA World Cup, Austria qualified for the World Cup, but after qualification was complete, the Anschluss united Austria with Germany. Austria subsequently withdrew from the tournament, with some Austrian players joining the German squad and this tournament saw the first, and as of 2016 the only, participation in a World Cup tournament from Cuba and the Dutch East Indies. It also saw the World Cup debuts of Poland and Norway, Poland and the Netherlands would not reappear at a finals tournament until 1974, while Norway would not qualify for another World Cup finals until 1994. A unified Germany team would not appear again until 1994, the knockout format from 1934 was retained. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, then 30 minutes of time were played. If the score was tied after extra time, the match would be replayed. This was the last of the two World Cup tournaments that used a knockout format. Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Cuba and Brazil were seeded for draw taking place in Paris, five of the seven first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock, two games still went to a replay. In one replay, Cuba advanced to the round at the expense of Romania. In the other replay, Germany, which had led 1–0 in the first game against Switzerland, led 2–0 and this remains, as of 2014, the only time in World Cup history in which Germany failed to advance to the final eight. Sweden advanced directly to the quarter-finals as a result of Austrias withdrawal, the hosts, France, were beaten by the holders, Italy, and Switzerland were seen off by Hungary. Czechoslovakia took Brazil to extra time in a notoriously feisty match in Bordeaux before succumbing in a replay and this was the last ever match to be replayed in a World Cup, with all winners of replay matches in 1938 having been eliminated in the next round
11.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
12.
Province of Pavia
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The province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Its capital is Pavia and the president of the province is Daniele Bosone, as of 2015, the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of 2,968.64 square kilometres, the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. The city Pavia was initially settled by the Ligures and was occupied by Gaulish tribes. In the sixth century it was the capital of German tribe the Lombards, however, following the death of Charlemagne, the Lombard territory became part of Frankish territory. In the 12th century, it became a commune after Frankish rule ceased, the University of Pavia was founded in 1361. Starting from 1359, Pavia and its neighbourhood were owned by the Visconti and then the Sforza of Milan, until, in 1499 and it was the scene of a Franco-Imperial battle in 1525, in which Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor defeated Francis I of France. The Province of Pavia is in the region of Lombardy in northwestern Italy and it is bounded to the north by the provinces of Milan and the Lodi, to the southeast by the Province of Piacenza, and to the southwest it is bounded by the Province of Alessandria. The province is crossed by the rivers Ticino and Po, which meet four kilometres south of the capital, the province contains 190 communes and the River Po is navigable up to its confluence with the Ticino. The territory of Siccomario, at the confluence of the two rivers, should properly be included in Lomellina, but for historical reasons it is considered part of Pavese. Another large river flowing through the province is the Olona, the province is mostly flat with the northwestern part of the province being good agricultural land. The southern part rises to low hills which give way to the Ligurian Apennines, the town of Pavia has a major position in northern Italys textile industry and is renowned for hatmaking. It also plays its part in the engineering and metallurgical industries. This is an important winemaking district and produces sparkling wines and it is the largest area in Italy for the production of Pinot noir. The list below shows the most populated municipalities of the province in 2010, Comuni of the Province of Pavia Province of Pavia official website Oltrepò Pavese Touristic site
13.
Serie A
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It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new league, the Lega Serie A, was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world, Serie A led the UEFA ranking from 1986 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1999. In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, the championship titles won prior to 1929 are officially recognised by FIGC with the same weighting as titles that were subsequently awarded. However, the 1945–46 season, when the league was played over two groups due to the ravages of WWII, is not statistically considered, even if its title is fully official. All the winning teams are recognised with the title of Campione dItalia, Juventus, Italys most successful club of the 20th century and the most successful Italian team, is tied for fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most official international titles. The club is also the one in the world to have won all possible official continental competitions. Milan is joint third club for international titles won in the world. Internazionale, following their achievements in the 2009–10 season, became the first Italian team to have achieved a treble, Juventus, Milan and Inter, along with Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Napoli, are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football. For most of Serie As history, there were 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level, since 2004–05, however, there have been 20 clubs altogether. One season was played with 21 teams for political reasons, thus, in Italian football a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called the andata, each team plays once against each league opponent, since the 1994–95 season, teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Since Italy is currently rated fourth in Europe in terms of club football ratings, teams finishing fourth and fifth qualify for the UEFA Europa League tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia, if both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top five teams in Serie A, the sixth-ranked team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot. The three lowest-placed teams are relegated to Serie B, any play-off was held after the end of regular season. The last championship playoff occurred in the 1963-64 season when Bologna, below is a list of Serie A clubs who have competed in the competition when it has been a league format. There are 66 teams that have taken part in 85 Serie A championships in a round that was played from the 1929–30 season until the 2016–17 season. The teams in bold compete in Serie A currently, Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season. Serie A, as it is structured today, began during the 1929–1930 season, from 1898 to 1922, the competition was organised into regional groups
14.
Italy under-21 Serie B representative team
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Italy under-21 Serie B representative team is the football representative team of Serie B and is controlled by the Lega Serie B. Due to sponsorship reasons, the team was credited as Under-21 Serie B TIM until 2010, the team is the B team and feeder team of Italy national under-21 football team, which occasionally plays against other nations under-21 teams. Unlike the main team, the U21 Serie B selected players from Serie B only and was controlled by Lega Calcio instead of FIGC, only matches played against national teams were listed. For 2014–2015 season, players born on or after 1 January 1992 are eligible to play, a feeder team of U21 team, some players were called up to U21 Serie B team before making their débuts for Italy U21. The teams consist of players loaned to Serie B from Serie A clubs, youth products of Serie B, some players are scouted by Serie A clubs after good performances in Serie B
15.
Stadio Silvio Piola (Vercelli)
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Stadio Silvio Piola is an association football stadium in Vercelli, Italy. It is the ground of F. C. The stadium holds 5,500 and was named after Italy legend and former player Silvio Piola
16.
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
17.
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
18.
Francesco Totti
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Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian professional footballer who plays for and captains Roma. His primary playing positions are those of a midfielder or second striker, although he has also been successfully utilised as a lone striker. Totti also holds the record for the youngest club captain in the history of Serie A. Totti is the fifth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions and he has also won several individual awards, notably the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the Golden Foot. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA100, a list of the worlds greatest living players, selected by Pelé, in 2011, Totti was recognised by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe. In November 2014, Totti extended his record as the oldest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, Totti was born in Rome, to parents Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti. He was raised in the Porta Metronia neighbourhood, as a youngster he idolised ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, and regularly played football with older boys. Totti began to play youth football at the age of 8, with Fortitudo, later joining Smit Trastevere. After he came to the attention of scouts, his mother refused an offer from Milan in order to keep him in his home town. In the following season under Carlo Mazzone, Totti began to more regularly as a second striker. By 1995, Totti had become a regular in Romas starting line-up, Romas chairman at the time however, Franco Sensi, impeded the transfer, leading to further tensions with the manager, who eventually parted ways with the club. Tottis years under Zdeněk Zeman represented a period of physical and mental maturation as a player. He displayed a greater responsibility for the team, and was presented with the number 10 jersey and his first season under Zeman started well, with Totti taking advantage of a 4–3–3 formation and making his breakthrough with the club. On 29 November 1998, Totti scored the goal in a 3–3 draw against cross-city rivals Lazio. Overall, he scored 30 goals and provided 26 assists during Zemans two-year managerial stint, for his performances, he was named the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year for the 1998–99 season. In June 1999, Romas then-president Franco Sensi sacked Zeman and signed Fabio Capello as a replacement, Totti scored in a 2–0 home win over Bologna on his season debut on 1 October 2000. On 10 December, Totti scored the goal in a 2–1 home win against Udinese with a powerful left-footed volley to help Roma to their fifth home win of the season. He continued his form by scoring against Napoli at home in a 3–0 victory on 28 January 2001. Totti continued to play an important role in keeping the club at the top of the table throughout the remainder of the season, Totti finished the league season with 13 goals, equalling what was at the time his personal goalscoring record in a single Serie A season
19.
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
20.
Austria national football team
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The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association. Austria has qualified for seven World Cups, most recently in 1998, the country played in the European Championship for the first time in 2008 when it co-hosted the event with Switzerland and most recently qualified in 2016. The Austrian Football Association was founded on 18 March 1904 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the team enjoyed success in the 1930s under coach Hugo Meisl becoming a dominant side in Europe and earning the nickname Wunderteam. The teams star was Matthias Sindelar, on 16 May 1931, they were the first continental European side to defeat Scotland. In the 1934 FIFA World Cup, Austria finished fourth after losing 1–0 to Italy in the semi-finals and they were runners-up in the 1936 Olympics, again losing to Italy 2–1, despite having been beaten in quarter-finals by Peru, following the Peruvians withdrawal. However, according to an investigation, the victory by Peru was deliberately annulled by Adolf Hitler to favour the Austrians. The team then qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals, on 28 March, FIFA was notified that the Austrian FA had been abolished, resulting in the nations withdrawal from the World Cup. Instead the German team would represent the former Austrian territory, in a later rematch, the Germans took revenge, winning 9–1. As a result, five players from Austria Wien, Rapid Wien and Vienna Wien were part of the team only managed a 1–1 draw in Round 1 against Switzerland. With Rapid Wiens forward Pesser having been sent off, and not satisfied with two others, Herberger had to alter the line-up on six positions to fulfill the 6,5 quota again, after World War II, Austria was again separated from Germany. Austrias best result came in 1954 with a team starring midfielder Ernst Ocwirk and they lost in the semi-finals 6–1 to eventual champions Germany, but finished third after beating defending champions Uruguay 3–1. This remains their best result ever, and unfortunately the last time for decades that Austria reached the end round of a major tournament, over the years, a strong yet mainly lopsided rivalry with Germany developed. At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the Austrian team was a disappointment, defeats to the eventual champions Brazil, the emerging Soviet Union and a draw against a weakened England prevented the team to reach the next round. Still holding to the popularity in the country, under new coach Decker again made an international sensation in the era. In front of a crowd of over 90,000 spectators, made possible by the expansion of the Prater Stadium. Due to lack of money, however, Austria decided not to participate at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and the team fell apart. Abrupt end of Austria’s success in the postwar period eventually formed the clear 0–6 loss against Czechoslovakia in 1962, of many players. After the end of Decker era, the team was unable for a time to connect to the old successes
21.
Hungary national football team
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The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. Hungary has a football history, having won three Olympic titles, finishing runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 FIFA World Cups, and third in the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. The national side first appeared at the Summer Olympic Games in 1912 in Stockholm, the team had to ask for donations in order to be able to go to the games. Hungary lost 7–0 to England and thus were eliminated, after the Olympic Games Hungary played two matches against Russia in Moscow. The first match was won 9–0 and the second 12–0, which is still a record for the national side, the top scorer of the two matches was Imre Schlosser who scored seven goals. The beginning of World War I had a impact on the thriving Hungarian football. Both the country and the clubs were suffering financial problems, during World War I Hungary played Austria 16 times. In 1919 England claimed the exclusion of the Central Powers from FIFA, when FIFA refused Englands plea, the British and Irish associations decided to resign from FIFA. Budapest was denied the opportunity to host the 1920 Summer Olympics, the countries of the Central Powers were excluded from the Olympics. During this period the Fogl brothers played in the national team, the formation the Hungarians used was 2–3–5 which was unique at that time. The national team played at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, in the first match Hungary beat Poland but in the second round they lost to Egypt. As a consequence, both the coach and the head of the Hungarian Football Federation resigned. Between 1927 and 1930, Hungary participated in the Europa Cup, which is considered to be the first international tournament, with Austria, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Russia, in the final, Hungary lost to Russia. On 12 June 1927, Hungary beat France by 13–1, which is still a record, the first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, but Hungary were not invited and did not take part in the tournament, there were no qualification matches. Hungary first appeared in the 1934 World Cup in Italy, Hungarys first World Cup match was against Egypt on 27 May 1934, a 4–2 win. The goals were scored by Pál Teleki, Géza Toldi and Jenő Vincze, in the quarter-finals, Hungary faced neighbouring arch-rivals Austria but lost 2–1, the only Hungarian goal coming from György Sárosi. Hungary entered the 1936 Olympics, where in the first round they were eliminated by Poland, the 1938 World Cup was held in France. The first match was played against Dutch East Indies and Hungary won 6–0, Sárosi and Gyula Zsengellér each scored twice while Vilmos Kohut and Toldi scored one goal each
22.
FIFA World Cup awards
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At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Two other awards were given between 1994 and 2006, the Most Entertaining Team award for the team that has entertained the public the most, during the World Cup final tournament, as determined by a poll of the general public. An All-Star Team comprising the best players of the tournament chosen by the study group. Those who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball awards as the second, FC Barcelona is the club with the most players that have won the Golden Ball award. The Golden Boot or Golden Shoe Award goes to the top goalscorer of the FIFA World Cup, while every World Cup had a ranking of the goalscorers, the first time an award was given was in 1982, under the name Golden Shoe. It was rechristened Golden Boot in 2010, FIFA sometimes lists the top goalscorers of previous Cups among the Golden Boot winners. If there is more than one player, the tie-breaker since 2006 goes to the player who has played the least amount of time. 1 FIFA initially credited Nejedlý with only four goals, which would make him joint top scorer with Angelo Schiavio of Italy, however, FIFA changed it to five goals in November 2006, making Nejedlý the outright top scorer. 2 FIFA initially credited Leônidas with eight goals,3 There was controversy regarding the number of goals Brazilian Ademir had scored in 1950, as a result of incomplete data concerning the Final Round game Brazil vs. Spain. The 5–0 goal had been credited to Jair, but is now credited to Ademir 4 Salenko is the player to win the award playing for a team that were eliminated in the group stages. His six goals are the international goals he ever scored. 5 Despite the assist tiebreaker, Salenko and Stoichkov remained tied with 6 goals and one assist each,6 Romário and Andersson surpassed the other two players with five goals by having three assists each. 7 Both runners-up had the number of assists, and each received the Silver Shoe. 8 During the tournament, after the group match against Costa Rica, Ronaldo logged a protest against the crediting of a goal as an own goal. 9 Eight players had scored three goals, Ronaldo, Crespo and Zinedine Zidane stood out for having one assist, and then the two recipients were determined by less playtime. 10 Müller, Villa, Sneijder and Diego Forlán tied with five goals, Müller won by virtue of having more assists than the rest. Villa won the Silver Boot due to playing fewer minutes than Sneijder,11 Neymar, Lionel Messi and Robin van Persie all had four goals in the tournament. Neymar received the Bronze Boot for playing fewer minutes than his competitors, the Golden Glove Award is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament
23.
World War II
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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
24.
Captain (association football)
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The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband. The only official responsibility of a captain specified by the Laws of the Game is to participate in the toss prior to kick-off. Contrary to what is said, captains have no special authority under the Laws to challenge a decision by the referee. However, referees may talk to the captain of a side about the general behaviour when necessary. At an award-giving ceremony after a fixture like a cup competition final, any trophy won by a team will be received by the captain who will also be the first one to hoist it. The captain also generally leads the teams out of the room at the start of the match. The captain generally provides a point for the team, if morale is low. Captains may join the manager in deciding the first team for a certain game, in youth or recreational football, the captain often takes on duties, that would, at a higher level, be delegated to the manager. A club captain is usually appointed for a season, if he is unavailable or not selected for a particular game, then the club vice-captain will be appointed to perform a similar role. The match captain is the first player to lift a trophy should the team win one, a good example of this was in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final when match captain Peter Schmeichel lifted the trophy for Manchester United as club captain Roy Keane was suspended. In the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, match captain Frank Lampard jointly lifted the trophy for Chelsea with club captain John Terry, a club may appoint two distinct roles, a club captain to represent the players in a public relations role, and correspondent on the pitch. After Neville retired in 2011, regular starter Nemanja Vidić was named as club captain, são Paulos Rogério Ceni is the player who has worn the captains armband the most times. A vice-captain is a player that is expected to captain the side when the captain is not included in the starting eleven, or if, during a game. Examples include Manuel Neuer succeeding Philipp Lahm at Bayern Munich, Marcelo attaining from Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid C. F, gary Cahill being the understudy of John Terry at Chelsea FC and Lionel Messi taking over from Andrés Iniesta at FC Barcelona. Similarly, some clubs also name a 3rd captain to take the role of captain when both the captain and vice-captain are unavailable, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Germany had three captains. Michael Ballack had skippered the team since 2004, including the successful qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Lahm ended up becoming the permanent captain of Germany, as Ballack was never called up for the national team
25.
England national football team
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The England national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England are one of the two oldest national teams in football, alongside Scotland, whom played in the worlds first international football match in 1872. Englands home ground is Wembley Stadium, London, and the current manager is Gareth Southgate, England contest the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, which alternate biennially. In contesting for the World Cup seventeen times over the past sixty four years, England won the 1966 World Cup, when they hosted the finals, the England national football team is the joint-oldest in the world, it was formed at the same time as Scotland. A representative match between England and Scotland was played on 5 March 1870, having been organised by the Football Association, a return fixture was organised by representatives of Scottish football teams on 30 November 1872. Over the next forty years, England played exclusively with the other three Home Nations—Scotland, Wales and Ireland—in the British Home Championship, to begin with, England had no permanent home stadium. They joined FIFA in 1906 and played their first ever games against countries other than the Home Nations on a tour of Central Europe in 1908, Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and became their home ground. The relationship between England and FIFA became strained, and this resulted in their departure from FIFA in 1928 and their first ever defeat on home soil to a foreign team was a 0–2 loss to the Republic of Ireland, on 21 September 1949 at Goodison Park. A 6–3 loss in 1953 to Hungary, was their defeat by a foreign team at Wembley. In the return match in Budapest, Hungary won 7–1 and this still stands as Englands worst ever defeat. After the game, a bewildered Syd Owen said, it was like playing men from outer space, in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and lost 4–2 to reigning champions Uruguay. Although Walter Winterbottom was appointed as Englands first ever manager in 1946. In UEFA Euro 1968, the reached the semi-finals for the first time. England qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico as reigning champions, and reached the quarter-finals, England had been 2–0 up, but were eventually beaten 3–2 after extra time. They failed in qualification for the 1974, leading to Ramseys dismissal, under Ron Greenwood, they managed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, despite not losing a game, they were eliminated in the second group stage. Despite losing to Italy in the third place play-off, the members of the England team were given bronze medals identical to the Italians’, the England team of 1990 were welcomed home as heroes and thousands of people lined the streets, for a spectacular open-top bus parade. However, the team did not win any matches in UEFA Euro 1992, drawing with tournament winners Denmark, the 1990s saw four England managers, each in the role for a relatively brief period. Graham Taylor was Robsons successor, but resigned after England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, at UEFA Euro 1996, held in England, Terry Venables led England, equalling their best performance at a European Championship, reaching the semi-finals as they did in 1968
26.
Diego Maradona
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Diego Armando Maradona is an Argentine retired professional footballer. He has served as a manager and coach at other clubs as well as the team of Argentina. Many in the sport, including writers, players, and fans. He was joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century with Pelé.9 million. He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newells Old Boys during his career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli. In his international career with Argentina, he earned 91 caps and his presence on the pitch had a great effect on his teams general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de Oro, in the 1986 World Cup quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. Maradona became coach of Argentina in November 2008 and he was in charge of the team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament. He coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl in the UAE Pro-League for the 2011–12 season, in August 2013, Maradona joined Argentine Primera D club Deportivo Riestras staff as spiritual coach. He was the first son after three daughters and he has two younger brothers, Hugo and Raúl, both of whom were also professional football players. He was the child and first son of Diego Maradona Chitoro. In 1950, they left Esquina and settled in Buenos Aires, at age eight, Maradona was spotted by a talent scout while he was playing in his neighbourhood club Estrella Roja. He became a staple of Los Cebollitas, the team of Buenos Airess Argentinos Juniors. As a 12-year-old ball boy, he amused spectators by showing his wizardry with the ball during the intermissions of first division games. He named Brazilian playmaker Rivelino and Manchester United winger George Best among his inspirations growing up, on 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut for Argentinos Juniors,10 days before his 16th birthday. He entered to the pitch wearing the number 16 jersey, and after the game stated, Maradona scored his first goal in the Primera División against Marplatense team San Lorenzo on 14 November 1976, two weeks after turning 16. Maradona spent five years at Argentinos Juniors, from 1976 to 1981, Maradona received offers to join other clubs, including River Plate who offered to make him the clubs best paid player. Nevertheless, Maradona expressed his will to be transferred to Boca Juniors, Maradona signed a contract with Boca Juniors on 20 February 1981
27.
Luigi Riva
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Luigi Gigi Riva is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. At international level, Riva won the 1968 UEFA European Championship and was runner-up at the 1970 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team, with 35 goals between 1965 and 1974, he is Italys all-time leading goalscorer. After retiring in 1976, Riva briefly served as the president of Cagliari during the 1986–87 season, Riva was born into a poor family in Leggiuno, a small town in the northern Italian province of Varese, Lombardy, near the Swiss border, on 7 November 1944. Riva started playing football for the Laveno Mombello youth side in Lombardy. He began his career in 1962, at the age of 18. This was the first time a club south of Rome had ever won the title, Riva once again finished the season as top-scorer. In total, Riva scored 248 goals for club and country throughout his career in 439 appearances, overall, he scored 207 goals in 374 appearances in all competitions during his thirteen seasons with Cagliari, and 213 career club goals in 397 appearances. Following his disappointing and goalless performances in the stage, and much media criticism and scrutiny. On 14 June, he helped Italy defeat the hosts Mexico 4–1 in the quarter-finals, the Italian team finished runners up in the tournament after losing 4–1 to Brazil in the final, Riva finished the competition as Italys top-scorer, with three goals. On 31 March 1973, Riva scored four goals in a 5–0 home win over Luxembourg, in a World Cup qualifying match, surely my goals were much more important. Riva is currently still Italys top-goalscorer of all-time, with 35 goals in just 42 matches, after retiring, Riva remained in Cagliari, and founded the first school of football in Sardinia in 1976, which bears his name. Rivas jersey was the first to be retired by the Sardinian club, in addition to his goalscoring prowess and technique, he was also an extremely fit, hard-working, and fast player, with notable stamina, who excelled during sprints and at making attacking runs. He was also an accurate free-kick and penalty kick taker, despite his ability, his career was often marked by injuries, which later affected his mobility, continuity, and fitness, and eventually forced him to retire prematurely
28.
Midfielder
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A midfielder is an association football position. Midfielders are generally positioned on the field between their teams defenders and forwards, some midfielders play a disciplined defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are otherwise known as defensive midfielders. Others blur the boundaries, being mobile and efficient in passing, they are commonly referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box. The number of midfielders on a team and their assigned roles depends on the teams formation, most managers assign at least one midfielder to disrupt the opposing teams attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match, central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided roughly equally between attack and defence. When the opposing team has the ball, a midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward. The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders, the 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders, and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who have abilities and are skilled at both defending and attacking. These players can track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots. A good box-to-box midfielder needs good passing, vision, control, stamina, tackling and marking in defence, left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence, similar to that of central midfielders, but they are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates. Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1, a notable example of a right midfielder is David Beckham. Defensive midfielders are players who focus on protecting their teams goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their teams defence, defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack. Sergio Busquets described his attitude, The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someones position, great. A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina. A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their teams defence, a player in this role will try to protect their goal by disrupting the opponents attacking moves and stopping long shots on the goal. The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball and this player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the teams strategy
29.
Playmaker
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Other players still function as deep-lying playmakers, in a free role, behind the mid-field line. Playmakers are not usually known for their capabilities, which is why they are often supported by a defensive midfielder. As many midfielders and forwards have the creative and technical attributes. The attacking playmakers are sometimes called the number 10 of the team, the attacking midfield playmaker will sit in a free role between the midfield and the forwards, either in the centre of the pitch or on either flank. These offensive playmakers will often make incisive passes to the wingers or forwards, seeing them through on goal or to deliver killer crosses, as well as scoring goals themselves. In Italian football, as creative, technical, advanced playmakers are known not to be reserved to a single position, in Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the meia atacante, whereas in Argentina, it is known as the enganche. Diego Maradona and Zico are notable examples of attacking midfield playmakers, deep-lying playmakers are often known for their vision, technique and passing. Many are also known for their ability to switch the play or provide long passes that pick out players making attacking runs, in Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a regista, whereas in Brazil, it is known as a meia-armador. Xavi, Andrea Pirlo, Luka Modrić, Michael Carrick, creativity, skill, vision, technique, tactical awareness and good passing ability are the true requirements of a good playmaker. Advanced playmakers can also operate on the wings, in more of a position, as a half-winger, inverted-winger, or also as an outside forward. Lionel Messi, for example, was deployed in this position under manager Frank Rijkaard. There are also other similar variants upon the advanced playmaking role and this position allowed these technical players to make dribbling runs, and score many goals as well as assisting them. Unlike a pure number ten playmaker, however, the nine, in Italy, this role is known as a rifinitore or seconda punta, whereas in Brazil, it is known as a segundo atacante or ponta-de-lança. A false-9 is often a quick, creative, technical player, with vision, positioning and passing ability. The false-9, seemingly playing as a striker, will drop deep into the midfield number 10 role, drawing defenders with them. This allows the space to dribble with the ball and score. Examples of false-9s are Lionel Messi under Pep Guardiola, Cesc Fàbregas under Vicente del Bosque and this position is most common in a 4–6–0 formation disguised as a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1 formation. The false-10 also shares similar attributes to a false-9, and is used in a 4–2–3–1 formation
30.
Volley (football)
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A kick is a skill in association football in which a player strikes the ball with his or her foot. Association football, more commonly referred to as football and also known as soccer, is a sport played world-wide, kicking is one of the most difficult skills to acquire in football. This skill is also important, as kicking is the way in which passes are made. This indicates that early participation in football can have implications for the future ability level of the association football player. There are two aspects of the kicking action to consider when developing the skills for an effective kick in football, power. Multiple studies have concluded that an approach is more effective than a straight approach, with an approach angle close 45 degrees yielding the greatest power. Athletes with stronger and more accurate kicks and tend to put energy into the approach and more energy into the backswing. Therefore, less focus should be placed on the approach and more focus placed on developing effective kicking mechanics, visual focus should be placed on the ball, not on the football pitch. If lifting the head/eyes in order to determine where to shoot, which may be necessary in various circumstances, the athlete’s vision should be focused directly at the ball through the entirety of the kicking action in order to increase accuracy. The best position of the leg has been found to be 5 to 10 cm to the side of the ball. Skilled athletes have a tendency toward a closer ball-to-support leg side position, for forward to back positioning, there is variability based on the desired action of the ball. Placing the support leg further behind the ball will produce an upward direction whereas placing the support leg closer to the ball will produce greater forward propulsion. Ball flight trajectory is dictated by the supporting foot’s position, the support foot should be positioned so as to be parallel to the intended direction of the ball. Other important body positioning to be aware of is to bend the upper body slightly forward over the ball, velocity of the football is dependent on both the velocity of the foot upon contact as well as the quality of contact between the foot and the ball. The most effective way to speed to the ball is to hit the ball at its center point with the upper portion of the foot. Lower body movement analysis and joint motions are important to learn because of the involvement in the kick, an in-step football kick involves a performer striking the football with the dorsal part of the foot. The various lower body muscles that are required for motion are also analyzed. Six distinct stages are involved in the kick, the angle, the plant foot force, the swing limb loading, the swinging phase, ball contact
31.
Bicycle kick
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A bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is a physical move in association football. In most languages, the manoeuvre is named either the cycling motion or the scissor motion that it resembles. Its complexity, and uncommon performance in football matches, makes it one of association footballs most celebrated skills. Bicycle kicks can be used defensively to clear away the ball from the goalmouth or offensively to strike at the goal in an attempt to score. The bicycle kick is an advanced skill that is dangerous for inexperienced players. Its successful performance has been limited largely to the most experienced, the bicycle kick was invented in South America, possibly as early as the late 19th century, during a period of development in football history. Innovations like the bicycle kick were the result of adaptations to the football style introduced by British immigrants. Football lore has many legends on the origins of the bicycle kick. Newspaper archives from the beginning of the 20th century evidence a complex, multinational history for the bicycle kicks invention, naming, as an iconic skill, bicycle kicks are an important part of association football culture. Executing a bicycle kick in a football match, particularly in scoring a goal. The bicycle kick has been featured in works of art, such as sculptures, films, advertisements, the manoeuvre is also used in other similar ball sports, particularly in the variants of association football like futsal and beach soccer. The controversy over the invention and name in Brazil, Chile. The bicycle kick is known in English by three names, bicycle kick, overhead kick, and scissors kick, the term bicycle kick describes the action of the legs while the body is in mid-air, resembling the pedalling of a bicycle. The manoeuvre is also called a kick, which refers to the ball being kicked above the head or a scissors kick. Some authors differentiate the scissors kick as similar to a bicycle kick, in languages other than English, its name also reflects the action it resembles. Sports journalist Alejandro Cisternas, from Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, compiled a list of these names, in other languages, the nature of the action is described, German Fallrückzieher, Polish przewrotka, Dutch omhaal, and Italian rovesciata. Exceptions to these patterns are found in languages that designate the move by making reference to a location. Regardless, the move is known in Spanish by the less tendentious names of tijera
32.
Diving (association football)
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In association football, diving is an attempt by a player to gain an unfair advantage by falling to the ground and possibly feigning an injury, to give the impression that a foul has been committed. Dives are often used to exaggerate the amount of contact present in a challenge, deciding on whether a player has dived is often very subjective, and one of the most controversial aspects of football discussion. Players do this so they can receive free kicks or penalty kicks, Diving is also known as flopping, simulation, and Schwalbe. A2009 study found there are recognisable traits that can often be observed when a player is diving. They are, a separation in time between the impact and the simulation, a lack of continuity and lack of contact consistency. Referees and FIFA are now trying to prevent diving with more frequent punishments as part of their target to stop all kinds of simulation in football. The rule changes are in response to a trend of diving. In 2009, UEFA made the decision to ban Arsenal forward Eduardo da Silva for a dive during a Champions League qualifier against Celtic, Eduardo scored the subsequent penalty, with the goal putting Arsenal 3–0 up on aggregate. The ban was overturned on appeal, with Eduardo saying he was pleased UEFA had arrived at the truth as he was a fair player and was not the type of player who needs to be dishonest. In 2011, Rangers player Sone Aluko was banned for two games for simulation by the Scottish FA, during a game against Dunfermline Athletic, Aluko won a penalty which was converted by Nikica Jelavić and which proved to be the decisive goal. Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre claimed it was never a penalty as there was no contact, former referee Kenny Clark said that, while there was contact, it was not enough to cause a man to spill a pint in a pub far less to fall over. Major League Soccer in the United States began implementing fines and suspensions for the 2011 season for simulation through its Disciplinary Committee, on 24 June 2011, MLS penalised D. C. Furthermore, suspensions caused by players being sent off by another players simulation can be rescinded and their aim was to discern when and where diving is likely to occur, with the aim of identifying ways to stop it. The researchers watched hundreds of hours of matches across 6 European professional leagues and found that diving is likely to occur a) near the offensive goal. None of the 169 dives seen in the study were punished, some progressive professional leagues, such as the Australian A-League and the American MLS have already started handing down punishments for players found guilty of diving. This is the best way to decrease the incentive for diving, some have referred to simulation as a menace to footballers with real, sometimes life-threatening, injuries or conditions. Earlier that year, he had to deal with the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, unsportsmanlike conduct Sportsmanship Gamesmanship Timewasting Running out the clock Flop Diving Reuters Soccer Blog, Diving. Simulation and the UEFA Ruling on Eduardo, feigning injury corrupts as much as fake blood
33.
Giuseppe Meazza
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Giuseppe Peppino Meazza, also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Along with Giovanni Ferrari and Eraldo Monzeglio, he is one of only three Italian players to have won two World Cups. Meazza is widely considered one of the best players of his generation, due to his technical skill, prolific goalscoring, and creative ability, he was often given the nickname il genio by the Italian press during his career. He has been ranked fourth-best player in the history of the World Cup, with 338 goals, he is the third-highest Italian goalscorer in all competitions. In 2011, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan, however, it was football that was his true calling. His mother hid his shoes so he would not waste his time and he began playing at six years old on the streets on a team named the Maestri Campionesi who played with a ball made of rags. At twelve years old he finally got permission from his mother to pursue being a footballer and it was here that a fan bought him his first proper pair of football boots. He began his career as a striker, but due to his talent and technical skills. Now we even take players from kindergarten, the National Opera Balilla, the Fascist youth organisation which collected all children aged 8 to 14 years, was established in 1926 and so Conti thought it a good way to describe the young rookie. Meazza scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta in Como, at the age of 13, Meazza admired Milan, but was rejected by the team for being too skinny. However, he was received with open arms by Internazionale and he was randomly observed juggling a rag ball in the street by an Inter scout and quickly signed. They fed him steaks so he would get bigger and stronger, at first he was used to fill a gap in defense instead of being allowed to follow his attacking instinct, but luckily Inters junior coach later corrected the mistake. He scored two goals on his debut in a 6–2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta di Como, Meazza still holds the record for the most goals scored in a debut season in Serie A, with 31 goals in his first season. The year before, when Serie A did not exist, and he scored 5 goals in a single game, twice in one season,6 January 1929 Inter against Pistoiese 9–1 and 17 March 1929 Inter v Verona 9–0. That same season on 12 May 1929, he scored six goals as Inter beat Venezia 10–2,27 April 1930 was the first time Inter ever played A. S. Inter won 6–0 and Meazza scored four goals, scoring his first three within three minutes of the game, with Meazza on the squad, Inter won 3 national championships in 1930,1938 and 1940, and helped win the teams first Coppa Italia in 1939. The 1930 championship was Inters first since 1920 and they were considered underdogs to teams like Bologna, Torino, Juventus and it was Meazzas dazzling form that clinched the inaugural Serie A title
34.
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
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