Real Betis Balompié is a Spanish football club in Sevilla founded in 1907. The team currently plays in La Liga. Its home stadium is the 52,700-seat Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera and its home colours are green and white. Real Betis will celebrate their centenary year this coming 2007/2008 La Liga season.
Balompie is the literal Spanish word for football as opposed to the anglicized version, futbol. Real Betis is one of only a handful of Spanish clubs that use this version in their name!!!!!
Grasshopper-Club Zürich commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshopper is a Swiss multisports club based in Zürich. The oldest and most well known section of Grasshopper-Club Zürich is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper-Club Zürich holds the record for winning the most national championship titles and with 18 victories also the one for the most successes in the Swiss Cup tournament.
F.C.Celtic hold the SPL record for an unbeaten run of home matches (77), spanning from 2001 to 2004 (this run was ended by a 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen on 21 April 2004), and the record for the longest run of consecutive wins in a single season (25 matches)!!!!!
Kawasaki Frontale is a J. League football club. The team is located in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Their home stadium is Todoroki Athletics Stadium, in Nakahara Ward, in the central area of Kawasaki.Founded in 1955 as Fujitsu soccer club. The club was one of many city clubs that comprised the Japan Soccer League, including Yomiuri Shimbun (later Tokyo Verdy 1969), Toshiba (later Consadole Sapporo) and NKK
The official red and blue colours of Cagliari mirror those featured on the stemma of Cagliari.The red parts of the stemma are a reference to the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a family which was previously the monarchy of Italy and more relevantly to Cagliari in particular, the Kingdom of Sardinia.The blue part of the stemma features the sky and the sea, also a castle; this is because the old historic center of Cagliari is walled and called the Castello. Due to the use of these colours on their shirt in halves, the club is commonly nicknamed rossoblu!!!!!
Esporte Clube Vitória, usually known simply as Vitória, is a Brazilian football team from Salvador in Bahia, founded on May 13, 1899.
Due to Italian football regulations regarding non-EU minors, Alexandre Pato was unable to play official matches for Milan until January 3, 2008, when the Italian transfer window and registration reopened.However, AC Milan was allowed to include the player in friendlies and training beginning September 3, 2007, one day after his 18th birthday. Pato made his non-competitive début in a 2–2 draw against Dynamo Kiev on September 7, 2007 and scored a header. As of January 4, 2008, Pato's transfer to Milan became official!!!!!
The Greece national football team is the national football team of Greece and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. They are the reigning European Champions. Greece's first appearance in a major tournament was Euro 80, but their first win in a major tournament did not come until the first match of Euro 2004, a 2-1 win over the hosts Portugal. The Greeks went on to win the tournament, stunning defending champions France in the quarterfinals and the heavily favored Czech Republic in the semifinals before beating Portugal a second time, 1-0, in the final. Bookmakers were giving odds of about 80-1 to 150-1 for the Greeks before the tournament
The second goal of Greece on the yesterday’s game against Portugal (2-1 ) was the 600th for the Greek national team!!!!!
Djurgårdens IF Fotboll, commonly just "Djurgården" , is a Swedish football team located in Stockholm. The club is also nicknamed "Stockholms stolthet" (lit. "the pride of Stockholm"). Djurgården is based in Östermalm, a part of Stockholm with mostly upper class. The club, formed 12 March 1891, have won 11 national championship titles and 4 national cup titles. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan. Their main Stockholm rivals are AIK and Hammarby. The supporter club is called Järnkaminerna (The Iron Stoves).
Juventus is the most successful team in the history of Italian football.Overall, the club have won 51 official trophies, more than any other Italian team; 40 in Italy, which is also a record,and 11 in European and world competitions!!!!!
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its football team.The origins of the side go back to a pair of football clubs founded in 1899: Frankfurter Fußball-Club Viktoria von 1899 – regarded as the "original" football side in the club's history – and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899. These two teams merged in May of 1911 to become Frankfurter FV (Kickers-Viktoria), which in turn joined the gymnastics club Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861 to form TuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 in 1920
Paolo Maldini presently holds both records for number of total and Serie A appearances for Milan with a total of 837 games played in total, and 600 in the Serie A (as of May 14, 2007, not including playoff matches), the latter being also an all-time Serie A record!!!!!
Chelsea Football Club (also known as The Blues or previously The Pensioners) are an English professional football club based in west London. Founded in 1905, they play in the FA Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier in English football. They have had two broad periods of success, one during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the second from the late 1990s to the present day. Chelsea have won three league titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups and two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups.[2] During the 2005-06 season, they became Premier League champions for the second consecutive year. Chelsea's home is the 42,055 capacity[1] Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their foundation. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
Chelsea have the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the fifth best-supported Premiership team in the 2005–06 season, with an average gate of 41,870!!!!!
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, (after the famous Portuguese explorer of the same name) is a Brazilian sports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898 (although the football department started on November 5, 1915). It was founded by Portuguese immigrants, and it is still the team traditionally supported by the Portuguese community of Rio de Janeiro.
In 1989, Rangers F.C. were said to have had an "unwritten policy" of not signing any player who was Catholic; although Mo Johnston was by no means the first Catholic to sign for the club, he was the first openly Catholic, high-profile player to sign for them since World War I!!!!!
Corporación de Fútbol Profesional de la Universidad de Chile is one of the most popular football clubs in Chile. The club is best known by their nickname "La U" (The U).The club was founded on May 24, 1927 as Club Deportivo Universitario by the merger of Club Náutico and Federación Universitaria. Initially the club was formed by students of the Universidad de Chile and was the sport brand of the university, that was until 1980 when the university's rector and president of the club at the time (both of them appointed by the Pinochet regime) decided to separate the club from the university and created the CORFUCH to manage the football team. This move was a part of the atomization of the Universidad de Chile that was made by the military dictatorship in order to strength the private universities that were born in that time and reduce the state power. This was a major blow to the club, because it was left with nothing but a loyal fan base. From then the club started to decline in the results and the economy as the other major clubs were helped by main powers as the government, the catholic church and Codelco. This led to the team's relegation to second division in 1988 and the threats of dissolve the club by the university if the team didn't come back to the first division in one year, but La "U" get the 2nd division championship of 1989 and then started a return to the greatness that suppressed all the previous penuries.
The record for the highest attendance in Primera Division of Chile is 85,268 fans on the game Universidad de Chile against Universidad Catolica in 1962!!!!!
The Portugal football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), finishing 4th at the last World Cup. Portugal have qualified four times for the FIFA World Cup; 1966, 1986, 2002 and 2006. The first appearance saw them reach the semi final, losing 2-1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in third place and Eusébio was considered the best player of the tournament. The next two times Portugal qualified for the World Cup were 1986 and 2002, with Portugal going out in the first round both times after surprise defeats to Morocco, United States and South Korea. In the 1986 tournament, players went on strike over prize-money and refused to train between their first and the second games
Lazio's colours of white and sky blue were inspired by the national emblem of Greece, due to the fact that Lazio is a mixed sports club this was chosen in recognition of the fact that the Ancient Olympic Games and along with it the sporting tradition in Europe is linked to Greece!!!!!
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is an Italian professional football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have participated at the top-tier of Italian football for the majority of their xistence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A seasons. After climbing back up the Italian football system in the early 2000s, Fiorentina are competing in Serie A for 2007–08.Fiorentina have won Serie A twice, first in 1955–56 then again in 1968–69, as well as winning six Coppa Italia trophies. On the European stage Fiorentina have won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1960–61, they finished runners-up in the UEFA Cup 1989–90 and they also came close to winning the biggest European prize, finishing as runners-up in the European Cup during 1956–57.Since 1931 the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which currently has a capacity of 47,282. 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 official emblem of the city of Florence; a red and white fleur-de-lis; has played a pivitol role in the all round symbolism of the club. Originally when Fiorentina was founded in 1926, the red and white halves shirts were derived from the colour of the city emblem.The more well known and highly distinctive purple kit was adopted in 1928 and has been their's ever since; giving them the nickname La viola ("The Purple (team)"). Traditionally it is said that the purple kit became Fiorentina's by mistake, after an accident washing the old red and white coloured kits in the river!!!!!
The Venezuela national football team is the national football team of Venezuela and is controlled by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. It is nicknamed La Vinotinto (The Red Wine One), because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts. It is historically the weakest of the 10 CONMEBOL teams (perhaps due to the enormous popularity of baseball in the country), and the only one which has never qualified for a World Cup. Often Venezuela would go through entire qualification tournaments without recording a single win, although this has changed in the last two qualifying rounds. Their best finish in Copa América was fifth in their first entry, in 1967. The team itself has improved a lot in recent years. Analysts tend to say that Venezuela has a chance of qualifying for the next World Cup but that the team has a lot to learn yet. Juan Arango is considered to be the best player in the current team, and gives a lot of support to his team mates.
IFK Göteborg is the only Scandinavian team to have won a European cup competition, the UEFA Cup; IFK won the Euro title in 1982 and 1987!!!!!
Hammarby IF is a Swedish football club located in Södermalm, Stockholm. The club is often referred to as the less formal name Bajen (a short form of a mock-English pronunciation of "Hammarby"). The club was formed in 1889 under the name of Hammarby Roddförening (eng: Hammarby Rowing Association). In 1897 the name was changed to Hammarby Idrottsförening (Hammarby IF) as many of the club's athlethes were now engaging in more sports than just rowing.
Ajax originally played in an all black uniform with a red sash tied around the players' waists, but that uniform was soon replaced by a red/white striped shirt and black shorts. Red, black and white are the three colors of the flag of Amsterdam!!!!!
The Spain national football team, commonly referred to as La Selección, is the national football team of Spain and is controlled by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol. Spain has a reputation for underachievement in the FIFA World Cup, with their best finish being fourth place in 1950 despite often being among the pre-tournament favorites. They often start well, but struggle considerably in the later stages. Their only senior level tournament victory is the 1964 European Championship. Their current FIFA ranking is 10th. They did win the gold medal when they hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria.
Since 1982, the English League Cup has been named after its sponsor, giving it the following names:
Sport Club Internacional, also known as Inter or Colorado, is a Brazilian football team from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909. They play in red shirts, white shorts and socks, the first of which gives the team its nickname of O Colorado, or The Reds. They enjoy a traditional rivalry with the city's other club, Grêmio - with derbies known as a "Gre-Nal"
Dunga's (coach of nat.team of Brazil) nickname is Portuguese for Dopey, one of the Seven Dwarfs. Carlos' uncle gave him this nickname when he believed that Carlos would never grow to a tall stature!!!!!
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a professional football club based in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England who currently compete in the Football League of England in The Championship division. Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world. Their main rivals are Sheffield United, with whom they contest the Steel City derby.The Owls have won four League titles, three FA Cups and one League Cup, but their League Cup triumph in 1991 is their only major trophy since World War II. They did reach both domestic cup finals in 1993, but lost 2–1 to Arsenal each time.They play their home matches at Hillsborough Stadium in the north-western suburb of Owlerton, a 39,814 all-seater stadium built in 1899 when the lease expired at their previous ground at Olive Grove. The largest attendance was 72,841, which was achieved in 1934.
Since 2003, Manchester City have not issued the squad number 23. It was retired in memory of Marc-Vivien Foé, who was on loan to the club from Olympique Lyonnais at the time of his death on the field of play playing for Cameroon in the 2003 Confederations Cup!!!!!
F.C. Copenhagen (Danish: F.C. København, or FCK in short) is a Danish football team located in Copenhagen. It is a part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment company. They play in the Danish Superliga and are one of the most successful clubs in Danish football. They have won six Danish Superliga championships, three Danish Cup trophies, and the Scandinavian tournament Royal League twice. They qualified for the 2006-07 edition of the UEFA Champions League, for the first time in club history.F.C. Copenhagen was founded in 1992, as a merger between 15-time Danish football champions Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB) and seven-time Danish football champions Boldklubben 1903, both clubs from Copenhagen. The club plays its matches at the Parken Stadium, which also serves as the venue for Denmark national football team matches. Since its founding, F.C. Copenhagen have had a fierce rivalry with fellow Copenhagen club Brøndby IF, and the so-called "New Firm" games between the two sides attract the biggest crowds in Danish football.
Elisha Scott, played for Liverpool for 22 years, making him the longest serving Liverpool player ever!!!!!
Galbirex Niigata ( Arubirekkusu Niigata) is a Japanese J. League football team.Joining the J. League in 1999, its home towns are Niigata, Niigata and Seiro, Niigata. Until 2003, it used Niigata Perfectural Sport Ground as the home ground but since 2004, the team began using Niigata Stadium Big Swan as well and now plays most of its games there. In 2003, it set a record for highest attendance in the J. League with the cumulative total of around 660,000. Its practice grounds are Albirex's training facilities in Seiro and the Ijimino Sports Park ( Ijimino Undo Koen?) in Shibata.
Inter has never been relegated from the Italian top flight in their entire history, which dates back all the way to 1908; a fact Nerazzurri fans hold in high regard. By comparison, AC Milan has been relegated twice despite winning two more Scudetti. As of 2007, following Juventus' relegation to Serie B for the 2006-07 season following the "Calciopoli" scandal Inter remain the only Italian club that holds this honour, and its century in the top flight (counting the upcoming season) is one of the longest unbroken runs of any club in the world!!!!!
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Despite being the 4th oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower divisions of the English league. The club enjoy a fierce local rivalry with near neighbours Mansfield Town, as well as other rivalries with Notts County, Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United and Doncaster Rovers.
Ephraim Longworth, was a solid full-back who became Liverpool's first England captain in 1921!!!!!
Beşiktaş J.K. was established in 1903 in the Ottoman Empire, which makes it the first Turkish sports club. The first branches of the club were wrestling, boxing, weight-lifting and a variety of gymnastics branches.The monarchical rules of the Ottomans were relaxed with the declaration of Meşrutiyet (constitutional monarchy) on July 23, 1908; a law allowing the foundation of sport clubs passed on August 3, 1909.Finally, the club was officially registered on January 20, 1910 under the name of "Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club", and Şükrü Pasha took over the presidency of Beşiktaş. In this way, Beşiktaş became the first officially registered Turkish sports club, as well.
In 1928, Velez Sarsfield played the first night game in Argentine football history at their new stadium in neighboring Villa Luro. This stadium would be nicknamed "El Fortín" (The Small Fort) by the press!!!!!
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international men's football. Controlled by the Football Association of Wales, the governing body for football in Wales, they are one of the oldest national teams in the world. Although not a major force in world football, Wales constantly punches above its weight and has regularly beaten some of the best teams in the world. Although part of the United Kingdom, Wales has always had its own representative side that plays in all the major professional tournaments, though not in the Olympic Games as the IOC only recognises the United Kingdom.
When Inter F.C. was founded in 1908, have worn black and blue stripes.Black was chosen to represent night and blue was chosen to represent the sky!!!!!
The India national football team is the national football team of India and is controlled by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation, and a member of FIFA. India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. However, they did not take up their place in the competition because FIFA demanded all players at the World Cup finals should wear football boots. A number of the Indian players refused to abide by this rule and the team was forced to withdraw; the team has never since come close to qualifying for the World Cup.
In 1986 River Plate fans had the distinction of watching River win the league title, Copa Libertadores, Interamerican Cup, Intercontinental Cup, as well as Argentina's triumph in the 1986 FIFA World Cup!!!!!
The Chicago Fire is a Chicago-area professional soccer club with offices in Bridgeview, Illinois, USA. It participates in Major League Soccer. The team was founded October 8, 1997 on the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1998, their first season in the league, the Fire won the MLS Cup as well as the U.S. Open Cup (the "double"). They have also won the 2000, 2003, and 2006 U.S. Open Cup.
Hamburg SV (Germany) went undefeated between January 16, 1982 and January 29, 1983—a string of 36 games that still stands as a Bundesliga record!!!!!
Boca Juniors have won a South American record 17 international titles, second only to AC Milan in world football who have 18!!!!!
