
The English national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England. Although most national teams worldwide represent an independent state, the four home nations which form the United Kingdom are each represented separately in international tournaments.England is one of the more successful footballing teams, being one of only seven countries to ever win the FIFA World Cup, which they did in 1966 when they hosted the finals. They defeated West Germany 4-2 in extra time in the Final. England share with France the record of having one World Cup victory and this being achieved on home soil (the other winners have all won the trophy at least twice and at least once on foreign soil). Since then they have only reached the semi-finals once, losing to West Germany on penalties. Nevertheless, they remain a prominent team on the global stage, rarely dropping outside of the top ten rankings of both FIFA and Elo. England also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championship in 1968 and 1996 (again played in England). They were the most successful of the Home Nations in the British Home Championship with 54 wins (including 20 shared wins) before the competition was suspended in 1984.Traditionally, England's greatest rivals have been Scotland, who were their opponents in the first-ever international football match in 1870. Since regular fixtures against Scotland came to an end in the late 1980s, other rivalries have become more prominent. Matches with Argentina and Germany have produced particularly eventful encounters. England's home ground is Wembley Stadium in London.





Petrolul Ploiesti is a Romanian professional football club from Ploiesti, Prahova county, founded in 1952.They currently play in Liga II, Seria I in the 2008-2009 season after finishing 3rd in Liga II, Seria I in the 2007-2008 season.Petrolul Ploiesti was founded in 1952 when the team Flacara Bucuresti (Juventus Bucuresti) moved to Ploiesti.They won the Romanian championship (Liga I) in 1957-1958, 1958-1959 and 1965-1966. They also won the Romanian Cup in 1962-1963 and 1994-1995. Their best European performance was reaching the quarter-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the predecessor of the UEFA Cup) in the 1962-63 edition after eliminating Spartak Brno (Czechoslovakia) and Leipzig XI (German Democratic Republic) and being defeated by the Hungarian side Ferencvárosi TC.Petrolul Ploiesti is the most successful team from Ploiesti, as they won 3 championships and 2 cups.

Olympique de Marseille (also known as l'OM or Marseille) is a football team that plays in Ligue 1, the top level of the French Football League, based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, Marseille is the largest and most successful club in France. They are so far the only French team to have won the UEFA Champions League (in 1993), which rounded off their dominant run of four consecutive Ligue 1 titles. However, having suffered from scandalous financial irregularities in 1994 and the resulting relegation, the club has not won a major trophy in over a decade.

Hamburger SV can trace its roots as far back as the September 29, 1887 merger of Der Hohenfelder Sportclub and Wandsbek-Marienthaler Sportclub to form Sports Club Germania. The current club was formed as Hamburg Sport-Verein in 1919 through the union of three city teams severely weakened by World War I: Sports Club Germania; Hamburg FC (1888); and FC Falke (1906). The club colors were the Hanseatic red and white in honor of the City of Hamburg, with the blue and black of the oldest of the founding clubs, Germania, being used on the team crest. It is through Germania that HSV can lay a claim to being the oldest team in the country. However, other clubs may dispute that honor, as Germania was formed originally as an athletics club and did not begin to play football until 1891 when a half dozen Englishmen joined the club, bringing with them their enthusiasm for the game.





Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Manchester. They are currently members of the English Premier League.Originally formed in 1880 as St. Marks (West Gorton), they then became Ardwick A.F.C. in 1887 before changing their name to Manchester City F.C. in 1894. The club has won the League Championship twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice and the European Cup Winners Cup once. The club's most successful period was during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when they won several major trophies under the management team of Joe Mercer and his assistant Malcolm Allison, and with great players such as Colin Bell and Francis Lee.However, the club has not won a major honour since 1976. The club's decline led to relegation twice in three years in the 1990s, meaning they spent one year in the third tier of English football. However, the club has since regained Premier League status, putting City back in the top flight, the division in which they have spent the majority of their history.



Liverpool Football Club are an English football club based in Liverpool. They play at Anfield but hope to start work on the new stadium approximately 200 metres away in neighbouring Stanley Park, following the take over of the club by American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett They play in the FA Premier League and in terms of trophies won are the most successful club in the history of English football. Liverpool have won eighteen First Division titles, seven FA Cups, seven League Cups, five European Cups and three UEFA Cups. Liverpool are also a member of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.Liverpool F.C. were founded by John Houlding in 1892 to play in his Anfield stadium. For the previous seven years the stadium had been used by Everton
Clube Atlético Mineiro, usually known as Atlético, is a football club based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Founded in March 25, 1908, Atlético is one of the most traditional clubs in Brazilian football. The first official match was played on March 21, 1909, against Sport Club Futebol. The team plays in black and white vertical striped shirts, black shorts and white socks.


Club Atlético River Plate, known also as River Plate or simply River, is an Argentine sports club best known for its football team, established in 1901. Its home base is the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Núñez, and it plays at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti. It's the 9th soccer club in the All-Time Club World Ranking and the 1st in America, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) The club was also regarded 6 times as the best soccer club in the world in the monthly Club World Ranking of IFFHS"River Plate" is sometimes used as the English name for the Río de la Plata, the river on which Buenos Aires sits. It is believed that, in the club's early days, one of the founders (Martínez) observed sailors playing impromptu football games in the port of Buenos Aires next to crates marked "The River Plate", hence the club name.


PFC CSKA Moscow (Russian: Профессиональный футбольный клуб ЦСКА Москва or Professional Football Club - Central Sports Club of Army (Moscow)) is the football section of the CSKA sports club of Moscow, Russia.It won the Soviet championship seven times (1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1970, 1991), the Soviet Cup five times (1945, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1991), the Russian Cup in 2002, 2005, and 2006, won the Russian Premier League champions title in 2003, 2005 and 2006, finishing second in 1998, 2002 and 2004, and the Russian Super Cup in 2004, 2006 and 2007.








Club Deportivo Social y Cultural Cruz Azul, also known as Cruz Azul, is a popular Mexican professional football club. Cruz Azul plays in the Primera División de México and its home venue is the Estadio Azul, located in the Southwestern part of Mexico City in the Napoles neighborhood. The team moved in there in 1996, after playing many seasons at the Estadio Azteca. Los Cementeros are traditionally one of the biggest and most successful teams in Mexico; they have been champions 8 times, tied with Toluca, and trail only Club America with 10, and Guadalajara with 11. The club is also even with Club America for most CONCACAF Champions' Cup with 5. Cruz Azul was also the first (and still only) Mexican club to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores when they lost in penalties to Argentine giants Boca Juniors. 


Unione Calcio Sampdoria (commonly nicknamed Blucerchiati, blue-ringed) is a football club based in Genoa, Italy. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s; Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria.Sampdoria currently compete in the Italian Serie A. The team's colours are blue with white, red and black stripes, hence the nickname blucerchiati. Sampdoria play at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, capacity 36,536, which it shares with Genoa's other club, Genoa Cricket and Football Club. The derby between the two teams is commonly known as the Derby della Lanterna.Sampdoria have obtained the scudetto once in their history; during 1991. The club has also won the Coppa Italia four times (1985, 1988, 1989, and 1994). Their biggest European success came when they won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. They also reached the UEFA Champions League final in 1992 only to lose against the Spanish FC Barcelona with an 1-0 score after extra time. 
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club are an English football club, which play in the FA Premier League. The club is also known as Tottenham and Spurs , while their own fans also refer to them as the Lilywhites because of their traditional white shirts. Their home ground is White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London. Tottenham were the first club in the twentieth century to achieve the League and FA Cup Double, winning both competitions in the 1960-61 season. In 1963, Spurs became the first British club to win a European trophy - the European Cup Winners' Cup.The club has a long-standing rivalry with near neighbours Arsenal and the series of matches between the two is known as the North London derby. The club motto is Audere est Facere (lit: "To dare is to do") and their emblem is the cockerel and ball.