FootBall World

inter milan

2008-07-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

On June 15, 2005, Inter won the Coppa Italia, defeating AS Roma in the two-legged final 3-0 on aggregate (1-0 win in Milan and 2-0 win in Rome) and followed that up on 20 August 2005, by winning the Supercoppa Italiana after an extra-time 1-0 victory against original 04-05 Serie A champions Juventus (before being stripped of this title). This Super Cup win was Inter's first since 1989, coincidentally the same year since Inter last won the Scudetto before 2006. On 11 May 2006, Inter retained their Coppa Italia trophy by once again, defeating AS Roma with a 4-1 aggregate victory (A 1-1 scoreline in Rome and a 3-1 win at the Giuseppe Meazza, San Siro).

Inter were awarded the 2005-06 Serie A championship as they were the highest placed side in the season's final league table after points were stripped from Juventus and AC Milan - both sides being involved in the match fixing scandal that year. On 14 July 2006, The Italian Federal Appeal Commission found Serie A clubs Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina, Reggina and AC Milan guilty of match-fixing and punished the 5 clubs involved, although all charges were later reduced to some extent. As a result, with the relegation of Juventus Turin to Serie B (for the first ever time in their history) and the 8-point deduction for city rivals AC Milan, Inter became favorites to retain their Serie A title for the upcoming 2006-07 Serie A season.

During the season, Inter went on a record-breaking run of 17 consecutive victories in Serie A, starting on September 25 2006 with a 4-1 home win over Livorno, and ending on February 28, 2007, after a 1-1 draw at home to Udinese. The 5-2 away win at Catania on February 25 2007 broke the original record of 15 matches held by both Bayern Munich & Real Madrid from the "Big 5" (the top flight leagues in England, Italy, Spain, France & Germany). The run lasted for almost 5 months and is among the best in European league football, with just Benfica (29 wins), Celtic (25 wins) and PSV Eindhoven (22 wins) bettering it. Inter's form dipped a little as they recorded 0-0 and 2-2 draws against relegation-battlers Reggina and slumping to Palermo (respectively), the latter game featuring a second-half comeback after Palermo went up 2-0 at halftime. They could not keep their invincible form up near the end of the season as well, as they lost their first game of the domestic season to Roma in the San Siro 3-1 thanks to two late Roma goals. Inter had enjoyed an unbeaten Serie A run for just under a year.

Barcelona

2008-07-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

2004/05 season

In the 2004/05 season, Barça were crowned champions of La Liga, and stars Ronaldinho and Eto'o were voted first and third in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Barça also won the Supercopa de España, with a victory over Real Betis. In the UEFA Champions League 2004-05 Barça were eliminated by Chelsea F.C. 5-4 on aggregate.

2005/06 season

The 2005-06 season has been the pinnacle of the Laporta reign so far. In November 2005 Barça beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in a match where Ronaldinho was so impressive that after his second, and Barça's third goal the Real Madrid fans felt compelled to applaud him. This match also gave Frank Rijkaard his second victory at the Bernabeu, making him the first Barça manager to win there twice. Barcelona went on to win the championship of La Liga with ease, as well as the Supercopa de España with a victory over city rivals Espanyol.

In the UEFA Champions League that season, Barça beat Arsenal F.C. to win the final on May 17, 2006. Trailing 1-0 to the English side, with less than 15 minutes left and inspired by substitute Henrik Larsson, they came back to win 2-1,though with an extra man, for the club's first UEFA Champions League victory in 14 years. This victory sparked scenes of jubilation from Barcelona fans with ecstatic culers celebrating in the obvious scene of La Rambla and members of Barça fan clubs celebrating in the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid and all over the world.

2006/07 season

Despite being the favorites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the 2006-07 season

trophyless. A pre-season US tour was later blamed for a string of injuries to key players, including leading scorer Eto'o and rising star Messi. There was open feuding as Eto'o publicly criticized coach Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho also admitted that lack of fitness affected his form. Barça advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, winning the first leg 5-2, with a Maradona-style goal from Messi, but then surprisingly losing the second leg 4-0 to lowly Getafe to go out 6-5 on aggregate. They took part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2006, making it to the final, only to be beaten by a late goal against Internacional.

In La Liga, Barça was in first place for much of the season while arch-rivals Real Madrid were six points behind and in fourth. However Barça began playing inconsistently after January, while Madrid's form improved in that same period. On May 12, 2007, Real Madrid took the league lead for the first time all season by defeating Espanyol 4-3, coming back from 1-3 first half deficit. Following a series of dramatic last minute goals in their last matches, Real Madrid held onto the lead to become league champions.

Barça was unable to retain the Champions League. They were knocked out of the competition in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Liverpool F.C., losing 2-1 at Nou Camp after having been up 1-0; they were then held to 1-0 at Anfield and were eliminated on away goals.

2007/08 season

In the 2007-08 season, Barcelona again struggled, and weren't even able to finish in the top two of the Primera División. They progressed well in the UEFA Champions League, eventually losing to Manchester United 1-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Following two years without major trophies, some club members initiated a no confidence motion in Laporta. This narrowly failed, receiving 60% of the votes cast, just short of the 66% required. Laporta vowed to continue, although eight of his directors resigned.

2008/09 season

A day after a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of arch-rivals Real Madrid, Laporta announced that Barça B coach Josep Guardiola would take over Frank Rijkaard's duties after June 30. With the new coach Barcelona started the long expected clear out and rebirth of the team. Players such as Thuram, Zambrotta, Deco, Giovani dos Santos and Ronaldinho left the squad, with teammate Eto'o expected to leave, too. Barcelona have thus far bought Daniel Alves (Sevilla FC), Gerard Piqué (Manchester United), Martín Cáceres (Villarreal CF), Seydou Keita (Sevilla FC) and most recently for £15m, Aliaksandr Hleb (Arsenal FC) in preparation for the 2008-09 season.

Manchester City F.C.

2008-07-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

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 top flight status, the level at which they have spent the majority of their history.

The holding company of Manchester City F.C., Manchester City Limited, is a private limited company. The club has approximately 54 million shares in issue. In the summer of 2007, the major shareholders agreed to sell their holdings to UK Sports Investments Limited (UKSIL), a company controlled by former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. UKSIL then made a formal offer to buy the shares held by several thousand small shareholders.

Prior to the Thaksin takeover, the club was listed on the specialist independent equity market PLUS (formerly OFEX), where it had been listed since 1995. On the 6th July 2007, having acquired 75% of the shares, Thaksin delisted the club and re-registered it as a private company. By August UKSIL had acquired over 90% of the shares, and exercised its rights under the Companies Act to "squeeze out" the remaining shareholders, and acquire the entire shareholding. Thaksin Shinawatra is chairman of the club, with former chairman and JD Sports founder John Wardle deputy chairman. Two of Thaksin's children, Pintongta and Panthongtae are also on the board of directors. The club made a pre-tax loss of £11m in the year ending 31 May 2007, the final year for which accounts were published as a public company.

Thaksin's purchase prompted a period of transfer spending without precedent at the club, spending in excess of £30 million, whereas over the previous few seasons net spending had been among the lowest in the division. Another initiative in the early months of Thaksin's ownership was the establishment of a network of partner clubs, with relationships with clubs in China (Shanghai Shenhua), South Africa (Thanda Royal Zulu), Russia (FC Moscow), Switzerland (Grasshopper-Club Zürich), Thailand (Chonburi) and Australia

Chelsea F.C.

2008-06-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Chelsea Football Club (also known as The Blues or previously The Pensioners) are a professional English football club based in west London. Founded in 1905, they play in the 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, four FA Cups, four League Cups, two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, and have reached one UEFA Champions League final.

Chelsea's home is the 42,055-person capacity Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their establishment. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, the club was bought by Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich.

The club's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. Their traditional crest is a ceremonial blue lion holding a staff; a modified version of this was adopted in 2005

Chelsea have the fifth highest average all-time attendance in English football^[35] 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. Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from working-class parts of West London, such as Hammersmith and Battersea, from wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the Home Counties. In addition to the standard football chants, Chelsea fans sing songs like "Carefree", "Blue is the Colour", "We all follow the Chelsea" (to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory), "Ten Men Went to Mow", "Zigga Zagga", "Hello! Hello!" and the celebratory "Celery", with the latter often resulting in fans ritually throwing celery.

Chelsea do not have a traditional rivalry in the manner of Liverpool and Everton or Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. The club's nearest neighbours are Fulham, but they are not seen as big rivals by Chelsea fans, because the clubs have spent most of the last 40 years in separate divisions. A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com found that Chelsea fans consider their main rivalries to be with (in order): Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Additionally, a strong rivalry with Leeds United dates back to several heated and controversial matches in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the FA Cup final in 1970.^[39] A more recent rivalry has grown with Liverpool following several clashes in cup competitions.

Records

Chelsea's highest appearance-maker is ex-captain Ron Harris, who played in 795 first-class games for the club between 1961 and 1980. This record is unlikely to be broken in the near future; Chelsea's current highest appearance-maker is Frank Lampard with 366. The record for a Chelsea goalkeeper is held by Harris's contemporary, Peter Bonetti, who made 729 appearances (1959–79). With 116 caps (67 while at the club), Marcel Desailly of France is Chelsea's most capped international player.

Bobby Tambling is Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer, with 202 goals in 370 games (1959–70). Seven other players have also scored over 100 goals for Chelsea: George Hilsdon (1906–12), George Mills (1929–39), Roy Bentley (1948–56), Jimmy Greaves (1957–61), Peter Osgood (1964–74 & 1978–79), Kerry Dixon (1983–92), and Frank Lampard (2001–). With 193 goals, Dixon is the only player in the club's recent history to have come close to matching Tambling's record. Greaves holds the record for the most goals scored in one season (43 in 1960–61). Lampard is the top scorer currently at the club.

In popular culture

In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, The Great Game. One-time Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including the pitch, the boardroom and the dressing rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills and Sam Millington. Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the club, Chelsea have also featured in films about football hooliganism, most recently The Football Factory. Chelsea also appear in the Hindi film, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the music halls, with their underachievement often providing material for comedians such as George Robey.^[61] It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of a comic song in 1933, ironically titled "On The Day That Chelsea Went and Won The Cup", the lyrics of which described a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.^[5]

The song "Blue is the Colour" was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup Final, with all members of Chelsea's first team squad singing; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart. The song was later adapted to "White is the Colour" and adopted as an anthem by the Vancouver Whitecaps.^[63] In the build-up to the 1997 FA Cup final, the song "Blue Day", performed by Suggs and members of Chelsea's squad, reached number 22 in the UK charts.^[64] Bryan Adams, a fan of Chelsea, dedicated the song "We're Gonna Win" from the album 18 Til I Die to the club.

Manchester United F.C.

2008-06-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 330 million supporters worldwide – almost 5% of the world's population. The club was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, and has played in the top division of English football since 1938, with the exception of the 1974-75 season. Average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964–65.

The club is the second most successful in the history of English football and by far the most successful of recent times, having won 20 major honours since the start of Alex Ferguson's reign as manager in November 1986. They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won England's top division 17 times, one short of Liverpool's record of 18 league titles. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1. They won a second European Cup as part of an unprecedented Treble in 1999, before winning their third in 2008, 40 years almost to the day after their first. The club also holds the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club, and is currently ranked as the richest and most valuable club in football, and indeed any sport, with a value of 897 million as of May 2008. Manchester United was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs and its replacement, the European Club Association.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The current club captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.

Alex Ferguson era, pre-Treble (1986–1998)

Alex Ferguson arrived from Aberdeen to replace Atkinson and guided the club to an 11th place finish. The following season (1987–88), United finished second, with Brian McClair becoming the first United player since George Best to score twenty league goals in a season.

However, United struggled throughout the next two seasons, with many of Ferguson's signings not reaching the expectations of the fans. Alex Ferguson was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the beginning of 1990 but a Mark Robins goal gave United a narrow 1–0 win in the third round of the FA Cup over Nottingham Forest. This kept the season alive, and the team went on to win the competition, beating Crystal Palace in a replay in the final.

United won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990–91, beating that season's Spanish champions Barcelona in the final, but the following season was a disappointment as a late season slump saw them miss out on the league to rivals Leeds United. Meanwhile in 1991, the club floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £47 million, bringing its finances into the public eye.

The arrival of Eric Cantona in November 1992 provided the crucial spark for United, and blending with the best of trusted talent in Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin and Paul Ince, as well as budding stars like Ryan Giggs, they finished the 1992–93 season as champions for the first time since 1967. They won the double (the league and the FA Cup) for the first time the following season, aided by the capture of Roy Keane, a determined midfielder from Nottingham Forest, who would go on to become the team captain. In the same year, however, the club was plunged into mourning following the death of legendary manager and club president Sir Matt Busby, who died on 20 January 1994.

In 1994–95, Cantona received an eight month suspension for jumping into the crowd and assaulting Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who had given Cantona racial abuse as he left the field, in United's game at Selhurst Park. Drawing their last league match and losing to Everton in the FA Cup final left United as runners-up in both the league and FA Cup. Ferguson then outraged the supporters by selling key players and replacing them with players from the club's youth team, including David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes. Television pundit Alan Hansen famously declared "you'll never win anything with kids." The new players, several of whom quickly became regular internationals for England, did surprisingly well and United won the double again in 1995–96. This was the first time any English club had won the double twice, and the feat was nicknamed the "Double Double".

They won the league in 1996–97, and Eric Cantona announced his retirement from football at the age of 30. They started the following season (1997–98) well, but they finished in second place, behind the double-winning champions Arsenal.

After the Treble (1999–present)

United won the league in 2000 and 2001 but the press saw these seasons as failures as they failed to regain the European Cup. In 2000, Manchester United became one of 14 founder members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs. The club also declined to take part in the 1999-2000 FA Cup, instead competing in the inaugural FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, citing pressure from the FA, UEFA and the England 2006 World Cup bid committee. Ferguson adopted more defensive tactics to make United harder to beat in Europe but it was not a success and United finished the 2001–02 Premiership season in third place. They regained the league the following season (2002–03) and started the following season well, but their form dropped significantly when Rio Ferdinand received a controversial eight month suspension for missing a drugs test. They did win the 2004 FA Cup, however, knocking out Arsenal (that season's eventual league champions) on their way to the final in which they beat Millwall.

The 2004–05 season was characterised by a failure to score goals, mainly due to the injury of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and United finished the season trophyless and in third place in the league. This time, even the FA Cup eluded them as Arsenal beat United on penalties after a goalless draw after 120 minutes. Off the pitch, the main story was the possibility of the club being taken over and at the end of the season, Tampa businessman Malcolm Glazer, acquired a controlling interest in the club.

United made a poor start to the 2005–06 season, with midfielder Roy Keane leaving the club to join Celtic after publicly criticising several of his team-mates, and the club failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a decade after losing to Portuguese team Benfica. Their season was also dealt cruel blows with injuries to key players such as Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. However, they were

prevented from being left empty-handed in successive seasons – a disappointment not endured in the last 17 years – by winning the 2006 League Cup, beating newly-promoted neighbours Wigan Athletic in the final 4–0. United also ensured a second-place finish and automatic Champions League qualification on the final day of the season by defeating Charlton Athletic 4–0. At the end of the 2005–06 season, one of United's key strikers, Ruud van Nistelrooy, left the club to join Real Madrid, due to a row with Alex Ferguson.

The 2006–07 season saw United return to the attacking style of football that was the

cornerstone of their years of success in the late 1990s, scoring almost 20 more goals in 32 matches than second placed side Chelsea. In January 2007, United signed Henrik Larsson on a two-month loan from Swedish side Helsingborgs, and the striker played an important role in advancing United to the semi-finals of the Champions' League, with hopes for a second Treble; however, upon reaching the semi-finals, United lost to A.C. Milan 3–5 on aggregate.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Manchester United's entry into European competition, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, Manchester United played Marcello Lippi's European XI at Old Trafford on 13 March 2007. United won the game 4–3.

Four years after their last title, United claimed back the Premier League title on 6 May 2007, after Chelsea drew away with Arsenal, leaving the Blues seven points behind with two games to go, following United's 1–0 victory in the Manchester derby the previous day, making it their ninth Premiership title in the 15 seasons of its existence. However, an unprecedented fourth Double was not to be, as Chelsea beat United 1–0 in extra time in the first FA Cup Final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium; the first to be held in England since the old stadium was demolished seven years earlier.

2007-08 saw United successfully complete the European double: on 11 May 2008, United

retained the Premier League title with a win over Wigan Athletic. With title rivals Chelsea only able to draw with Bolton Wanderers, United finished the season two points clear. The club also reached the European Cup final for the third time in their history, having knocked out such clubs as Barcelona and Roma en-route to the final. They beat Chelsea 6–5 on penalties in the final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, after a 1–1 draw in normal time on 21 May 2008. With this win, they earned their third European Cup title and kept up their record of never having lost a major European final. Coincidentally, this season marked the 100th year since Manchester United won their first League title, 50 years after the Munich air disaster and 40 years after Manchester United became the first ever English side to win the European Cup.

The headline statistics of Ronaldo's five seasons at Old Trafford highlight why United are so

determined to cling to the double Footballer of the Year and why Madrid so covet him (even if they refuse to give United twice what they handed Juventus for Zinedine Zidane in 2001). They also show he is a glittering comet still on the rise.

In 196 United starts (plus 43 sub appearances), Ronaldo found the net 92 times, a remarkable return, particularly for someone who spends a lot of time out wide. With 42 goals last term, including one in the Champions League final, Ronaldo is the most widely admired player on the planet, succeeding Kaka. He occasionally infuriates with his wounded thespian impression in front of referees (unlike the more dignified Brazilian), but the essence of Ronaldo is that he entertains and scores.

United want him to stay. "We can wrap the player in all the care and attention he deserves," said Sir Alex Ferguson's No?2, Carlos Queiroz, yesterday. Barcelona's Xavi argued that La Liga would "gain as a spectacle" if Ronaldo arrived. Another Spain international had a different take on the saga. "If Ronaldo left [United] it would be great," joked Liverpool's Alvaro Arbeloa. "I hope he goes. I hope they [Real] make an effort."

Liverpool F.C.

2008-06-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. Liverpool play in the Premier League, and are the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. They have won a record 18 English League titles, although the last time they won the title was in 1990. Liverpool have won five European Cups, an English record. Only A.C. Milan and Real Madrid have won Europe's premier club competition more times, although only one win has come in the UEFA Champions League era. They have won the FA Cup and League Cup seven times. They are also one of only five teams to have been awarded the prestigious UEFA Badge of Honour, which was awarded to Liverpool in 2005 after their fifth UEFA Champions League victory.

Liverpool have played at Anfield since they were founded in 1892. However, plans have been formed to start work on a new 70,000 all reserved seat stadium, in the summer of 2010 near Stanley Park. The new stadium will be funded by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who became the club's owners on February 6, 2007.

Liverpool have a large and diverse fanbase, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Everton, with whom they regularly contest the Merseyside derby. Liverpool also have a fierce rivalry with Manchester United, due to the success of both clubs, as well as their proximity to each other.

The club's fans have been involved in two major disasters. At the Heysel Stadium disaster, 39 Juventus F.C. fans died when a wall collapsed after crowd trouble in the 1985 European Cup Final, and the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 where 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives.

Liverpool in popular culture

Liverpool featured in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Arsenal at Anfield on 22 August 1964. Liverpool were also the subject of television's first colour football transmission, which showed their match against West Ham United live. Liverpool fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" were featured in the Pink Floyd song, "Fearless". A documentary on the Hillsborough disaster directed by Jimmy McGovern, was screened in 1996. It Featured Christopher Eccleston as Trevor Hicks, whose story formed the focus of the script. Hicks lost two teenage daughters in the disaster and went on to campaign for safer stadia, as well as helping form the Hillsborough Families Support Group.

Liverpool's tally of 18 Football League championships is a record for English clubs, a record that may be broken in the near future by Manchester United who at the end of the 2007-2008 season had won 17. Liverpool are yet to win the title in the 16 year long Premier League era. Liverpool's seven League Cup victories is a record, being two clear of Aston Villa. Liverpool achieved the The Double of League and FA Cup in 1986. They have won three trophies in one season twice - the first of League, League Cup and European Cup was achieved in 1984 (therefore completing The European Double), and in 2001 comprising the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.. Liverpool also achieved The European Double of League and European Cup in 1977.

Liverpool's total of five European Cups is an English record and the third highest total overall, after Real Madrid and AC Milan. The fifth victory in 2005 entitled Liverpool to receive the UEFA badge of honour, thus allowing them to keep the trophy permanently.

Liverpool FC Tops English Premier League

Liverpool FC lead the English Premier League with a total of 10 points. Liverpool FC are not alone however, sharing a four-way tie for the top spot in the Premiership with Chelsea FC, Everton FC and Arsenal FC.

Chelsea FC were the lone leaders last week

with 10 points, but their latest match against Aston Villa at Villa Park found them giving up the 3 points to Villa following a 2-0 defeat. Chelsea maintained most of the ball possession, but really didn’t make the most of their chances despite the constant offensive threats being made by Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Shaun Wright-Philips. Aston Villa, meanwhile, were able to make their mark on the 47th minute with a goal from Zat Knight who made his debut for Villa. Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry swung a corner kick into the box, and Knight rose high over Drogba to head in the goal past Chelsea keeper Peter Cech

France football team

2008-06-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

The French national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA.

France was one of the four European teams that participated at the inaugural World Cup in 1930. France is one of the most successful football nations in the world. In the 1980s, led by midfielder and captain Michel Platini, the team reached semi-finals at both the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and won the 1984 European Championship.

2002 World Cup and Euro 2004

France failed to maintain that pace in subsequent tournaments.

They suffered a stunning goaless first round elimination in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, possibly due in part to an injury to key playmaker Zidane. One of the greatest shocks in World Cup history condemned France to a 0-1 defeat to debutante Senegal in the opening game of the tournament. After France finished bottom of the group - only securing one point, conceding three goals and without scoring any - Lemerre was dismissed.

A full strength team started out strongly in Euro 2004, with Zidane scoring a free kick and a

penalty to overcome a 0-1 deficit and defeat England in the group stage, but they were upset in the quarter-finals by the eventual winners, Greece. Jacques Santini resigned as coach and Raymond Domenech was picked as his replacement.

2006 World Cup

France struggled in the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, managing only 0-0 draws with Israel, Ireland, and Switzerland. This prompted Domenech to persuade "golden generation" members Claude Makélélé, Lilian Thuram and Zinédine Zidane out of international retirement to help the national team qualify. This was France's first successful World Cup qualification since 1986 (France received automatic berths in 1998 and 2002, as hosts and defending champions, respectively).

The team was greeted with modest expectations as it entered the World Cup tournament, with many arguing that despite the return of the three stars, its squad was too old to be competitive.

They had a slow start in the group stage and were in danger of being eliminated after managing only 0-0 and 1-1 draws against Switzerland and South Korea, respectively. Though Zidane was forced to sit out because of accumulated bookings, France found their form and won their final group match, beating Togo 2-0 to advance to the knockout round. There, Zidane would score or assist in every game of the playoffs and his team upset heavily favoured Spain 3-1 in a

come-from-behind victory to advance to the quarter-finals.

France eliminated defending champions Brazil 1-0 to advance into the cup

semi-finals. Despite the score, France had thoroughly outplayed Brazil in the match, only facing one shot on goal, while Zidane created numerous scoring chances with his dribbles past Brazilian defenders and his free-kick to Thierry Henry resulting in the winning goal. The game made France the first team to have shut out the five-time champions in consecutive matches; Fabien Barthez was the keeper in both matches. Les Bleus now have a 2-1-1 all-time record against Brazil in World Cup finals play, having shut the Seleção out in the last three meetings (the 1986 match was decided 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw).

France emerged from the semi-finals winning 1-0 over Portugal. Henry was tripped inside the box and a penalty was awarded, which Zidane scored and it stood as the winning goal, as defender Lilian Thuram neutralized offensive threats from Portuguese stars Pauleta and Cristiano Ronaldo. At home, when news came of France's victory, there were mass celebrations at the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.

France took on Italy in the final, but the teams were level at 1-1 at the end of normal time. With extra-time failing to produce a victor, penalty kicks were required to settle the match. Italy won the shoot-out 5-3 to be crowned 2006 World Champions. The tournament's Golden Ball Winner Zinédine Zidane (playing his last professional match) scored the opening goal of the final (becoming only the fourth player to score in two World Cup final games), but his accomplishments in the finals were marred by his sending off (becoming only the fourth player to be sent off in a world cup final) for violent conduct when he headbutted Marco Materazzi with only ten minutes until extra-time.

Euro 2008

Despite high expectations from followers of Les Bleus, the squad made a stuttering start to the 2008 European Championships, drawing 0-0 to Romania in Zurich and then finishing on the receiving end of a 4-1 mauling at the hands of the Netherlands in Berne. For the final group game, Domenech dropped Thuram and replaced him with Abidal. This proved to be a bad decision as Abidal looked out of his depth in the centre of defence and subsequently was sent off for a rash challenge on Luca Toni. France continued to play poorly and when they lost 2-0 to Italy, they came last of their group and failed to get to the quarterfinals.

France's performance at Euro 2008 effectively marked the end of its golden era stemming back to the team's World Cup win on home soil in 1998, which was followed by their triumph at Euro 2000 two years later in the Netherlands and Belgium. Only three players from those successful teams were selected in the final squad for Euro 2008 by French coach Raymond Domenech, with only Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram earning game time, though their effectiveness and performances were soundly criticised by French football media. The remaining player and despite initially being named as the squad captain, Patrick Vieira, was unable to take the field in any of France's Euro 2008 matches due to a thigh injury. The team's early exit from the tournament signalled the international retirements of Lilian Thuram, and Claude Makélélé, with Willy Sagnol also announcing that he would take time to contemplate his international future.

Russia football team

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Russia qualified for two World Cups (1994, 2002) and three European Championships (1996, 2004, 2008). Euro 2008 marks the first time they have passed the group stages of a major tournament.
The match between Russia and Andorra was less dramatic. Russian tried their best to score in the first half but few minutes before the interval Sychev could head the ball into the net.

The president of the Russian football union, Vitaly Mutko believes that Russia is deserved to play in Euro 2008.

1997-1999: Missed Opportunities

After Euro 96, Boris Ignatyev was appointed manager. His goal was to lead Russia to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He used many rising stars from Euro 96 like Viktor Onopko, Aleksandr Mostovoi, and Valery Karpin. In the qualifying stage Russia was in group 5 with Bulgaria, Israel, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. Russia and Bulgaria were considered the two main contenders to qualify from the group with Israel considered a minor threat. Russia began the campaign with two victories against Cyprus and Luxembourg and two draws against Israel and Cyprus. They continued with victories against Luxembourg and Israel. Russia suffered their only defeat of the campaign with a 1-0 loss to Bulgaria. They ended the campaign with a 4-2 victory in the return game over Bulgaria and qualify for the playoff spot. In the playoffs, Russia was drawn with Italy. In the first leg Russia drew 1-1 with a lucky own goal from Fabio Cannavaro after falling behind from Christian Vieri. In the away leg, Russia was defeated 1-0 with a goal from Pierluigi Casiraghi and failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Euro 2008

Having failed to qualify Russia for the 2006 World Cup, Yuri Semin stepped down several weeks later and Russia began looking for a new manager. It was clear that a foreign manager would be needed as most of the high profile Russian coaches were not successful with the national team. On April 10, 2006, it was announced that then Australia manager Guus Hiddink would lead Russia in the Euro 2008 qualification campaign.

For the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Russia were drawn into group E with England, Croatia, Israel, FYR Macedonia, Estonia, and Andorra. Led by Guus Hiddink, Russia began their Euro 2008 campaign poorly by drawing with Croatia 0-0 and Israel 1-1 at home. They picked up momentum with a 2-0 win against FYR Macedonia in Skopje, and 2-0 home and away wins against Estonia. On June 2, 2007, Russia defeated Andorra 4-0 in Saint Petersburg with

Aleksandr Kerzhakov scoring a hat-trick and an additional goal scored by Dmitriy Sychev. On September 8, 2007, Russia defeated Macedonia 3-0. During the game Russian goalkeeper Vladimir Gaboulov was sent off for bringing down Goran Maznov in the area. Substitute keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev saved the penalty and Russia went on to score two more goals from Andrei Arshavin and Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Russia's campaign suffered a setback in September 2007 when they lost 3-0 to England at Wembley. In the return game in Moscow, Russia fell to an early goal from Wayne Rooney. During the second half Russia amazingly came from behind to win 2-1 with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring both goals. At the time England were the strongest team defensively in the whole qualifying campaign. On November 17, 2007, Russia suffered a 2-1 shock defeat to Israel to put qualification hopes out of their hands. Despite the defeat, Russia still managed to qualify with a 1-0 win over Andorra while England suffered a 3-2 defeat to a deeply talented Croatia side at Wembley. Russia were able to qualify in second place with 24 points above England who had 23 points.

Sweden football team

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Sweden played its first international game against Norway, on 12 July 1908, and won it 11-3. Other games in 1908 were against England, Netherlands and Belgium. Sweden lost all three games.

In the same year Sweden competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for the first time. Sweden however lost a game in the Olympics against the English Amateur team with 1-12 and it became the biggest loss in the Swedish national team's history.

During 1910-1930 Sweden had some friendly games, and in 1916, beat Denmark for the first time.

Sweden played in the 1912 Olympics (as hosts), the 1920 Olympics, and in the 1924 Olympics, where Sweden took the bronze and

2006 World Cup

Sweden competed in Group B at the 2006 World Cup. Their squad for the tournament features players who play club football in eleven different nations. Sweden started the World Cup slowly, recording a scoreless tie against unheralded Trinidad and Tobago, despite playing with a one-man advantage for much of the game. The second game, against Paraguay, threatened to produce the same result until Fredrik Ljungberg scored in the 89th minute to give Sweden a 1-0 victory. Sweden then rallied to tie England, 2-2, to finish group play with five points - enough to finish second in its' group and advance to the second round. There, the team's World Cup run came to an end with a 2-0 defeat to the host team, Germany.

2008 European Championship Qualifying

Sweden finished second in Group F behind Spain, thus qualifying for the finals. The campaign included an abandoned match away to Denmark, for which Sweden were awarded a 3-0 win by UEFA.

2008 European Championship

In their first match in Euro 2008, they beat the reigning European champions, Greece, by a score of 2-0 with goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Petter Hansson. Their next game was against Spain, who they played in qualifying. The game looked like a draw until a 92nd minute strike from David Villa, which put the Spaniards ahead. In the final group match, the Swedes went on to lose 2-0 to the Russians, eliminating them from the tournament.

Supporters showed up was during the 1912 Summer Olympics, where they sang "Heja Sverige Friskt humör, det är det som susen gör" during the football games. The traveling supporters for Sweden's away games showed up for the first time in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, and since those years Sweden has always had the supporters in large tournaments. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Sweden had one of the largest amount of support during a tournament, especially during the group stage match against Paraguay with around 50,000 Swedish supporters in the stadium.

thailand football team

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The Thailand national football team is the national team of Thailand and is connected to the Football Association of Thailand. The team has finished in the Asian Cup as third in 1972. They participated in the Summer Olympics twice and Asian Games four times. The Thai team is dominant in South East Asia, having won the ASEAN Football Championships in 1996, 2000, 2002 and regularly dominate the Football event of the South East Asian Games.

Controversy

The 1998 ASEAN Football Championship tournament, held in Vietnam.

This tournament was marred by an unsportsmanlike match between Thailand and Indonesia during the group stage of the competition. Both teams were already assured of qualification for the semi-finals, but both teams knew that the winners of the game would face hosts Vietnam in the semi-finals, while the losing team would face Singapore who were perceived to be easier opposition and avoid the fuss of moving training bases from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for the semi-final. The first half saw little action, with both teams barely making an attempt to score. During the second half both teams managed to score, partly thanks to half-hearted defending, resulting in a 2-2 scoreline after 90 minutes. Then, during injury time, Indonesian defender Mursyid Effendi deliberately kicked the ball into his own goal, despite the Thai's attempts to stop him doing so, thus handing Thailand a 3-2 victory. Both teams were fined for "violating the spirit of the game" and Mursyid Effendi was banned from football for life.

In the semi-finals, Thailand lost to Vietnam, and Indonesia also lost to Singapore. In the final, the title was to elude the hosts as they went down 1-0 to unfancied Singapore in one of the competition's biggest shocks to date.

Argentina football team

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The Argentina national football team is the national football team of Argentina and is controlled by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino . Argentina has the record for most international titles.

Argentina is one of the most successful national football teams in the world, and is currently sitting at the top of the FIFA world rankings. The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986, and were runners up in 1930 and 1990. Argentina has won the Copa América 14 times, a record shared with Uruguay, and won the Confederations Cup in 1992.

Argentina and France are the only national teams in the world which have won the four most important titles organized by FIFA: World Cup, Gold medal in football in the Olympic Games, Confederations Cup, and the Continental Cup (Copa America for Argentina, and UEFA European Football Championship for France)

World Cup 2006

Argentina had been eliminated at the group stage at Korea/Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup, although they had been among the pre-tournament favourites. There was a high expectation of a better performance in the Germany 2006.

Argentina qualified for the knockout stages with wins over Ivory Coast (2-1) and Serbia and Montenegro (6-0), and a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands.

In the round of sixteen, Argentina defeated Mexico 2-1 in extra-time, the winning goal by Maxi Rodríguez winning an online poll organised by FIFA, as the best goal of the World Cup [1]. In the quarter final, they lost 4-2 in a penalty shootout against hosts Germany after a 1-1 draw. A brawl erupted between the Argentines and Germans after the game ended. Unused substitute Leandro Cufré was sent off for kicking Per Mertesacker, while Maxi Rodríguez hit Bastian Schweinsteiger from behind. Following an investigation of video evidence, FIFA doled out 4-game and 2-game suspensions for Cufre and Rodriguez, respectively. Germany's Torsten Frings was suspended for the semifinal match for punching Julio Ricardo Cruz.

Shortly after the elimination, coach José Pekerman resigned from his position. AFA appointed Alfio Basile, who had previously managed the national side during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Copa América 2007

Argentina won all three games in the group stage, beating United States, Colombia and Paraguay. After convincing victories over Peru and Mexico in the quarter final and semi final respectively, they were favourites to beat Brazil in the final, but were defeated 0-3.

Turkey football team

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The Turkish national football team is the national football team of Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA.

Turkey has a footballing tradition that features both highs and lows. In World Cup competition Turkey has qualified three times for the 1950, 1954, and 2002 editions. Turkey failed to make an appearance for the 1950 World Cup due to a withdrawal.

The team's highest achievement was reaching 3rd place at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Turkey also reached the knockout round at both Euro 2000 and Euro 2008 and finished 3rd in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup

World Cup 2002

The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2-1 defeat

against Brazil. Turkey passed the group stage with a 3-0 win against China, after drawing 1-1 with Costa Rica.

Turkey then faced home team Japan, beating them 1-0. The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1-0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals where a 1-0 defeat against Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was the prize after a 3-2 victory over South Korea. Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World cup history.

Confederations Cup 2003 and Euro 2004

In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 Confederations Cup in which they drew 2-2 against Brazil. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3-2 in the semi-final match. Turkey defeated Colombia 2-1 to win third place.

The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group.

World Cup 2006

The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch.

Euro 2008

Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in 6 years by finishing second behind Greece in Group C. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match they played Portugal and were level until the hour mark when Pepe scored to give Portugal the lead. They doubled the lead in stoppage time through Raul Meireles and therefore Turkey suffered a 2-0 defeat.

Turkey defeated Switzerland 2-1 in their second match in a rainy encounter with goals from Semih Şentürk (header into the top right corner) and Arda Turan (deflected from defender and went into the middle of the Swiss goal). This mathematically eliminated all chances of the host nation Switzerland's qualification for the second round. This was the second time in the history of the European cup that a host nation did not qualify for the second round. The first such nation was Belgium 8 years earlier which also was eliminated after losing to the Turkish team.

Turkey made a great comeback defeating Czech Republic 3-2, qualifying them as the runners-up in Group A. After being down 2-0 by Czech goals from Jan Koller at the 34th minute and Jaroslav Plašil at the 62 minute, things seemed pretty desperate for Turkish side, however Arda Turan scored for the Turks at 75th minute on a cross that found its way to his feet at the edge of the box to slip it by Petr Cech. Incredibly just 3 minutes before 90, the Turks equalised when a ball slipped between Cech's hands right onto Nihat Kahveci who placed it softly into the net. When the group stage match was thought to be going towards penalty kicks for the first time in Euro history, Nihat broke away from a Czech defender to receive another Hamit Altintop pass and curled a right foot shot onto the bottom edge of the woodwork which deflected the ball into the goal, eliminating the Czechs from the tournament and giving the Turkish team a place in the quarterfinals against Croatia.

South Korea football team

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The Korea Republic national football team represents South Korea in international football competitions. The team, also known as South Korea, is recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA. It has often been considered Asia's most successful national team, since it made its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics. South Korea has participated in seven World Cup final tournament, and became the first Asian nation to reach the semi-finals, doing so when it co-hosted the 2002 tournament. It currently holds the best FIFA World Cup record among Asian teams.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly with Japan, was a sign of the rapid progress made in South Korean football. Led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink and assistant coach Pim Verbeek, South Korea defeated Italy and Spain to become the first Asian national team to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

On June 8, 2005, South Korea qualified for their seventh World Cup by beating Kuwait 4-0 in Kuwait City.

The enthusiasm of the red-clad supporters, known as the "Red Devils", also made a big impression on viewers world-wide. After the team success, football had an explosion of popularity in the country, where the game had traditionally been less popular than other games, such as baseball, formerly the most popular spectator sport in the country.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, South Korea achieved their first World Cup victory outside of Asia by beating Togo 2-1 in Frankfurt on June 13. Against France, the team managed a late equalizer from Park Ji-Sung to end up with a 1-1 tie and this put them tied with Switzerland on top of their group. However, they were knocked out of the tournament after a 2-0 loss against Switzerland, while France advanced with a 2-0 win against Togo.

Japan football team

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The Japan national football team is the national football team of Japan and is controlled by the Japan Football Association.

On July 21, 2006, Bosnian Ivica Osim, who previously coached Yugoslavia and most recently JEF United Ichihara Chiba, took over as manager, succeeding Zico, who had coached Japan from 2002 through the end of Japan's 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign. Osim fell ill in late 2007 and he was replaced by Takeshi Okada, who had taken Japan to the 1998 World Cup.

The team is commonly known by the fans and media as Nippon Daihyo. Although the team does not have an official nickname, it is often known by the name of the manager. For example, under Ivica Osim, the team is known as Osim Japan. Recently the team has been known or nicknamed as the Blue Samurai.

2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Belgium in their opening game, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over Russia and a 2-0 victory against Tunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the Round of 16, after losing 1-0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey.

On June 8, 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2-0 in Bangkok, Thailand. However, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16 after finishing group play without a win, losing to Australia 1-3, drawing Croatia 0-0 and losing to Brazil 1-4.

Japan has had considerably more success in the Asian Cup, taking home the winner's trophy in three of the last four finals, in 1992, 2000 and 2004. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Japan is the only team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, being invited in 1999, along with Mexico.

In August 2006, incoming head coach Ivica Osim gave the captaincy to Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, as he felt that the extra responsibilities detracted from former captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto's contributions to his club team

Greece football team

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The Greece national football team is the national football team of Greece and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation.

Greece was reigned European Champions in their only second participation in the tournament, in UEFA Euro 2004. They had previously participated in a European Championship only in UEFA Euro 1980, but their first win did not come until the first match of Euro 2004, a 2-1 win over the hosts Portugal. Greece went on to win the tournament, stunning defending champions France in the quarterfinals and the heavily favoured Czech Republic in the semifinals before beating Portugal for 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.

When Theodoros Zagorakis, the Greek national football team captain, lifted the Cup of the Euro 2004 Football Championship, every Greek, all over the world, felt proud to belong to this nation. It is difficult to describe the overwhelming feeling everyone felt that night when the Greek football team managed to defeat the national Portuguese football team in their homeland, at the national stadium in Lisbon, with a single goal. That hot summer evening, every Greek, man or woman, child or elder, was viewing the most anticipated game in the Greek sports history. The strong heartbeat everyone felt that night was one of the most important moments in every Greek's life.

Euro 2004 triumph

Greece started the qualification process for the Euro 2004 in poor fashion losing at home to Spain and away to Ukraine both times with a 2-0 scoreline. Astonishingly, the team went on to win their remaining six games including a highly decisive 1-0 away win at Zaragoza securing the first place of the group and a presence in the finals of a European Championship for the first time in 24 years. Expectations before the tournament were low with the memories of the bitter 1994 FIFA World Cup experience still fresh in the minds of many, where Greece lost all three group stage matches, conceding ten goals and scoring none.

2005 Confederation Cup

As Euro 2004 winners, Greece qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany. Greece were drawn into Group A along with 2002 World Cup champions Brazil, 2004 Asian champions Japan, and 2003 North America champions Mexico. Greece lost 3-0 to Brazil and 1-0 to Japan and drew 0-0 with Mexico in a tournament that was seen mostly as a time for experimentation as players like Efstathios Tavlaridis, Loukas Vyntra, Mihalis Sifakis, Ioannis Amanatidis, Theofanis Gekas and Sotirios Kyrgiakos either received their first ever calls or earned their maiden caps in the national squad.

World Cup 2006

After winning the Euro 2004, Greece were considered favourites to top their group, in the 2006 World Cup qualifyings. The team was drawn into Group 2 along with Ukraine, Turkey, Denmark, Albania, Georgia and Kazakhstan in what was considered the toughest qualifying group.

Euro 2008 Disappointment

Greece was the highest ranked seed in the 'pots' for qualification to the UEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria and was drawn with Turkey, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Moldova and Malta being the only group which did not have a team represented in the World Cup 2006.

Cameroon football team

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The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Lions Indomptables (Indomitable Lions), is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side; Cameroon have qualified for the FIFA World Cup five times - in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 - more than any other African nation. They were the first African team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, in 1990, losing to England in extra time. They have also won 4 African Nations Cups, as well as the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Cameroon qualified for the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan clinching first place in their group which included Angola, Zambia, and Togo. Before the start of the World Cup, Cameroon ran into controversy sporting Puma sleeveless kits which they wore in the 2002 African Cup of Nations. FIFA immediately declared the kits illegal and black sleeves were added. Cameroon were drawn into group E with Germany, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. Cameroon started with a 1-1 draw with Ireland after giving up the lead and later defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0. In their last game Cameroon were defeated 2-0 by Germany and were narrowly eliminated by the Irish who had not lost a game.

In the 2006 World Cup qualifying round Cameroon were drawn into group 3 with Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and Benin. Cameroon led the group for most of time unitil their final game. On October 8, 2005 Cameroon drew with Egypt 1-1 while Côte d'Ivoire defeated Sudan 3-1. This result prevented Cameroon from making the World Cup.

Former African champions Cameroon will bid to host the 2016 African Nations Cup tournament according to their Sports Minister Augustin Edjoa.

"We intend to table our application to host the 2016 event," Edjoa said.

"Cameroon is a great football nation in Africa, and it is unthinkable that it should go for such a long time without hosting the tournament," he said.

The central African country has hosted the tournament just once, in 1972, when it was eliminated 1-0 in the semi-finals by Congo Republic, who went on to win the title.

Cameroon is one of three countries to have won the African Nations Cup four times and the only African country to have been five times to the World Cup finals, where it reached the quarter-finals in 1990.

Spain Football Team

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The Spain National Football Team, commonly referred to as La Furia Roja, 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 favourites. Their only senior level tournament victory, in fact, is the 1964 European Championship, which they hosted. They also won the gold medal when they hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria. Their current FIFA ranking is 4th.

Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002

After a 3-2 opening defeat to Cyprus in Euro 2000 qualifying Clemente was sacked and José Antonio Camacho was promptly appointed as coach. Camacho immediately turned Spain's campaign around and Spain won the rest of their games to qualify for Euro 2000. Once again Spain's hopes rested on a new coach and young players such as Raúl González, Fernando Morientes, Míchel Salgado, and Juan Carlos Valerón. In the final tournament Spain were in group C with Norway, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia. As always, Spain started their campaign with disappointment, losing 1-0 to Norway. But Spain got back into the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Slovenia. Their last game proved to be another nerve wreck as they looked to be going out of the tournament. Their last game was against Balkan powerhouse Yugoslavia.

Euro 2004

At Euro 2004 in Portugal, Spain were drawn into group A with Portugal, Russia and Greece. After coming into second after Greece in qualifying, Spain looked very strong. The Spanish team were touted as heavy favorites for the 2004 crown by the European media. They possessed new and fresh players such as Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso under new coach Iñaki Sáez. Spain were also hoping that the tournaments proximity would contribute to their success.

2006 World Cup

Under Luis Aragonés, Spain struggled throughout the 2006 World Cup qualifying stage. Spain were in group 7 with Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, Lithuania, and San Marino. Despite mixed results including five wins and draws, Spain qualified for a playoff spot with Slovakia. Spain qualified for the final tournament after defeating Slovakia 6-2 on aggregate. Many didn't know what to expect of Spain heading into Germany; despite almost failing to qualify, the Spanish side had many talented players. Spain were drawn into Group H with Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. Spain won their opening game over Ukraine in a comfortable 4-0 result,

Euro 2008

Spain started its qualifying round on September 2, 2006 for Euro

2008 by

beating Liechtenstein 4-0 in Badajoz. They were then upset by Northern Ireland 3-2 in Belfast on September 6, 2006. A second straight defeat - a 2-0 loss to Sweden - followed on October 7, 2006. However, a 2-1 win against Denmark on March 24, 2007 in Madrid, along with a goal from Andrés Iniesta at home to Iceland on March 28, 2007 put new life into Spain's campaign. On June 2, they won 2-0 at Latvia, and four days later they won against Liechtenstein 2-0. Both goals were scored by David Villa in that game. Spain's hopes for a 5-match winning streak were halted at Reykjavik, when Iceland held Spain to a 1-1 draw. Iniesta managed to save the point for Spain after he scored a late goal in that match

Portugal football team

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The Portugal national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation 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. In the 1986 tournament, players went on strike over prize-money and refused to train between their first and the second games.

In 2003, the Portuguese Football Federation decided to hire Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazilian who had led the Brazil national football team to win the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Scolari led Portugal to the final of Euro 2004, where they lost to Greece, and to their second World Cup semifinal in 2006.

1966 FIFA World Cup

The team started out with three wins in the group stage where they were in Group C when they beat Hungary, Bulgaria and two-time defending champions Brazil. Secondly they beat surprise quarter-finalist Korea DPR 5-3, with Eusébio getting four markers to overturn a 0-3 deficit. Later, they reached the semifinals where they were beaten by hosts England 2-1.

1986 FIFA World Cup

In qualification round, Portugal had to beat West Germany in Stuttgart in the last qualifying game to be able to go through to the final round. Portugal won 0-1 and become the first team to beat West Germany at their home ground in an official match.

1998 FIFA World Cup

The team almost qualified for the tournament that was to be hosted by France. However, during a qualifier in Germany, Rui Costa was controversially sent off for taking too long to walk off the field. Germany drew the crucial game and was thus able to qualify.

2002 FIFA World Cup

Portugal entered the tournament as favourites to win Group D. However, they were upset 3-2 by the United States, at one point being three goals down in the match. They then rebounded with a 4-0 thrashing of Poland, with Pauleta getting a hat-trick.

2006 FIFA World Cup

The Portuguese squad qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany under the leadership of manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. In the qualification, Portugal defeated Russia 7-1, and finished first place in Group D of the WC finals, with victories over Angola (1-0, goal from Pauleta, the leading goalscorer in the World Cup qualifiers), Iran (2-0, scored by Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo) and Mexico (2-1, goals from Maniche and Simão). Only Mexico's Francisco Fonseca was able to score against Portugal.

Brazil l football team

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The Brazil national football team is managed by the CBF and represents Brazil in international football competitions. They are the most successful national football team in the history of the World Cup, with five championships (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). A common quip about football is: "The English invented it, the Brazilians perfected it." Currently ranked number two by FIFA, Brazil is consistently among the strongest football nations in the world and is the only team to have played in every World Cup. Brazil has defeated every country they have played against exept Norway

World Cup 1998

Brazil finished as runner-up in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After a very respectable campaign, the team lost to hosts France 3-0 in a problematic final game. Brazilian marking at defensive set pieces was poor, and Zinedine Zidane was able to score two headed goals from France's corner kicks. Also, Brazilian star Ronaldo suffered a nervous breakdown or an epileptic seizure a few hours before the match. Many criticized the decision to reinstate Ronaldo into the starting lineup as he put in a poor performance. The coach of the team at the time was Mário Zagallo, who won the World Cup as a player in 1958 and 1962, as the coach in 1970 and as assistant coach in 1994.

World Cup 2002

Fuelled by the scintillating play of the "Three R's" (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho), Brazil won its fifth championship at the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. When the groups were drawn, Brazil seemed to have been lucky; Brazil's adversaries would be Turkey, China and Costa Rica. At the end, it turned out that Turkey finished the tournament in third place, showing that indeed Brazil's group was stronger than most had expected. Brazil went on beating all three opponents, scoring 11 goals and conceding only three, and topping the group.

Italian football team

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The Italian national football team is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio and represents Italy in international football competition. They are the current World Champions, having won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Italy is among the top teams in international football and the second most successful national team having won four World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil. To this tally they can add one European championship (1968), two Central European International Cups and one Olympic Gold Medal (1936).

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as all Italian teams and athletes) is azure blue , due to the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the dynasty which unified Italy in 1860. Therefore national team members are nicknamed Azzurri.

Origins and first two World Cups (1910–1938)

The team's first match was held in Milan on 15 May

1910; Italy defeated France by a score of 6-2.. Some turmoil kept the players of Pro Vercelli, the best team of the league, out of the game. At the end of the match, the players received as a prize some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators. The Italian team (2-3-5): De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi.

Netherlands football team

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The Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. It won Euro 88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany and Argentina. At the peak of its success in the 1970s, the team was famous for its mastery of Total Football and was nicknamed "Clockwork Orange" for its precision passing. In many countries the team is colloquially referred to as "Holland".

European Champions

Rinus Michels returned to coach the team for the Euro 88 tournament. After losing the first group match against the USSR (1-0), the Netherlands went on to qualify for the semi-final by defeating England 3-1 (with a hat-trick by the tournament's top scorer Marco van Basten), and Republic of Ireland (1-0). For many Dutch football supporters, the most important match in the tournament was the semi-final against West Germany, the host country, considered a revenge for the lost 1974 World Cup final (also in West Germany). Marco van Basten, who would later become national team coach, scored in the 89th minute of the game to sink the German side. The game is also remembered for its post-match shenanigans, including Ronald Koeman, who, in front of the German supporters, provocatively pretended to wipe his backside with the shirt of Olaf Thon as if it were toilet paper, an action Koeman later regretted. The Netherlands won the final with a convincing victory over the USSR, a rematch on the round robin game, through a header by Ruud Gullit and a volley by Van Basten. This was the national team's first major tournament win and it restored them to the forefront of international football after almost a decade in wilderness.

England football team

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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 a sovereign state, the four "Home Nations" making up the United Kingdom are each represented separately in most international tournaments.

England are 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 1966 to win their first, and only, World Cup title. However, they have never since made it past the semi-finals. 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-final of the UEFA European Championship in 1968 and 1996. 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 1872. 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.

Germany football team

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The German national football team is the football team representing the country of Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) which was founded in 1900.

From 1950 to 1990, the team was also informally called West Germany in English, as since World War II, the DFB is based in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) which was commonly referred to as West Germany from 1949 to 1990. The DFB continues to field the German national team that had been fully reinstated by FIFA after the 1950 FIFA World Cup, retaining all records and traditions. Under Allied occupation and division, two other separate "national" teams had also been recognized by FIFA, the Saarland team (1950–1956), and the East German team (1952–1990). Both have been absorbed; the official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" has been shortened again to "Germany (GER)" since 1990.

Germany is one of the three most successful national teams at international competitions, having won a total of three World Cups and three European championships. East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976. Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's World Cups.

Since their penalty shootout loss to Czechoslovakia in Euro 76, Germany has not lost a penalty shootout in major international tournaments. In fact, the last penalty missed by a German player dates back to the semi-finals of the 1982 world cup when French goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori saved Uli Stielike's shot. In particular, England suffered two heartbreaking semi-final losses to Germany on penalties in the 1990s.