Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira was born on 21st March, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
He helped Brazil win the World under-17 Championship in Egypt. During the competition he was scouted by local club Gremio and signed his first professional contract.
In 1999, after hitting 15 goals in 14 games for Gremio, Ronaldinho won his first senior cap for Brazil against Latvia. After shining in that match he made Brazil's Copa America squad and scored an incredible goal against Venezuela as Brazil won the trophy.

Ronaldinho scored his first hat-trick for Brazil against Saudi Arabia in the Confederations Cup semi-finals later that year.
In 2001 he left Gremio for Paris St. Germain (PSG) but was unable to make his debut because of contract rows, until 3 months later when FIFA stepped in.
In 2002 Ronaldinho was voted France's player of the month for January after hitting 6 goals in 7 games for PSG.
In June of that year he scored the famous free-kick against David Seaman in Brazil's World Cup Quarter Finals match against England (but was it a cross?), however later in that match he got a red card. After being suspended in the semis Ronaldinho won the World Cup with Brazil, playing in the final against Germany.
In the 2003 summer transfer market he rejected Manchester United to join Spanish side Barcelona for £21m.
After playing well for Barca Ronaldinho was named as one of the 11 greatest living footballers, announced by FIFA and chosen by Brazil legend Pele.
Then, Ronaldinho scored 15 league goals to inspire an improved Barcelona to 2nd place in La Liga. Soon after he suffered the first major injury of his career and missed Brazil's Copa America campaign.
Ronaldinho pleased Barcelona fans by turning down Chelsea and agreeing a new contract. In December he was named best player in the world for 2004 by FIFA beating Shevchenko and Henry to first place.
Six months later Ronaldinho helped Barcelona to win La Liga 2005 easily outdoing rivals Real Madrid.
In September 2005 Ronaldinho added to his bulging trophy cabinet when he won the FIFPro's World Player of the Year in a poll of 38,000 professional football players in 40 countries. Wayne Rooney won the young player award.
In November 2005 Ronaldinho was named 2005 European Footballer of the Year - the award known as the Ballon D'Or is voted for by European football journalists selected by French magazine France Football.
The 2005/2006 season ended in excellent fashion for Barca and Ronaldinho after they won both La Liga and the Champions League.
Ronaldinho played in the Brazilian World Cup 2006 squad, however Brazil did not shine and went out in the quarter-finals.
In July 2008, AC Milan and Barcelona reached an agreement over the transfer of Ronaldinho.
On 11 May 2010, Ronaldinho was left out of Brazil's World Cup squad of 23.

Read more »

Legends club,

Fifa World Club History

The 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, held in Brazil, consisted of eight qualifiers: the six continental champions, the 1998 Intercontinental Champions and the host nation champions. The tournament was extremely controversial, most notably in England where Manchester United had to withdraw from a national cup competition, the FA Cup, in order to compete and in Brazil, due to the participation of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista being based solely in the fact he was the host nation national champion and not having won any international competition in the later two years, as all the others teams in the competition. The launch of the competition was understood by some to be part of a struggle between FIFA and UEFA, who were competing for control of international club football: the existing Intercontinental Cup was outside of FIFA's jurisdiction. The final was competed between the two Brazilian sides and the winner was the controversial Corinthians in a penalty shoot-out over Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama.

The second competition was penciled in for Spain in 2001, to feature 12 teams. This was cancelled owing to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL. It was then intended to hold the event in 2003, but this also failed to happen. FIFA eventually agreed to terms with the UEFA to merge the two competitions.


The final Intercontinental Cup was in 2004, with the first installment of the relaunched Club World Championship Toyota Cup held in Japan between December 11 and December 18, 2005.

The 2005 relaunched version was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent. It contained just the six reigning continental champions, with the CONMEBOL and UEFA champions receiving byes to the semi-finals of the tournament. A completely new trophy was introduced, replacing all previous cups: the Intercontinental trophy, the Toyota trophy and the trophy won by Corinthians in 2000.

The competition was then renamed as FIFA Club World Cup[ for the 2006 event, which was held annually in Japan until 2008. The United Arab Emirates hosted the event in 2009 and is also hosting it in 2010. For the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, a play-off match between the OFC champions and the host-nation champions for entry into the quarter-final stage was introduced in order to increase home interest in the tournament. The reintroduction of the match for fifth place for the 2008 competition also prompted an increase in prize money by US$500,000 to a total of US$16.5 million. The winners took away $5 million, second-placed team received $4 million, the third-placed team $2.5 million, the fourth-placed team $2 million, the fifth-placed team $1.5 million, the sixth-placed team $1 million and the seventh-placed team received $500,000.

In February 2008 a FIFA Club World Cup Champions Badge was introduced, featuring an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its kit until the final of the next championship. Initially, all four previous champions were allowed to wear the badge until the 2008 final, where Manchester United gained the sole right to wear the badge by winning the trophy.

The teams with the most appearances in the competition are Al-Ahly of Egypt and Pachuca of Mexico who have played in three out of the six tournaments held - 2005, 2006 and 2008 for Al-Ahly and 2007, 2008 and 2010 for Pachuca.

-wikipedia.org-

Read more »

History,

Uefa Champions League History

Uefa Champions Lague Cup

The UEFA Champions League, was previously called the Champion's Cup after the first place trophy. In 1954, English team Wolverhampton made an European tour, playng with almost all the most important clubs in the continent. They got amazing results, beating also the Hungarian Giants of Honved, with Puskas, Hidegkuti, Kocsis. The English press celebrated the Wolves' success writing they were “the best team in the World”, or “the best in Europe”. French journalist Gabriel Hanot did not like this, he stated there were at least three European teams stronger than the English: Real Madrid, Honved and AC Milan. And, just as a French, also Saint Etienne. So, Hanot proposed through the columns of “L'Equipe” a European Championship for clubs.

And competition began in 1955–56 using a two-leg knockout format where the teams would play two matches, one at home and one away, and the team with the highest overall score qualifying for the next round of the competition. Until 1997, entry was restricted to the teams that won their national league championships, plus the current European Cup holder. In the 1992–93 season, the format was changed to include a group stage and the tournament was renamed the UEFA Champions League. There have since been numerous changes to eligibility for the competition, the number of qualifying rounds and the group structure. In 1997–98, eligibility was expanded to include the runners-up from some countries according to UEFA's coefficient ranking list. The qualification system has been restructured so that national champions from lower ranked countries have to take part in one or more qualifying rounds before the group stages, while runners-up from higher ranked countries enter in later rounds. Up to four clubs from the top-ranked countries are currently given entry to the competition.

Between 1960 and 2004, the winner of the tournament qualified for the now defunct Intercontinental Cup against the winner of the Copa Libertadores of South America. Since then, the winner automatically qualifies for the FIFA-organised Club World Cup with other winners of continental club championships.

Read more »

History,

FIFA Presidents

FIFA has been served by eight Presidents since its foundation in 1904. From Frenchman Robert Guerin to the current incumbent Joseph S. Blatter via Jules Rimet, the father of the FIFA World Cup™, each President has played his part in the growth and development of the world's favourite game.

 

Robert Guerin, France - 1904-06
Born 1876, Died 1952
Frenchman Robert Guerin was the dynamic figure behind the founding of FIFA in 1904. A journalist with Le Matin newspaper, Guerin was actively involved in football through his role as secretary of the Football Department of the Union des Societes Françaises de Sports Athletiques. He brought together representatives of the first seven member countries in Paris for the signing of FIFA's foundation act and agreement of the first FIFA statutes. On 22 May 1904, Guerin - then just 28 - was elected president at the inaugural FIFA Congress and remained in his post for two years, during which time another eight associations came on board, including the English Football Association.

Daniel Burley Woolfall, England - 1906-18
Born 1852, Died 1918
An English FA administrator from Blackburn, Daniel Burley Woolfall was elected as President on 4 June 1906. A key aim during his presidency was to achieve uniform football rules on an international level and he played a prominent role in the drafting of FIFA's new constitution. Under Woolfall, the application of the Laws of the Game, established under the English model, became compulsory and a clear definition was made of international matches. Two years after assuming the presidency, he helped organise the first noteworthy international football competition, the 1908 Olympic Games in London. His reign as president brought the arrival of FIFA's first non-European members in South Africa, Argentina, Chile and the United States but was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Woolfall's presidency ended with his death in August 1918.


Jules Rimet, France- 1921-54
Born 1873, Died 1956
(named Honorary FIFA President on 21 June 1954)
When the FIFA World Cup trophy was renamed in honour of Jules Rimet in 1946, it was rightful recognition of the role played by the Frenchman, then celebrating his 25 th anniversary as President, in establishing what fast became the sport's foremost competition. Rimet, inspired by the success of the Olympic Football Tournament, was the driving force behind the FIFA World Cup's inception in 1930. His overriding aim was a rapprochement of nations through sport and the First World War only reinforced his determination. He oversaw the first five tournaments before handing 'his' trophy over for the final time to West Germany captain Fritz Walter in June 1954. That same month, the then 80-year-old ended his long reign - during which FIFA membership grew from 20 to 85 countries - and became the federation's first Honorary President.


Rodolphe William Seeldrayers, Belgium - 1954-55
Born 1876, Died 1955
A lawyer from Brussels, Rodolphe William Seeldrayers was an accomplished sportsman in his youth, winning a Belgian championship with Racing Club Brussels - a club he later served as president. As a sports administrator, he helped found the Belgian Football Association and served on the International Olympic Committee. At FIFA he performed the duties of Vice-President for 27 years prior to succeeding Jules Rimet, his great comrade-in-arms. Seeldrayers was President for the 1954 FIFA World Cup and also oversaw the world governing body's 50 th anniversary celebrations that same year. He died in office on 7 October 1955.

Arthur Drewry, England - 1955-61
Born 1891, Died 1961
Arthur Drewry served as interim head of FIFA for six months following the death of Rodolphe William Seeldrayers and then became President in his own right in June 1956. Together with Stanley Rous, he had keenly supported Jules Rimet's efforts to bring the British associations back into FIFA in 1946 and he also served as president of the Football League and chairman of the Football Association in England. The near five years that Drewry spent as President - from his election in 1956 to his passing aged 70 on 25 March 1961 - included the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.





Sir Stanley Rous, England - 1961-74
Born 1895, Died 1986
(named Honorary FIFA President on 11 June 1974)
Sir Stanley Rous had already made an impressive contribution to football on and off the field before becoming President of FIFA. As a top-class referee, he took charge of the FA Cup final in England and 36 international matches. Then, having becoming secretary of the English FA in 1934, he helped rewrite the Laws of the Game in 1938 while his patient diplomacy helped pave the way for the British nations rejoining FIFA in 1946. Rous was knighted in 1949 for his contribution to the London Olympics the previous year and to sport in general. He became the third English President of FIFA when he took the reins in September 1961 and during his term of office, the FIFA World Cup became a worldwide television spectacle - particularly with the Mexico 1970 finals, which were the first to be broadcast around the globe in colour. Four years earlier he had been witness to England's FIFA World Cup triumph on home soil.



João Havelange, Brazil - 1974-98
Born 1916
(named Honorary FIFA President on 8 June 1998)
Dr João Havelange's 24 years as FIFA President were a period of significant change which featured, most notably, the expansion of the FIFA World Cup from a 16-team tournament to one twice as large by the time the Brazilian left his post in 1998. An Olympic swimmer and water polo player in his younger days, Havelange's greatest achievement as a football administrator was arguably to ensure increased involvement on the world stage for teams from Asia, Africa, CONCACAF and Oceania, who had had just three FIFA World Cup finalists between them in 1974. FIFA's Zurich headquarters housed just 12 staff members when he took office yet that figure would increase almost tenfold as FIFA's organisational responsibilities and commercial interests grew, not least with a wave of new tournaments introduced, notably the world championships at Under-17 and U20 level in the late 1980s and the FIFA Confederations Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup at the start of the 1990s.






Joseph S. Blatter, Switzerland - 1998-present
Born 1936
Joseph S. Blatter had already served FIFA for 23 years when he was elected President of world football's governing body on 8 June 1998. A former keen amateur footballer, he joined FIFA as Director of Technical Programmes in 1975 where he helped lay the foundations for future under-age and women's competitions. He worked closely under his predecessor, Dr João Havelange, serving as General Secretary for nine years from 1981 and subsequently CEO, and playing a key role in organising five FIFA World Cups from Spain 1982 onwards. The Swiss was also the driving force behind FIFA's ongoing partnership with SOS Children's Villages, which started in 1994, and since his election he has extended the federation's humanitarian remit by forming an alliance with UNICEF. Re-elected for a second term as President on 29 May 2002, Mr Blatter has expanded FIFA's competition portfolio, developing the FIFA Club World Cup as well as introducing world championships for Beach Soccer and Futsal.


-fifa.com-

Read more »

History,

Value Calculation FIFA rating

1. FIFA ranking compiled by the rating team national football teams
2. FIFA rating based on the total value derived in the last 4 years. FIFA Ranking revised each end of the month. Each end of the month, the value of the national teams rating is calculated again based on his performance during the last 4 years, commencing the end of that month.
3. There is no reduction in the value rating due to lose a fight because it is increasingly frequent national teams perform matches against other national teams, will have hopes of increasing the value rating
4. Diminishing value rating could occur not because of lost play, but because the decline or disappearance of value rating results by the past. The longer the game has been done will be smaller in value rating
5. The formula for calculating the value of the national teams in FIFA's rating is = 
(Y x M x I x T x C x 100): 4

* Y = 1 if the game done before 1 year ago

Y = 0.5 when the match was performed 1 year to 2 years ago

Y = 0.3 if the match is done in 2 years to 3 years ago

Y = 0.2 if the game made 3 years to 4 years ago and

Y = 0 when the game made after 4 years ago

* M = 3 if the winning play,

M = 2 if won on penalties,

M = 1 if the draw or lose on penalties and

M = 0 if lost

* I = 1 for a tournament friendly game or small,

I = 2.5 for the world cup or cup qualification continent,

I = 3 for continental trophies and

I = 4 for the World Cup

* T = (200-ranked opponent teams play) divided by 100;

But the minimum value of T = 0.5

* C = depending on the membership of the confederation;

UEFA = 1;

CONMEBOL = 0.99;

CONCACAF = 0.88;

AFC, CAF and OFC = 0.85

Read more »

History,

Frederic Kanoute

Frederic Kanoute also often displays the pitch has become Muslim. After make a goal he always raised his right index finger up, looked a little too, as a gesture he always remember to God. Style is another he opened his palms, making the movement of Muslims during prayer.

Read more »

unique habits,

History of Coppa Italia

The Coppa Italia (Italian for Italy Cup, officially known as TIM Cup because of its sponsorship) is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals: 16 (Torino and Juventus follow with 13). The holder can wear a "tricolore" cockade, like the roundels that appear on military aircraft, and qualifies for a UEFA Europa League spot for the next season.
The tournament is known for its low attendances, mainly because most teams consider the tournament of low importance and do not field their best line-up, especially after the abolition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. While some top clubs may average over 50,000 for league games, often these same clubs will attract crowds of around 1,000 for Coppa Italia matches. Many domestic cups elsewhere in Europe attract larger crowds. It is often in the final, where the UEFA Europa League spot is up for grabs, that larger crowds attend the games.
Coincidentally, in five of the last six years, the Coppa Italia final has been contested by the same two teams – Inter and Roma. This includes the 2009–10 Coppa Italia final. The match was held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 5 May 2010 and ended with Inter winning 1–0. It was Inter's 6th Coppa Italia title, and first since 2006. In this current final streak between the two teams, Inter now has the edge 3–2 having won the final of most recent edition by a single goal to nil. Both missed the final in 2008–09.

Format

The competition is a knockout tournament with pairings for each round made in advance; the draw for the whole competition is made before a ball is kicked. Each tie is played as a single leg, with the exception of the two-legged semi-finals. If a match is drawn, extra time is played. In the event of a draw after 120 minutes, a penalty shoot-out is contested. As well as being presented with the trophy, the winning team also qualifies for the UEFA Europa League (formerly named the UEFA Cup). If the winners have already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via Serie A, the UEFA Europa League place goes to the Coppa Italia runners-up. If they also have qualified for the UEFA Champions League, or are not entitled to play in UEFA competitions for any reason, the place goes to the next highest placed finisher in the league table.
There are a total of 8 rounds in the competition. The competition begins in August with the first round and is contested only by the lowest-ranked clubs – those outside the top two divisions. Clubs playing in Serie B join in in the second round and the twelve lowest-ranked teams in Serie A based on the previous league season's positions (unless they are to compete in European competition that year) begin the competition in the third round before August is over. The remaining eight Serie A teams join the competition in the fourth round in January, at which point sixteen teams remain. The round of 16, the quarter-finals and the first leg of the semi-finals are then played in quick succession after the Fourth Round and the second leg of the semi-final is played a couple of months later; in April before the May-contest final. The rather unusual two-leg final was eliminated two years ago and a single-match final is now played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.[1]


-wikipedia.org-

Read more »

History,

Copa del Rey

he Copa del Rey (English: The King's Cup) is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Don Juan Carlos I (Championship of Spain – His Majesty King Juan Carlos I's Cup), referring to the current King of Spain, Juan Carlos I of Spain.
The competition was founded in 1902. FC Barcelona have won the cup on the most occasions, with 25 wins.

History

The competition was first played in 1902 after Carlos Padrós, later president of Madrid FC, suggested a football competition to celebrate the coronation of Alfonso XIII. Three other teams joined Real Madrid CF for the first competition: FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol, and Athletic Bilbao. The competition featured the first recorded game between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF, with the latter emerging 2–3 winners. Real Madrid CF eventually defeated Athletic Bilbao in the final.
It has been Spain's football “National Championship″ since 1903[1], before the foundation of the “Campeonato de Liga″—League Championship—in 1928.
It was initially known as the Copa del Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Madrid City Council's Cup). Between 1905 and 1932, it was known as the Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Alfonso XIII (His Majesty King Alfonso XIII's Cup). During the Second Spanish Republic it was known as the Copa del Presidente de la República (President of the Republic Cup) or Copa de España (Spanish Cup) and during the years of the Francisco Franco's dictatorship it was known as the Copa de Su Excelencia El Generalísimo or Copa del Generalísimo ((His Excellency) The Supreme General's Cup).[1] Teams from upper and lower divisions play against each other but the number of clubs allowed to participate is restricted.
The 1902 competition was won by Club Vizcaya, a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC. The 1902 cup is on display in the Athletic museum,[2] and the club includes the victory in its honours list.
Athletic Bilbao were declared winners in 1904 after their opponents Club Español de Madrid failed to show up. In both 1910 and 1913, there was a split among the clubs and two rival associations, the Unión Española de Clubs de Fútbol and the Federación Española de Fútbol, organised rival competitions, the Copa UECF and the Copa FEF. In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War clubs in the Republican area of Spain entered the Copa de la España Libre, with Levante FC beating their city rivals Valencia CF 1–0 in the final. Although in 2007 the Congress of Deputies urged Royal Spanish Football Federation to recognise it as a Copa del Rey win for Levante FC,[3] the governing body of Spanish football has not made a decision yet.[4]
Because of the dispute regarding the 1902 competition the statistics regarding the leading winners are also disputed. FC Barcelona have won the Copa 25 times; Athletic Bilbao are just behind, with either 24 or 23 titles, depending on the source. Throughout the history of the competition there have been 12 actual trophies. Trophies have been permanently awarded to clubs for winning the competition three times in a row and/or on five separate occasions. Thus, four trophies have been permanently awarded to FC Barcelona, three to Athletic Bilbao and one to Real Madrid CF.
Athletic Bilbao kept the first trophy as inaugural winners, Sevilla FC were awarded the Trofeo del Generalísimo in 1939 and Atlético Madrid, winners the previous year, were awarded the 11th trophy following the death of Francisco Franco. The remaining trophy is the one in current usage.
Before the formation of La Liga in 1929, the competition was effectively a national championship. Teams qualified to enter via their regional leagues. Over the years, various formats, including group stages have been used. Unlike the English FA Cup, entry is limited. Only teams from the Primera Division, Segunda A, about twenty-three teams from the Segunda B and the Tercera Division champions (or runners-up if the champion is a reserve team) are invited to enter. The early rounds are one-off games with teams from the lower divisions given home advantage. The round of 32, the round of 16, the quarter finals and semi-finals are played over two legs. The final is a one-off game played at a neutral venue. The winners qualify for both the Supercopa de España and the UEFA Europa League the following season.

Etymology

Real Madrid CF were originally known as Madrid FC and did not add the Real until 1920. During the Spanish Second Republic the club dropped Real from their name. In 1941, a decree issued by General Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names. FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF and Athletic Bilbao had to change the spelling of their prefix to Atlético. RCD Espanyol were known as RCD Español until 1995.


-wikipedia.org-

Read more »

History,

The world champion without crown

Hungary in 1950's

The world champion without the crown, so the term was just right for the legendary team like hungrary, the most powerfull team in the 1950's.This team transform became an elite team, not only in the Europe, but also in the whole globe. yet, this team received "the Magical Magyars" nickname as the magical team that almost untouchable by most of the teams at the time.

The formation that was introduced by them was 4-2-4 formations, that afterwards, gave inspiration for the England's. its adopted the formation, that seldom changed to the legendary 4-4-2 formation, and exhibited the style-fast game or that was more known with KICK N RUSH. as the results of this way of play, the Hungrarian attacked without the feeling of being afraid to be beaten. they almost did not have any opponents that was well-off to beat them
unlost team during 4 years
since may 14 1950 untill july 4 1954, this team had won 43 matches and 7 ties, without losing any of their mathes . an unbreakable record untill now. its include the most memorable match : beaten england on novenber 25 1953 at wembley stadium. unfornatey the magical hungrary never win's any major trophies so far. not only england had got inspiration from hungrary's game, but also all the european teams attack style in modern day. even dutch was influenced by them. play the hungary basic scheme, it then develop into a new way of play. the players can move and having a certain roles, not just their own role in own position. so that the full back could do a superb moves as well as the striker. world recognize it leter on as a TOTAL FOOTBALL. even Brazil, the 1958 world cup champion, is also look after them.
discomfiture tragic
on 1958 The world has predicted that this tournament will become the hungrary's show time. so far, The prediction was truth as the magic magyar advanced through the final. unfornately, things are going upside down, hungary lost 2-3 from west germany. if hungrary succeeded in being the champion at the time, certainly the history will have recorded them as the strongest team ever, the jules rimet trophy winner. it will complete their entertaining way of play with the major tropy. however, hungrary was not lucky during that match. kocsis was dropped in the penalty box without any called for penalty and the puskas's goal that was dissallowed in injurytime as he was caught offside. many pundits suspected the referee's leadership of being more siding in west germany. otherwise, Hungrary is known not only through their victory record, but also because of their entertaining way of play. FIFA also recorded that hungrary gained the highest elo rating in their period of victory, 2,173 points in June 1954. this also become the other milestone achievement for hungary.
Although did not win in any event, the style of their game has gave inspiration for most of the teams in modern day now. Magical Magyarswill always be the greatest team that had been born in the world.
this is the names of the Magical Magyars:
goalkeeper : GrosicDefender : Zakarias,Lantos,Buzanszky,LorantMildfielder : Nandor Hideguti,Joszef Bozsikwingser : Czibor,Bodai striker : Ferenc Puskas,Sandor Kocsiscoach : Gustav Sebes

Hungary

Read more »

Legend Team,

Juventus

Juventus Football Club also known as Juventus Turin (or Juventus Torino), Juventus, or simply Juve, is a football club from Turin, Italy.

The club is currently playing in the Italian Serie B , for its first time after having spent its whole history in the top Italian league Serie A. Juventus is the most successful team in the history of Italian football. Overall, Juventus has won 51 official trophies, more than any other Italian team; 40 in its country (also a record), and 11 in European and the world competitions (see Honours). Juventus is the third club from Europe and fifth in the world with the most international titles recognized by the Union of European Football Associations and the International Federation of Association Football.

In 1985, Juventus became the first club in the history of the European football to have won all three Major European trophies and also, the only team in the world to have won all international cups and championships (which includes all official European tournaments and the Intercontinental Champions Clubs' Cup ). Juventus is also one of the G-14’s founding members, a group that represents eighteen of the largest and most prestigious European football clubs.

History

The club was founded on November 1, 1897 by a group of youngsters from the grammar school of Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum in Turin. The people who decided to form the club were all between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, they came up with the idea of forming a club while sitting on a bench in Corso Re Umberto park.

Very little early documentation exists of the foundation, as during this early period in Italian football newspapers did not devote much space to the sport. One of the founding members; Enrico Canfari later wrote a document (in 1914) describing the birth of the club. The young founders heatedly discussed what to name the club; after a round of voting, the name was narrowed down to three choices, Società Via Fori, Società Sportiva Massimo D' Azeglio and Sport Club Juventus, they chose the latter. The men who were involved in the founding of Juventus were: -Gioacchino Armano
-Alfredo Armano
-Enrico Canfari
-Eugenio Canfari
-Francesco DaprÃ
-Domenico Donna
-Carlo Ferrero
-Luigi Forlano
-Luigi Gibezzi
-Umberto Malvano
-Enrico Piero Molinatti
-Umberto Savoia
-Vittorio Varetti

The first ever president was Eugenio Canfari (brother of Enrico), they played very early on at Piazza D'Armi in Crocetta, Turin. Juventus changed their name to Football Club Juventus in 1899 the first ever colours of the club were pink and black, known in Italy as rosanero.

Juventus enter the Italian Championship
Juventus eventually made their debut in the Italian Football Championship during the 1900 season, wearing their original pink shirts. The first ever game competed by the club in the championship, was on 11 May 1900 where they lost to F.C. Torinese 1-0 at Piazza D'Armi. In their second ever season, Juventus fared better when they reached the semi-finals of the league by beating locals Ginnastica Torino 5-0, before losing to Milan Cricket 2-3.

The club decided to find a new kit in 1903, they asked an English player at the club; John Savage if he could help, Savage had a friend in Nottingham who supported Notts County and sent to Turin the world famous black and white striped shirts which they have used ever since[12]. Around this period they also moved playing field to Velodromo Umberto I. For two seasons in a row, Juventus narrowly ended as runners-up to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, before beating them out for their first ever championship title victory in 1905.

Juventus had built up a strong squad, but soon after securing their first championship, president Alfredo Dick left the club after a large argument, taking with him several prominent players. Some of the staff at Juventus were considering moving the club out of Turin,[13] so Dick left to form Foot-Ball Club Torino, also taking with him the lease for Velodromo Umberto I. The first ever Turin derby between the two clubs was played the next season on 13 January 1907 and has been an intense rivalry ever since.

From this period until the First World War, Italian football was dominated largely by other clubs, such as fellow Piedmont clubs Pro Vercelli and Casale. The Juventus squad was steadily re-built after the war under the presidency of Corradino Corradini, and several players were called up to the Italian national team for the first time. Around this period goalkeeper Giampiero Combi debuted, he would go on to become a club hero.

The Agnelli era begins
Edoardo Agnelli of the Agnelli family, owners of the Fiat company gained control of the club in 1923. They had a private stadium in Villar Perosa (south-west of Turin) built and a complete set of facilities and services. This proved a good move for the club, as Juventus won their second Italian Championship during the 1925-26 season; they beat Alba Roma in the final with an aggregate score of 12-1, Antonio Vojak's goals were essential that season.

From the 1930-31 through the 1934-35 season, Juventus collected a record of five consecutive Italian league championships under coach Carlo Carcano; the squad included the likes of Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari and Luis Monti amongst others. Notably, the club reached the semi-finals of the Mitropa Cup before going out to Russian side Slavia Prague.

During 1933, Juventus moved to what is considered their first major home; Stadio Mussolini, it was built in 1933 for the 1934 FIFA World Cup, holding a capacity of 65,000. It was originally named after Benito Mussolini who was Prime Minister of Italy at the time. Edoardo Agnelli died on 14 July 1935, this affected the club's league performance in a large manner as some of the most prominent players left soon after his death.

Although the club were unable to re-capture their form for the rest of the 1930s, they did finish as runners-up to Ambrosiana-Inter in the 1937-38 season. After-World War II the club's ground was re-named, Stadio Comunale and Edoardo's son Gianni Agnelli was put in place as honorary president; the club added two more scudetto championship's to their name in the 1949-50 and 1951-52 seasons, the latter of which was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver. This kind of form would be a sign of things to come in the future.

After a dry spell, Juventus signed Welshman John Charles and Italo-Argentine Omar Sivori in 1957 to play alongside Giampiero Boniperti (who had been with the club since 1946). This system was very successful for Juventus and they won Serie A in 1957-58 and 1959-60 with Fiorentina finishing second on both ocassions, the latter of which was Juventus' first ever double, as they also won the Coppa Italia that season. This record breaking squad became the first Italian clubs to win ten championships in 1961, in recognition of this the club were awarded a little golden star to wear on their shirt. Notably, Omar Sivori became the first Juventus player to win the European Footballer of the Year that year too.

When Boniperti retired in 1961, he retired as the all-time top scorer at the club, with 182 goals in all competitions; a club record which would last for 45 years. The last Juventus championship victory came with Heriberto Herrera as coach in 1966-67, a notable players of this time was the reliable defender Sandro Salvadore.

European success
Juventus further solidified themselves as a tower of strength in Italian football during the 1970s by winning the scudetto in 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75 and 1976-77. Coached in the early part of the decade by Čestmír Vycpálek, a Czech who had once played with Juventus (and Palermo), the Old Lady built up a strong squad of players to push them forward, with Roberto Bettega, Fabio Capello, and Brazilian José Altafini who would become the joint-third highest scorer in Serie A history.

Franco Causio also became a very popular player at the club during the 1970s, in fact he was so popular that the club allowed him to wear his hair long, prior to Causio this was against the rules. The club also provided the team with official formal wear (made by famous tailors) and forced them to complete their educational studies. Most of its players remained with Juventus until the end of their careers; many were given jobs with the club or for Fiat (and related companies) after playing retirement.

Although Juventus were successful in Italy, European success eluded them until they won the UEFA Cup 1976-77, this was achieved against Spanish oposition in the form of Athletic Bilbao with goals from Marco Tardelli and Bettega. The UEFA Cup was won under the management of Giovanni Trapattoni, who continued on with Juventus through the 1980s, breaking club longevity records.

Under Trapattoni, Juventus dominated the early part of the 1980s in Serie A, the club won the league in 1980-81, 1981-82 and 1983-84. The second title of which allowed the club to add another golden star above their crest (the only club to achieve this), marking 20 scudetto titles. The club's players were also achiving a lot of notability in the wider scheme of football, Paolo Rossi who had led Italy to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup was awarded the European Footballer of the Year in 1982. Juve's French midfielder, Michel Platini was awarded the same title for three years in a row; 1983, 1984 and 1985, a record. Juventus is the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years.

The height of European success was not reached until the mid-80s, when Juventus won the 1985 European Cup by beating Liverpool 1-0, with a penalty scored by Platini. However, what should have been the greatest day in the club's history was marred by a tragedy which would change European football; the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 people (mostly Juventus fans) were killed by the stadium collapsing, it has been named "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions.".

With the exception of winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985-86 over Roma and Napoli, the rest of the 1980s were not very successful for the club. As well as having to content with Diego Maradona's Napoli, both of the Milanese clubs Milan and Inter were picking up Italian championships. In 1990, Juventus moved into their new home; Stadio delle Alpi, this was built for the 1990 World Cup and also because Juventus' old ground which they shared with Torino, Stadio Comunale was been reduced in size.

The Lippi era
Marcello Lippi took over as Juventus manager in 1994. During his first season, Juventus recorded their first Serie A championship since the mid-1980s. Around this time the squad featured the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero, who would become heir to Baggio's throne.

Juventus followed up their home success by winning the Champions League for the second time in their history in 1996, the game went down to a penalty shootout against reigning champions Ajax Amsterdam; Vladimir Jugović scored the deciding penalty kick. During the following years a second wave of what are considered Lippi-era legends joined; Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi, Edgar Davids and briefly Thierry Henry. Since the Champions League victory, they won their home league twice more and the European Super Cup. Between 1996 and 1998, they appeared in all three Champions League finals, losing to Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real Madrid in 1998.

During 1998, former A.S. Roma manager Zdeněk Zeman accused Juventus physicians of doping their players from the 1993-94 to 1997-98 seasons. After several years of official inquiries and 2 trials by UEFA and FIGC, Juventus were cleared of all charges by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Neither the pharmaceutical substances that were in question were banned nor did any Juventus players have positive test results for any illegal doping substances.[15] The substances in question were principally creatine - which is considered a legal athletic supplement and has never been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency - and Erythropoietin, legal in sports medicine and used frequently among cyclists, but prohibited by WADA at the start of the 2000-01 season).

Lippi left Juventus for rivals Internazionale Milano F.C. briefly. He returned to Juve after one season, and signed the third and final wave of Lippi-era players; Gianluigi Buffon, David Trézéguet, Marcelo Salas, Pavel Nedvěd and Lilian Thuram amongst others. He led the team to two more Serie A titles in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. Juventus appeared in an all Italian Champions League final, against rivals A.C. Milan; the game ended in a goalless draw, 0-0, and so again had to be decided in a penalty shootout, but this time Juventus lost. Lippi left the following year as he was appointed by the Italian national team as head coach, he would go on to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup with them two years later.

The "Calciopoli" scandal
Since 2004, Fabio Capello had taken over the club, and lead them to two more Serie A titles. But during May 2006, Juventus were one of four clubs (along with AC Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio) linked to a Serie A match fixing scandal. At the center of the acusations was Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, who was acused of influencing referees and even the false imprisonment of one; no players were accused of any wrong-doing. Moggi along with two other members of the board resigned on May 13. The clubs involved were ordered to stand trial, around this time Gianluca Pessotto almost lost his life when he fell from a 4th story window, the media suggested that it could have been a suicide attempt because of the stress of trial.

Manager Capello, left for Real Madrid before the verdict had been handed out. IFF prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, called the four clubs to be thrown out of Serie A and that Juventus have their last two title's stripped. The sentences saw Juventus stripped of two titles, and relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history. The club was also docked points for the 2006-2007 season, which was eventually reduced after an appeal. Numerous players left the club, including European Footballer of the Year and 2006 World Cup winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro, two players were also sold to rivals Inter for €34.3 million. However, some highly rated players remained loyal; Gianluigi Buffon, captain Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedvěd, Mauro Camoranesi and David Trézéguet.  

Alessandro Del Piero

source: wikipedia.org
GNU Free Documentation License

Read more »

Legends club,

unique habit of kaka

Kaka is only one of many famous Brazilian footballer religious, symbols showing the conviction to the middle of the field.
Kaka has also been sewing on the phrase "God is Faithful" at the shoe tongue. Then, in celebration of Brazil 4-1 victory over Argentina in the Confederations Cup final, 2005, he and several colleagues wore clothes that read "Jesus Loves You" in different languages.
Related devout Brazilian players, there is a version which reported that most of the Samba team players make similar slogans behind their jersey when winning the 2002 World Cup. But the most famous is Kaka later with "I Belong to Jesus"it. He showed it after Brazil beat Germany in the final, although throughout the tournament was only played 25 minutes, and did not appear at the top of the party.

Read more »

unique habits,

Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira was born on 21st March, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

He helped Brazil win the World under-17 Championship in Egypt. During the competition he was scouted by local club Gremio and signed his first professional contract.
In 1999, after hitting 15 goals in 14 games for Gremio, Ronaldinho won his first senior cap for Brazil against Latvia. After shining in that match he made Brazil's Copa America squad and scored an incredible goal against Venezuela as Brazil won the trophy.

Ronaldinho scored his first hat-trick for Brazil against Saudi Arabia in the Confederations Cup semi-finals later that year.
In 2001 he left Gremio for Paris St. Germain (PSG) but was unable to make his debut because of contract rows, until 3 months later when FIFA stepped in.
In 2002 Ronaldinho was voted France's player of the month for January after hitting 6 goals in 7 games for PSG.
In June of that year he scored the famous free-kick against David Seaman in Brazil's World Cup Quarter Finals match against England (but was it a cross?), however later in that match he got a red card. After being suspended in the semis Ronaldinho won the World Cup with Brazil, playing in the final against Germany.
In the 2003 summer transfer market he rejected Manchester United to join Spanish side Barcelona for £21m.
After playing well for Barca Ronaldinho was named as one of the 11 greatest living footballers, announced by FIFA and chosen by Brazil legend Pele.
Then, Ronaldinho scored 15 league goals to inspire an improved Barcelona to 2nd place in La Liga. Soon after he suffered the first major injury of his career and missed Brazil's Copa America campaign.
Ronaldinho pleased Barcelona fans by turning down Chelsea and agreeing a new contract. In December he was named best player in the world for 2004 by FIFA beating Shevchenko and Henry to first place.
Six months later Ronaldinho helped Barcelona to win La Liga 2005 easily outdoing rivals Real Madrid.
In September 2005 Ronaldinho added to his bulging trophy cabinet when he won the FIFPro's World Player of the Year in a poll of 38,000 professional football players in 40 countries. Wayne Rooney won the young player award.
In November 2005 Ronaldinho was named 2005 European Footballer of the Year - the award known as the Ballon D'Or is voted for by European football journalists selected by French magazine France Football.
The 2005/2006 season ended in excellent fashion for Barca and Ronaldinho after they won both La Liga and the Champions League.
Ronaldinho played in the Brazilian World Cup 2006 squad, however Brazil did not shine and went out in the quarter-finals.
In July 2008, AC Milan and Barcelona reached an agreement over the transfer of Ronaldinho.
On 11 May 2010, Ronaldinho was left out of Brazil's World Cup squad of 23. 

Read more »

Living Legends,