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France national football team

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The French football team represents the nation of France in international football World Cup as the host nation in 1998, as well as placing second in the Germany 2006 tournament. Within that time frame, France also won Euro 2000. The team is fielded by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA.
competitions. The team is considered one of the top sides in international football, and has been especially successful over the past decade, winning the

History

[edit] Early years

France's first ever game was a 3-3 draw against Belgium in 1904. They played in all three of the pre-World War II World Cups. Lucien Laurent scored the first ever World cup goal in 1930, in a 4-1 win over Mexico. They reached the quarterfinals in 1938 when they hosted the World Cup.

France came third in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, defeating Germany 6-3 for the bronze. France was beaten by Brazil in semi-finals, after central defender Robert Jonquet's injury and Pelé Just Fontaine scored a record 13 goals in the tournament, doing so in just six matches. The team used mainly players and former players from Stade de Reims, such as Raymond Kopa, Robert Jonquet, Roger Marche or Just Fontaine, who was at the time one of the best teams in European football. hat-trick. Striker

[edit] Platini era

During the captaincy of Michel Platini France's World Cup performance markedly improved, finishing fourth in Spain '82, and third in Mexico '86. In both tournaments, they lost in the semi-finals to West Germany. The 1982 semi-final is infamously remembered by many for West German keeper Harald Schumacher's elbowing of France's Patrick Battiston in the face as the latter made a shot on goal. Despite severely injuring Battiston, Schumacher was not penalized. France were unfairly knocked out in 1986 and with Platini, now recognized as one of football's all time greats they could have won. It was a very good generation of French football players though and they won the Euro in 84 which was France's greatest achievement up to that point. With Platini as skipper, France, as host nation, won Euro '84, as well as capturing Olympic gold in Los Angeles the same year.

[edit] Cantona era

Having made his international début against West Germany in August 1987, Eric Cantona was the favourite of Michel Platini, now France team manager, who claimed that Cantona would be selected as long as he was playing competitive top class football. However, France failed to qualify for Euro 1988 despite being the defending champions. Cantona was then suspended from internationals for a year after he insulted the French national team manager on television in August 1988. France failed to win a single game in the European Championship, held in Sweden in 1992, despite the striking partnership of Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin. Platini resigned after Euro 92 and was succeeded by Gérard Houllier.

France then failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the USA, after losing the final game 2-1 at home to Bulgaria when a draw would suffice. During the match, David Ginola lost the ball which led to Bulgaria's winning goal by Emil Kostadinov. Gérard Houllier resigned and Aimé Jacquet was made the manager of the national team, but only provisionally. After a promising series of friendly matches (notably a victory over Italy in Naples in February 1994), and the debut of Zinedine Zidane versus the Czech Republic national football team in August 1994, his provisional status was upgraded to permanent.

Jacquet began to rebuild the national team in preparation for Euro 96 and appointed Cantona as the captain. Jacquet initially selected Eric Cantona as captain and made him the team's playmaker. Cantona had successfully restarted his career in the FA Premier League and was playing some of the best football of his career, but he kicked a Crystal Palace fan in January 1995, which earned him a year-long suspension from all international matches.

As Cantona was the key playmaker, Jacquet was forced to make major changes to the team in the wake of his suspension. Jacquet revamped the squad with some new blood and built it around Zinedine Zidane, while dropping Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin, and David Ginola. Jacquet's choice of players for the tournament caused some fans to grit their teeth but he succeeded in helping France qualify for the Euro 96.

Making it all the way to the semi-finals of Euro 96 before being eliminated in a penalty shootout, this marked France's best showing in an international tournament since the 1986 World Cup. More importantly, Les Bleus managed to show they could survive without veterans such as Jean-Pierre Papin, Eric Cantona, or David Ginola. Jacquet himself stated that the team had done well without Cantona, and that he wanted to keep faith with the players who had taken them so far.^[1]

[edit] Zidane era

France's most successful years were the late 1990s, the generation of Zinédine Zidane and the emergence of Thierry Henry. This team started off well by reaching the semi-finals of Euro 96. After Euro 96, Jacquet adopted a very defensive strategy and made fans anxious because his team never seemed to develop a definitive offensive tactic. The press began to attack the team manager, calling his methods "Paleolithic" and claiming that the team had no hope for the upcoming World Cup which would be hosted in their home country. In June 1997 at the Tournament of France, cries of "Resign!" could be heard from the stadium as the French team came in under Brazil, England and Italy. The media's distrust of Jacquet reached fever pitch in May 1998 when, instead of a list of 22 players meant to play in the World Cup, Jacquet gave a list of 28 players, causing the sports daily L'Équipe to write an editoral arguing that Jacquet was not the right man to lead the French team to victory. However Jacquet was about to mastermind French football's greatest ever achievement.

1998 World Cup

BARTHEZ

BLANC

DESAILLY

THURAM

LIZARAZU

DJORKAEFF

ZIDANE

DESCHAMPS

PETIT

GUIVARC'H

DUGARRY

France lineup during the 1998 World Cup

However, all that would change when the team began to play in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup. It was clear that though the team was far from being the most flamboyant in French history, it was a perfectly well-oiled machine that neither injury, nor expulsions, nor suspensions, managed to stop.

Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly were linchpins of the best defense in the tournament, conceding only 2 goals in seven matches. France swept their group, then defeated Paraguay 1-0 with a Golden Goal from Laurent Blanc. In the quarter-finals, they edged Italy in a penalty shootout after both teams were tied 0-0. Though they fell behind for the first time in the tournament to Croatia, Thuram scored two goals in France's comeback semi-final win. He laughs when recalling this match because these were the first two and may be the last two international goals the defender will ever score. The overall defence consisting of Thuram, Desailly, Blanc and Bixente Lizarazu was extremely strong often impenitrable.

The crowning moment of their glory was when they soundly defeated the defending champions Brazil 3-0 in the World Cup Final. In the first half, taking advantage of poor Brazilian marking at defensive set pieces, Zinédine Zidane scored two headed goals from France's corner kicks[1]. Brazil was unable to find the net despite Desailly getting sent off and Emmanuel Petit added a third goal in the last minute of regular time to seal the victory for France. France's inaugural triumph also made them the first host in 20 years to win the World Cup. An estimated one million people took to the Paris streets to celebrate that night.

[edit] Euro 2000

Jacquet stepped down after France's World Cup triumph and was succeeded by assistant Roger Lemerre who guided them through Euro 2000. Zidane cemented his FIFA World Player of the Year form, scoring a direct free kick in the quarter-final against Spain and a golden goal penalty in the semi-final against Portugal.

In the finals, France defeated Italy 2-1 in a come from behind victory. David Trezeguet scored the golden goal in extra time after an equalizing goal from Wiltord. This gave them the distinction of being the first national team to hold both the World Cup and Euro titles since West Germany did so in 1974, and it was also the first time that a reigning World Cup winner went on to capture the Euro[2]. France held the top position in the FIFA World Rankings system from 2001-2002.

[edit] 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004

France failed to maintain that pace in subsequent tournaments. They suffered a stunning 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 had finished bottom of the group with 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.

[edit] 2006 World Cup

France struggled in the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, even though the team was seeded in a group that included the relatively unheralded teams of Israel, Switzerland and the Faroe Islands. 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 Ludovic Giuly's team-mate Ronaldinho and the top-ranked, 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 tournaments 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 third player to be sent off in a world cup final) for violent conduct when he headbutted Marco Materazzi with only ten minutes of extra-time remaining.

[edit] Euro 2008 Qualifiers

France started its qualifying round for Euro 2008 on September 2, 2006 by beating Georgia in Tbilisi 3-0.The goal scorers for this match were Malouda, Louis Saha and Malkhaz Asatiani (own goal). They then took on world champions Italy 3-1 in Paris on September 6, 2006 with Sidney Govou striking twice along with Henry, but suffered a huge upset when beaten 1-0 by Scotland on October 7, 2006, their first European Championship qualifying defeat since they lost 3-2 to Russia on June 5, 1999. On October 11, 2006, France defeated Faroe Islands by 5-0. All the French strikers that played in the match scored. Goals came from Louis Saha, Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and 2 goals from the Juventus striker David Trezeguet. France beat Lithuania March 24, 2007 with Bolton Wanderers striker Nicolas Anelka rescuing an injury hit French side by shooting a wonderful long range effort.The injuries suffered by France were Louis Saha, Thierry Henry, Frank Ribéry, Patrick Vieira,and David Trezeguet. France took on Ukraine on June 2, 2007 in Paris. Both team were hit by injuries with France missing Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry while Ukraine missed their world class striker Andriy Shevchenko.The game ended in a 2-0 victory with second half strikes from Franck Ribéry and Nicolas Anelka who scored his third goal in three matches. Then on June 6, 2007 France defeated Georgia in Auxerre by 1-0, with Samir Nasri scoring his first senior international goal. On September 8, 2007, in a much-anticipated rematch, France and Italy played to a 0-0 draw at the San Siro in Milan. Once again though, on September 12, 2007, France fell to Scotland and were defeated 1-0 after Landreau was caught off guard with a strike from Scotland's James McFadden adding another loss, but this time on their home (Parc des Princes) turf. On the October 12, 2007, Their match with the Faroe Islands, was threatened to be postponed after bad weather kept their plane from landing in the Faroe Islands, they had to spend the night in Norway. The next day however on 13 October 2007, the match went ahead as planned, albeit around 30 minutes after scheduled kick-off time with France taking just 8 minutes to open up a 2-0 lead, the match eventually finished 6-0 with strikes from Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, and 2 goals from Karim Benzema just before half time. In the second half Jerome Rothen and Hatem Ben Arfa completed the rout. With Italy's victory over Scotland on November 17, 2007, France qualified for Euro 2008. 1-0 on

[edit] Representing multicultural France

On the 2006 French national team, 17 of the 23 players were members of racial minorities, including many of the most prominent players. The team featured players from the overseas departments and players who are themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants from former French colonial territories. Zinédine Zidane is the child of an immigrant couple from Algeria. Vikash Dhorasoo — the first French player of Indian origin - played in the 2006 World Cup. Meanwhile, several players are of African or West Indian origin. Patrick Vieira immigrated as a child from Senegal, and Claude Makélélé did likewise from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lilian Thuram and William Gallas are from France's overseas department of Guadeloupe, while Éric Abidal was born in Martinique. Thierry Henry is the son of parents born in Guadeloupe and Martinique, while Louis Saha, Sylvain Wiltord, and Pascal Chimbonda all have parents who hail from Guadeloupe. Finally, Florent Malouda was born in French Guiana.

The French national football team has long reflected the ethnic diversity of the country. The first black player playing in the national team was Raoul Diagne in 1931, the son of the first black African elected to the French National Assembly, Blaise Diagne. In the 1950s, the first French national team reaching international success with a semi-final at the World Cup 1958 already included many sons of immigrants such as Raymond Kopa, Roger Piantoni, Maryan Wisnieski or Bernard Chiarelli. This tradition continued through the 1980s, when such successful players as Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Luis Fernandez, Gérard Janvion, Manuel Amoros or Eric Cantona multicultural French ideal.^[2] were all of either foreign-born or overseas-born ancestries. Since the 1990s, the team has been widely celebrated as an example of the modern

In recent years, critics on the far right of the French political spectrum have taken issue with the proportional underrepresentation of white Frenchmen on the team. National Front politician Jean-Marie Le Pen protested in 1998 that the Black, Blanc, Beur team that won the World Cup did not look sufficiently "French." In 2002, led by Ghanaian-born Marcel Desailly, the French team unanimously publicly appealled to the French voting public to reject the presidential candidacy of Le Pen and instead return President Jacques Chirac to office in a landslide. In 2006, Le Pen also resumed his criticism, charging that coach Raymond Domenech had selected too many black players.^[3]

In 2005, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut caused a controversy by remarking to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that despite its earlier slogan, "the French national team is in fact black-black-black," adding "France is made fun of all around Europe because of that." He later excused himself for this comment, which he declared was not meant to be offensive.^[4]

In 2004, a television crew recorded Spanish coach Luis Aragonés motivating Thierry Henry's Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes by saying Demuestra que eres mejor que ese negro de mierda ("Show that you're better than that shitty black"). After an investigation, UEFA fined the RFEF and warned that future incidents would be punished more severely. Henry and Nike Stand Up Speak Up campaign against football racism as a result of the incident. Before the start of France's 2006 World Cup second round match against Spain, which France would win 3-1, coach Raymond Domenech claimed that Spanish fans were making racial taunts[3], this however was not proved. began a

The Zidane-Materazzi headbutt incident in the 2006 World Cup final and its aftermath served as a symbol for the larger issue of Europe's struggle to integrate its non-white immigrant population: Even though both players denied it,^[5] international media speculated for days about the presence of a racist element in the exchange,^[6] observing that the Italian team contained no ethnic minorities.^[7]

The national team's overall impact on France's efforts to integrate its minorities and come to terms with its colonial past has been mixed, however. In 2001, France played a friendly match in the Stade de France, site of its 1998 World Cup triumph, against Algeria. It was France's first meeting with its former colony, with whom it had fought a war from 1954-62, and it proved controversial. France's national anthem, La Marseillaise, was booed by Algerian supporters before the game, and following a French goal that made the score 4-1 in the second half, spectators ran onto the field of play and caused the game to be suspended. It was never resumed.

italy pictures

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Italy national football team

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World Cup winners for the third time (1978–1982)

The 1978 FIFA World Cup, held in Argentina, saw a new generation of Italian players, the most famous being Paolo Rossi, coming to the international stage. Italy played very well in the first round, being the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina. Second round games against West Germany, Austria and Netherlands led Italy to the third place final, where it was defeated by Brazil 2-1. As in the match against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot and thus blamed as the main culprit for the defeat. Italy then hosted the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four, and with the host team automatically qualified for the finals. Italy was beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third place match on penalties.

After a scandal in Serie A where some National Team players such as Paolo Rossi were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting, the Azzurri arrived at the 1982 FIFA World Cup amidst general scepticism and discomfort. Italy qualified for the second round after three uninspiring draws against Poland, Peru and Cameroon. Having been loudly criticized, the Italian team decided on a press black-out from then on, with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the press.

Italy's strength finally showed in the second round group, a true Group of Death with Argentina Brazil - the defending champions and the team favoured to dethrone them. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2-1 over Diego Maradona's side after an ill-tempered battle in which Italy's defenders and midfielders proved their mastery in the rougher side of the game. Italy's goals, both excellent left-footed strikes, were scored by Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini. After Brazil defeated Argentina 3-1, Italy needed to win in order to advance to the semifinals. Twice Italy went in the lead with Paolo Rossi goals, and twice Brazil came back. When Paulo Roberto Falcão scored to make it 2-2 Brazil would have been through on goal difference; but in the 74th minute Rossi poked home the winning goal in a crowded penalty area to send Italy to the semifinals after one of the all-time greatest games in World Cup history[7]. In the wake of its brilliant second round performance, Italy easily dispatched Poland in the first semi-final with another two goals from Rossi. and

In the final match, Italy met their traditional opponent West Germany, who had advanced thanks to a penalty shootout victory against France. The first half ended scoreless, after Cabrini Hans-Peter Briegel foul on Bruno Conti. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two perfect counterattacks to make it 3-0. Paul Breitner smashed home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end, making him the second man after Pelé to score in two different World Cup finals. missed a penalty awarded for a

Tardelli's scream after his goal in the final is still remembered as the symbol of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph. Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals, and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup.

World Cup and European Championship runners-up (1984–2004)

For twenty-four years following the 1982 triumph, the Azzurri figured prominently on the world stage but did not win another tournament. Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship and were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the 1986 World Cup by France. 1988 saw them reach the semifinals of the European Championship, where they were defeated 2-0 by the USSR.

Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. The Italian attack featured talented forwards Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio. Despite being favourites[8] to win and not conceding a goal in their first five matches, Italy lost in the semifinal to defending champion Argentina, losing 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Schillaci's first half opener having been equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick (with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea). Italy went on to defeat England 2-1 in the third place match, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with 6 goals. Italy then failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship.

In the 1994 World Cup, Italy started very slowly but reached the final. They lost the opening match against Ireland 0-1, this being the only match Italy would lose (not counting games lost after shootout) over the span of three World Cup finals from 1990 to 1998 and one only of two games they have lost in regualar time since 1988 in either a Euro or World Cup (losing 2-1 to Czech Republic in the first round of Euro 1996 is the second one). After a gritty 1-0 win against Norway and a 1-1 draw with Mexico, Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points. In the Round of 16, Italy was down 0-1 late against Nigeria, but Roberto Baggio came to the rescue with a splended equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to snatch the win.^[3] Baggio scored another late goal against Spain in the quarter-final to seal a 2-1 win and two beautifully taken goals against Bulgaria in the semi-final for another 2-1 win.^[4]^[5] In the final, Italy and Brazil played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to penalty shootout. Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3-2 after Baggio missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.^[6]

Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the finals of Euro 96. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty against Germany, who eventually won the tournament. Then, during the qualifying campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Azzurri beat England at Wembley for the second time with Zola scoring the only goal. In the final tournament, Italy found themselves in another critical shootout for the third World Cup in a row. The Italian side, where Del Pierostaffetta (relay) between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team France to a 0-0 draw after extra time in the quarterfinals, but lost 4-3 in the shootout. With two goals scored in this tournament, Roberto Baggio is still the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions. and Baggio renewed the controversial

In the Euro 2000, another shootout was this time to favour Italy, in the semifinal against the co-hosts the Netherlands. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while the Dutch players missed one other penalty during the match and one during the shootout with a rate of one penalty scored out of six attempts. Emerging star Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a very brave cucchiaio (spoon) chip. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, unluckily losing the final 2–1 against France (to a golden goal in extra time) after conceding les Bleus' equalizing goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time (94'). After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being unfairly criticized by A.C. Milan president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.

In the 2002 World Cup, Italy again had a difficult time. A comfortable 2-0 victory against Ecuador with two Christian Vieri goals was followed by a 2-1 defeat to Croatia, a match in which Italy had two goals bizarrely disallowed. A 1-1 draw with Mexico thanks to a goal from Alessandro Del Piero proved enough to advance to the knockout stages. However, co-host country South Korea knocked out Italy in the Round of 16, reviving the 1966 nightmare. The match was marked by controversy, as Ecuadorean referee Byron Moreno gave Francesco Totti Damiano Tommasi. Replays seemed to indicate both that the card was unfounded and the goal was good, but the decisions stood and South Korea won 2-1, again with a golden goal in extra time.^[7]. a second yellow card in extra time for an alleged dive, and disallowed a goal in extra time by

A three-way tie in the group stage of the 2004 European Championship left Italy as the "odd man out", and they failed to qualify for the quarterfinals after finishing behind Denmark and Sweden on the basis of number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams.^[8] The winning goal scored during stoppage time against Bulgaria by Antonio Cassano resulted useless, leaving the Italian striker in tears at the end of the game.

2006 World Cup: Champions for the fourth time

Italy's campaign in the 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany was accompanied by open pessimism[9] due to the controversy caused by the 2006 Serie A scandal. These negative predictions were then refuted, as Azzurri eventually won their fourth World Cup.

Italy won their opening game in style against a spirited Ghana side 2-0, with goals from the excellent Andrea Pirlo (40') and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta (83'). The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA president Sepp Blatter [10].

The second match was a much less convincing 1-1 draw with USA, with Alberto Gilardino's diving header equalized by a Cristian Zaccardo own goal. After the equalizer, midfielder Daniele De Rossi and the USA's Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were sent off, leaving only nineteen men on the field for nearly the entirety of the second half, but the score remained unchanged despite a controversial decision when Gennaro Gattuso's shot was deflected in but disallowed for a non-existent offside. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing American player Brian McBride and could only return for the final match.

Italy finished on top of Group E with a neat 2-0 win against the Czech Republic, with goals from defender Marco Materazzi (26') and striker Filippo Inzaghi (87'), advancing to the Round of 16 knockout stages, where Australia was beaten 1-0. In this match, Materazzi was controversially sent off early in the second half (53') after a two footed tackle on Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano. In stoppage time a controversial penalty kick was awarded to Italy after a tackling from Australian defender Lucas Neill against Fabio Grosso. Francesco Totti converted it, thus winning the match for Italy. in the

In the quarterfinals Italy dispatched Ukraine 3-0. Gianluca Zambrotta opened the scoring early (6') with a left-footed blast from outside the area and Luca Toni added two more (59' and 69'). Manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.^[9]

In the semi-final, which would be remembered as the most memorable game of the event, Italy beat hosts Germany 2-0 with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra time. After an exciting half hour of extra time during which Gilardino and Zambrotta struck the post and the crossbar respectively, Grosso scored in the 119th minute after a disguised Pirlo pass found him open in the penalty area for a bending left-footed shot into the far corner past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's despairing dive. Substitute striker Alessandro Del Piero then sealed the victory by scoring with the last kick of the game at the end of a swift counterattack.

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating France in Berlin, on July 9, 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring in the 7th minute with a chipped penalty kick, controversially awarded for a foul by Materazzi. Twelve minutes later, a powerful header by Materazzi from a perfectly placed corner by Pirlo brought Italy level. In the second half, a headed goal by Toni was disallowed for a very close offside which was nevertheless correct. At 110', Zidane was sent off after a head butt, allegedly provoked by an insult by Materazzi; the two players were eventually fined by FIFA for this incident. Italy then won the penalty shoot-out 5-3, the crucial penalty being David Trézéguet's attempt which hit the crossbar and stayed out unlike Zidane's during the match. Italy scored all five attempts in a shootout for the first time ever (Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi, Del Piero and Grosso). Grosso's conversion of the final penalty past French keeper Barthez crowned a superb tournament for him and the team.

Ten different players scored for Italy and five goals out of twelve were scored by substitutes, while four goals were scored by defenders. Seven players - Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Totti and Toni - were named to the 23-man tournament All Star Team.^[10] Buffon also won the Lev Yashin Award, given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament; he conceded only two goals in the tournament, the first an own goal by Zaccardo and the second from Zidane's penalty, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.^[11]

After the World Cup

Days after the Italian triumph in the World Cup, Lippi announced his resignation.^[12]1994 World Cup star Roberto Donadoni was announced the new coach of the Azzurri on July 13. Italy played in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with France. Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up.^[13] On February 14, 2007, FIFA ranked Italy 1st in the FIFA World Rankings, with a total of 1488 points, 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina. This moved them up one from their previous rank, 2nd. The Azzurri had not received such an honour since 1993.^[14]

italy wallpaper

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Italy national football team

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

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 Cup Olympic Gold Medal (1936). and one

The traditional colour of the national team (as well as of all Italian teams and athletes except in motor sports) is light blue^[1] (azzurro, in Italian), and therefore national team members are nicknamed Azzurri.

History

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.^[2]

The first success in an official tournament came with the bronze medal in 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam. After losing the semi-final against Uruguay, a victory for 11-3 against Egypt secured third place in the competition.

After declining to participate in the first World Cup (1930, in Uruguay), the Italian national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938, under the lead of coach Vittorio Pozzo and thanks to the genius of Giuseppe Meazza, one of the best Italian players ever. Other stars of that era included Luis Monti, Giovanni Ferrari, Silvio Piola and Virginio Rosetta.

Poster of 1934 World Cup edition.

In the 1934 World Cup, the host Azzurri defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio.

Italy won the Gold medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, thanks to a victory in the final match against Austria.

Italy's predominance on international football in the 1930s was confirmed by the victory in 1938 World Cup. The Italian team beat Hungary 4–2 in Paris, with two goals by Silvio Piola (the all-time top scorer in Italian football) and two by Gino Colaussi.

Post-World War II (1946–1966)

After World War II, the Italian national team did not perform at its pre-war levels.

The tragic loss in 1949 of the players of Torino (the winners of the previous four Serie A titles) in the Superga air disaster saw the loss of ten out of the eleven constituting the initial line-up for the national team. The following year, Italy did not advance further than the first round of the 1950 World Cup, partly due to the long and physically devastating boat trip to Brazil.

In the World Cup finals of 1954 and the 1962 that followed, Italy again failed to progress past the first round, and did not even qualify for the 1958 World Cup. During the early 1960s, although Italian football clubs like AC Milan and Internazionale ruled the international scene, the National team was unable to replicate these results. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 (then known as the European Nations Cup), and was knocked out by the USSR in the round of 16 (second round) of the 1964 European Championship.

Their participation in the 1966 World Cup is always remembered for their 0–1 defeat at the hands of North Korea. Despite being the tournament favourites, the Azzurri, whose 1966 squad was rich with talent including Rivera and Bulgarelli, were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans and bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Doo-Ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath.[6].

European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1976)

In 1968, the Azzurri won their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, defeating Yugoslavia in Rome for the European Championship title. The match holds the distinction of being the only major football tournament final to go to a replay. After extra time it ended in a 1-1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, the rules required the match to be replayed a few days later. Italy won the replay 2-0 (with goals from Riva and Anastasi) to lift the trophy.

Two years later, the defending European Champions reached the final of the 1970 World Cup, held in Mexico. First, Italy won its first round group scoring only one goal, after a series of dull, uninspired games against Sweden, Uruguay, and Israel. The quarter-finals saw a transformed Italy prevail 4-1 over host Mexico after trailing 0-1. Then came the semifinal between Italy and West Germany which is remembered as one of the greatest games ever played. This match, won by Italy 4-3 after extra time, is known as the Game of the Century, and a marker at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City still commemorates it. Italy took a 1-0 lead through Boninsegna in the 8th minute, leaving Germany to press forward for the rest of the game. The score remained unchanged until the very end when sweeper Schnellinger, then with Italy's AC Milan, popped up unmarked in the penalty area to score in injury time. In extra time, Müller gave Germany the lead on 94' before defender Burgnich levelled the score with a rare international goal. On 104', Riva made it 3-2, only for Müller to equalize six minutes later with a glancing header. The TV cameras were still replaying this goal when Rivera met a Boninsegna cross with a first-time shot past Sepp Maier for the winning goal in the 111th minute. For the very first time, people gathered in the streets of Italy in the late night to cheer for the victory, and after many years this game still remains the best remembered in Italian football history.

In the two games against Mexico and West Germany, coach Ferruccio Valcareggi had Rivera replace Mazzola in a planned second half substitution, which was called staffetta (meaning relay as in athletics). This tactic was not repeated in the final, where Italy was defeated by Brazil. In the first half, Boninsegna answered Pelé's 18th minute goal to level the scores. In the second half, Brazil's firepower was simply too much for a tired Italian side, with Jairzinho, Gerson and Carlos Alberto each scoring. The final 4-1 result consecrated Brazil as tri-campeão (three-time champion).

This generation of great Italian players, like Riva, Rivera, Mazzola and Facchetti, did not keep up the same level of performance at the next 1972 European Championship where they did not reach the playoffs. In 1973 they achieved prestigious victories in friendly matches, beating Brazil once and England twice. In particular, Italy stormed Wembley Stadium, winning 1-0 with a goal by Fabio Capello. Despite these encouraging results, coach Valcareggi resigned after the Italian team's elimination in the first round of the 1974 World Cup. Italy was also eliminated at an early stage in 1976 European Championship.

Italy national football team

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History

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.^[2]

Poster of 1934 World Cup edition.

In the 1934 World Cup, the host Azzurri defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio.

Italy won the Gold medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, thanks to a victory in the final match against Austria.

Post-World War II (1946–1966)

After World War II, the Italian national team did not perform at its pre-war levels.

European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1976)

Brazil

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Brazil

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1974–1990

After the international retirement of Pelé and other stars, Brazil were not able to overcome Holland's Total Football and could not defend its title in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place.

The 1978 FIFA World Cup was notoriously controversial. In the second group stage Brazil were competing with tournament hosts Argentina for top spot and a place in the Finals. In their last group match, Brazil defeated Poland 3-1 to go top of the group with a goal difference of +5. Argentina were only on a goal difference of +2, but in their last group match, they managed to defeat Peru 6-0 and thus qualify for the final. Brazil were forced to settle for the third place match, where they defeated Italy 2-1. The controversy stemmed from the fact that not only was the Peruvian goalkeeper Ramón Quiroga born in Argentina, but had only let in 6 goals in the previous 5 matches, whereas the Argentines had only scored 6 goals in the tournament up to that point. Both Argentina and Peru have always denied any wrongdoing. Because of this and the fact that Brazil was the only undefeated team of the whole tournament, many Brazilians consider themselves the moral victors of this World Cup.

In the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the team played beautifully, with talents such as Zico, Falcão and Sócrates, under the coaching of the late Telê Santana, considered one of the best Brazilian coaches of all time. They won their group in the first round group, then beat Argentina 3–1 in their first second-round match. The tournament favourites Brazil could make do with a draw, but a 3–2 defeat to Italy, in one of the classic games in finals history, eliminated them from the tournament. Paolo Rossi scored all three of Italy's goals. The seleção was defeated in the match they still refer to as the "Sarrias Disaster", a reference to the stadium's name, and Telê would be much blamed for using an attacking system while a 2-2 draw was enough. The 1982 squad is remembered as one of the greatest teams to be eliminated from the World Cup. After Brazil's quarter-final defeat in the 2006 World Cup, captain Cafu compared his squad to the 1982 team.

In 1986, Telê and several players of 1982 returned to play in the World Cup hosted by Mexico. The players were older but still capable of an enchanting performance. They were troubled, however, by an injury Zico picked up before the World Cup. Incessant questions about whether and when he could play undoubtedly had some negative effect on the team. Brazil met France in the quarter-finals and the match is considered an absolute classic of "total football". Neither side deserved to lose but when Zico finally came on in the second half (with the score 1-1), and Brazil were awarded a penalty late in the game, Brazil seemed set to win. But Zico, the hero of a whole generation of Brazilian football fans, missed the penalty - and after a goalless but thoroughly exciting extra time it all came down to a penalty shoot out. There Zico managed to score from his penalty but Júlio César da Silva and Sócrates missed, and Brazil was out. Memories of the afternoon at Sarria's came back to haunt the crowd.

In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Brazil was coached by Sebastião Lazaroni, who was hardly known before the Cup and became even more anonymous afterwards. With a defensive scheme, whose main symbol was mid-fielder Dunga, and three full-backs, the team lacked creativity but made it to the second round. Against a weaker Argentinian side, the Brazilians applied heavy pressure and had numerous chances to score, but it was Claudio Caniggia who managed to find Brazil's net and eliminate them.

[edit] More successes (1994–2002)

[edit] World Cup 1994

Only in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, 24 years after winning the World Cup in Mexico, were they able to win another title. The struggles ended in World Cup USA with a final against 1970 opponents Italy. A dour and defensive final finished 0–0 after extra time, so Brazil and Italy competed in the first penalty shootout for a World Cup in the history of the tournament, and Brazil won when Roberto Baggio missed the final penalty. Romário was acknowledged as the most important player of this Cup who lead Brazil to a record fourth World Cup title, scoring five goals including the game-winning header against Sweden in the semifinals. The Brazilians refer to this cup as the Cup that Romário won for Brazil.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

Next they defeated Belgium 2-0. Against England in the quarter finals, Brazil won 2-1, which had been the most difficult match till then. Ronaldinho scored a remarkable goal and assisted teammate Rivaldo for the victory goal, but was then sent off. The semifinal was against Turkey, which Brazil had faced in their group. Again, this match was difficult, as Brazil won 1–0 with a goal by Ronaldo. Rivaldo had scored one goal each in all five game up to this one but did not manage to hit the target in the sixth. He had seemed all set to repeat Jairzinho´s great achievement in 1970 when he scored in every game of the World Cup.

The final was between two of the most successful teams in the competition's history: Germany West Germany) or Brazil had played in all World Cup finals since 1950 - except 1978 (If the last game of 1950 is considered to be a proper final). German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had been the tournament's best keeper, but could not maintain that level of play, as Ronaldo vanquished his France '98 demons, scoring both goals in the Brazilian 2-0 triumph. and Brazil. Either Germany (or

Incredibly, these teams had never played each other in the World Cup before. There was however a match between Brazil and East Germany in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Brazil won 1–0.

Ronaldinho's goal in a friendly match against Haiti: 19-8-2004.

[edit] 2002–2005

On June 29, 2005 Brazil won the Confederations Cup for the second time with an emphatic 4-1 victory over arch-rivals Argentina in Frankfurt, Germany. They also won another championship, the 2004 Copa América in which Brazil defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout. Argentina had defeated Peru in the quarterfinals, and Colombia in the semifinals.

[edit] World Cup 2006

Main article: Brazil at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Entering the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Brazil were seen as heavy favorites to repeat their success at the previous cup. Brazil beat Croatia 1-0, Australia 2-0, Japan 4-1, the first two being hard-fought matches, to come out at the top of their group. However, Ronaldo was heavily criticized by the press for being overweight and in poor fitness and did not find his scoring form until the match against Japan.

During the second round, they defeated Ghana 3-0. However, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals against France by a score of 1-0 whom Thierry Henry scored the winning goal. France was led by a rejuvenated Zinedine Zidane and by a strong defense which kept the Brazilian strikers under check for the duration of the game, Brazil were shut out, attempting just one shot at French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. The game was also notable for being the first time that the Brazil team had been shut out in consecutive matches against a particular team. France now has a 2-1-1 all-time record against Brazil in World Cup play.

After the result of 2006, the team was criticized by many Brazilians. Some, such as Pelé, blamed coach Parreira and Ronaldinho for the team's early elimination.^[5] The night after Brazil's defeat, vandals burned and destroyed a 7-meter tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in the Brazilian city of Chapecó, which had been erected in 2004 to celebrate Ronaldinho's first election as FIFA World Player of the Year.^[6] Roberto Carlos^[7] and Juninho Pernambucano each announced their retirement from the team and Juninho asserted that it was time for the players over 30 to retire from the team.^[8] Cafu, the Brazilian captain, made an infamous comparison between the team of 2006 and the team at 1982 World Cup, one that is remembered as one of the greatest teams that lost a World Cup.^[9] Two days after the loss, Ronaldinho and Adriano^[10] This reaction contrasted with other players such as Rogerio Ceni, who was ashamed of the game and said "some defeats are marked by struggle, but we lost in an infelicitous way, that wasn't what we had hoped for",^[11] and Zé Roberto, who cried and said that "the unity that we had outside the pitch, was lacking inside it".^[12] On July 19, Parreira resigned as the team coach. partied through the night in Barcelona, increasing the feeling of the Brazilians that they were betrayed by their national team.

[edit] After the 2006 World Cup

1994 World Cup champion Dunga was hired as Brazil's new team coach on July 24. His first match in charge was against Norway which was played in Oslo on August 16, ended in a 1-1 draw. His second match was held against arch rivals Argentina on September 3 in Arsenal F.C.'s new Emirates Stadium in London, in which Brazil defeated Argentina by a 3-0 scoreline. On 5 September they defeated Wales 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur F.C.'s White Hart Lane ground. They later defeated Kuwait club, Al-Kuwait 4-0, Ecuador 2-1 and had a 2-1 away win against Switzerland.

Dunga's first defeat as Brazil's coach occurred in February 2007 in a friendly match against Portugal, which is coached by former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. In March 2007, Brazil bounced back from their first defeat under Dunga with wins in friendly matches against Chile Ghana (1-0) in Sweden. (4-0) and

Unlike Parreira, Dunga has focused on the task of unemphasizing all players and treating them as equals. He did not just look for players in popular clubs such as AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid, etc., but looked at the whole scope of Europe, finding individual talents such as Daniel Carvalho, Vagner Love and Dudu Cearense of Russian club CSKA Moscow and also Elano of Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, currently now he has moved to Manchester City. Of the former Magic Quartet, Ronaldinho and Kaká were the only players who had a regular place in the Brazil squad. Adriano was called back in the squad for a friendly against Portugal in February 2007 which Brazil lost 0-2. Dunga is yet to select the last member of the Magic Quartet, Ronaldo.

[edit] 2007 Copa America

Dunga took the Brazilians to Venezuela, for the 2007 Copa America. They were placed in a group with Mexico, Ecuador, and Chile. In Group B, Brazil surprisingly lost to Mexico 2-0, then bounced back with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Chile, and suffered but won 1-0 against the Ecuadorians. They advanced to the quarter-finals, where they crushed Chile again 6-1. The Semi-Final game against Uruguay was slightly controversial. For the most part, Uruguay tackled and played violently, and the game ended 2-2, off to penalty shootouts. Brazil won 5-4. Their opponent in the final was to be Argentina. Brazil and Argentina met in the finals, and Argentina were heavy favourites. But in the 4th minute of the final, Julio Baptista dribbled past a couple of defenders, and scored an absolutely beautiful goal, surprising the Argentinian team. Then in the 45th Minute, defender Roberto Ayala scored an own goal. It was now 2-0. The first half ended 2-0. The second half began, and later in the 69th minute, Daniel Alves received the ball from a Vagner Love cross and flew off to the goal posts, shooting it into the side of the net and making it 3-0. Brazil won the 2007 Copa America, with Robinho being the top scorer.

Brazil Wallpaper

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Brazil

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Brazil

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The Brazil national football team is controlled 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."^[1] Currently ranked second by FIFA, Brazil is generally considered to be the strongest football nation in the world played in every World Cup.
and is the only team to have

Early history

The first match of the Brazil national football team is generally considered to be a 1916 match between a Rio and São Paulo select team and the English club Exeter City F.C., which the Brazilian team won 2–0.^[2] In contrast to future successes, the nation's early appearances were far from brilliant, partly due to internal strife within Brazilian football over professionalism, which rendered the Brazilian Football Confederation unable to field full-strength teams.

n particular, disputes between the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro state football federations meant that the team would not be composed of players coming from either of the federations. In both the 1930 and 1934 tournaments, Brazil were knocked out at the very first stage. But 1938 was a sign of things to come, as Brazil finished a strong third, with Leonidas da Silva making history and being the first player to score four goals in a World Cup match.

Brazil hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup which was the first tournament to be held after World War II. It is the only time Brazil has hosted the tournament to date. The 1950 tournament was unique in not having a single final, but rather a final round-robin stage of four teams; however, to all intents and purposes the deciding game between Brazil and Uruguay acted as that tournament's "final". The match was hosted at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro, watched by 199,854 people, and Brazil only needed a draw to win, but lost the match 2-1 after being 1-0 up; this match has since been known in South America as "Maracanazo". In Brazil it is called "Final Fatídica" ("fateful final").^[3]

For the 1954 FIFA World Cup, in Switzerland, the Brazilian team was almost completely renovated, so as to forget the Maracanã defeat, but still had a group of good players, including Nílton Santos, Djalma Santos, and Didi. Brazil didn't go very far though. The quarterfinals saw the favorites Hungary beat Brazil 4-2 in one of the ugliest matches in football history, which would become infamous as the Battle of Berne.

[edit] The Golden Era and Pele (1958 to 1970)

Brazil's coach, Vicente Feola imposed strict rules on the squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, held in Sweden. The players were given a list of forty things that they were not allowed to do, including wearing hats or umbrellas, smoking while wearing official clothing and talking to the press outside of allocated times. They were the only team to bring a psychologist (because the memories of 1950 still affected some players) or a dentist (for, because of their humble origins, many players had dental problems, which caused infections and also had negative impact on performance) with them, and had sent a representative to Europe to watch the qualifying matches a year before the tournament began.

Brazil were drawn in the toughest group, with England, the USSR and Austria. They beat Austria 3–0 in their first match, then drew 0–0 with England. The Brazilians had been worried about their match with the USSR who had exceptional fitness and were one of the favourites to win the tournament; their strategy was to take risks at the beginning of the match to try and score an early goal. Before the match, the leaders of the team, Bellini, Nílton Santos, and Didi, spoke to coach Vicente Feola and persuaded him to make three substitutions which were crucial for Brazil to defeat the Soviets and win the Cup: Zito, Garrincha, and Pelé would start playing against the USSR. From the kick off, they passed the ball to Garrincha who beat three players before hitting the post with a shot. They kept up the pressure relentlessly, and after three minutes which were later described as "the greatest three minutes in the history of football",^[4]Wales, and they beat France 5–2 in the semi-final. Brazil beat the hosts Sweden, in the final 5-2, winning their first World Cup and becoming the first nation to win a World Cup title outside of its own continent. A celebrated fact was that Feola would sometimes take naps during training sessions and would sometimes close his eyes during matches, giving the impression that he was asleep. Because of this, Didi was sometimes said to be the real coach of the team, as he commanded the mid-field. Vavá gave Brazil the lead. They won the match 2–0. Pelé scored the only goal of their quarter-final match against

In the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Brazil got its second title with Garrincha as the star player; a mantle and responsibility bestowed upon him after regular talisman, Pelé, was injured during the first group match against Mexico and unable to play for the rest of the tournament.

In the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the preparation of the team was affected by political influences. All the major Brazilian clubs wanted their players included in the Brazilian team, to give them more exposure. In the final months of preparation, the coach Vicente Feola was working with 46 players, of which only 22 would go to England; this caused lots of internal dispute and psychological pressure. The result was that, in 1966, Brazil had their worst performance in all World Cups. Of course, another perhaps bigger issue, was that Pelé (who may have been at the height of his career) was chopped at seemingly every opportunity in the group matches.

Brazil won its third World Cup in Mexico in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Brazil fielded what has been considered to be the best football squad ever, led by Pelé in his last World Cup final, captain Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson and Rivelino. After winning the Jules Rimet Trophy for the third time Brazil were allowed to keep it for good.

Galatasaray Pictures

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Galatasaray Wallpaper

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Galatasaray

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Galatasaray History

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Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (in English: Galatasaray Sports Club) or Galatasaray SK is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul which is famous for its football section; Galatasaray is the most successful Turkish club in history. Galatasaray S.K. is the most successful club in the history of Turkish football, having won more trophies than any other Turkish club.^[1]Founded in 1905 by Ali Sami Yen and his fellows from the prestigious Galatasaray High School, Galatasaray currently has 16 Turkish league championships, and also won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2000. Galatasaray also topped the world club ranking to be named "Best Football Club in the World" in January of 2001.^[2]

Galatasaray is one of only two teams to have won the UEFA Cup without being beaten in a single match and is also the first team to win the competition after finishing third place in the Champions League group stage. In winning the UEFA Cup during the 1999-2000 season, beating Arsenal of England on penalties, Galatasaray became the first Turkish football club ever to win a European trophy. Galatasaray also holds the world record of most games won in a row at home (25 games in a row: 13 May 2001 - 8 December 2002).

Galatasaray was founded in the autumn of 1905 by Galatasaray Lisesi students as a football Ali Sami Yen. Their first match was against Kadıköy Faure School and they won this match 2-0.^[3] There were discussions about the club's name, in which some suggested Gloria (victory) and others Audace (courage), but it was decided that its name would be Galatasaray.^[4] club. Galatasaray's first president was

According to researcher Cem Atabeyoğlu, Galatasaray took its name from one of its first matches. In that match, Galatasaray won 2-0 over Rûm club and the spectators called them "Galata Sarayı efendileri" (in English: Gentlemen of Galata Palace), and, after this event, they adopted that name and started to call their club "Galata Sarayı". In 1905, during the era of the Ottoman Empire, there weren't any laws for associations so the club couldn't be registered officially, but, after the 1912 Law of Association, the club registered legally.^[5]

“	Our aim is to play together like Englishmen, to have a color and a name and to beat the non - Turkish teams.	”
—Ali Sami Yen

This was how the first Turkish football club was founded. Among with the founder Ali Sami Yen, the co-founders were the ones who were keen to do this sport, such as Asim Tevfik Sonumut, Reşat Şirvani, Cevdet Kalpakçıoğlu, Abidin Daver and Kamil.

At first, the colors of the Galatasaray Sports Club were red and white. These are the colors in Turkish flag. However, Turkish Republic wasn't founded at that time. Therefore, this inspiration caused repressive administration of the day feel uncomfortable and the administration hounded the footballers. For this reason, the colors were changed.

New colors were chosen as red and yellow. Ali Sami Yen stated, "We were imagining brightness of yellow - red fire over our team and thinking that it would carry us from one victory to another."^[5] It eventually did.

Since there weren't any Turkish teams, Galatasaray joined the Istanbul League that was consisting of English and Greek teams in the season of 1905-1906. With their first championship title they won in 1907-1908, they heralded the beginning of Turkish football history.^[6]

While the football in Turkey began to fully develop, Galatasaray won ten more Istanbul LeagueSunday League titles and three Friday League titles until 1952. Upon recognition of professional football in 1952, the first professional but nonnational league of Turkey, Istanbul Professional League played between 1952-1959. Galatasaray won three of these seven titles. titles, six

Türkiye Profesyonel 1. Ligi (today it is organized with the name Turkcell Super League) formed in 1959. This is the top-flight professional league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country. Galatasaray joined all seasons and won 16 league titles since then.^[7]

The Turkish Football Federation starts to organize "Turkish Cup" (today it is organized with the name Fortis Turkey Cup) in the 1962-63 season for Turkish clubs to qualify for the UEFA^[8] competitions. This is the only national cup competition in Turkey. Galatasaray joined all seasons and won 14 trophies since then.

Probably the greatest record that club holds is winning national championships in 13 different sport branches in 1986-87 season.

Galatasaray's most successful era came in late 1990s, when the club won the UEFA Cup and European Super Cup and becoming the first Turkish football club ever to win an European trophy. They were aided in this by one of Turkey's best generation of home grown footballers who went on to finish third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played quarter finals of UEFA Euro 2000. Besides the talented players, visiting teams also disliked travelling into Ali Sami Yen Stadium which is literally called "Hell" by the supporters of Galatasaray due to the intimidating atmosphere provided by the fans including chants and riots in the crowds. ^[9]

Galatasaray is the only team to have won the Turkish League title, the Turkish Cup, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in the same season. Galatasaray holds the record of winning four consecutive Turkish league titles, which all of these came under the coaching of Fatih Terim and the visionary club president Faruk Süren.

There are many successful footballers played for Galatasaray and made their mark on Turkish football history. Few examples may be 1930's national hero Eşfak Aykoç^[10], Boduri who tragically died in age of 21^[11], Mehmet Leblebi who scored a domestic record of 14 goals in a match^[12], Gündüz Kılıç nicknamed Baba (father) who was the coach but also the player of his team in 1950's with great success on both^[13], Bülent-Reha Eken brothers, Suat Mamat who made a hat-trick in 1954 World Cup^[14], Coşkun Özarı a life devoted to Galatasaray^[15], Turgay Şeren the heroic goalkeeper that called "the Panther of Berlin"^[16], Fatih Terim the team captain of Galatasaray and Turkish National Football team for years and the current coach^[17], Metin Oktay the legendery six time top scorer of Turkish league^[18], Zoran Simović another skilled goalkeeper known for his penalty saves^[19], Cüneyt Tanman played a record of 342 games for Galatasaray^[20], Tanju Çolak extraordinary goalscorer and European Golden Boot 1988 winner with Galatasaray^[21], Cevad Prekazi an Albanian teammate of Tanju specializing in free kicks^[22], Taffarel the world cup winner goalkeeper of Brazil^[23], Gheorghe Hagi Romanian football hero that still described as the best foreign player ever to play in Turkey^[24], and last but not least, Hakan Şükür, the player who scored most goals in the first division of Turkish football history (242 goals) and still scoring.

Juventus F.C. Pic

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Juventus F.C. Photo

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Juventus Football Club Pictures

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Juventus Turin

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Juventus Club

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Juventus Football Club

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Juventus FC History

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History

Juventus were founded as Sport Club Juventus in late 1897 by pupils from the Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum school in Turin,^[12] but were renamed as Football Club Juventus two years later.^[13] The club joined the Italian Football Championship during 1900, wearing their original pink and black kit. Juventus first won the league championship in 1905 while playing at their Velodromo Umberto I ground and wearing their famous black and white stripes.^[14]

There was a split at the club in 1906, after some of the staff considered moving Juve out of Turin.^[15] President Alfredo Dick was unhappy with this and left with some prominent players to found FBC Torino which in turn spawned the Derby della Mole.^[16] Juventus spent much of this period steadily rebuilding after the split, surviving the First World War.^[14]

League dominance

Fiat owner Edoardo Agnelli gained control of the club in 1923, building a new stadium.^[17] This helped the club to their second league championship by the 1925–26 season beating Alba Roma Antonio Vojak's goals were essential that season.^[14] The 1930s proved to be even more fruitful, the club won five consecutive league titles from 1930 through to 1935, most were under coach Carlo Carcano^[14] with star players such as Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari and Luis Monti amongst others. with an aggregate score of 12–1,

Juventus had a new ground in the form of the Stadio Comunale, though for the rest of the 1930s and the majority of the 1940s they were unable to recapture championship dominance. After the Second World War, Gianni Agnelli was put in place as honorary president.^[17] 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

Two new strikers were signed during 1957–58, in the form of Welshman John Charles and Italo-Argentine Omar Sivori, playing alongside longtime member Giampiero Boniperti. That season saw Juventus awarded with the Golden Star for Sport Excellence to wear on their shirt after becoming the first Italian side to win ten league titles. In the same season, Omar Sivori became the first ever player at the club to win the European Footballer of the Year.^[18] The following season they beat Fiorentina to complete their first league and cup double, winning Serie A and Coppa Italia. 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.^[19]

For the rest of the decade the club won the league just once more in 1966–67,^[14] However, the 1970s would see Juventus further solidify their strong position in Italian football. Under former player Čestmír Vycpálek they won the scudetto in 1971–72 and 1972–73,^[14] with players such as Roberto Bettega, Franco Causio and José Altafini breaking through. During the rest of the decade they won the league two more times, with defender Gaetano Scirea contributing significantly. The latter of which was won under Giovanni Trapattoni, the man who would help the club's domination continue on in the early part of the 1980s.^[20]

European stage

The Trapattoni-era was highly successful in the 1980s, the Old Lady started the decade off well, winning the league title three more times by 1984.^[14] This meant Juventus had won 20 Italian league titles and were allowed to add a second golden star to their shirt, thus becoming the only Italian club to achieve this.^[20] Around this time the club's players were garnering attention on a large scale; Paolo Rossi was made European Footballer of the Year and had led Italy to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.^[21]

Frenchman Michel Platini was also awarded the European Footballer of the Year title for three years in a row; 1983, 1984 and 1985, which is a record.^[18] Juventus are the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years.^[18] Indeed it was Platini who scored the winning goal in the 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool, however this 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."^[22]

With the exception of winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985–86, 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 won Italian championships.^[14]Stadio delle Alpi which was built for the 1990 World Cup.^[23] In 1990, Juventus moved into their new home;

The Lippi era

Gianluca VialliEuropean Cup for Juventus in 1996. lifting the

Marcello Lippi took over as Juventus manager at the start of the 1994–95 campaign.^[24] His first season at the helm of the club was a successful one, as Juventus recorded their first Serie A 1980s.^[14] The crop of players during this period featured Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero. Lippi lead Juventus to the Champions League the following season, beating Ajax on penalties after a 1–1 draw in which Fabrizio Ravanelli scored for Juve.^[25] championship title since the mid-

The club did not rest long after winning the European Cup, more highly regarded players were brought into the fold in the form of Zinédine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi and Edgar Davids.^[26] At home Juventus won Serie A in 1996–97 and 1997–98, as well as the European Super Cup. Juventus reached the 1997 and 1998 Champions League finals during this period, but lost out to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.^[27]

After leaving for a brief season, Lippi returned, signing big name players such as Gianluigi Buffon.^[28], David Trézéguet, Pavel Nedvěd and Lilian Thuram, helping the team to two more scudetto titles in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons.^[14] Juventus were also part of an all Italian Champions League final in 2003 but lost out to AC Milan on penalties after the game ended in a 0–0 draw. The following year, Lippi was appointed as Italy's head coach, bringing an end to one of the most fruitful managerial spell in Juventus' history.^[20]

Recent times

Fabio Capello became manager of Juventus in 2004, and lead Juventus to two more Serie A titles. But during May 2006, Juventus were one of four clubs linked to a Serie A match fixing scandal, the result of the scandal saw the club relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history, as well as being stripped of the two titles won under Capello.^[29]

Many key players were sold, however, other big name players remained to help the club return to Serie A. The season was notable because Alessandro Del Piero broke club records, by becoming the first Juventus player to appear 500 times in all competitions for the club.^[30] The bianconeri were promoted straight back up as league winners after the 2006–07 season. For their return to Serie A in the 2007–08 season former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri is at the helm of the Old Lady.^[31]

Juventus Wallpaper

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Juventus History

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Juventus Football Club (from Latin^[3] iuventus: youth, IPA: [ju.ˈvɛn.tus]), commonly referred to as simply Juventus or Juve, is a football club from Turin, Italy. With the exception of one season,^[4] the club has spent its entire history in the top flight of Italian football.^[5] After winning Serie B, Juventus were promoted back to Serie A for the 2007–08 season.

Juventus is the most successful^[4] team in the history of Italian football. Overall, Juventus have won 51 official trophies, more than any other Italian team; 40 in Italy, which is also a record, and 11 in European and world competitions. Juventus is the third most successful club from Europe^[6] and fifth in the world^[6] with the most international titles recognized by UEFA^[7] and FIFA.

In 1985, Juventus, the only team in the world to have won all international cups and championships^[7] (which includes all official European competitions^[7] and the Intercontinental Champions Clubs' Cup^[8]), became the first club in the history of European football to have won all three Major European trophies^[9]. The torinese team is also one of the G-14’s founding members, a group that represents eighteen of the largest and most prestigious^[10] European football clubs.

At present, Juventus play their home games at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino while their full-time stadium, Stadio delle Alpi is having structural changes and will not be completed for use until 2008.^[2]^[11]

Football Club Chelsea Photos

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Football Club Chelsea Picture

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Football Club Chelsea Wallpaper

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Football Club Chelsea History

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Chelsea Football Club (also known as The Blues or previously The Pensioners) are an English professional football club based in west London. Founded in 1905, they play in the 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 and two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups.^[2]

Chelsea's home is the 42,055 capacity^[1] Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their foundation. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, the club was bought by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich.^[3]

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.^[4] Chelsea are one of the best-supported clubs in the United Kingdom, with an estimated four million fans.^[5]

History

March 14, 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards. The club's early years saw little success; the closest they came to winning a major trophy was reaching the FA Cup final in 1915, where they lost to Sheffield United. Chelsea gained a reputation for signing big-name players^[6] and for being entertainers, but made little impact on the English game in the inter-war years.

Former England centre-forward Ted Drake became manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League and the FA Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started.^[7]

The 1960s saw the emergence of a talented young Chelsea side under manager Tommy Docherty. They challenged for honours throughout the decade, and endured several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two.^[8] In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. In 1970 Chelsea were FA Cup winners, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the following year, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.

The late 1970s and the 1980s were a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club,^[9] star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade.^[10] Chelsea were, at the nadir of their fortunes, acquired by Ken Bates for the nominal sum of £1, although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home.^[11] On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.

After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash.^[12] Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the FA Cup final in 1994. It was not until the appointment of former European Footballer of the Year Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 that their fortunes changed. He added several top-class international players to the side, particularly Gianfranco Zola, as the club won the FA Cup in 1997 and established themselves as one of England's top sides again. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, who led the team to victory in the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2000. Vialli was sacked in favour of another Italian, Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.

In June 2003, Bates sold Chelsea to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £140 million, completing what was then the biggest-ever sale of an English football club.^[3] Owing to Abramovich's Russian heritage, the club were soon popularly dubbed "Chelski" in the British media.^[13] Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies, so he was replaced by successful Portuguese coach José Mourinho, who had just guided FC Porto to victory in the UEFA Champions League.

In 2005, Chelsea's centenary year, the club became Premiership champions in a record-breaking season (most clean sheets, fewest goals conceded, most victories, most points earned),^[14] League Cup winners with a 3–2 win over Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium and reached the Champions League semi-finals. The following year, they were again League Champions, equalling their own Premiership record of 29 wins set the previous season. They also became the fifth team to win back-to-back championships since the Second World War and the first London club to do so since Arsenal in 1933–34.^[15] In 2007 Chelsea won the League Cup for the second time in three years,^[16] and finished 2nd in the Premier League. To end the season, Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup final, the first at the new Wembley Stadium.^[17] On 20 September 2007, manager José Mourinho parted company with Chelsea by mutual consent.^[18] He was replaced by Director of football Avram Grant.^[19]

FC Barcelona Pictures and Wallpaper

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Barcelona Wallpaper and More

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F.C. Barcelona Pictures

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F.C. Barcelona Photos

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Football Club Barcelona

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A.S. Roma Wallpaper

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A.S. Roma History

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A.S. Roma was founded in July 1927. The city of Rome, at the time, had several teams in the Italian football league: S.S. Alba-Audace Roma (founded in 1926 with the fusion of Alba - 1911 - and Audace), Fortitudo-Pro Roma S.G.S. (founded in 1926 with the fusion of Fortitudo - 1908 - and Pro Roma - 1912), Roman F.C. (1901) and S.S. Lazio (1910). However the Fascist regime wanted to merge the latter into one which the working classes could identify with and strong enough to challenge the traditional northern teams to reinforce Rome's image as regime capital for propaganda purposes.[citations needed] Lazio management refused to even discuss the matter, but Alba-Audace, Fortitudo-Pro Roma and Roman agreed to merge and thus A.S. Roma was founded. Roma was named after the city with the traditional colors of the city of Rome. Their first stadium was Motovelodromo Appio. The following grounds have been Testaccio, Stadio Flaminio and Stadio Olimpico (the latter was built in 1952).

AS Roma took part in their first national league in the 1929-30 season and won their first Scudetto in 1941-42. The second one was won in the 1982-83 season and the third in 2000-01. They were runners-up in 1930-31, 1935-36, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86, 2001-02 and 2003-04. They were relegated only once, at the end of the 1950-51 season, returning to Serie A the next season.

As of 2005-06, Roma have matched Milan's record (in 1989-1990) for consecutive wins, beating (on February 26th) Lazio 2-0 in the Rome derby for their 11th consecutive win.

AS Roma also made it to the final of the 2005/06 Coppa Italia to face Inter Milan. They drew the First leg 1-1 but lost the return leg 3-1, losing 4-2 on aggregate.

After Serie A rivals Lazio, AC Milan, Juventus and Fiorentina were all banned from entry into the 2007/07 Champions League on 14th July 2007, AS Roma gained automatic entry into the competition, as the aforementioned teams' point deductions meant that they effectively finished second to Inter Milan for the Serie A 2005-06 season.

During the 2007 World Cup five A.S. Roma players competed: Samuel Osei Kuffour played for Ghana which was the only African team to qualify for the last 16. Leandro CufrÃ© played for Argentina and was sent off in their quarter final defeat to Germany. Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi, and Simone Perrotta all played for World Cup Champions Italy and all of them played a part in the World Cup final in which Italy defeated France 5-3 in Penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.

Internazionale Milano Football Club Wallpaper

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Internazionale Milano Football Club Photos

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Internazionale Milano Football Club Pictures

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Internazionale Milano Football Club Wallpaper

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Football Club Internazionale Milano History

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HISTORY
1908 At the beginning of the century, Milan derbies did not exist. At that time there was only "Milan Cricket and Football Club" (now AC Milan). But on 9 March 1908, a group of rebels form "Football Club Internazionale Milano". The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians, hence the name Internazionale. Indeed, the first captain of the side is a Swiss player - Hernst Manktl. The club colours are gold, black and blue, a tradition which has been kept right up to the present day.
1910Inter win the Italian league for the first time. The captain of the championship-winning team is Virgilio Fossati, who several years later dies in World War I. But even without Fossati, Inter win their second title in 1920.
1930During the Fascist era, the club is forced to merge with the Milanese Unione Sportiva and the team wins its third Scudetto under the name of Ambrosiana Inter.
1934Nerazzurri Allemandi, Castellazzi, Demaria and the legendary Giuseppe Meazza win the World Cup with the Italian national team in Rome in 1934. Two years later, Frossi and Locatelli win the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics.
1938Inter players Ferraris II, Ferrari, Locatelli and Meazza are involved in the Azzurri set-up that wins the 1938 World Cup in Paris. The same year, Inter win their fourth Scudetto, while the clubs first Coppa Italia success comes in 1939. Another league title arrives in 1940, while the name Ambrosiana is abandoned in October 1945, after which the club returns to its previous name Inter.
1947Giuseppe Meazza plays the last of his 408 official matches in an Inter shirt. The Inter striker, who attains legend status with his 287 goals for the club, dies in 1979, and a year later the San Siro stadium is named in his honour.
1953The Nerazzurri win their sixth Scudetto in 1953 and repeat the success a year later thanks to four great protagonists Italian Benito "Veleno" Lorenzi, Swede Skoglund Dutchman Wilkes and the stateless Nyers.
1963The "Great Inter" era begins. The club president is Angelo Moratti, the coach is Helenio Herrera and the line-up is unforgettable: Sarti, Burgnich, Facchetti, Bedin, Guarneri, Picchi, Jair, Mazzola, Milani (Domenghini), Suarez, and Corso. The Great Inter side win three Serie A titles (in 1964, 1965 and 1966 the latter is the tenth Scudetto which allows the club to wear one gold star on their shirts), two European Cups (in 1964 against Real Madrid and 1965 against Benfica) and two Intercontinental Cups (in 1964 and 1965, both against Argentine outfit Independiente). In 1964, Suarez wins the European championship with the Spanish national team.
1968Burgnich, Domenghini, Facchetti, Guarneri and Mazzola contribute to the Italian national team's success at the 1968 European championship in Rome. Three years later, the Nerazzurri win their eleventh Scudetto under the guidance of coach Gianni Invernizzi.
1982After the twelfth Serie A title won in 1980, Altobelli, Bergomi, Bordon, Marini and Oriali win the World Cup with Italy in Madrid in 1982
1989Inter win their thirteenth Scudetto in 1989, garnering a record 58 points from 34 matches (two points awarded for a win). A year later at Italia '90, Inter's German trio of Brehme, Klinsmann and Matthaeus win the World Cup in Rome. The same year, Lothar Matthaeus becomes the first Inter player to be awarded the prestigious European Player of the Year award.
1991On 22 May 1991, exactly 26 years since their last international success, Inter defeat Roma 2-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup final. Matthaeus and Berti score for the Nerazzurri in the first leg at the Meazza. Inter defeat Salzburg in the final three years later to win their second UEFA Cup.
1998Ronaldo is the first Inter player to win the FIFA World Player award and the second to win the coveted Ballon d'Or. Inter lose out on the Scudetto after a long duel with rivals Juventus, but beat Lazio 3-0 in Paris to lift their third UEFA Cup. Frenchman Djorkaeff beats Brazilian Ronaldo in another prestigious match played in Paris - the 1998 World Cup final.
2000On 12 April, the world is struck by Ronaldo's injury during the Coppa Italia final against Lazio. The "Phenomenon" makes a return to the pitch and scores again in the 2001/02 season. In the meantime, Nerazzurri defender Laurent Blanc is part of the French side that beats Italy in the final of Euro 2000.
2001The season concludes with Inter overtaking AC Milan to finish 5th in the Serie A championship. During the summer, a "Ronaldo Day" is held to celebrate the Phenomenon's return to competitive football. In November, one of Inter's most legendary players, the unforgettable full-back Giacinto Facchetti, becomes vice president of the club. Unfortunately, in December, Inter fan par excellence and vice president of the Beneamata Avv. Giuseppe Prisco passes away two days after his eightieth birthday.
2002Inter go very close to winning their fourteenth Scudetto. Leaders going into the last match of the season and with a one-point advantage over Juventus, they lose 4-2 away to Lazio at Rome's Olimpico stadium. The Scudetto goes to Juventus, while Roma beat Inter into second place. Just as in 1967, the last match of the championship is fatal to the Nerazzurri.
2004Hector Cuper guides Inter to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League and a historic two-legged 'Euroderby' with AC Milan. The Nerazzurri lose out on the away goals rule.
2005Roberto Mancini's debut season as Inter coach ends with the club's first trophy in seven years - a 3-0 Coppa Italia final victory over Roma thanks to a brace from Adriano at the Olimpico and a Sinisa Mihajlovic free kick at the Giuseppe Meazza. The Nerazzurri, who finish third in the Serie A and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, lose just three matches in 2004/05. In August Inter lift the Italian Super Cup for the second time in their history with a 1-0 victory over Juventus at Turin's Delle Alpi Stadium. Juan Sebastian Veron scores the winning goal.
2006In a repeat of the 2005 Coppa Italia final Inter beat Roma over two legs (1-1 at the Olimpico, 3-1 at the Giuseppe Meazza) to retain the trophy. Julio Cruz scores in both matches, with Cambiasso and Martins the other two Nerazzurri players on target. Two months later Inter are officially awarded their 14th Serie A title by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after a sports tribunal strips Juventus of the Scudetto in the wake of the match-fixing scandal. In the 2006/07 season curtain raiser in August, Inter come back from three goals down to beat Roma 4-3 in extra time at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and retain the Italian Super Cup.
2007Marco Materazzi scores twice at Siena's Stadio Franchi on 22 April 2007 as the Nerazzurri wrap up their second consecutive league title with a 2-1 away victory over Siena. Inter secure their 15th Serie A title with five games to spare, with 26 wins, 6 draws and just 1 defeat from 33 games. Robero Mancini becomes the third coach in Inter history to win back-to-back league titles after Alfredo Foni (1952/53 and 1953/54) and Helenio Herrera (1964/65 and 1965/66).

Manchester United Football Club Wallpaper

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Manchester United Football Club Picture

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Manchester United Football Club Wallpaper

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Manchester United Football Club Photos

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Manchester United Football Club Pictures

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Manchester United Football Club Wallpaper

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Manchester United Football Club History

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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 50 million supporters worldwide;^[1]^[2] average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964-65.^[3] The club is also one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986-87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club.^[4] They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.^[5]

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world, and until recently had the highest revenue of any football club for several years running. As of 2007, the club has the fourth largest turnover in club football,^[6] but remains the most profitable club based on operating income.^[7] Manchester United also remains the most valuable club in the world.^[8] The club is a founding member of the G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.^[9]

Arsenal Club Football Wallpaper

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Arsenal Club Football Pictures

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Arsenal Football Club Wallpaper

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Arsenal F.C. Pictures

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Arsenal Football Club Photos

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Arsenal F.C. Pictures

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Arsenal Wallpaper

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Arsenal History

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Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in Holloway, north London. They play in the Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football. Arsenal have won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles, ten FA Cups and in 2005–06 became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League final. Arsenal are also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

Arsenal were founded in 1886, in Woolwich, south-east London, but in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In May 2006 they left Highbury, moving to their current home, the Emirates Stadium in nearby Ashburton Grove, Holloway. Arsenal have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, located four miles away in Tottenham, with whom they have contested the North London derby almost every season since 1913.

Arsenal were founded as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, but were renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. They renamed themselves again to Woolwich Arsenal after turning professional in 1891. The club joined the Football League in 1893, starting out in the Second Division, and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. However, the club's geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems and effectively bankrupt by 1910, when they were taken over by Henry Norris.^[2] Norris sought to move the club elsewhere, and in 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year.^[3] Arsenal only finished in fifth place in 1919, but nevertheless were elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, by reportedly dubious means.^[4]

In 1925, Arsenal appointed the highly successful Herbert Chapman as manager. Chapman had won the league with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 and 1924–25, and he brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such as Alex James and Cliff Bastin, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s. Between 1930 and 1938, Arsenal won the First Division five times and the FA Cup twice, although Chapman did not live to see all of these achievements, as he died of pneumonia in 1934; George Allison succeeded him. In addition, Chapman was reportedly behind the 1932 renaming of the local London Underground station from "Gillespie Road" to "Arsenal", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.^[5]

Following the suspension of English professional football during World War II, under Tom Whittaker Arsenal enjoyed a second period of success, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1949–50. However, after that their fortunes waned; unable to attract players of the same calibre as they had in the 1930s, the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in trophyless mediocrity. Even former England captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.

Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup finals, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, their first European trophy, in 1969–70. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1970–71. However, the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, lost three FA Cup finals (1971–72, 1977–78 and 1979–80) and lost the 1979–80 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was an FA Cup win in 1978–79, with a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United that is widely regarded as a classic.^[6]

The return of former player George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1986–87, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1988–89, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers Liverpool. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1992–93 and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1993–94. However, Graham's reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that he had taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players,^[7] and he was sacked in 1995. His replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.^[8]

The club's success in the late 1990s and 2000s owes a great deal to the appointment of manager Arsène Wenger in 1996. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second league and cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–00 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2002–03 and 2004–05 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles";^[9] in all, the club went 49 league matches unbeaten, a national record.

Arsenal have finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's eleven seasons at the club. They are one of only four teams (along with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea) to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1993, although they have failed to retain the title each time they have been champions. Until recently, Arsenal had never progressed beyond the Champions League quarter-finals; in 2005–06 however, they reached the competition's Final, the first club from London to do so in the competition's fifty-year history, but were beaten 2–1 by FC Barcelona.

AC Milan

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AC Milan Wallpaper and Pictures

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AC Milan Wallpaper and Photo

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Milan Photos

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Milan Pictures

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AC Milan Wallpaper

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AC Milan History

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AC Milan's glorious history dates back to the night of the 16th of December, 1899 when Englishman Alfred Edwards formed and later became president of the newly founded Milan Cricket and Football Club. The location was the Fiaschetteria Toscana in via Berchet. The club was well frequented by English sportsmen and the top people of Milanese culture where they would discuss their team over cocktails at the American Bar. Till the breakaway on the 9th of March 1908 which led to the formation of rivals Inter, Milan FC had already won three Italian League titles. In 1926 Pietro Pirelli, a frequenter of the American Bar, decided to put his money into Milan's new stadium, the San Siro. However, Milan's English origins were out of favour with the Italian Fascist movement of the time and Milan had to wait till after World War II to start to recover. The purchase of players like Gren, Liedholm and Nordhal (Gre-No-Li) helped Milan back to the top of Italian football.

Between the years 1948 and 1966 Milan managed to finish in the top three of the Serie A each year but one, also managing to win four Serie A titles. Milan imported some top football stars to help them achieve this. Uruguayan Juan Schiaffino and Brasilian Jose Altafini were two of these stars. Milan managed to reach the final of the European Cup in 1958 only to lose 3-2 to the great Real Madrid. In 1963 Milan managed to reach the final again. This time Milan won 2-1 with both goals scored by Altafini, after Eusebio had put Benfica in front. In this team there was a figure head which was to dominate Milan's team for 15 years. His name was Gianni Rivera. Alongside him were other great players who were to influence the future of Italian soccer, Cesare Maldini, father of Paolo Maldini, and Giovanni Trapattoni, who would win the scudetto as manager for seven times. Manager of this team was Nereo Rocco who was sometimes more of a father then a manager to most players. In 1968 Milan won their first Cup Winner's Cup beating Hamburg of Germany 2-0. In 1969 Milan became Euro champions again, this time beating Johan Cruyff's Ajax 4-1 in a one sided match with Italian forward Pierino Prati scoring three goals.

This team would then go on to win the World Club Championship beating Estudiantes with an aggregate score of 4-2 in two matches. In 1979 Rivera's last season at Milan would bring to the club the much desired tenth league title and hence the honour of wearing the star on their jersey, an honour only shared by three clubs till this very day. Then came Milan darkest period. Under President Felice Colombo Milan were relegated to Serie B for match rigging. After playing themselves back to the Serie A, Milan went back down to the Serie B under President Giuseppe Farina who fled to South Africa with a fortune of players money. Silvio Berlusconi appeared on the scene in 1986 in a spectacular but difficult takeover of the club. The first thing he did was to heavily invest in the club's youth structures and in Milanello, Milan's training grounds, making them the envy of every Italian and European club. He also courageously entrusted his nearly 40 million dollar investment into the hands of an unknown manager by the name of Arrigo Sacchi. Berlusconi's emphasis was in developing Milan's team into a business structure, full of innovative ideas and managerial style of development. Sacchi quickly invested the money entrusted to him to purchase Dutch trio Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard who together with youth prodigies like Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti and Paolo Maldini and some other good signings like Roberto Donadoni and Carlo Ancelotti turned Milan into an unstoppable machine, even pipping Maradona's Napoli out of a league title in 1988. Milan crushed Steau Bucharest in the European Cup final 4-0 after thrashing Real Madrid 5-0 in the semi final. However, the work rate involved in Sacchi's hard pressing game began to take its toll and after winning another European Cup in 1990 with a solitary Rijkaard goal against Benfica, Sacchi took over the Italian national team. Milan new coach was Fabio Capello, who at the time was a manager in one of Berlusconi's companies. In his first season Capello won the Serie A title without losing a single game, starting an historic unbeaten run which was to last an incredible 58 games. Milan went on to win three consecutive titles from 1992-1994 with big scores of 7-3, 5-3, 5-1 and 8-2. Marco van Basten became Italy's all time higest scoring foreigner before injuring his ankle which prematurely ended his career. At the end of this run Milan had to face Cruyff's Barcellona in the European Cup final in Athens. Cruyff was overconfident saying that Barcellona would tear apart Milan after managing to score three times as many goals as Milan had did in thei league. Contrary to all expectations, Milan went out on an all out attack and thrashed Barcellona 4-0 with great performances by Frenchman Marcel Desailly and Montenegrin Dejan Savicevic.

The next European Cup final however, proved evasive and Milan lost 1-0 to Ajax, also due to a number of missing stars in the final. From here on Milan went into lethargy and have not recovered since. Capello was replaced by Uruguayan Oscar Tabarez, again by Arrigo Sacchi and Capello was again given the manager's driving seat. None of these changes have been effective. In the hands of new man Alberto Zaccheroni, Milan have incredibly managed to win the scudetto on his first opportunity. The only managers in the history books that managed to do this were the now legendary Nereo Rocco, Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello.

Zaccheroni lasted till middway 2001 with the duo of Cesare Maldini / Mauro Tassotti taking over. The highest achievement of this duo was the 6-0 thrashing of Inter, which will certainly go down in Milan's history books. At this time Milan were already on the look out for a new manager in Fatih Terim. The Turk brought with him some good football. However, this manager only lasted a couple of months after an inconsistent string of results Carlo Ancelotti took over.

The year 2003 was Ancelotti's year. He was entrusted with players like Nesta, Pirlo, Seedorf and Rivaldo which added quality to the team and the club under his guidance went on to win two trophies the Champions League, where they met rivals Inter in the semi-final and then Juventus in the final and three days the Coppa Italia which had been missing from the trophy room from 1977. Milan also finished third in the Serie A. Ancelotti continued his fine run at Milan by winning the 17th Scudetto. He is the first ever manager to have won both as a player and as a manager for the same team. The 17th title was also Maldini's and Costacurta's 7th scudetto. It's now 2007 and Milan manage to win the Champions League for the 7th time after being penalised in the league with a points deduction. It was maldini's 5th triumph which takes him to legendary status.

Serie A Champions: 1901, 1906, 1907, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1968, 1979, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004

Coppa Italia winners: 1967, 1972, 1973, 1977, 2003

European Champions: 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007

Cup Winners Cup winners: 1968, 1973

Intercontinental Champions: 1969, 1989, 1990

European Super Cup: 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003

Italian Super Cup: 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE

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When you walk through a storm
hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never, ever walk alone.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never, ever walk alone.

Liverpool Football Club Wallpaper and Pictures

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Liverpool FC Wallpaper and Photo

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Liverpool Football Club Photo

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Liverpool FC Pictures

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Liverpool FC Wallpaper

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