By Michael Kachitsa For the longest time, Paris did not have a football club that truly belonged to the elite. That finally changed in 1970, when a group of businessmen went through with the plan of merging Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain into a single club named Paris Saint-Germain. (The year of establishment are somewhat debated though, since the club was affiliated with the Fédération française de football already in December 1969.) Not surprisingly, PSG immediately drew sympathies of the Parisian crowd, which was exalted to finally have a club that could contend for domestic trophies. Shortly after earning promotion to Ligue 1 in 1972, the club moved into the legendary Parc des Princes, which would serve as their home to this day. The early 80s saw PSG win their first major trophies by claiming back-to-back French Cups in 1982 and 1983. This naturally led to the club winning their first Ligue 1 title in 1986 and consequently trying their luck in European competitions, where they played a number of memorable matches but ultimately failed to advance past the quarter-final. It was during this period that PSG developed a penchant for attacking-minded football, which would play a large part in the club becoming fan favorites, both in France and abroad. Following the takeover by Canal+ in 1991, the club’s future was destined for greatness. With the new owners investing large sums of money into big-name signings such as George Weah and Raí, PSG quickly developed into one of the most dominant clubs in the country. In addition to claiming their second Ligue 1 trophy (1994), three French Cups (1993, 1995, 1998) and two League Cups (1995, 1998), PSG became the second French club to win a European trophy by defeating Rapid Wien in the 1996 Cup Winners’ Cup final. These golden years were followed up with a period of decline due to severe mismanagement and cracking under pressure in the title races. Even though the club had some Cup success during the 00s – including three French Cups and a League Cup – this period is mostly remembered for numerous crisis situations and problems with hooliganism. Their fortunes took a turn for the better after the club was bought by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011. Led by their new star, Zlatan Ibrahimović, PSG returned to the spotlight by winning three consecutive Ligue 1 titles from 2013 to 2015. They also added to their trophy collection by claiming another French Cup in 2015 and two more League Cups in 2014 and 2015.
Category: Football
The History of Olympique de Marseille
By Michael Kachitsa While Marseille was officially founded in 1892, it wasn’t until 1899 that the footballing section was introduced to the club. The first taste of silverware for the football club came in the 20s, with three Coupe de France trophies in 1924, 1926 and 1927 being a harbinger of their first French championship in 1929. The introduction of professionalism in French football in 1923 paved way for further success, most notably two Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France trophies between 1935 and 1948. During this period, the team had settled at their new home at Stade Vélodrome, with a 35,000 capacity at the opening. The club’s first era of dominance arrived towards the end of the 60s, during Marcel Leclerc’s reign as president. The ambitious businessman had no problems with signing big-name players, and Marseille quickly established themselves as one of the best clubs in the country. They claimed two Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France trophies before the temperamental Leclerc resigned in 1972 following a disagreement with the club’s board. The resignation of Leclerc turned out to be the beginning of an era of decline, which saw Marseille end up with a single trophy (the 1976 Coupe de France) in the next 17 years. In 1986, the club’s fortunes changed for the better when Bernard Tapie was appointed president. By assembling a team of superstars such as Jean-Pierre Papin, Didier Deschamps and Eric Cantona, Tapie made his intentions known – make Marseille the first team in French football to win the Champions League. In 1993, this dream became a reality with a victory over Milan in the Champions League final. In the meantime, Marseille dominated the domestic competitions, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles and one Coupe de France between 1989 and 1992.
The History of Newcastle United
By Michael Kachitsa The club was formed through a merger of two older Tyneside clubs: Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End. In order to signify the fusion, the newly formed club was named Newcastle United. Not long after that, Newcastle became known for their quick and attractive brand of football which paid dividends during their early years. After being admitted to the Football League in 1894, they earned promotion to the First Division in 1899. They would play at St. James’ Park, the oldest football ground in England, there matches were played already in the 1880s. The arrival of a new century proved to be a good omen for Newcastle. With a team full of English stars and international talent, Newcastle went on to dominate the First Division by winning the titles in 1905, 1907 and 1908. Strangely enough, this productive period also contained the lowest point in their history: a 9-1 drubbing to Sunderland in 1908. After claiming their first FA Cup trophy with a victory over Barnsley in the final, their promising run was cut short by the World War I. Post-war, the club returned in style with another FA Cup trophy in 1924. They followed it up by acquiring the talented Hughie Gallacher the following season; this would prove to be a shrewd business move, as Gallacher became the club’s captain and led the team to another League title in 1927. Newcastle won another FA Cup in 1932 before entering a mediocre period that would culminate in their relegation to the Second Division in 1934. Once again, the club bounced back after the war. Led by a future club legend Jackie Milburn, Newcastle returned to the top-flight in 1948 and won three FA Cups in the period between 1951 and 1955, in a streak that would earn them a reputation as Cup specialists. Even though the following couple of decades would see Newcastle making deep runs in both English Cups, additional silverware was hard to come by. In the early 90s, the club turned a new page by appointing Kevin Keegan as manager. The change of personnel immediately yielded results, as Newcastle stormed back to the top-flight in 1993. After hitting the jackpot with big-name signings such as David Ginola and Alan Shearer, Newcastle almost ended up overthrowing Manchester United in 1996 and 1997, finishing as runners-up in both occasions. They also lost the FA Cup finals in 1998 and 1999 before returning to relative obscurity at the turn of the century.
The History of Athletic Bilbao
By Michael Kachitsa While Athletic Bilbao was officially founded in 1903, its history goes a bit deeper than that. The then-new game of football was brought to the city of Bilbao by two different groups of people – the British shipyard workers and the Basque students returning from their studies in Britain (which is the reason for the English sounding Athletic instead for the Spanish sounding Atlético). Each of these two groups founded their own football club in 1898; it wasn’t until 1903 that they decided to combine their forces and settle on a merger that would lead to creation of Athletic Club. Among the Spanish cities, Bilbao is the one with perhaps the biggest football heritage and their club was dominant in the early history of the country. Led by the English manager Mr. Shepard the team won the two first Copa del Rey tournaments, in 1903 and 1904, and make it to the final in the two following editions. It was also in this city the first purpose-built football stadium, Estadio San Mamés, was constructed in 1913. Led by the visionary English coach Fred Pentland, Athletic won its first two La Liga titles in 1930 and 1931. As it turned out, British coaches were somewhat of a good charm for Athletic; the club continued to dominate the 30s (they hammered once Barcelona 12-1), and after a period with a Spanish manager Pentland returned. Athletic won two more La Ligas in 1934 and 1936, just before the outbreak of Spanish Civil. At this time General Franco enforced a de-Anglicization of the club’s name and the club became Atlético Bilbao for a period. The fans mostly remember the 40s and the 50s for one of the best forwards of that era, Telmo Zarra. Having made his debut in 1941, Zarra led the club to another La Liga in 1943, while, in the process, becoming Athletic’s top goalscorer of all time with 251 goals. Funnily enough, Athletic won its next La Liga in 1956, right after Zarra had left the club. After those glory days came a major dry spell, and the club only returned to the top echelon of Spanish football with Javier Clemente’s appointment as manager in 1981. His aggressive-minded style proved to be a very effective tactic, and Athletic won two successive La Liga titles (1983 and 1984) under his leadership. The team sometimes played astonishingly physical and especially the matches against Barca were fierce. Infamous is the 1984 Copa del Rey final which included what might have been the biggest scuffle on that level in the game in modern time. The fight that started on the field after the final whistle included flying kicks from some of the players. In the middle of the storm was Diego Maradona – that during the match time had been given a mean treatment from his opponents – for a while turned into a fighter There is a dispute between the club and the Spanish Federation (RFEF) regarding the numbers of Copas del Rey trophies Athletic have won. As “Club Bizcaya”, Athletic won arguably the first Copa del Rey, which was called the Copa de la Coronación in 1902. But the Federation claims it was a predecessor and not an official Copa del Rey. Source – https://www.footballhistory.org/club/athletic-bilbao.html
The history of Atlético Madrid
By Michael Kachitsa The club was founded in 1903, under the name of Athletic Club de Madrid. Its founders, three Basque students living in Madrid, considered the club a youth branch of Athletic Bilbao. The club first shirts with blue and white shirts were probably inspired by Blackburn Rovers. Eight years later they would change to red and white shirt and this time by the influence of Southampton. The heritage from the first kit lives on with the blue shorts. Following the end of the Spain civil war in 1939, Athletic was merged with a Zaragoza football club founded the same year, Aviación Nacional. The new club was named Athletic Aviación de Madrid. The merger quickly proved successful, as Athletic Aviación managed to win its first La Liga in 1940 and defend the title in 1941. In 1947, the club changed its name for the final time; it was henceforth known by its current name of Club Atlético de Madrid. The 50s started off well for Atlético Madrid, as the club won two more La Liga titles under the leadership of the Argentine Helenio Herrera. After his departure in 1953, however, the club had to settle for being the third best club in the country for the rest of the decade, behind the untouchable Real Madrid and Barcelona. The next two decades were dominated by a fierce rivalry between two Madrid clubs, Real and Atlético. With both clubs enjoying their primes, the Madrid derby was seen as a fight between the wealthy citizens and the working class. During these two decades, Atlético managed to win four La Ligas (1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977), five Copa del Rey trophies (1960, 1961, 1965, 1972, 1976) and a Cup Winners’ Cup in 1962. Under the management of Juan Carlos Lorenzo 1973–1975, Atlético would be granted the ill sounding nickname “animals”. The nicknamed came after the European Cup semi-final against Celtic. Atlético achieved a goalless away draw, but the match is more remembered for Atlético’s method of winning, which resulted in three Atlético players sent off, most of the other players seeing yellow cards and the opponents were given 51 free kicks. Atlético would after a win in the second leg advance to the final and there face Bayern Munich. It all ended with a victory for the Germans. The club had to wait until 1987 and Jesús Gil’s appointment for president for its next rise to prominence. Even though Gil started spending large amounts of money on big-name signings, his ruthless philosophy of changing the coaches at a rapid rate did not yield results right away. After having to settle for two Copa del Rey titles in 1991 and 1992, Atlético finally won its long-awaited ninth La Liga in 1996, following it up with another Copa del Rey trophy. Gil’s reign came to an end in 2000, due to many lawsuits against him and the club’s board. With a number of financial issues surrounding the club, Atlético was relegated the same year. Source – https://www.footballhistory.org/club/atletico-madrid.html
The History of Valencia CF
By Michael Kachitsa Even though the club was founded in 1919, it only moved into the world-famous Mestalla stadium in 1923. The first couple of decades of the club’s existence were not particularly fruitful, but things started to change after the Spanish Civil War had ended. The post-war period saw Valencia acquire taste for silverware, winning its first La Liga titles in 1942, 1944 and 1947 and two Copa del Rey trophies in 1941 and 1948. While the club had seen some cup success in the next two decades, they had to wait for Alfredo Di Stéfano to arrive at the club in order to win their fourth La Liga title. It came in 1970, the very first year of Di Stéfano’s tenure as manager. The famous Argentine player and coach also led the team to its first and only Cup Winners’ Cup title in 1980, in his second term with the club. Valencia’s glory days came at the turn of the millennium. First, however, they had to shake off their losing mentality; the club lost two successive Champions League finals, to Real Madrid in 2000 and Bayern Munich in 2001. The latter season also saw them slip to fifth place in La Liga after spending most of the season at the top of the table. The next four years more than made up for their woes, as Valencia won two La Ligas in 2002 and 2004 and a UEFA Cup in 2004. Not long after that, due to the rising financial troubles, the club had to start selling its best players in order to reduce their debts (also the building of the new stadium Nou Mestalla was came to a standstill due to the financial struggles). Even while teetering dangerously close to the relegation zone, however, Valencia managed to win its seventh Copa del Rey trophy in 2008. Source – https://www.footballhistory.org/club/valencia.html
The History of Real Betis
By Michael Kachitsa Betis was founded in 1907, under the name of Sevilla Balompié. In 1914, the club was merged with Betis Football Club, a breakaway from Sevilla FC. From that moment onwards, the club has been known as Real Betis Balompié. The club switched to their now-famous green and white jerseys in 1920. For most football fans around the globe, Real Betis (or with full name Real Betis Balompié) might be best known as the “other” Sevillan club. Indeed, their long-standing city rivalry with Sevilla FC makes for one of the fiercest and most historic derbies in Spanish football. And while Betis’ trophy room is not quite as stuffed, the club did win La Liga in 1935 and two Copa del Reys in 1977 and 2005. A cup final in 1931 and a promotion to the First Division in 1932 set the scene for Betis’ biggest success to date. With the Irish coach Patrick O’Connell at the helm, the club won its only La Liga title in 1935, beating Real Madrid by a single point. Unfortunately for the fans, this title was also the beginning of a slow decline for the club. Due to the dismantling of the winning team and a poor economic situation at the club, Betis found itself relegated to the Third Division in 1947. From a competitive standpoint, the seven years spent in the Third Division were the darkest period for the club. These were, however, the years of the so-called “Green March”; the loyal fans made sure their stadium was always filled to the brim, while at the same time showing up in large numbers for the away matches. With their unmitigated support, the club managed to return to the Second Division in 1954. Following a 21-penalty shootout against Athletic Bilbao, Betis won their first Copa del Rey in 1977. This trophy was soon followed by another financial crisis, but the club’s fans once again came to the rescue by raising 400 million pesetas. In 1992, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stepped in and saved the club from bankruptcy by becoming a majority shareholder. The club’s next trophy came in 2005. Led by the Balearic manager Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, the club won its second Copa del Rey by beating CA Osasuna 2-1 in the finals. Source – https://www.footballhistory.org/club/real-betis.html#:~:text=Betis%20was%20founded%20in%201907,and%20white%20jerseys%20in%201920.
The history of AC Milan
By Michael Kachitsa Not that many people know that one of the most famous Italian symbols like AC Milan was actually founded by two English expatriates, Herbert Kilpin and Alfred Edwards. The exact date was 13 December 1899. From the start, the club was partly a football and partly a cricket club – at this time, the club called itself Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club – but pretty soon football became predominant, and the club would later rebrand to Milan FC in 1919 (the name would change again, first to Milan Associazione Sportiva and later to Associazione Calcio Milan). Milan FC quickly established itself by winning their first Scudetto two years later, and then followed it up by another two in 1906 and 1907. After a split in the club which led to the founding of their arch-rivals Inter, however, Milan had to wait for over 40 years for their next title. It came in 1951, on the back of the famous Swedish trio known as Gre-No-Li: Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl (still the club’s top goalscorer with 221 goals) and Nils Liedholm. The following 20 years were much kinder to the Italian powerhouse, which won seven more Scudettos, two European Cups (the European Cup victory in 1963 was the first for an Italian team in the competition) and two Cup Winners’ Cups, as well as four Coppa Italia trophies. What followed was a period of decline. After the Totonero match-fixing scandal in 1980, players and officials had bet on games, Milan was one of the team punished and demoted to the second division (the president Felice Colombo was banned from the game for life). Even though they returned to Serie A the very next year, they were relegated again in 1982. They managed to claw their way back to the top division, but the club soon found itself on the brink of bankruptcy, before it was taken over by Silvio Berlusconi in 1986. Berlusconi’s appointment saw Milan return to their paths of glory. Helmed by the talented young coach Arrigo Sacchi, AC Milan quickly became a force of nature, winning their eleventh Scudetto in 1988 and two European Cups in the two years that followed. The performance in the 1988-89 edition was extra impressive with 5-0 against Real Madrid in the semi-final and then 4-0 in the final against Steaua București. The glorious Milan team, led by the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten, has been voted as the greatest team in the history of football. Besides the huge amount of talent on the field it was also a success that was due to Sacchi’s zonal marking system. The club’s dominance continued into the 90s with Fabio Capello installed as the new coach, with the outcome of a more defensive approach at the field. This period saw “Gli Invicibili”, as the club’s new nickname were, add five additional Scudettos to its tally, as well as another Champions League trophy with a memorable 4-0 rout over Barcelona in the final. The Dutch stars was gone, but other stars like Marcel Desailly, Dejan Savićević and Zvonimir Boban had replaced them. Source – https://www.footballhistory.org/club/milan.html
Footballers wages in the UK
By Michael Kachitsa According to the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) the average salary of a Premier League football player is about £50,000 per week. This average is high partially due to that some of the top players earn up to £350,000! These numbers include performance-based bonuses. In general the Premier League is a football league were the salaries are on average very high. The clubs with the highest average salaries in the Premier League are Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. The Spanish Primera División, the German Bundesliga and the Italian Serie A also include very high salaries. The difference in salary between the Premier League and lower leagues is very big. In the Championship the average salary is between £7,500 and £8,500 a week. The top players in the Championship can earn around £80,000 a week. The average salary in League One is between £1,700 and £2,500, and in League Two it’s between £1,300 and £1,500. Over the last decennia the average salary for Premier League players has strongly increased. However, the FIFA has recently enforced the Financial Fair Play regulation which has resulted in a slight decrease in the basic salaries of professional football players.
Highest attendance at a football game
By Michael Kachitsa The 1950 World Cup final – Brazil versus Uruguay. The event most commonly remembered for the huge upset – dubbed Maracanazo – is also remembered for hosting the highest number of people in a football game. The official attendance is listed at 173,850 tickets sold, but unofficial estimates claim that almost 210,000 people were in that stadium. Ticket policies and safety concerns were a little more reserved in 1950 than it is today. This was taken full advantage of, and people managed to cram in and fill the stadium more than was maximum capacity. Stadium disasters since 1950 have seen a shift in public perception of safety and has helped enforce stricter regulations on match-going crowds. The colossal crowd seen on that fateful day will never be possible again. The 1950 World Cup was the first since the end of the Second World War, and the first to feature a British team. Nevertheless, British media coverage of the tournament was sparse, despite the participation of England. (Scotland had also “qualified”, but the Scottish FA declined to participate.) Newspapers relied on short news agency dispatches, and radio provided only brief reports of England’s matches, presented by Charles Buchan, the former England center-forward. There was no British television coverage. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise. The final match was played on July 16, 1950, at the Maracanã, the design of which incorporated a moat around the oval playing field “to protect players from crowds”. The Maracanã surpassed Scotland’s Hampden Park to become the biggest football ground in the world, and also beat Hampden’s 149,407 attendance world record (set in 1937) after 152,722 fans paid to see Brazil defeat Spain in the previous round. That record was beaten again at the final when at least 173,850 saw Brazil lose to Uruguay. This was the official attendance figure, although some sources, including those used by Wikipedia, give the attendance as 199,854. It has been estimated that the actual attendance for the decisive final game, taking into account officials, journalists, police, and ticketless fans, was likely in excess of 200,000. But it is the official figure of 173,850 that is recognized by Guinness as the world record (while Hampden Park’s 149,407 remains the British and European record). And there is no dispute whatsoever that the crowd at the 1950 World Cup final was the biggest that football has ever seen.