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Manchester United Football Club

The Red Devils^[1]

Founded

1878, as Newton Heath L&YR F.C.

Old Trafford
Trafford
Greater Manchester
England
(Capacity: 76,212)

Chairman

Manager

League

Premier League, 1st





Home colours





Away colours

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

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

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world with the highest revenue of any football club, and is currently ranked as the richest and most valuable club in football, and indeed any sport, with a value of £897 million (€1,333 mil / $1.8 billion) as of May 2008. Manchester United was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs and its replacement, the European Club Association.

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

The club was formed as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The club's shirts were green and gold halves. They played on a small, dilapidated field on North Road, near the future site of the Manchester Piccadilly railway station for fifteen years, before moving to Bank Street in the nearby town of Clayton in 1893. The club had entered the Football League the previous year and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C.. Not long afterwards, in 1902, the club neared bankruptcy, with debts of over £2,500. At one point, their Bank Street ground was even closed by the bailiffs.

Just before having to be shut down for good, the club received a sizeable investment from J. H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries.Legend goes that Harry Stafford, the club captain, was showing off his prized St. Bernard dog at a club fund-raiser, when Davies approached him to buy the dog. Stafford declined, but was able to persuade Davies to invest in the club and become club chairman. It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were among the names suggested, before Louis Rocca, a young immigrant from Italy, said "Gentlemen, why don't we call ourselves Manchester United?" The name stuck, and Manchester United officially came into existence on 26 April 1902. Davies also decided it would be appropriate to change the club's colours, abandoning the green and gold halves of Newton Heath, and picking red and white to be the colours of Manchester United.

Ernest Mangnall was appointed as club secretary after James West had resigned as manager on 28 September 1902. Mangnall was charged with trying to get the club into the First Division, and fell just short of that target at the first attempt, finishing in 5th in Division Two. Mangnall decided that it was necessary to bring in some fresh faces to the club, and signed players such as Harry Moger in goal, Dick Duckworth at half-back and John Picken up front, but it was another new half-back by the name of Charlie Roberts who made the biggest impact. He cost the club a then-record £750 from Grimsby Town in April 1904, and helped them to a third place finish in the 1903–04 season, just a point short of the second promotion place.

It was not long, however, before the club was at last promoted to the First Division for the first time under their new name, finishing in second place in the 1905–06 Second Division. A season of consolidation followed, with the club finishing in 8th, before they finally won their first league title in 1908. Manchester City had recently been under investigation for paying some of their players a salary over the amount allowed by FA regulations. They were fined £250 and eighteen of their players were banned from playing for them ever again. United were quick to pounce on the situation, picking up Billy Meredith (the Welsh Wizard) and Sandy Turnbull, amongst others. The new boys from across town were ineligible to play until New Year's Day 1907, due to their suspension, so it was left until the 1907–08 season for them to make a proper impact on United's bid for the title. And that they did, getting the campaign off to a storming start, with a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United, beginning a run of ten consecutive victories. Despite a shaky end to the season, United managed to hang on and finished the season nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa.

The following season began with United picking up another piece of silverware, the first ever Charity Shield, and ended with another, the club's first FA Cup title, sowing the seeds for what has become a record number of FA Cup titles. Just as they were in the club's first title-winning campaign, Turnbull and Meredith were instrumental in this season, Turnbull scoring the winner in the FA Cup Final. The club had to wait another two years before winning any more silverware, winning the First Division for the second time in the 1910–11 season. In the meantime, United moved to their new ground at Old Trafford. They played their first game there on 19 February 1910 against Liverpool, but lost 4–3 having thrown away a 3–0 lead. They then went trophyless again in the 1911–12 season, which not only proved to be the last with Mangnall in charge (he moved to Manchester City after ten years with United), but also the last time the club won the First Division for 41 years, the longest they have gone without winning the league in their history.

For the next ten years, the club went into a state of gradual decline before being relegated back down to Division Two in 1922. They were promoted again in 1925, but struggled to get into the top half of the table, and were relegated again in 1931. In the eight years leading up to the Second World War, the club became somewhat of a yo-yo club, reaching their all-time lowest position of 20th in Division Two in 1934. They were promoted and relegated once again before being promoted in the penultimate season before the Second World War. They guaranteed their place in the top flight for after the war by finishing in 14th in the 1938–39 season.

Honours

Domestic

League

Premier League: 10
- 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08
First Division: 7
- 1907–08, 1910–11, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67
Second Division: 2
- 1935–36, 1974–75

Cups

FA Cup: 11
- 1909, 1948, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
League Cup: 2
- 1992, 2006
FA Charity/Community Shield: 16 (12 outright, 4 shared)
- 1908, 1911, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965*, 1967*, 1977*, 1983, 1990*, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007 (* joint holders)

European

European Cup/UEFA Champions League: 3
- 1968, 1999, 2008
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1
- 1991
European Super Cup: 1
- 1991

International

Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship: 1
- 1999

Doubles and Trebles

The Double (League and FA Cup): 3
- 1994, 1996, 1999 (as part of The Treble)
The European Double (League and European Cup): 2
- 1999 (as part of The Treble), 2008
The Treble (League, FA Cup and European Cup): 1
- 1999

Single match competitions such as the Charity/Community Shield, Intercontinental Cup/World Club Championship or Super Cup are not generally considered to contribute towards a Double or Treble.

The only major honour that Manchester United F.C. has never won is the UEFA Cup.

REAL MADRID

2008-07-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

"Los Vikingos" (The Vikings)
"Los Blancos" (The Whites)
"Los Merengues" (The Meringues)

Founded

6 March 1902
(as Sociedad Madrid FC)

Santiago Bernabéu
Madrid, Spain
(Capacity: 80,400)

Chairman

Head Coach

League

La Liga, 1^st





Home colours





Away colours

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (English: Madrid Royal Football Club, also known as Real Madrid, Los Blancos, Los Merengues) is a professional Spanish football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902, it plays in La Liga and was the most successful football club of the 20th century, having won a record thirty-one La Liga titles, seventeen Copa del Rey and a record nine UEFA Champions League titles. The team was a founding member of the now defunct G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

The club plays its home games in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Real Madrid is unusual in that, unlike most football clubs, it has been owned and operated only by its members (socios) since 1902. On December 23, 2000, FIFA awarded the Spanish team the title of the "Best Club of the 20th Century". Los Blancos is the most successful club in UEFA club football competitions history with nine European Cups and two UEFA Cups; more than any other European club.^[9]

Real Madrid is the biggest and most extensive football club in the world according to the case studies at Harvard University in 2007. It is also the richest one in terms of revenue.

Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza who included several Oxbridge graduates. They founded the club Football Sky in 1895, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. This club split in 1900 into two different clubs New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Club Español de Madrid. The president of the latter club was Julián Palacios. The latter club split again in 1902, resulting in the formation of Sociedad Madrid FC on March 6, 1902. The first president was Juan Padrós Rubió, the first secretary was Manuel Mendío and the first treasurer was José de Gorostizaga. Juan Padrós Rubió would be later succeeded by his brother, Carlos Padrós from Spain. Only three years after its foundation, in 1905, Madrid FC won its first major title in the Estadio Chamartín stadium. The team won the first of four consecutive Copa del Rey titles (at that time the only statewide competition). In 1912 it moved to its first ground called Campo de Rose after moving between some minor grounds. In 1920 the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after the King granted the title of Real (Royal) to the club.

Santiago Bernabéu Yeste became President in 1945. Under his presidency, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. Beginning in 1953 he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent of them being the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano and built the world's first multinational side.

In 1955, acting upon the idea proposed by the French sports journalist and editor of L'Équipe Gabriel Hanot, and building upon the Copa Latina (a tournament involving clubs from France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), Bernabéu met in the Ambassador Hotel in Paris with Bedrignan and Milan Ceko and created what today is known as the UEFA Champions League. It was under Bernabéu's guidance, that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. The club won the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included the memorable 7–3 Hampden Park final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour. The club won the European Cup for a sixth time in 1966 defeating FK Partizan 2–1 in the final with a team composed entirely of nationally-born players - a first in the competition. It was also runner-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. The team have also won the UEFA Cup twice and was twice runner-up in the European Cup Winners Cup.

By the early 1980s, Real Madrid had lost its grasp on the La Liga title until a new batch of home-grown stars, known as La Quinta del Buitre started to dominate Spanish football. The name ("Vulture's Cohort") was derived from the nickname given to one of its members, Emilio Butragueño. The other four members were Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza. With La Quinta del Buitre (reduced to four members when Pardeza left the club for Zaragoza in 1986) Real Madrid had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe during the second half of the 1980s, winning two UEFA Cups and five Spanish championships in a row.

Martín Vázquez went to play for Torino in 1990. He made a return to Real Madrid in 1992, leaving the club again for good in 1995 (to Deportivo La Coruña). In 1995 and 1996 Butragueño and Míchel left the club and went to play for Atlético Celaya in Mexico. In 1996 President Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid was proclaimed league champion and players like Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker and Clarence Seedorf arrived at the club to strengthen a squad that already boasted the likes of Raúl, Fernando Hierro and Fernando Redondo. As a result, Real Madrid (with the addition of Fernando Morientes in 1997) finally ended its 32-year wait for the seventh European Cup in 1998 under manager Jupp Heynckes, defeating Juventus 1–0 in the final, thanks to a goal from Predrag Mijatović.

In July 2000 Florentino Pérez was elected club president vowing to erase the club's debt and modernise the club's facilities, however the primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of Luís Figo. On July 16, Pérez won the election.The club controversially got its training ground re-zoned and used the money to begin to assemble the famous Galáctico side including players such as Zidane, Ronaldo, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raúl and David Beckham. It is debatable whether the gamble paid off as despite a European Cup win in 2002, followed by the League in 2003, the club then failed to win a major trophy for the next three seasons.

Ramón Calderón was elected as club president in July, 2006 and subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new coach and Predrag Mijatović as the new sporting director. Real Madrid won the La Liga title in 2007 for the first time in four years. However, despite the achievement of winning La Liga, Capello was sacked one month later, in June 2007, and was replaced by German manager Bernd Schuster. Under Bernd Schuster, the club won its 31 La Liga title in 2007-08 season.

Honours

Domestic

La Liga

Winners (31 - record): 1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08

Runners-up (17): 1928-29, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1941-42, 1944-45, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1965-66, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2005-06

Copa del Rey

Winners (17): 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1916–17, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1961–62, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1992–93

Runners-up (19): 1902–03, 1915–16, 1917–18, 1923–24, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1939–40, 1942–43, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1991–92, 2001–02, 2003–04

Supercopa de España

Winners (7): 1988, 1989*, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003

Runners-up (3): 1982, 1995, 2007

(* Won Copa del Rey and La Liga)

Copa de la Liga

Winners (1): 1984–85

Runners-up (1): 1982-83

European

UEFA Champions League

Winners (9 - record): 1955–56*, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02.

Runners-up (3): 1961-62, 1963-64, 1980-81

(* First ever winners)

Intercontinental Cup

Winners (3): 1960, 1998, 2002

Runners-up (2): 1966, 2000

UEFA Cup

Winners (2): 1984–85, 1985–86

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

Runners-up (2): 1970-71, 1982-83

UEFA Supercup

Winners (1): 2002

Runners-up (2): 1998, 2000

INTER MILAN

2008-07-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

Internazionale

Football Club Internazionale Milano SpA

Nerazzurri (the Black-Blues)
La Beneamata (the Cherished)
Il Biscione (the Big Grass Snake)

Founded

9 March 1908

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza,
Milan, Italy
(Capacity: 82,955)

Chairman

Head Coach

League

Serie A, 1st





Home colours





Away colours

Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as simply Internazionale, Inter or Inter Milan, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy, founded in 1908. The club are the only side in Italian football to have spent their entire history in the top tier (Serie A). Internazionale, who play in black and blue striped shirts with white shorts (but in the past, often in black shorts), have sixteen Serie A titles to their name; only their rivals Juventus and A.C. Milan have won more. Including the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup, Inter have a total of 25 trophies won in Italy.

Outside of their homeland, the club have also had success in European and World tournaments; they won the European Cup in two successive finals during 1963–64 and 1964–65. They have also won the UEFA Cup three times and the World Club Championship twice. Additionally, Inter was one of founding members of the G-14, a group that formerly represented eighteen of the largest and most prestigious European football clubs.

Inter play their home games at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, also known as San Siro. The ground, which they share with rivals AC Milan, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 82,955.

The club was founded on March 9, 1908 as Internazionale FBC Milano, following a "schism" from the Milan Cricket and Football Club (43 members). A group of Italians and Swiss (Giorgio Muggiani, a painter who also designed the club's logo, Bossard, Lana, Bertoloni, De Olma, Enrico Hintermann, Arturo Hintermann, Carlo Hintermann, Pietro Dell'Oro, Hugo and Hans Rietmann, Voelkel, Maner, Wipf, and Carlo Ardussi) were unhappy about the domination of Italians in the AC Milan team, and broke away from them, leading to the creation of Internazionale. From the beginning, the club was open to foreign players and thus lived up to its founding name. The club won its very first Scudetto (championship) in 1910 and its second in 1920. The captain and coach of the first Scudetto was Virgilio Fossati, who was killed in World War I. In 1922 Inter were in Group B of the Serie A and came in last place after picking up only 11 points in the season. The last place team of each group was to be automatically relegated. The second last place teams were placed in a pre-relegation 'salvation' tournament. Inter and La Gazzetta dello Sport's editor (Colombo) petitioned the FIGC to allow Inter to participate in Serie A the following year as a year in Serie B would have been financially detrimental. The FIGC saved Inter some weeks prior to the season starting by allowing them to remain in Serie A in 1923. Venezia, who had come in 3rd last in Group B ahead of Inter, were relegated in Inter's place. In 1928, during the Fascist era, the club was forced to merge with the Milanese Unione Sportiva and was renamed Ambrosiana SS Milano. They wore white shirts around this time with a red cross emblazoned on it. This shirt design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan, which in turn is derived from the flag of the patron saint of Milan, St. Ambrose and dates back to the 4th century AD. The new upcoming President Oreste Simonotti decided to change name to A.S. Ambrosiana in 1929. However, supporters continued to call the team "Inter," and in 1931 new president Pozzani caved to shareholder pressure and changed the name to AS Ambrosiania-Inter.

Their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1938-39, led by the great legend Giuseppe Meazza, after whom the San Siro stadium is officially named, and a fifth league championship followed in 1940, despite an injury to Meazza. After the end of World War II the club re-emerged under a name close to their original one, Internazionale FC Milano, which they have kept ever since.

National titles

Serie A:

Champions (16): 1909–10; 1919–20; 1929–30; 1937–38; 1939–40; 1952–53; 1953–54; 1962–63; 1964–65; 1965–66; 1970–71; 1979–80; 1988–89; 2005–06; 2006–07; 2007-08
Runners-up (14): 1932–33; 1933–34; 1934–35; 1940–41; 1945–46; 1948–49; 1950–51; 1961–62; 1963–64; 1966–67; 1969–70; 1992–93; 1997–98; 2002–03

Coppa Italia:

Champions (5): 1938–39; 1977–78; 1981–82; 2004–05; 2005–06
Runners-up (6): 1958–59; 1964–65; 1976–77; 1999–00; 2006–07; 2007–08

Supercoppa Italiana:

Champions (3): 1989; 2005; 2006
Runners-up (2): 2001; 2007

International titles

The following titles include only those which are recognised by UEFA and FIFA.

European titles

UEFA Champions League (former European Cup):

Champions (2): 1963–64; 1964–65
Runners-up (2): 1966–67; 1971–72

UEFA Cup:

Champions (3): 1990–91; 1993–94; 1997–98
Runners-up (1): 1996–97

Mitropa Cup:

Runners-up (1): 1932–33

World-wide titles

Intercontinental Cup:

Champions (2): 1964; 1965

A.C.MILAN

2008-07-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

AC Milan

Associazione Calcio Milan SpA

Rossoneri (Red-Blacks)
il Diavolo (the Devil)

Founded

December 16, 1899