Info Football

Most people – even those who don’t really love football that much – know Pelé very well. The sport figure is not just a famous football player; he is a true football living legend noted for superb achievements and amazing devotion for football. Pelé is now part of several charity programs designed to help children and poor countries as well as football related programs.

When it comes to playing football, Pelé is definitely a player you will never forget. Born Edison Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé implemented unique playing styles that tore countless defensive lines down in an instant. It was simply too dangerous to let Pelé move around freely with the ball in his possession, since he was also knows for his superb skills in transforming opportunities into goals.

Throughout his career, Pelé played no less than 1363 matches, scoring 1281 goals in total. He also contributed to a total number of 31 team trophies — both clubs and nationals – placing him, together with the Portuguese Vítor Baía, as the player with most career titles so far. It would be hard to top Pelé achievements indeed, and that is exactly why football lovers from all across the globe consider him a living legend.

There are several awards won by this magnificent player. The latest was BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award presented in 2005, after International Olympic Committee “Athlete of the Century” award closely before. He also received not one but more than 7 Football Player of the Century or Athlete of the Century awards, including the FIFA Player of the Century awarded in 2000.

We’re back with the second part of our football trivia series. It is always interesting to find out interesting facts about this sport, and that is exactly what we are going to do in this article.

Let’s start with the largest, most viewed, football match in history. Although there are large stadium such as the Wimbley or even Old Trafford, the most viewed football match was held at the Maracana Municipal Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, back in July 1950. It was a match between Brazil and Uruguay for the World Cup; the stadium was filled with a staggering 199,854 people.

If you think that’s superb, wait till you find out about the largest football tournament ever held in history. Today’s holder of largest tournament record is the Bangkok League Seven-a-Side Competition, followed by no less than 5,098 teams and over 35,000 players. The tournament was held in 1999, and we haven’t seen larger tournament since.

Now it’s time to talk about goals. Do you know that the fastest goal record is now 2.8 seconds? This goal – noted by FIFA as the fastest goal with video evidence – was scored by Uruguay’s Ricardo Olivera in 1998. It is also exciting to know that the largest number of goals scored by a single player in one match is actually 16; the record is made by Stephan Stanis in 1942.

I believe that concludes our football trivia series – that is, for now. There are still tons of interesting facts to discover, so expect more football trivia soon.

Union of European Football Associations or the UEFA is one of the largest football associations under FIFA. Out of the 32 available spots in the 2010 World Cup, 13 spots are given for European national teams. The organization was first founded in 1954. The UEFA headquarter is now in Nyon, Switzerland, and there are 53 national associations joining the organization.

UEFA is famous for its championships. With most of today’s top team playing under this particular football organization – with 12 out of 20 FIFA World Rangkings’ top teams being members of the UEFA – UEFA championships are always interesting to follow.

Take the UEFA Champions League, for instance, with superb teams from all across Europe playing for the trophy. The competition is always fierce, allowing football lovers from all across the globe to watch spectacular matches each year. UEFA Europa League features similar intensity; the winner of UEFA Europa League and winner of UEFA Champions League are joined in a match called UEFA Super Cup for best-of-the-best title.

UEFA also regulates futsal and initiated several European-based competitions for the sport. Women’s football clubs as well as national teams, along with youth teams and specialized clubs, are also accommodated by the organization via several competitions held on a yearly basis.

As mentioned earlier, UEFA is one of the largest and most intense football associations in the world. It is only natural that some of the best players in the world are also playing for teams under UEFA, allowing the organization to be noted as the most rewarding one as well.

The best thing about watching a football match is seeing how goals are being scored. The more goals scored in a match, the more interesting it is to watch the match closely. In most cases, teams with strong offensive lines are the ones collecting more wins and topping the leagues. For our beloved Premier League, there are several all-time top scorers know for their superb skills in scoring spectacular goals.

When it comes to the number of goals scored during one’s career, Alan Shearer is the name you should certainly recognizer. Playing the Premier League over the period of 1992-2006, Shearer played no less than 441 matches and scored 260 goals. He is known to be the one topping Premier League’s all-time top scorers list today.

Andy Cole is next on the list, played 407 matches and scored 188 goals during his time with Premier League. French player Thierry Henry also played for Premier League over the period of 1999-2007 before moving to the Spanish League. During his time in the Premier League, Henry scored 174 goals in 254 matches, placing him on the third place of this list. He is also knows to be the best in terms of goals to matches ratio with 69%.

On the fourth and fifth place we have Robbie Fowler and Leslie “Les” Ferdinand. Fowler scored 162 goals in 376 matches over his 1992-2007 career, while Ferdinand scored 149 goals in 351 matches in shorter period of time; Ferdinand joined the Premier League in 1992 until 2005.

The 2010 World Cup is closing in fast. With excitements building up quickly, people – even those who don’t normally enjoy football on a regular basis – are attracted to every updates surrounding the events. Tickets are selling out fast, with thousands of football fans from all across the globe gathering in South Africa for this grand intercontinental championship.

What most people don’t realize is that FIFA World Cup is not the only intercontinental championship available. FIFA as the main institution for international football is hosting different championships each year to accommodate different needs and audiences.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is another interesting international championship to follow, with best female players from all across the globe playing under their national flags. The next FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held in Germany in 2011.

We also have the FIFA World Confederations Cup with eight of the best national teams competing for the trophy. Although the World Confederations Cup was held every two years, it is now scheduled for every four years. You can catch the competition in 2013.

Other than national team intercontinental championship, we also have the FIFA Club World Cup. The difference between this championship and the FIFA World Cup is that football clubs are competing for the trophy instead of national teams. Barcelona won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup, after defeating Estudiantes with a score of 2-1. As with the World Cup, you can also find Women’s Club World Cup being played each year, with women’s football clubs competing for the title.

Football is an interesting sport to play and watch. There are also tons of interesting facts to follow about football. These series of articles will discuss some of the most interesting trivial facts about football and various aspects of this sport.

Do you know that the oldest team in the world is Sheffield FC? Sheffield FC was first formed in 1857 in UK, and the team is still playing until today. The football we all know and love today is also played first in the UK, although there are different forms of football before today’s official form.

There are several derbies – eternal rivalries if I must say – between teams, mostly the ones residing in the same area. Several famous derbies include Manchester derby (Manchester United vs. Manchester City) and of course the infamous Milan derby (AC Milan and Inter Milan). Watching these derbies, and all the rumors as well as excitements surrounding them, is always rewarding.

Football as we all know today is officially known as association football. It is known as football in every part of the world except the United States. This is because US culture also has American football quickly referred to as football, while association football is known as soccer.

Still, football is noted to be the most popular form of sport in the world. No matter how the sport is seen – from number of spectators and number of active participants alike – it is simply the largest and most anticipated sport in the world.

Be sure to stay tuned for more football trivia.