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Franck Songo'o
Franck Steve Songo'o (born 14 May 1987) is a retired professional Cameroonian footballer who played as either a forward or midfielder. His senior career had been spent primarily in the English and Spanish football league systems, and has also been capped for the Cameroon national team. Club career Early career Born in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, Songo'o began his youth footballing career at Spanish club Deportivo de La Coruña. Franck's father, Jacques, played for Deportivo's senior club and was part of the squad that won the 1999–2000 La Liga championship. At Deportivo, Franck was spotted by Spanish club FC Barcelona. He spent several years at Barcelona's youth facility centre, La Masia, alongside future stars Lionel Messi, Cesc Fàbregas, and Gerard Piqué. Although Songo'o did not make an immediate impact on Barça's first team, he impressed other clubs, drawing interest from the Premier League. Portsmouth On 31 August 2005, Songo'o signed for Portsmouth for a fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level. The outpost of Epsumb or Jeundo was founded between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers at the northern edge of the area's forests in 1887 by German explorers as a trading base for rubber and ivory. A military garrison was built in 1895 which enabled further colonization. After Imperial Germany's defeat in World War I, France held eastern Cameroon as a mandate, and Yaoundé was chosen to become the capital of the colony in 1922. Douala remained the more important settlement, but Yaoundé saw rapid growth and continued as the seat of government for the Republic of Cameroon upon its independence in 1960. Most of Yaoundé's economy is still centred on the administrative structure but major industries in Yaoundé includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cameroon National Football Team
The Cameroon national football team (French: ''équipe du Cameroun de football''), also known as the Indomitable Lions (French: ''les lions indomptables''), represents Cameroon in men's international football. It is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football, a member of FIFA and its African confederation CAF. The team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup eight times, more than any other African team, and four times in a row between 1990 and 2002. However, the team has only made it out of the group stage once. They were the first African team to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup in 1990, losing to England in extra time. They have also won five Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon is the first and, as of 2022, only African country to defeat Brazil in either friendly or tournament play, besting them in the 2003 Confederations Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup by identical 1-0 scores. History 1956–2000: Early years Cameroon played its first match against Belgian C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons typically run from August to May with each team playing 38 matches (playing all 19 other teams both home and away). Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures. The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights sale to Sky. From 2019 to 2020, the league's accumulated television rights deals were worth around £3.1 billion a year, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 128 and 32 games respectively. The Premier League is a corp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (, ; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a highly promising student at La Masia, Piqué joined Manchester United in 2004. He returned to Barcelona in 2008 under Pep Guardiola's leadership and helped the club win trebles in 2008–09 and 2014–15. He is one of only four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o. Piqué also represented Spain 102 times, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role on the Spanish teams that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Club career Early career Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Piqué started his career playing for FC Barcelona's youth teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he sign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when he was signed by Premier League club Arsenal in September 2003. Following injuries to key midfielders in the early part of the 2004–05 season, he went on establish himself in the team. He broke several of the club's records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best players in his position, and won the FA Cup in 2005. After a protracted transfer saga, Fàbregas left London on 15 August 2011 to return to Barcelona in a deal worth up to £35 million. During his three-year spell at the Camp Nou, Fàbregas played alongside Xavi and Andrés Iniesta and won a La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and two Spanish Super Cups. He returned to London in June 2014 to Arsenal's cross-town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192) and the Copa América (17). He has also the most international goal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Masia
La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; en, "The Farmhouse"), is a term used for FC Barcelona's youth academy. The academy includes more than 300 young players. It has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, and produced several world class players in the early 2000s. In 2010, La Masia became the first youth academy to have trained all three finalists for the Ballon d'Or in a single year: Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi.totalbarca.comIt’s an all Barça affair at FIFA Ballon d’Or La Masia is also the name of FC Barcelona's football training facilities, originally located near the Camp Nou in the Les Corts district of Barcelona. The original building itself was an ancient country residence (In Catalan: masia) built in 1702, and once Camp Nou was inaugurated in 1957, the building was remodelled and extended for use as the club's social headquarters. With the gradual expansion of the club, the building became too small for headquart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999–2000 La Liga
The 1999–2000 La Liga season, the 69th since its establishment, began on 21 August 1999 and ended on 20 May 2000. Deportivo La Coruña won their first league title with 69 points, the lowest for a champion since three points for a win was introduced in 1995. Promotion and relegation Teams promoted from 1998–99 Segunda División * Málaga * Numancia * Sevilla * Rayo Vallecano Teams relegated to 1999–2000 Segunda División * Extremadura * Villarreal * Tenerife * Salamanca Team information Personnel and kits Clubs and locations 1999–2000 season was composed of the following clubs: Managerial changes League table Results The season results are as follows: Overall * Most wins – Deportivo La Coruña (21) * Fewest wins – Sevilla (5) * Most draws – Racing Santander (16) * Fewest draws – Deportivo La Coruña (6) * Most losses – Sevilla (20) * Fewest losses – Zaragoza (7) * Most goals scored – Barcelona (70) * Fewest goals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Songo'o
Jacques Celestin Songo'o (born 17 March 1964) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the current goalkeeper coach of the Cameroon national team. He spent the vast majority of his professional career in France and Spain, most notably with Deportivo de La Coruña, appearing in more than 200 official games over the course of six seasons and winning the 1999–2000 La Liga. Songo'o represented the Cameroon national team in four World Cups, being first-choice in 1998. Club career Songo'o was born in Sackbayeme, in the Yaoundé suburbs. After first establishing himself as a professional in France, with Ligue 1 club FC Metz, he was voted ''Best African Goalkeeper'' in 1996, then arguably lived his most successful period at Spain's Deportivo de La Coruña. With the Galicians, Songo'o won the 1996–97 edition of the Ricardo Zamora Trophy (awarded to the best goalkeeper of the season), and was his side's undisputed starter in his first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cap (sport)
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the early days of football, the concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted, so each side would distinguish itself from the other by wearing a specific sort of cap. An early illustration of the first international football match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls, and the English wearing a variety of school caps. The practice was first approved on 10 May 1886 for association football after a proposal made by N. Lane Jackson , founder of the Corinthians: The act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports. Although in some sports physical caps may not now always be given (whether at all or for each appearance) the term ''cap'' f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spanish Football League System
The Spanish football league system consists of several professional, semi-professional and non-professional leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The top two tiers of the male league pyramid— Primera División ( La Liga) and Segunda División—are administered by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, a sports association with independent legal status from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), the governing body of football in Spain. Conversely, the top two tiers of the women's pyramid ( Primera División and Segunda División Pro) are administered by the RFEF. The lower tiers (6th and below for the men's pyramid; 5th and below for the female one) are run by the regional federations. In addition to clubs from Spain, and under the purview of the additional provision 17 of the 1990 Law of Sport, Andorran clubs affiliated to a Spanish regional federation are allowed to compete in the system. The RFEF allows reserve teams to compete in the mai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Football League System
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man also competing. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system, the Premier League. Below that are levels 2–4 organised by the English Football League, then the National League System from levels 5–10 administered by the FA, and thereafter feeder leagues run by relevant county FAs on an ''ad hoc'' basis. The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues, merge, or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 15 clubs per division implies that more than 7,000 teams of nearly 5,300 clubs are members of a league in the English me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_(Barcelona)_-_1.jpg "Click for more on -> Lionel Messi")
