Paolo Castellini
Paolo Castellini (born 25 March 1979) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left back. Club career Born in Brescia, Lombardy, Castellini made his professional debut at U.S. Cremonese at only 17, going on to appear for the club in both the Serie B and Lega Pro Prima Divisione, Serie C1. In summer 2000 he signed with Torino FC, 2000–01 Serie B, achieving promotion to Serie A in his first season whilst appearing in 33 games. From January 2004, Castellini served a loan at his hometown side, Brescia Calcio of the top division, after which he was released by ''Toro''. In the ensuing summer he moved to Spain, joining La Liga's Real Betis on a five-year contract. His spell in Andalusia was disastrous, as he never dislodged veteran Luis Fernández (footballer, born 1972), Luis Fernández from his starting position, also suffering with injuries (torn ligaments and cartilage in his right knee). After ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brescia
Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the second largest city in Lombardy and the fourth largest in northwest Italy. The urban area of Brescia extends beyond the administrative city limits and has a population of 672,822, while over 1.5 million people live in its metropolitan area. The city is the administrative capital of the Province of Brescia, one of the largest in Italy, with over 1.2 million inhabitants. Founded over 3,200 years ago, Brescia (in antiquity Brixia) has been an important regional centre since pre-Roman times. Its old town contains the best-preserved Ancient Rome, Roman public buildings in northern Italy and numerous monuments, among these the medieval castle, the Old Cathedral, Brescia, Old and New Cathedral, Brescia, New cathedral, the Renaissance ''Piazza ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest level of the Spanish football league system. It is controlled by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional and contested by 20 teams over a 38-matchday period. Since its inception, All-time La Liga table, 62 teams have competed in La Liga, with nine teams crowned champions. Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Barcelona have dominated the competition, winning 36 and 28 titles respectively. In the 1940s, Valencia CF, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona emerged as the strongest clubs. Real Madrid and Barcelona led the charge in the 1950s, each winning four titles. During the 1960s and 1970s, Real Madrid dominated with fourteen titles, with Atlético Madrid winning four. During the 1980s and 1990s, Real Madrid remained prominent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Italian Football League System
The Italian football league system, also known as the Italian football pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Italy. It consists of nine national and regional tournaments, the first three being professional, while the remaining six are amateur, set up by the Italian Football Federation. One team from San Marino also competes. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between different divisions. In theory, it is possible for a lowly local amateur club to rise to the pinnacle of the Italian game and win the ''Scudetto''. While this may be unlikely in practice (at the very least, in the short run), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid. A notable example is AC ChievoVerona, which from the lower division went to Serie A, the highest level, reaching as good as 4th place in 2005–06 Serie A. The top two levels contain one division each. Below this, the levels have progressively more ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jonathan Biabiany
Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany (born 28 April 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Antequera. Between 2008 and 2014, he was regarded as the fastest footballer in the world. Early life Biabiany, of Guadeloupean descent, began his career with a local club in Le Blanc-Mesnil (in the northeastern suburbs of Paris) and was signed by Italian club Inter Milan in July 2004, initially as Jonathan Begora. Club career Inter Milan Biabiany, along with Sebastián Ribas, made his senior debut for Inter against Empoli in the Coppa Italia in January 2007. It was his only appearance that season. ChievoVerona (loan) In August 2007, he was loaned to ChievoVerona, but failed to play a first-team game. Instead, he played with the club's youth team, and by January 2008, he had made the Chievo bench just two times, not being used on either occasion. Modena (loan) Biabiany was then loaned to Modena in January 2008, where his loan was extended to a further seas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Arne Riise
John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), coach. With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national football team, Norway national team. He was named in the Norway squad for UEFA Euro 2000 but did not play in the tournament. Riise scored 16 goals before his retirement from international duty in 2013. He spent seven years playing for Premier League side Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, in which he won many honours, including the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, before moving to A.S. Roma, Roma in 2008. Club career Early career Riise began his career in his homeland with Aalesunds FK, Aalesund. After a single season as a senior player for the club, he moved abroad in 1998, playing the formative years of his professional career with French club AS Monaco FC, Monaco. When Aalesund opened their Color Line Stadion, new stadium ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of UEFA competitions, European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Conference League. Introduced in 1971 as the UEFA Cup, it replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. From the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, 2004–05 season a group stage was added before the knockout phase. The competition took on its current name in 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, 2009, following a change in format. The 2009 re-branding included a merge with the UEFA Intertoto Cup, producing an enlarged competition format, with an expanded group stage and a change in qualifying criteria. In the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League, 2024–25 season, the group stage was replaced with an expanded league phase of 36 te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2010–11 UEFA Europa League
The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with the first qualifying round matches, and concluded on 18 May 2011, with the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, between Porto and first-time finalists Braga. This was the first all-Portuguese final of a European competition and only the third time that two Portuguese teams faced each other in Europe, following Braga's elimination of Benfica in the semi-finals. Porto defeated Braga 1–0, with a goal from the competition's top goalscorer Radamel Falcao, and won their second title in the competition, after victory in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup. Atletico Madrid were the defending champions but were eliminated in group stage. Association team allocation A total of 194 teams from 53 UEFA associations participated in the 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cristian Zaccardo
Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Italian club Bologna in 2000, and remained with the club until 2004, aside from a loan spell with Spezia. He subsequently moved to Palermo, where he came to prominence during his four seasons at the club. In 2008, he moved to German club VfL Wolfsburg for a season, where he won the 2008–09 Bundesliga title. He returned to Italy the following season, joining Parma, and in 2013 he moved to AC Milan, before joining Carpi in 2015; he spent the 2016–17 season on loan with Vicenza in Serie B. In October 2017, he joined Maltese Premier League side Ħamrun Spartans. In January 2019, he signed with San Marinese club Tre Fiori, where he won the Coppa Titano, before announcing his retirement in July. At international level, he represented the It ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Formation (association Football)
In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a Association football pitch, pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper) in a formation does not define their role as tightly as that of rugby football, rugby player, nor are there breaks in play where the players must line up in formation (as in gridiron football). A player's position in a formation typically defines whether a player has a mostly defensive or attacking role, and whether they tend to play centrally or towards one side of the pitch. Formations are usually described by three or more numbers in order to denote how many players are in each row of the formation, from the most defensive to the most advanced. For example, the "4–5–1" formation has four Defender (association football), defenders, five midfielders, and a single Forward (assoc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2009–10 Serie A
The 2009–10 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 108th season of top-tier Italian football, the 78th in a round-robin tournament. There were three promoted teams from the Serie B, replacing the three teams that were relegated following the 2008–09 season. Nike provided a new match ball – the T90 Ascente – for this season. Following the season, citing a larger television contract, the seventeen teams that survived the season and the three promoted sides formed a new league akin to England's Premier League. The title race was only settled on the last day of the season. The title was won by Internazionale, their fifth title in a row. Inter would go on to complete the first and only treble by an Italian team by winning the Coppa Italia and Champions League. Teams The following 20 teams participated in the 2009–10 season: Personnel and sponsorship Managerial changes * Davide Ballardini was removed from his managerial duties on 5 J ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008–09 Serie B
The 2008–09 Serie B season was the seventy-seventh since its establishment. A total of 22 teams will contest the league, 15 of which will be returning from the Serie B 2007–08, 2007–08 season, four of which will have been promoted from Serie C1 (now Lega Pro Prima Divisione), and three relegated from Serie A. Teams Noted teams featured in the league include Parma F.C., who last played Serie B in 1989–90 when under coach Nevio Scala they won their first promotion to the top flight. U.S. Sassuolo Calcio, promoted to Serie B as Serie C1/A champions, are competing at the highest level in the club's history. A vacancy created by the withdrawal of Sicilian squad F.C. Messina Peloro was filled by the federation by including U.S. Avellino 1912, U.S. Avellino, who were the best team slated to be relegated in 2007–08. Stadiums and locations Personnel and kits Events Following the end of the 2007–08 season, rumours spread out regarding F.C. Messina Peloro, Messina's f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Parma F
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, Parma is the second most populous city in Emilia-Romagna after Bologna, the region's capital. The city is home to the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world. Parma is divided into two parts by the Parma (river), stream of the same name. The district on the west side of the river is ''Oltretorrente'', meaning ''The other side of the stream''. Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called ''Parma (shield), Parma''. History Prehistory Parma was already a built-up area in the Bronze Age. In the current position of the city rose a Terramare culture, terramare. The "terramare" (marl earth) were ancient villages built of wood on piles according to a defined scheme and squared form; c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |