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Thomas Buffel
Thomas Buffel (, born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He represented the Belgium national team at international level. Club career Early career Buffel began his career with Belgian sides Daring Ruddervoorde and Cercle Brugge before making a move to the Netherlands. Buffel played for the Dutch team Feyenoord in the 1999–2000 season, before moving to their feeder team Excelsior Rotterdam from 2000 to 2002. He returned to Feyenoord for the 2002–03 Eredivisie season. He reportedly fell out with then-manager Ruud Gullit in the next season "after refusing to sign a new contract". Rangers Buffel moved to the Scottish side Rangers in January 2005 in a £2.3 million, four-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut in the Scottish Cup coming on as a substitute against Old Firm rivals Celtic in what was to be a 2–1 defeat. However, the season did not end badly for him as he was to play a key role in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ... of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares (138.4 km2; 53.44 sq miles), including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge (from , meaning 'Bruges by the Sea'). The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval in shape and about 430 hectares in size. The city's total population is 117,073 (1 January 2008), [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded in Scottish culture. It has reflected, and contributed to, political, social, and religious division and sectarianism in Scotland. As a result, the fixture has had an enduring appeal around the world. Between them the two clubs have won 107 Scottish League championships (Rangers with 55 and Celtic with 52), 74 Scottish Cups (Celtic with 40 and Rangers with 34), and 47 Scottish League Cups (Rangers with 27 and Celtic with 20). Interruptions to their ascendancy have occurred rarely, mainly in the two decades after the Second World War from 1946 to 1965 when five other clubs all won the senior league, and in the first half of the 1980s with the challenge of the New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United. Beginning with the 1985–86 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existence. The competition had a straight knockout format but became a group and knockout competition from 2016–17. Rangers are the record holders of the cup, winning 27 times. Celtic are the holders, winning their 20th title after beating Hibernian 2–1 at Hampden Park on 19 December 2021. The domestic television rights are held by Viaplay, whose predecessor company Premier Sports replaced BT Sport from the 2019–20 season. Format Historically, the Scottish League Cup has oscillated between being a straightforward single-elimination knockout tournament and having an initial group phase. Since the 2016–17 season, the League Cup has used a group phase format. The format has eight groups of five teams playing each other once in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary football competition. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga. Seasons run from August to May. Games are played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All of the Bundesliga clubs qualify for the DFB-Pokal. The winner of the Bundesliga qualifies for the DFL-Supercup. Fifty-six clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding. Bayern Munich has won 31 of 59 titles, as well as the last ten seasons. The Bundesliga has seen other champions, with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and VfB Stuttgart most prominent among them. The Bundesliga is one of the top national leagues, ranked third in Europe according to UEFA's league coeffic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing career consisted of two spells with Dundee United, split by a short time at Dumbarton. A pelvic injury caused his retirement from playing and Smith moved into coaching at Dundee United, working for manager Jim McLean. Smith also took charge of the Scotland under-18 and under-21 teams, and assisted Scotland manager Alex Ferguson at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, after it had been announced that he would be moving to Rangers as assistant to Graeme Souness. Smith became the manager of Rangers in 1991, succeeding Souness. He won 13 major trophies in seven years, including seven league titles in succession. After leaving Rangers at the end of the 1997–98 season, he was appointed manager of English Premier League club Everton. He was in c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 1964 and 2019 and currently play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier in the German football league system, having been relegated from the Bundesliga, Germany's first tier, after finishing 17th in the 2018–19 season. Hannover 96 was founded in 1896. Hannover have won two German championships and one DFB-Pokal. Hannover's stadium is the HDI-Arena. Hannover 96 has a long-standing rivalry with Eintracht Braunschweig. History Foundation to WWII The club was founded on 12 April 1896 as Hannoverscher Fußball-Club 1896, upon the suggestion of Ferdinand-Wilhelm Fricke, founder of the Deutscher FV 1878 Hannover. Their initial enthusiasm was for athletics and rugby; football did not become their primary interest until 1899. Most of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transfer Window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer window" is the unofficial term commonly used by the media for the concept of "registration period" as described in the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. According to the rules, each national football association decides on the time (such as the dates) of the 'window' but it may not exceed 12 weeks. The second registration period occurs during the season and may not exceed four weeks. The transfer window of a given football association governs only international transfers into that football association. International transfers out of an association are always possible to those associations that have an open window. The transfer window of the association that the player is leaving does not have to be open. The window w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In rugby it is the area occupied by the players in the center positions. The term "midfield" in baseball and cricket is used to describe the area between the infield (within the bases or near the wickets) and the outfield. In American football, "midfield" refers to the halfway line. See also *Midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ... References {{Reflist Terminology used in multiple sports ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, that plays in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. This clubs has been founded in 1923, the club passed much time of its history in the lower divisions of Spanish football and began in La Liga in 1998. In the 21st century, Villarreal gained some league stability, although they sustained relegation in 2012, rebounding the next year and then remaining in the top division to date. The club made its first appearance in the UEFA Champions League in 2005, with its best result being the semi-finals in 2006 and 2022. Villarreal also appeared in the UEFA Europa League during this time, and won the competition in 2021 by defeating Manchester United in the final, clinching their first major trophy. The club is nicknamed ''El Submarí Grogue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final. It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations. Introduced in 1955 as the (French for European Champion Clubs' Cup), and commonly known as the European Cup, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner reckoned as the European club champion. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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