Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. It is one of only three teams to be founder members of both the Football League and the Premier League, the others being Aston Villa and Everton.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club was established in 1875, and in 1888 became a founding member of The Football League. In 1890 Rovers moved to its permanent home at Ewood Park. Until the formation of the Premier League in 1992, the majority of the club's success was pre-1930 when they won the league and FA Cup on several occasions. Their relegation in 1966 was followed by 26 successive seasons of football outside the top flight.
In 1992, Blackburn were promoted to the new Premier League a year after being taken over by local steel baron Jack Walker, who installed Kenny Dalglish as manager. In 1995, Blackburn became league champions, having spent millions of pounds on players like Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton. However, the title-winning team was quickly split up and, in 1999, the club were relegated. They were promoted back to the Premiership two years later, just after Walker's death, and have been in the top flight ever since. During this time they have qualified for the UEFA Cup four times: once as League Cup winners, twice as the Premiership's sixth-placed team and once via the Intertoto Cup.
The club's Latin motto "Arte et labore", which was used by the town council before the club were formed, literally translated means "by art and by labourIn 2001–02, Blackburn record signing Andy Cole was bought in for £8million, as was Turkish playmaker Tugay Kerimoglu, Italian hotshot Corrado Grabbi and full back Lucas Neill were signed to strengthen an already solid squad. With David Dunn and Damien Duff both shining, the season was a memorable one. More significantly, Blackburn Rovers won their first-ever League Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff - where Cole proved his worth by scoring the winning goal in the 69th minute after Matt Jansen had put Rovers in front. Their cup success meant a place in the UEFA Cup for 2002-03
The following season, Souness signed Dwight Yorke from Manchester United, as Matt Jansen was involved in a motor cycle accident during pre-season that left him with serious head injuries. Blackburn Rovers progress continued as they finished sixth on the last day, with an impressive 4–0 win away at Tottenham, to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the second season running. Again it was Duff and Dunn who shone brightest, while goalkeeper Brad Friedel was one of the league's best players, However, the club had to be content with a disappointing exit from the UEFA Cup to eventual finalists Celtic, despite this, the club went into the 2003-04 with great expectations.
At the start of 2003–04 the sale of fan favourites Damien Duff and David Dunn meant that Rovers were always going to struggle to emulate the previous season's form. With transfer funds would be available, Souness replaced Duff with the highly rated Australian winger Brett Emerton from Feyenoord and Stephen Reid, while Lorenzo Amoruso, the Rangers defender, was also signed. Henning Berg was among the other departures. The season started promisingly, as newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers were defeated 5-1 at Ewood. The signing of Rangers captain Barry Ferguson for £7.5 million prompted talk of a surprise title challenge. However, results dipped, and the club began a long sequence of home defeats that left them in towards relegation danger. Souness's job was put on the line, and the club eventually were left needing a late turnaround, inspired by little known striker Jon Stead, to avoid relegation back to the English first division. 15th place was secured by a run of 4 wins from the final 6 games, sparked by a 4-3 victory at Fulham.
Mark Hughes era (2004–2008)Souness left just after the start of 2004-05 to take charge at Newcastle. Rovers appointed Welsh national coach Mark Hughes as his successor, a key player in the club's promotion and League Cup successes a few seasons earlier. Hughes secured Rovers Premiership survival for the 2004–05 season as well as an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, with Rovers finishing 15th once again, with Hughes's arrival coinciding with the team becoming one of the most solid teams in the league, thanks to astute signings such as Ryan Nelsen and Aaron Mokoena, and good motivational skills. He was able to strengthen the setup for 2005–06 with the £3.2 million transfer of much sought-after Wales international striker Craig Bellamy from Newcastle United. Following a 1–0 victory over league champions Chelsea F.C., Blackburn Rovers secured the 6th place in the league and a spot in the UEFA Cup for the 2006–07 season - their third European qualification in five years, and their sixth foray into Europe since 1994.
After qualifying for Europe, Rovers signed South African striker Benni McCarthy from Porto as a replacement for the departing Craig Bellamy. Blackburn Rovers finished top of their group and were drawn against Bayer Leverkusen; they suffered a narrow 3–2 defeat in the first leg of their tie against Bayer Leverkusen, but a 0–0 draw in the second leg saw them bow out of the competition. The club was busy during the January transfer window, signing David Dunn, Stephen Warnock, Christopher Samba and Bruno Berner. Rovers reached the Semi Final of the FA Cup in 2007, they defeated Everton, Luton, Arsenal (after replay) and Manchester City. However they would go on to be defeated by Chelsea in the semi-final, with the game going into extra time. Rovers finished the season 10th in the league, with McCarthy netting 18 league goals. The club also qualified for the Intertoto Cup, which they successfully came through.
To prepare for the 2007–08 season Rovers invested in three new players, signing Paraguay international Roque Santa Cruz from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, Dutch under-21 star Maceo Rigters and young goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen. Blackburn would be knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Greek team Larissa, and also suffer a defeat to Coventry, in the FA Cup. Rovers confirmed an application to the following season's Intertoto competition. However, Blackburn lost 4-1 to Birmingham City on the final day of the season to deny them the Intertoto spot, which went to Aston Villa. Rovers ended in a respectable 7th. position in the Premiership, their third consecutive top half finish.
Paul Ince Spell (2008)In May 2008, Mark Hughes left Blackburn Rovers Football Club the club for the vacancy at Manchester City . Several names were mooted to replace Hughes, including former players Mike Newell and Alan Shearer. Other managers linked included former England Manager Steve McClaren and former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, former Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce and Paul Ince, who took Milton Keynes Dons to the League Two title in 2007–08, was also linked with the manager's job. On 22 June 2008, it was officially confirmed by the Blackburn Rovers website that Ince had indeed been brought in to manage Rovers, signing a three-year deal with the club.[4] Ince's first job was to persuade some of the wantaway players to stay.[5]. On 4 July, Ince signed experienced coach Archie Knox.[6]
Before the start of the 2008–09 season, regular goalkeeper Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) and England international winger David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur) left the club for a combined fee of around £19.5 million. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson then became Ince's first signing on the 25 July for a fee of £3.5 million.
Sam Allardyce Era (2008-)Although the 2008/2009 Barclays Premier League Season began well for Ince and Blackburn, with a win over Everton, other results weren't as good and on December 16, following a run of eleven games without a win, Ince was relieved of his duties at Blackburn.[7] The next day, it was announced that Sam Allardyce had been appointed as Ince's replacement at Blackburn Rovers on a three-year contract

READ MORE - New Football Club Blackburn Rovers FC

Middlesbrough Football Club, also known as 'The Boro', are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Premier League. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889. Their longest-serving home so far was Ayresome Park, where they played at for 92 years (1903-1995).
They were founding members of the Premier League in 1992. The club's main rivals are Newcastle United and Sunderland.
The club's highest league finish to date was third in the 1913–14 season and they have only spent two seasons outside of the Football League's top two divisions. The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before the club was saved by a consortium led by then board member and current chairman Steve Gibson. Middlesbrough were controversially deducted three points for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn Rovers during the 1996–97 Premier League season and were subsequently relegated.They were promoted the following season and are now in their eleventh consecutive season in the top division.Middlesbrough won the League Cup in 2004, the club's first and only major trophy. The manager is former captain Gareth Southgate who was appointed on 7 June 2006.
The club's traditional kit is red with white detailing. A white band across the chest, initially introduced in the 1970s, has returned following a vote by the fans. The various crests throughout the club history, the most recent of which was adopted in May 2007, incorporate a lion rampant.
Despite losing high profile players Fabrizio Ravanelli, Juninho and Nick Barmby due to relegation, Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premiership at the first attempt in 1998. The following season saw them settle well and they enjoyed a 12-game unbeaten run midway through 1998–99, including a 3–2 win at Old Trafford in January during which they took a 3–0 lead. It was United's only home defeat during their treble winning season. They continued to stay secure in midtable the following season, thanks mainly to the goals of Hamilton Ricard and the signings of big name players such as Paul Ince and Christian Ziege. In 2000–01 they had a brief relegation scare that was solved with the arrival of Terry Venables as co-manager, and a 3–0 win away at Arsenal in March was the team's best result. The trend of buying European stars continued with the acquisitions of Christian Karembeu and Alen Boksic.
Bryan Robson left the club before the start of 2001–02 season, having served as manager for 7 years, and was replaced by Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren. The following seasons saw Premiership security maintained as Middlesbrough slowly improved and were seen as a tough side to beat when playing at the Riverside StadiumThe 2003–04 season was the most successful in the club's history as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton 2–1 in the League Cup final under manager Steve McClaren. This success also ensured that Middlesbrough would qualify for Europe — the UEFA Cup — for the first time, in which they reached the last 16. UEFA cup qualification was achieved for the second consecutive year after a dramatic 1–1 away draw with Manchester City thanks to a late penalty save from Mark Schwarzer in the last game of the season.
On 27 April 2006, Middlesbrough reached the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, following two comebacks from 3–0 down. However, the team lost 4–0 to Sevilla. Following the cup final, McClaren left to head up the England team, and captain Gareth Southgate took over, despite not having the coaching qualifications, but he was allowed to continue after receiving special dispensation.[30] During the 2007–08 season, Southgate broke Middlesbrough's record transfer fee, paying £12 million for Brazilian striker Afonso Alves. Southgate's managerial career so far has seen the club finish in twelfth and thirteenth places, while twice reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

READ MORE - New Football Club Middlesbrough FC

Sevilla Fútbol Club is a Spanish professional football club that plays in the top-flight Spanish La Liga championship. The club was established on October 14, 1905, making it the oldest football club from Seville, and the second oldest from Andalusia.Under new coach Joaquín Caparrós, Sevilla won the second division title in 2000/01. New team president José María del Nido brought fiscal order to Seville, selling its homegrown superstar José Antonio Reyes to Arsenal FC in January 2004 for a €25m (£10.5m) fee.

In that season (03/04), not only did Sevilla reach the semifinals of the Copa del Rey after more than 20 years (where it fell 2-1 to Real Madrid), but the team managed to qualify for Europe by placing sixth in the league and earning a ticket for the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup.Having finished 6th in the 2004-2005 season, Sevilla secured a place in the first round of the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup. After advancing through the first round and the group stage of competition, Seville beat Russian side FC Lokomotiv Moscow to advance to the round of 16. On March 9, Sevilla FC lost 1-0 to French club Lille OSC in the first leg of their home-and-away match, but on March 15, at home in Seville's 50th game in European competition, Sevilla won 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In these matches, which took place against FC Zenit on March 30, and April 6, 2006, Sevilla won 5-2 on aggregate and advanced to the semifinals. In the semis, Seville knocked out the strong German side Schalke 04 after 180 goalless minutes, with Antonio Puerta scoring the decisive goal in the extra time of the return leg. That goal was called by the fans "el gol quenos cambió la vida" - "the goal that changed our lives", because thanks to it, Sevilla played their first European final. On May 10, 2006, in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, Sevilla FC broke a 58 year drought on trophies and became the first Andalusian team to win a European final. Sevilla defeated Middlesbrough F.C. 4-0 in Eindhoven to win the their first UEFA Cup, in the largest UEFA victory in history. One goal came from Luis Fabiano, two from Enzo Maresca, and one by Frédéric Kanouté . At that time, Sevilla was the only European team which had played in the three major competitions (the European Cup, Cup Winner's Cup and UEFA Cup) and had never lost any game (out of 27) when playing on their home stadium until they lost to AZ Alkmaar in December 14th, 2006.

After almost sixty years without having raised a Spanish trophy, Sevilla won the 2006-2007 Copa Del Rey, beating Getafe 1-0 in the final. A Kanouté goal in the 12th minute was enough to end Getafe's surprising run in the Copa del Rey. Victory in the Copa del Rey qualified Sevilla for the 2007 Supercopa de España (Spanish Super Cup), a two-legged (home and away) final in which the winners of La Liga play the winners of the Copa del Rey. In August 2007, Sevilla played La Liga champions Real Madrid. Sevilla took a 1-0[18] lead from the home leg, played on August 12, 2007, and the teams played the return leg in Madrid the next week. Seville won this match 5-3, giving them a 6-3 aggregate victory -- the team's fifth trophy in 15 months.
On October 26, 2007, Juande Ramos, Sevilla manager between 2005-07, resigned from his duties in order to join the North London outfit Tottenham Hotspur. The English press claimed that Ramos has already agreed to a four-year deal with the English club worth €36m (£25 million). Marcos Álvarez, the club's fitness coach, also resigned, and Manolo Jimenez, the head coach of the reserve team Sevilla Atlético, became the caretaker manager.On October 8, 1915, the first Sevilla-Betis derby took place, ending with a 4-3 Sevilla victory. The cross-town rivalry is considered one of the most violent and the most important derbies in Spain. As of the 2006/2007 season, 77 Sevilla derbies have been played in La Liga, which Sevilla FC won 35, Real Betis won 26, and 16 ended in a draw.
During a quarterfinal match of the Copa del Rey on February 28, 2007, at Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, the game had to be suspended in the 60th minute due to a Betis aficionado throwing an object at former Sevilla manager Juande Ramos' head, subsequently knocking him out. Ramos had to be removed from the pitch on a stretcher and the Sevilla footballers abandoned the pitch in protest. Betis were condemned to their next 3 home matches being played in another venue by the Spanish Football Federation. Sevilla FC win the elminatory and later won the Copa del Rey in Madrid. (Sevilla FC 1-0 Getafe)

READ MORE - New Football Club Sevilla Fc

Villarreal Club de Fútbol, usually abbreviated to Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Villarreal, a small town in the province of Castellón. The team plays at the 25,000-seat Madrigal stadium.
After finishing 7th a year later, Villarreal stayed near the bottom of the table for two seasons before defeating Dutch team SC Heerenveen in the final to win their first European title, the UEFA Intertoto Cup in the summer of 2003, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup tournament. In the 2003/04 season, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to neighbours and eventual champions Valencia CF. That summer, however, they won the Intertoto Cup again, qualifying for that coming season's UEFA Cup tournament, in which they would reach the quarter-finals. They bowed out in the quarter-finals to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, losing 3-2 on aggregate. During the same 2004/05 season Villarreal finished in 3rd place in La Liga, earning the club their first direct qualification to a European tournament; the UEFA Champions League.
The 2005/06 season brought the club considerable European success and recognition, due to their consistent performances in the Champions League. In the qualifying round stage, Villarreal sensationally defeated English side Everton F.C. with a 4-2 aggregate score with two 2-1 victories. In the group stage, Villarreal were to be in the same group as Portuguese champions S.L. Benfica, French club Lille OSC, and English giants Manchester United F.C.. Remaining undefeated throughout the group stage, Villarreal were twice victorious (1-0 each against Benfica away and Lille at home) and earned four draws, including two scoreless draws with Manchester United. They topped their group and progressed to the knock-out stages along with S.L. Benfica. The club progressed to the quarter-finals in their Champions League debut by defeating the Scottish club Rangers F.C. 3-3 on the away goals rule (a 2-2 draw in Glasgow and a 1-1 draw at home gave the Spanish side one more away goal than their opponents).
El Submarino Amarillo drew Italian heavyweights Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The first leg was played at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 29, 2006. Playing at San Siro, Diego Forlán scored inside the first minute of the match, but Villarreal lost 2-1 as Inter took a lead to the return leg at Estadio El Madrigal on April 4. Villarreal, however, continued their unbeaten home record in the Champions League as they beat the Italian giants 1-0 in the second leg to qualify for the semi-finals on the away goals rule (the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate, but because of Diego Forlán's goal in Milan, Villarreal advanced). During that game, left-back Rodolfo 'El Vasco' Arruabarrena turned a back header from Riquelme's free kick past Inter's goalkeeper Francesco Toldo to score the decisive goal of the tie. In the semi-finals, Villarreal narrowly lost out to Arsenal F.C. on a 1-0 aggregate scoreline following Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's save of Juan Román Riquelme's last-minute penalty. Villarreal signed Robert Pires from Arsenal in the summer following their Champions League semi-final defeat. He is playing for the team now after a long injury lay-off. The 2006-2007 season started very badly but Villarreal were able to qualify for the UEFA Cup after 8 consecutive wins. The Yellow Submarines were 13th after Round 30 of La Liga, but they climbed to finish 5th at the end of the season.
The club automatically qualified for the 2008/09 Champions League, due to them finishing second in La Liga the previous season. They drew Manchester United, for the second consecuitive campaign, Glasgow Celtic and Aalborg BK. They made a good start by holding European champions Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford, a third 0-0 draw in a row against the English giants. A first win was sealed on 30th September by beating Gordon Strachan's Celtic 1-0 at El Madrigal, courtesy of a Marcos Senna freekick. On October 21 during a Champions League match against Aalborg they scored 6 goals to 3.

READ MORE - New Football Club Villareal FC

Real Club Celta de Vigo Sociedad Anonima Deportiva is a Spanish football team from Vigo in Galicia. It was founded on March 28, 1923 by merging Real Vigo Sporting and Real Club Fortuna de Vigo. They currently play in Spain's Second Division.
Nicknamed Celtiñas (Galician for little celts), they play in sky-blue shirts and white shorts. The club's home stadium is Balaídos, which seats 32,500 spectators.
Celta had a dramatic reversal of fortune in 2003-04. The previous season, they finished fourth in the league, putting them in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Celta entered the group phase, and eventually reached the last 16 before being knocked out by Arsenal. However, their domestic form was disastrous, and they finished penultimate in La Liga, so they were relegated to the second level. They earned a return to the top flight at the first attempt, after finishing second in in 2004-05's Segunda.
In the 2005-06 season, they finished sixth earning a return once more to the UEFA Cup. They made it to the last 16 in that competition as well, before losing to SV Werder Bremen.
In the 2006-07 season, Celta finished in 18th position and were relegated to Segunda División. At the end of June 2007, Celta avoided going into administration. However, if an agreement was not put in place between the club and its creditors within three months, then courts would declare the liquidation of the club’s assets.

READ MORE - New Football Club Celta Vigo FC

Valencia Club de Fútbol (also known as Valencia or Los Che) is a
Spanish professional football club based in Valencia. They play in La
Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish
football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey
trophies, one UEFA Cup, two Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two
UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups. They have also reached two
UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real
Madrid in 2000 and German club Bayern Munich in 2001. Valencia were
also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.
In the all-time La Liga table, Valencia is in 4th position behind Real
Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. In terms of international
titles, Valencia is 3rd behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, these three
being the only Spanish clubs to have won more than five international
trophies.
Valencia were founded in 1919, and have played their home games at the
55,000-seater Estadio Mestalla since 1923. They are soon to move into
the 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the north-west of the city in 2009.
Valencia have a long-standing rivalry with Levante, also located in
Valencia, and with another club in the Valencian Community region,
Villarreal.
Valencia is the third most popular football team in Spain, only behind
Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. It is also one of the biggest clubs in
the world in terms of number of associates (registered paying
supporters), with more than 50,000 season ticket holders and another
20,000+ season ticket holders on the waiting list, which will come into
effect once the new 75,000-seater stadium is built .
Valencia started the 1999-2000 season by winning another title, the
Spanish Super Cup, beating FC Barcelona. Valencia finished third in the
league, behind the champions, Deportivo and level on points with second
placed Barcelona. But the biggest success was in the UEFA Champions
League, for the first time in its history Valencia reached the European
Cup final. However, in the final played in Paris on May 24, 2000, Real
Madrid beat Valencia 3-0.
It was also Claudio López's farewell, as he had agreed to sign for the
Italian side Lazio. Also leaving was Farinós for Inter and Gerard for
Barcelona. The notable signings of that summer were the Uruguayan Diego
Alonso, the Norwegian John Carew, Rubén Baraja from Atletico Madrid,
the Argentine Roberto Ayala and the Brazilian left back Fabio Aurelio.
Valencia started the championship on the right foot and were top after
10 games, after the Christmas break Valencia started to pay for the top
demand that such an absorbing competition like the Champions League
requires. After passing the two mini-league phases, Cúper's team
eliminated Arsenal FC in quarter finals and Leeds United in the semi-
finals, and got ready to face Bayern Munich in the big final, Valencia
had now reached two European Cup finals in a row. This time the final
was to be played in Milan and at the San Siro, on 23 May. Gaizka
Mendieta gave Valencia the lead by scoring from the penalty spot right
at the start of the match, Cañizares then stopped a penalty from Mehmet
Scholl, but Stefan Effenberg drew level after the break thanks to
another penalty. After extra time, it was a penalty shoot-out to decide
who would be European champions Valencia or Bayern Munich. Mauricio
Pellegrino was the man who missed to give Bayern European glory and
Valencia heartbreak for the second season running in the biggest game
in club football. For Valencia it was difficult to recover from the
blow in Milan, it culminated in Valencia finishing 5th in La Liga and
out of the Champions League for the 2001-2002 season.
The president D. Pedro Cortés resigned due to personal reasons and left
the club in July, with the satisfaction of having won the King’s Cup,
one Spanish Super Cup and having been runners up in two Champions
League finals in a row. D. Jaime Ortí replaced him as president and
expressed his intention on maintaining the good form that had made the
club so admired on the European circuit. There were also some changes
in the team and staff, Rafa Benítez, after helping Tenerife to
promotion, replaced Héctor Cúper after the latter became the new coach
at Inter Milan. Among the footballers, Mendieta, Deschamps, Milla,
Zahovic and Gerard left, and Marchena, Mista, Curro Torres, Rufete, De
los Santos and Salva arrived.
From 1999 up until the end of the 2004 season, Valencia had one of the
their most successful periods in the club's history. With a total of 2
La Liga titles, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 Copa del Rey and 1 UEFA Super Cup, in
those six years, no less than five first class titles and two UEFA
Champions League finals had been achieved.
During Valencia's domestic and european dominance of the Noughties,
Argentine Roberto Ayala had been a key component in their defence.The
2001/02 season brought Valencia a La Liga title, thirty-one years after
the last title crown. There were new incorporations to the team, the
manager Rafa Benítez and the new players; Marchena, Mista, Curro
Torres, Rufete, De los Santos and Salva.
That first game against fellow title rivals Real Madrid, produced a
significant and important victory. This was followed by a record of
eleven games won consecutively, breaking the existing one set in the
1970/71 season, the season they had last won the La Liga title under
Alfredo Di Stefano.
After a defeat in La Coruña against Deportivo on the 9 December 2001,
the team had to win against Espanyol in the Montjuic stadium to prevent
falling further behind the league leaders. Valencia were 2-0 down at
half time, but a comeback in the second half saw Valencia win 3-2.
In the second part of the season, Benítez's team suffered a small
setback after losing 1-0 in the Santiago Bernabéu to Real Madrid, but
they recovered from this setback and achieved four victories and two
draws in the following six games. The games against Las Palmas,
Athletic de Bilbao, Alavés, Real Zaragoza and Barcelona.
In one of those crucial games they would come up against Espanyol,
Valencia were trailing 1-0 half-time and a man down too with the
dismissal of Carboni, but after two goals from Baraja, Valencia
achieved a 2-1 victory. Furthermore, Real Madrid's defeat in Anoeta to
Real Sociedad left Valencia with a three-point lead at the top of the
table.
The final game of the season was at La Rosaleda to face Malaga, on 5
May 2002, a date that has gone down in Valencia’s history. The team
shut itself away in Benalmádena, close to the scene of the game, in
order to gain focus. An early goal from Ayala and another close to
half-time from Fabio Aurelio, assured them their fifth La Liga title.
Thirty-one years after their last title win.
The 2002-2003 season was a disappointing one for Valencia, they failed
in their attempt to retain the La Liga title and ended up outside of
the Champions League spots in 5th behind Celta Vigo, they were also
knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Inter
Milan on away goals. However, in the 2003-2004 season Valencia were
champions again beating Real Madrid once again to the title. The club
added the UEFA Cup to this success. Valencia had now been La Liga
champions twice in three seasons.
In the summer of 2004, coach Rafa Benitez decided to leave the club
stating he had had problems with the club president, he would soon
become manager of Liverpool FC. He was replaced by former Valencia
coach Claudio Ranieri who had recently been sacked by Chelsea FC.
However, his second reign at the club was a disappointment, Valencia
harboured realistic hopes of retaining their La Liga crown but by
February found themselves in 7th place, Valencia had also been knocked
out of the Champions League group phase, Ranieri was promptly sacked in
February. The 2004-2005 season ended with Valencia outside of the UEFA
Cup spots.
In the summer of 2005, Getafe coach Quique Sanchez Flores was appointed
as the new manager of Valencia, he ended the season in 3rd place, which
in turn gained Valencia a place in the Champions League after a season
away from the competition. The 2006/2007 season was a season with many
difficulties, a season which started with realistic hopes of
challenging for La Liga was disrupted with a huge list of injuries to
key players and internal arguments between Flores and new Sporting
Director, Amedeo Carboni. Valencia ended the season in 4th place and
were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage by
Chelsea 3-2 on aggregate, after knocking out Italian champions Inter
Milan in the second round. In the summer of 2007, the internal fight
between Flores and Carboni was settled with Carboni being replaced by
Angel Ruiz as the new Sporting Director of Valencia.
On 29 October 2007, the Valencia board of directors fired Flores after
a string of disappointing performances and caretaker manager Óscar Rub
én Fernández took over on a temporary basis until a full-time manager
was found, rumoured to be either Marcello Lippi or Jose Mourinho. A day
later, Dutch manager Ronald Koeman announced he would be leaving PSV
Eindhoven to sign for Valencia. But there was still no improvement, in
fact, Valencia even went on to drop to the 15th position in the league,
just two points above the relegation zone. Although on 16th April 2008,
Valencia lifted the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 victory over Getafe CF at
the Vicente Calderon, this was the club's 7th Copa title. Five days
later, one day after a devastating 5-1 league defeat in Bilbao,
Valencia fired Ronald Koeman and replaced him with Voro who would guide
Valencia as Caretaker Manager for the rest of the season, he went on to
win the first game since the sacking of Koeman, beating Osasuna 3-0 in
his first game in charge. Voro would eventually drag Valencia from the
relegation battle to a safe mid-table finish of 10th place, finally
ending a disastrous league campaign for Los Che. Highly-rated Unai
Emery was announced as the new manager of Valencia on 22 May 2008.

READ MORE - New Football Club Valencia CF

Futbol Club Barcelona Spanish
, known familiarly as Barça
is a sports club based in Barcelona,
Catalonia, Spain. It is best known for its football team, which was
founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English, and Spanish men led by
Joan Gamper. The club has become a Catalan institution, hence the motto
Més que un club (More than a club).

They were founding member of La Liga in 1928, and, together with Real
Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, they have never been relegated from the top
division. The club were also the first La Liga champions, winning a
total of 18 La Liga, 24 Copa del Rey, 7 Supercopa de España, 2 UEFA
Champions League, 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and
2 European Super Cup trophies.

The club's main stadium is the Camp Nou and the fans of FC Barcelona
are known as culés. In Spain, about 25% of the population are said to
be Barça supporters. In June 2007, the number of socis (club
members/owners) reached 156,366, while in June 2006 the number of
penyes (officially-registered supporter clubs) reached 1782 worldwide.
The club also operate a reserve team, FC Barcelona Atlètic, and four
other professional sports teams, Regal FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona, FC
Barcelona Futsal and FC Barcelona Sorli Discau that compete at
basketball, handball, futsal and rink hockey respectively. Until 2007
there was also a youth team, FC Barcelona C.

There are also a number of prominent amateur sports teams that compete
at rugby union, women's football and wheelchair basketball. These
include FCB Rugby and FC Barcelona-Institut Guttman. Other amateur
teams represent the club at ice hockey, athletics, baseball, cycling,
field hockey, figure skating, and volleyball.

During the 2006-07 season, FC Barcelona was the third richest club in
the world with a revenue of €291.1 million.
Josep Lluís Núñez was elected president of FC Barcelona in 1978. His
main objectives were to establish Barça as a world-class sports club
and to give the club financial stability. Besides, in 1979 and 1982 the
club won two of four European Cup Winners' Cups won in the Núñez era.
In June 1982 Diego Maradona was signed for a world record fee from Boca
Juniors. In the following season, under coach César Luis Menotti,
Barcelona and Maradona in an unforgettable final won the Copa del Rey,
beating Real Madrid. However Diego's time with Barça was short-lived
and he soon left for Napoli. At the start of the 1984/85 season, Terry
Venables was hired as manager and he won La Liga with stellar displays
by German midfielder Bernd Schuster. The next season, he took the team
to their second European Cup final, only to lose on penalties to Steaua
Bucureşti during a dramatic evening in Seville.
After the 1986 World Cup, English top scorer Gary Lineker was signed
along with goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta but the team could not achieve
success while Schuster was excluded from the team. Terry Venables was
subsequently fired at the beginning of the 1987/88 season and replaced
with Luis Aragonés. That season finished with a rebellion of the
players against president Núñez known as the Motín del Hesperia and the
1-0 victory at the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.
In 1988 Johan Cruyff returned to the club as manager and assembled the
so-called Dream Team, named after the US basketball team that played at
the 1992 Summer Olympics hosted by Barcelona. He introduced players
like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristáin, Jon Andoni
Goikoetxea, Gheorghe Hagi, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and
Hristo Stoichkov.

Under Cruyff's guidance, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles
from 1991 to 1994. They beat Sampdoria in both the 1989 UEFA Cup
Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley with a
legendary free kick goal from Dutch international Ronald Koeman. They
also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992 and
three Supercopa de España. With 11 trophies, Cruijff became the club's
most successful manager to date. He also became the club's longest
serving manager. However, in his final two seasons, he failed to win
any trophies (not to mention the disastrous 4-0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League 1994 final against AC Milan) and fell out with
president Núñez, resulting in Cruijff's departure.
Cruijff was briefly replaced by Bobby Robson who took charge of the
club for a single season in 1996/97. He recruited Ronaldo from his
previous club, PSV Eindhoven and delivered a cup treble winning the
Copa del Rey, UEFA Cup Winners Cup and the Supercopa de España. Despite
his success, Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while
the club waited for Louis van Gaal to become available.
Like Maradona, Ronaldo only stayed a short time and he left for Inter
Milan. However, new heroes such as Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Luis
Enrique Martínez and Rivaldo emerged and the team won a Copa del Rey/La
Liga double in 1998. In 1999 the club celebrated its 'centenari'
winning the Primera División title and Rivaldo became the fourth Barça
player to be awarded European Footballer of the Year. Despite this
domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the UEFA
Champions League led to van Gaal and Núñez resigning in 2000.
The departures of Núñez and Van Gaal were nothing compared to that of
Luís Figo. As well as club vice-captain, Figo had become a cult hero
and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. So the Barça
fans were distraught by Figo’s decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid
and during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou Figo was given an
extremely hostile reception, including one occasion when a piglet's
head was thrown at him from the crowd. The next three years saw the
club in decline and managers came and went, including a short second
spell by Louis van Gaal. President Gaspart did not inspire confidence
off the field either and in 2003 he and Van Gaal resigned.

After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the combination of a new
young president Joan Laporta and a young new manager, former Dutch and
AC Milan star Frank Rijkaard, saw the club bounce back. On the field,
an influx international players, including Ronaldinho, Deco, Henrik
Larsson, Samuel Eto'o and Rafael Márquez, combined with a nucleus of
home grown and Spanish players such as Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta,
Xavi, and Víctor Valdés led to the club's return to success.
Barça won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and stars
Ronaldinho and Eto'o were voted first and third in the FIFA World
Player of the Year awards.
In 2005–06 Barcelona repeated their league and Supercup successes.
pinnacle of the league season arrived at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in a
3–0 victory over Real Madrid, Frank Rijkaard's second victory at the
Bernabeu, making him the first Barça manager to win there twice.
Ronaldinho's performance was so impressive that after his second, and
Barça's third goal the Real Madrid fans felt compelled to applaud him.
In the Champions' League Barça beat English club Arsenal 2–1 in the
final. Trailing 1-0 with less than 15 minutes left they came back to
win 2-1 for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years.
Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished
the 2006-07 season trophyless. A pre-season US tour was later blamed
for a string of injuries to key players, including leading scorer Eto'o
and rising star Lionel Messi. There was open feuding as Eto'o publicly
criticized coach Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho also
admitted that lack of fitness affected his form. In La Liga Barça
were in first place for much of the season, but inconsistency in the
New Year saw Real Madrid overtake them to become champions. Barça
advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, winning the first leg
against Getafe 5-2, with a goal from Messi bringing comparison to
Maradona, but then lost the second leg 4-0. They took part in the 2006
FIFA Club World Cup, but were beaten in the final by a late goal
against Internacional. In the Champions League Barça were knocked out
of the competition in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Liverpool on
away goals.
Barcelona finshed 2007-08 season third in La Liga and reached the semi
-finals of the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, both times
losing to the eventual champions Manchester United and Valencia,
respectively. A day after a 4-1 defeat by Real Madrid, Joan Laporta
announced that Barça B coach Josep Guardiola would take over Frank
Rijkaard's duties after June 30.
In the pre-season of 2008-09 a motion of no confidence was raised
against Joan Laporta. Laporta responded, with the assistance Director
of Football Txiki Begiristain, by a turnover of players, selling
Gianluca Zambrotta, Deco, Giovani dos Santos and Ronaldinho, replacing
them with Seydou Keita, Gerard Piqué, Martín Cáceres, Daniel Alves and
Aliaksandr Hleb. The no confidence motion received 60% support, short
of the 66% required to oust the president, and eight of his directors
resigned.
On 10 January 2009, FC Barcelona said they are interested in trading
Milan midfielder Emerson with Messi plus $20 millions.
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a
national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where
the game between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF is known as El Clá
sico. From the start the clubs were seen as representatives of two
rival regions in Spain, Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two
cities themselves. The rivalry projects what many regard as the
political and other tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians.
During the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and (especially) of
Francisco Franco (1939 - 1975), all regional cultures were openly
suppressed (e.g., the peripheral languages were officially banned).
Symbolising Catalan people's desire for freedom, FC Barcelona became
more than a club (més que un club) for it and one of its greatest
ambassadors. According to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Catalans' best way
of demonstrating their identity was by joining Barça. It was less risky
than joining a clandestine anti-Franco movement and allowed them to
express their dissidence.
On the contrary, Real Madrid was widely seen as the embodiment of the
sovereign oppressive centralism and the fascist regime at management
level and beyond. However, during the Spanish Civil War itself,
members of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra
suffered at the hands of Franco supporters.

During the 1950s the rivalry was exacerbated significantly when the
clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano, who finally played
for Real Madrid and was key in the subsequent success achieved by the
club. The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met
twice at the knock-out stages of the European Cup.

As nowadays FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two biggest and most
successful clubs in the league, the rivalry is renewed on an almost
annual basis with both teams often challenging each other for the
league championship. The latest Clásico was played in the Camp Nou and
ended with a 2-0 win for Barcelona, with late goals from Samuel Eto'o
and Lionel Messi. A week afterwards they won against Villareal,
finishing the winning streak against the rest of the La Liga leaders.

READ MORE - New Football Club Barcelona FC

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (also known as Real Madrid, Los Blancos, Los Merengues) is a professional association football club based in Madrid, Spain. It is the most successful team in Spanish football and was voted by FIFA as the most successful club of the 20th century, having won a record thirty-one La Liga titles, seventeen Spanish Cups, a record nine European Cups and two UEFA Cups. Real was a founding member of FIFA and the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club Association.

Founded in 1902, Real Madrid has since spent all of its history in the top flight of Spanish football. In the 1940s, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt following the Spanish Civil War. The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. In the 1980s, the club had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe (known as La Quinta del Buitre), winning two UEFA Cups, five Spanish championships in a row, one Spanish cup and three Spanish Super Cups.
The club's traditional home colours are all white. Its crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand; the current crest is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1920. Real's home is the 80,354-person-capacity Santiago Bernabéu football stadium in downtown Madrid, where it has played since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception.

It has a long-standing and fierce rivalry with FC Barcelona, although Atlético Madrid is actually the closest professional football club. The El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been played since 1929. Real is the world's 2nd richest football club (€351m) in terms of revenue and the second most valuable (worth over €950m as of 2008).

After moving between grounds the team moved to the "Campo de O'Donnell" in 1912, which remained its home ground for eleven years. After this period, the club moved for one year to the Campo de Ciudad Lineal, a small ground with a capacity of 8,000 spectators. After that, Real Madrid moved its home matches to Estadio Chamartín which was inaugurated on 17 May 1923 with a match against Newcastle United. In this stadium, which hosted 22,500 spectators, Real Madrid celebrated its first Spanish league title. After some successes, the 1943 elected president Santiago Bernabéu decided that the Estadio Chamartín was not big enough for the ambitions of the club. A new stadium was built and was inaugurated on 14 December 1947. This was the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as it is known today, although it did not acquire this name until 1955. The first match held on Bernabéu was played between Real Madrid and the Portuguese club Belenenses and won by The Whites with 3–1, the first goal being scored by Sabino Barinaga.

The capacity has changed frequently, peaking at 120,000 after a 1953 expansion. Since then, there have been a number of reductions due to modernizations (the last standing places went away in 1998–99 in response to UEFA regulations which forbids standing at matches in the UEFA competition), countered to some extent by expansions.[38] The last change was an increase of about five thousand to a capacity of 80,354, effected in 2003. A plan to add a retractable roof has been announced.

The Bernabéu has hosted the 1964 European Championship final, the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, the 1957, 1969 and 1980 European Cup finals and is due to host the 2010 Champions League Final.[41] The stadium has its own Madrid Metro station along the 10 line called Santiago Bernabéu.[42] The Bernabeu has recently been upgraded to Elite Football Stadium status by UEFA.
On 9 May 2006, the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium was inaugurated at the City of Madrid where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was played between Real Madrid and Stade Reims, a rematch of the 1956 European Cup final. Real Madrid won the match 6–1 with goals from Sergio Ramos, Cassano (2), Soldado (2), and Jurado. The venue is now part of the Ciudad Real Madrid, the club's new training facilities located outside Madrid in Valdebebas. The stadium holds 5,000 people and is Real Madrid Castilla's home ground. It is named after former Real footballer Alfredo di Stéfano.
Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo holds the record for Real Madrid appearances, having played 712 first-team matches between 1983 and 2001.Forward Raúl González comes second, having played 663 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Iker Casillas, with 418 appearances. With 127 caps (47 while at the club), Luís Figo of Portugal is Real's most capped international player.di Stéfano is the club's all-time top goalscorer, with 307 goals in 396 games between 1953 and 1964. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all-time highest tally in the European Cup, until it was surpassed by Raúl González (also of Real Madrid) in 2005. Di Stéfano also holds the club record for most goals scored in the league, with 216. Real Madrid's current top-scorer is Raúl González with 212 in the league[48] and 305 in all competitions. The fastest goal in the history of the club (15 seconds) was scored by Brazilian Ronaldo on 3 December 2003 during a league match with Atlético Madrid.
Officially, Real Madrid's highest home attendance is 83,329 for a Copa del Rey match in 2006. The current legal capacity of Santiago Bernabéu is 80,354.The club's average attendance in 2007–08 season was 76,234, the highest in European Leagues. Real have also set records in Spanish football, most notably the most domestic titles (31 as of 2007–08) and the most seasons won in a row (5, during 1960–65 and 1985–90).With 121 matches (from 17 February 1957 to 7 March 1965), the club holds the world record for longest unbeaten run at home in La Liga.

The Whites also hold the record for winning UEFA Champions League nine times and for the most semi-final appearances .Raúl González is the all-time UEFA Champions League top scorer, with 64 goals. The team has the record number of consecutive participation in the Champions' Cup with 15, from 1955–56 to 1969–70. The fee of €76 million (over $100 million, £45.8 million) for Zinédine Zidane's transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 is the highest ever paid in the history of football. The club's record sale came on 1 September 2008, when they sold Robinho to Manchester City for €42 million (£32.5 million).
It was under Florentino Pérez presidency (2000-2006) that Real Madrid started harbouring its current ambition of becoming the world's richest professional football club. The club ceded part of its training grounds to the city of Madrid in 2001 and sold the rest to four corporations: Repsol YPF, Mutua Automovilística de Madrid, Sacyr Vallehermoso and OHL. The sale wiped out its debts, paving the way for the club to buy the world's most expensive players such as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham. The city had rezoned the training grounds for development, a move which in turn increased their value, and then bought the site. Although there is no evidence thereto, the critics allege that the city overpaid for the property to help with the club's finance.

The sale of the training ground for office buildings cleared Real Madrid's debts of €270m and enabled the club to embark upon an unprecedented spending spree which brought big-name players to the club. Moreover, the money gained was spent on a state-of-the-art training complex on the city's outskirts.the 2004–05 season, Real Madrid ended Manchester United's eight-year reign as the biggest earners in world football. Real's income to the year ending 30 June 2005 jumped 17 per cent to €275.7m (£190m). Though Perez's policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia, it came under increasing criticism for being focused too much on marketing the Real Madrid brand and not enough on the performances of the team.

In January 2007, Real Madrid paid their debts of €224 million and fell to second spot behind Manchester United. However, they reached the top again two months later after completing an image rights deal with Adidas worth 762 million. Manchester United's debt was €872 million in 2007, down from €1.25 billion in 2005.
In September 2007, Real Madrid was considered the most valuable football brand in Europe by BBDO, and is ranked as the second most valuable club in football with a value of €951 mil (£640 million / $1.285 billion) as of May 2008.[73] Also, it is the richest club in football (as of December 2008) with a revenue of €351 mil (£236 million / $474 million).

A study at Harvard University reached the conclusion that Real Madrid "is one of the 20 most important brand names and the only one in which its executives, the players, are well-known. We have some spectacular figures: In the world there are 287 million people interested in Real Madrid, with a huge difference with regard to Manchester, in second place.

READ MORE - New Football Club Real Madrid

ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A seasons. After climbing back up the Italian football system in the early 2000s, Fiorentina are currently competing in the 2008–09 Serie A season.

Fiorentina have won Serie A twice, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as winning six Coppa Italia trophies. On the European stage Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1960–61, they finished runners-up in the UEFA Cup 1989–90 and also came close to winning the biggest European prize, finishing as runners-up in the European Cup during 1956–57.

Since 1931 the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which currently has a capacity of 47,282. The stadium has used several names over the years and has undergone several renovations. Fiorentina are known widely by the nickname Viola; a reference to their distinctive purple colours.

The first season of Cecchi Gori ownership was of settling, then the new chairman started to sign some good players like Brian Laudrup, Stefan Effenberg, Francesco Baiano and, most of all, Gabriel Batistuta, whom would have become the authentic symbol of the team for '90s period. But in 1993 Mario Cecchi Gori died, and his son Vittorio got the management. Despite a good start of season, the new chairman fired the trainer Luigi Radice calling Aldo Agroppi: the results were dreadful and Fiorentina fell in the lower part of the standing, being relegated at the last match. Trained by Claudio Ranieri, they dominated the next season in Serie B (second division) in 1993-1994. Upon return to Serie A, the club organized a good team focused on the new topscorer Batistuta and signing the young talent Manuel Rui Costa from S.L. Benfica and the new world champion Brazilian defender Marcio Santos: the first became an idol for Fiorentina fans, the second disappointed and was sold after only a season; anyway Viola reached a quiet saviour.

Next season Cecchi Gori bought other important players like Stefan Schwarz: the club again proved able in the cup competitions, winning the Coppa Italia against Atalanta BC, and finishing the season in the 3rd place of the domestic league. In the summer, Fiorentina was the first non national champion to achieve Supercoppa Italiana defeating AC Milan 2-1 at San Siro. The following season the team disappointed in Serie A, but reached Cups Winners' Cup semi-finals beating Gloria Bistrita (Away 1-1, Home 1-0) Sparta Prague (Home 2-1, Away 1-1), S.L. Benfica (Away 2-0, Home 0-1) but suffering the eventual winner of the competition, FC Barcelona (Away 1-1, Home 0-2): main signing of the seasons were Luis Oliveira and Andrei Kanchelskis, the last suffering a lot of injuries.

At the end of the season Ranieri left Fiorentina and Cecchi Gori appointed Alberto Malesani: Fiorentina played well but suffered some strange losses against little teams, but managed to get a qualification in UEFA Cup. Malesani left Fiorentina after only a season and then arrived Giovanni Trapattoni: with the expert coach and dragged by Batistuta's goals, Fiorentina competed for the title in 1998-99 but reached only the third position at the end of the season, ensuring them anyway a spot for an historical UEFA Champions League qualification. The following year Serie A was disappointing but Viola played historical matches in Champions League, beating Arsenal FC 1-0 at the old Wembley Stadium and Manchester United 2-0 in Florence. They were eliminated in the second group stage. At the end of the season Trapattoni left the society, which opted for the Turkish Fatih Terim; but most of all Batistuta was sold to AS Roma, which eventually had won the title the following year. In Serie A 2000-01 Fiorentina played well and competed in the higher part of the ranking, despite the sacking of Terim and the arrival of Roberto Mancini, winning also Coppa Italia for the sixth and last time.
2001 heralded major changes for Fiorentina, as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed; they were unable to pay wages and had debts of around USD 50 million. The club owner, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, was able to raise some more money, but even this soon proved to be insufficient resources to sustain the club. Then, Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001-02 season and went into judicially controlled administration in June 2002. This form of bankruptcy (sports companies cannot exactly fail in this way in Italy, but they can suffer a similar procedure) meant that the club was refused a place in Serie B for the 2002-03 season, and as a result, effectively ceased to exist.
The club was promptly re-established in August 2002 as Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola with shoe and leather entrepreneur Diego Della Valle as new owner, and was admitted into Serie C2, the fourth tier of Italian football. The only player to remain at the club as they began their new life was Angelo Di Livio, whose commitment to the cause of resurrecting the club further endeared him to the fans. Helped by Di Livio and 30-goal striker Christian Riganò, the club won its Serie C2 group with considerable ease at the end of the 2002–03 season, which would normally have led to a promotion to Serie C1. However, due to the bizarre Caso Catania (Catania Case) the club skipped Serie C1 and was admitted into Serie B; this was possible only because the Italian Football Federation chose to resolve the Catania situation by increasing the number of teams in Serie B from 20 to 24, and promoting Fiorentina for "sports merits". In the 2003 off-season, the club also bought back the right to use the Fiorentina name and the famous shirt design, and re-incorporated itself as ACF Fiorentina.
Cesare Prandelli, manager of ACF FiorentinaThe club's unusual double promotion was not without controversy, with some suggesting that Fiorentina did not deserve it; however, the club remained in Serie B and managed to finish the 2003–04 season in sixth place. This achievement placed the Viola in a two-legged playoff against Perugia Calcio (the 15th-place finisher in Serie A) for a top flight place for the next season. Fiorentina completed their remarkable comeback by winning the match 2–1 on aggregate, with both goals scored by Enrico Fantini, to gain promotion back to Serie A. In their first season back in Italian football's top flight, the club struggled to avoid relegation, securing survival only on the last day of the season, and avoiding a relegation playoff only on head-to-head record against Bologna and Parma.
Luca Toni in ViolaIn 2005–06, Fiorentina hired Cesare Prandelli as new head coach and made several signings during the summer transfer market, most notably Palermo 20-goal striker Luca Toni and French goalkeeper Sebastian Frey. The combination of defence by captain Dario Dainelli and Czech international regular Tomáš Ujfaluši, midfield by Cristian Brocchi, wing by Martin Jorgensen, playmaking by Stefano Fiore and key marksman Luca Toni with Sebastian Frey as goalkeeper proved to be an outstanding force in Serie A, giving them a final fourth place with 74 points, awarding them a spot for the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Fiorentina thus officially regained their status as an Italian elite, especially with Toni himself having scored an amazing 31 goals in just 34 appearances, the first player to pass the 30 goal mark since Antonio Valentin Angelillo in the 1958–59 season, which has seen him claim the European Golden Boot.
On July 14, 2006 Fiorentina were however relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal and given a 12 point penalty. The team was later reinstated to the Serie A on appeal, albeit with a 19 point penalty for the 2006–07 season. The team also lost their UEFA Champions League 2006–07 place. After the start of the season, upon appealing to the Italian courts, Fiorentina's penalization was reduced to 15 points from 19.
Despite starting the 2006–2007 season with the 15-point penalty, Fiorentina managed to secure a place in the 2007–08 edition of the UEFA Cup. The combination of Luca Toni and Adrian Mutu proved to be one of Serie A's most proficient strike partnerships, scoring 31 goals between them.
While many doubted the potential of the Viola in the 2007–2008 season due to Luca Toni's departure, Fiorentina had a sensational start to the season and had been tipped by Marcello Lippi and other prominent names in Calcio as surprise potential Scudetto challengers. However this form tailed off towards the middle of the season with various disappointing losses in connection with a grievous family loss suffered by club manager Prandelli. They also reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, where they were ultimately defeated by Rangers on penalties after two 0–0 ties. The season ended on a high note as Fiorentina defeated Torino 1-0 on the season's final day to secure a UEFA Champions League spot at the expense of AC Milan. The campaign ended in group stages, however, in which the club finished third and secured a path to the UEFA Cup instead.
In contrast with their Champions League campaign, La Viola remained as a top tier in domestic league.

READ MORE - New Football Club Fiorentina FC

Juventus Football Club , most commonly referred to as Juventus and as simply Juve, is a professional football club based in Turin, Italy. The club was founded in 1897 and have spent their entire history, with the exception of the 2006–07 season, in the top flight First Division (since 1929, called Serie A).

Juventus is the most successful team in the history of Italian football. Overall, the club have won 51 official trophies, more than any other team in the country; 40 in Italy, which is also a record, and 11 in European and world competitions. The Old Lady is the third most successful club in Europe and the sixth in the world with the most international titles officially recognised by one of the six continental football confederations and FIFA.

The club was the first Italian and Southern European side to have won the UEFA Cup. In 1985, Juventus, the only team in the world to have won all official international cups and championships became the first club in the history of European football to have won all three major UEFA club competitions.

In Italy, Juventus is the club which has the biggest fan base, having also one of the largest numbers of supporters in the world, with a total of 170 million Juventus's supporters (it. tifosi) worldwide. The club is a founding member of the European Club Association, which was formed after the dissolution of the G-14, a collection of Europe's most elite clubs.

At present, the bianconeri play their home games at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino. The stadium which the club owns, Stadio delle Alpi is undergoing long-term structural changes and will not be completed for use until 2011.

Marcello Lippi took over as Juventus manager at the start of the 1994–95 campaign. His first season at the helm of the club was a successful one, as Juventus recorded their first Serie A championship title since the mid-1980s. The crop of players during this period featured Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero. Lippi lead Juventus to the Champions League the following season, beating Ajax on penalties after a 1–1 draw in which Fabrizio Ravanelli scored for Juve.

Juventus record breaker Alessandro Del Piero.The club did not rest long after winning the European Cup, more highly regarded players were brought into the fold in the form of Zinédine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi and Edgar Davids.[30] At home Juventus won Serie A in 1996–97 and 1997–98, as well as the 1996 European Super Cup. Juventus reached the 1997 and 1998 Champions League finals during this period, but lost out to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.
After leaving for a brief season, Lippi returned, signing big name players such as Gianluigi Buffon, David Trézéguet, Pavel Nedvěd and Lilian Thuram, helping the team to two more scudetto titles in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. Juventus were also part of an all Italian Champions League final in 2003 but lost out to AC Milan on penalties after the game ended in a 0–0 draw. The following year, Lippi was appointed as Italy's head coach, bringing an end to one of the most fruitful managerial spells in Juventus' history.

Juventus is the most well supported football club in Italy with over 12 million fans (32.5% of Italian football fans), according to an August 2008 research by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, as well as one of the most supported football clubs in the world, with approximately 170 million supporters (43 million of them in Europe alone), particularly in the Mediterranean countries, to which a large among of Italian diaspora have emigrated. The Old Lady has fan clubs all over the world outside the country, from places as far apart as Canada, United States, Malta, San Marino, England, Iran, Greece, Israel, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Macedonia, Uruguay and many more.

Despite this strong support, attendances at Juventus home matches average about 22,000, much less than many other highly renowned European teams. Contrastingly, demand for Juventus tickets in occasional home games held away from Turin is high; suggesting that Juventus have stronger support in other parts of the country. Juve is widely and especially popular throughout mainland Southern Italy and Sicily, leading the team to have one of the largest followings in its away matches,more than in Turin itself.

Juventus ultras have good relationships with Piacenza, ADO Den Haag and Legia Warsaw fans and have several rivalries, three of which are highly significant. The first is with local club Torino, they compete in the Derby della Mole (Derby of Torino) together; this rivalry dates back to 1906 when Torino was founded by former Juve members. The other most significant rivalry is with Internazionale; matches between Juventus and Inter are referred to as the Derby d'Italia (Derby of Italy). Up until the 2006 Serie A match-fixing scandal, which saw Juventus relegated, the two were the only Italian clubs to have never played below Serie A. Notably the two sides are the first and the third most supported clubs in Italy and the rivalry has intensified since the later part of the 1990s; reaching its highest levels ever post-Calciopoli, with the return of Juventus to Serie A. They also have rivalries with AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina.

READ MORE - New Football Club Juventus FC

The club was founded on 9 March 1908 as Football Club Internazionale 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.
Inter is the third most supported football club in Italy according to an August 2007 research by Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Historically the largest section of Inter fans from the city of Milan, have been the middle-class bourgeoisie Milanese, while AC Milan fans are typically working-class and a significant portion are migrants from Southern Italy.
The traditional ultras group of Inter is Boys San, they hold a significant place in the history of the ultras scene in general due to the fact that they are one of the oldest; founded in 1969. Politically the ultras of Inter are usually considered right-wing, as thus they have good relationships with Verona and Lazio. As well as the main group Boys San, there are four more significant groups; Viking, Irriducibili, Ultras, and Brianza Alcoolica.
Inter fans celebrating in 2007.Inter have several rivalries, two of which are highly significant in Italian football; firstly they participate in the inter-city Derby della Madonnina with AC Milan, the rivalry has existed ever since Inter splintered off from Milan in 1908.

The name of the derby refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose statue atop the Milan Cathedral is one of the city's main attractions. The match usually creates a lively atmosphere, with numerous (often humorous or offensive) banners unfolded before the match. Flares are commonly present, but they also led to the abandonment of the second leg of the 2005 Champions League quarter-final matchup between Milan and Inter on 12 April, after a flare thrown from the crowd by an Inter supporter struck Milan keeper Dida on the shoulder.

READ MORE - New Football Club Inter Milan FC