Sunday, May 27, 2012

Alan Shearer the top score & Matthias Sammer the best footballer of EURO 1996



This article is written by me in Kolkatafootball.com published on 26.05.12, follow this link http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/euro_2012_story/index.html#5 

      Alan Shearer of England scored the most number of goals in EURO 1996, he tops the list by scoring 5 goals individually. Matthias Sammer of Germany nominated the best footballer of that tournament. The name EURO CUP was first officially introduced in 1996 European Football Championship tournament. This was the first time that a major championship was decided by a golden goal.
        England host the tournament in 1996, Germany won the final against Czech Republic in 2-1 margin. In final the Czech Republic took the lead in the 59th minute of the game through a penalty by Berger but the Germans pulled level through substitute Oliver Bierhoff on 73 minutes. Into extra-time, Bierhoff turned and hit a left-foot shot which Kouba who somehow allowed ball to slip through his fingers and go in off the far post. It may not have been spectacular but it was the golden goal that made Germany Euro 1996 winners.
        Oliver Biherhoff was born in Karlsruhe, West Germany  on 1st May 1968. He used to play in striker postion, renowned for his bulldozing ability inside the 18 yard box. In his international career he scored 37 goals in 70 matches for Germany. In his club football career Bierhoff played for nine different clubs, in four different leagues, scored 185 goals in 443 appearances. He scored a total of 103 goals in Serie A, one of the best totals for a non-Italian in the league's history. In the 1997–98 season, he was the Serie A top scorer with 27 goals for Udinese.
        The top scorer of Euro 1996 Alan Shearer was born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne on 13th August 1970. In his era he was counted one of the best strikers in the world, known for his goal scoring ability form anywhere in the ground, he was the match winner in his own right, singlehandedly guided England so many matches towards victory.
        He played for England in a duration of 9 years(1992-2000), scored 30 goals in 63 matches in his international career. He is also very much shinning throughout his entire club football career, played for three different EPL clubs, scored a record number of 283 goals in 559 matches. He started his senior club career in Southampton, spent four seasons(1988-1992) in there, scored 23 goals for them in 118 matches. In later he moved to Blackburn Rovers, where he became the most successful player in club’s history, spent there for four seasons(1992-1996), scored a record number of 112 goals in 138 matches. Finally he moved to Newcastle United, played there for ten seasons(1996-2006), scored 148 goals in 303 matches for them, he remain as an apple of the eye of Newcastle supporters still today.
         Shearer tool the charge of his former club Newcastle United on 1st April 2009 for the remaining eight games of the season, taking over from head coach Chris Hughton who was in temporary charge while the permanent manager Joe Kinnear recovered from heart surgery, having taken ill on 7 February. Shearer stated "It's a club I love and I don't want them to go down. I'll do everything I can to stop that.
         On 6 December 2000, Shearer was given Honorary Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, with the citation "in recognition of his role as Captain of Newcastle United Football Club and as former Captain of England which have enhanced the reputation of the City".Shearer was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours. On 7 December 2009 Shearer was made a Doctor of Civil Law by Newcastle University.
       Matthias Sammer the best footballer of EURO 1996 was born in Dressden on 5th September 1967. He used to play in midfield position, in his international career he scored 6 goals for East Germany(1986-1990) in 23 matches & 8 goals for Germany(1990-1997) in 51 matches.
        In his club football career he scored 84 goals in 291 matches, he played for Dynamo Dresden, VFB Stuttgart, Inter Milan & Borusia Dortmund.
       He was nominated the German footballer of the year in back to back two years, 1995 & 1996. Nominated European footballer of the year in 1996.
       In later he became the coach of Borussia Dortmund (2004-2005) & VFB Stuttgart(2005-2006) currently he is working as a technical director of the DFB (German Football Association).

Henrik Larsen, the best footballer of EURO 1992


This article is written by me in Kolkatafootball.com published on 26.05.12, follow this link http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/euro_2012_story/index.html#5 

         Henrik Larsen of Denmark jointly hosts the top scorer tag of EURO 1992 with three others. He tops the list of scoring most goals alongwith Karlheinz Riedle (West Germany), Dennis Bergkamp (The Netherlands) &Tomas Brolin (Sweden) scoring 3 goals each. He guided Denmark towards their maiden triumph in EURO 1992. Matthias Sammer of Germany nominated the best footballer of that tournament.

      Sweden host the EURO 1992 tournament. Denmark won the that most unexpectedly beating Germany in the final by a clear 2-0 margin. John Jensen and Kim Vilfort scored in either half of the match.

          In Euro 1992 Denmark achieved one of the biggest shocks in Euro Championship history. They only achieved qualification by default when Yugoslavia was disqualified and a goalless draw with England was followed by a 1-0 defeat against Sweden. They appeared to be heading out of the tournament until Lars Elstrup produced a 78th minute winner against France which put them second in the Group A. The Dutch were hot favourites to beat Denmark in the semi-final but their confidence received a jolt when Larsen converted Laudrup’s cross to put the Danes in front. The Netherlands pulled level through Bergkamp but Denmark edged ahead within ten minutes when Larsen fired home once again from the edge of the box. The Dutch forced the game into extra-time when Rijkaard scored with just four minutes remaining. The Danes held out to force the game to go to penalties and sensationally reached the final of Euro 1992 when Marco van Basten’s kick was saved by Peter Schmeichel. The former Man U goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel showed his outstanding skill & given reliability in last line of defence throughout that tournament.
        Henrik Larsen was born in Lyngby, Denamrk on 17th May 1966. He used to play as a midfielder. He played for Denmark national team for seven seasons(1989-1996), in his international career he scored 5 goals for his country in 26 matches including those 2 goals in EURO 1992 semifinal against The Netherlands.
         In his club football career he scored 47 goals in 368 appearances. He played club football throughout the different countries of the Europe. He played in Danish league in Hellerup(1983-1984) & Lyngby(1984-1990). In 1990 he moved to Italian Serie A, played in Pisa for five seasons(1990-1995). In 1991 Larsen was put on sale by Pisa, a number of European clubs were interested in him, in loan he played in EPL with Aston Villa & in Bundesliga with Waldhof Mannheim. In 1995 he moved to his homeland again, spent one year in Lyngby(1995-1996). He moved to another Danish club Copenhagen stayed there for three seasons (1996-1999) & ended his career in there.

Barcelona bid a grand farewell to Pep Guardiolla


This article is written by me in Kolkatafootball.com, published on 25.05.12, follow this link
http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/indiafootball_news_2012/may28thpart_2012.html#copa_barca

      Barcelona bid a grand farewell to Pep Guardiolla in his last match by winning the Copa Del Ray/King’s cup final hammering Athletic Bilbao in a 3-0 margin at Vicente Calderon, Madrid lastnight. European club football season has come to an end by that competition now .
        The Catlan giant seal the game & secure the trophy within 24 minutes of the first half. Pedro scores twice in 2nd & 24th minute of the match, Messi scores the rest in 19th minute of the game, 73rd goal for Messi in Barcelona this season.
      This is Barcelona’s 26th triumph in Copa Del Ray while Athletic Bilbao are the second successful team in Copa Del Ray’s history by winning 23 times.
Just few days ago Athletic Bilbao lost in the Europa final against Atletico Madrid, so somewhere it looks like they can’t re-settle & organize themselves for another major final. If Barca could utilize all those goal scoring opportunities Marcelo Bielsa's side would have fallen further behind.
     The win, a 14th trophy for Guardiola in four years, 15th final on the Barça bench since the 41-year-old took the post in 2008, proved himself the most successful Barcelona coach as he brings his legacy to an end, leaving the responsibility to Tito Vilanova.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Marco Van Busten, the best footballer of EURO 1988


 This article is written by me in Kolkatafootball.com published on 25.05.12, follow this link http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/euro_2012_story/index.html#4

         Holland won the 1988 European Championship held in West Germany, beating former USSR in the final by a clear 2-0 margin. Rud Gulit & Marco Van Basten scored for The Orange side in the final. Marco Van Basten scored the most number of goals on that tournament by scoring 5 goals individually. Marco van Basten shook off injury worries to inspire the Netherlands to their first major title in a competition that will forever be associated with his incredible volleyed goal in the final.
           In 1988 Euro semi-final clash against the West Germans, the Dutch side was trailing by a Lothar Mattheus penalty with 15 minutes  remaining. A penalty by Ronald Koeman and an 88th minute winner by Van Basten put them safely through to the final of Euro 1988. It was the first victory for the Netherlands over West Germany for 32 years.
        The Soviet Union qualified as winners of Group A and overcame Italy 2-0 in their semi-final to set up a return clash with the Dutch in the final. Rudd Gulit scored the first goal for The Orange side in 32nd minute, Van Basten doubled the lead in 57th minute & sealed the game. The Dutch goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen later saved a penalty to keep the Dutch on top but Van Basten’s goal was worthy of winning any tournament.
       Marcel Van Basten was born in Utrecht, Netherlands on 31st October 1964. He is regarded as one of the greatest forwards of Europe of all time. Basten was Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys. He got few great players like Rud Gulit, Frank Raicard in his time, that is the golden generation of Dutch football.
        In his international career(1983-1992) he scored 24 goals in 58 matches for Holland. In his club football career he scored 218 goals in 280 matches. He started to play for Ajax, he spent five seasons(1982-1987) in there, scored 128 goals for them in 133 matches. In later he moved to Italian club AC Milan, spent eight seasons(1987-1995) in there, scored 90 goals for them in 147 appearances. There is a controversy regarding his playing with AC Milan & withdrawing his name from 1994 World Cup. His high profile career ended in 1995 as a result of an injury suffered two years earlier.
     He  was named the European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992.He was later the head coach of Ajax and the Dutch national team.

Michel Platini, the best player of EURO 1984



This article is written by me on Kolkatafootball.com on 25/05/2012, follow this link http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/euro_2012_story/index.html#4

             Euro 1984 is the first ever major football tournament victory in the history of French football. France host the tournament & they became the winner by beating Spain in a 2-0 margin in final. Michel Platini guided France to an emphatic victory by scoring nine goals individually. Michel Platini holds the record of scoring most goals in a single Euro competition yet with his nine goals despite only appearing in the 1984 edition. He nominated the best footballer of the Euro 1984.
             France dominated Group A and won all three games. Michel Platini was their star player throughout the Euro 1984 Championships, scoring the winner in their opening game against Denmark before consecutive hat-tricks against Belgium and Yugoslavia. He also produced a sensational extra-time winner in the semi-final victory over Portugal to send them on their way to becoming Euro 1984 winners.
        Michel Platini continued his perfect record by scoring the opener for France in the final to take his tally to nine for the tournament. For once, it took a bit of good fortune for Platini to get his name on the scoresheet. His 57th-minute free-kick somehow squirmed under Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada to settle the nerves at the new Parc des Princes. Despite losing Yvon Le Roux to a red card, the French secured victory when Bruno Bellone scored late in the game. If the final itself was not a classic, the tournament was deemed a great success with some of the finest attacking football ever seen in Europe.
         Michel Francois Platini was born in Joeuf, France on 21st June 1955. He used to play as an attacking midfielder. He first made his name as a dead ball specialist, with majority of his goals coming from finely struck free-kicks. But many were amazed by the young man's array of talents, amongst which was sublime dribbling. In his international appearance he scored 41 goals for France in 72 matches. He participated in three World cups(1978, 1982 & 1986) for his country, twice out of that three France succumbed to West Germany in the semifinal stage in 1982 & 1986.
        In his club career he scored 224 goals in 432 matches. He started his club career in Nancy, spent seven seasons(1972-1979) in there, scored 98 goals in 181 matches. Latter he moved to Saint Etienne for three seasons(1979-1982), scored 58 goals in 104 matches. In the end of his career he moved to Italy, signed in Juventus for five seasons(1982-1987), scored 68 goals for them in 147 matches.
       Platini was named coach of the French national side on 1 November 1988, replacing Henri Michel. But a string of uninspiring performances in warm-up matches, followed by France's first-round elimination from the 1992 European Championship led Platini to step down as coach.
        Since 2007 he holds the post of UEFA president. In the election in Dusseldorf on 26 January 2007, he defeated Lennart Johansson, who held the post for the previous 16 years, by 27 votes to 23. He served on the UEFA Technical Development Committee from 1988 to 1990. He has been a member of the UEFA Executive Committee and European member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 2002. He was one of the head of the organizing committee of  the 1998 Fifa world cup held in his own country France. Platini based his speech on virtues of solidarity and universality. As an UEFA President he is currently known for his clear & transparent administration power.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao, The Copa Del Ray 2011-2012 final.


          
     This article is written by me on Kolkatafootball.com, published on 24.05.1012, follow this link  http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/indiafootball_news_2012/may26thpart_2012.html#barca_bill
     The Copa Del Ray 2011-2012 final would be played between Champions league semifinalist Barcelona & Europa league finalist Athletic Bilbao at Vicente Calderon Stadium in Madrid on 25th May 2012. These two same clubs met in the Copa Del Ray 2009 final where Barcelona clinically swipped their opponent by 4-1 margin & crowned winner.
         This competition worths a lot in Spanish domestic football,  where it comes just after  Champions League & La-Liga  crown. The current champion of Copa Del Ray is Real Madrid, last season an El-Classico graced the final stage in Valencia, Real Madrid beating Barcelona in extra-time thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner. It marked Jose Mourinho’s first trophy as Blancos boss, and a rare victory over their bitter rivals.
          The romance of Friday’s game continues in the usually drab statistics. Barca and Bilbao are the major winners of the trophy, with the Catalans lifting it 25 times and the Basques winning it 23 times.
           This is going to be Pep Guardiolla’s last match as a Barcelona manager, so The Catalan side will want to bid a memorable farewell to their coach by winning this trophy while Bilbao also lost in the final of Europa League, they will also want to end the season by winning this silverware.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Klaus Aloffs, the best striker of EURO 1980


               

      This article is written by me on Kolkatafootball.com on 23/05/2012, follow this link http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/euro_2012_story/index.html#3
           Klaus Aloffs of West Germany scored the most number of goals in Euro Cup 1980 held in Italy, he tops the list by scoring 3 goals individually. 1980 Euro Cup final was played between West Germany & Belgium, West Germany won the final in a 2-1 margin & crowned the Euro Champion 1980. Hrusbech scored the first goal for West Germany in the 10th minute of the game, Vandereycken equalized for Belgium from a penalty in the 75th minute of the match, Hrusbech scored the decider once again in the 88th minute & put West Germany in 2-1 margin.
         Horst Hrubesch, a late pre-tournament replacement, scored his first goals in international football to earn his country their second European crown. West Germany re-established themselves as Europe's pre-eminent international force as goals by Horst Hrubesch.

        Klaus Allofs was Born in Dusseldorf on 5th December 1956, one of Europe's top strikers throughout the 1980s, winning major trophies at four different clubs as well as enjoying success with the West German national team. He has since gone on to success in a coaching and managerial career in Germany.

         In his ten years international career(1978-1988) Klaus Allofs scored  17 goals in 56 appearances. In his club football career he scored 221 goals in 512 matches. He started his career in Fortuna Dusseldorf, played for seven years(1975-1981), scored 71 goals in 169 matches. He moved to FC Kolhn for a period of seven years(1981-1987), scored 88 goals in 177 appearances. Then he moved to French club Marseille for 1987 to 1989, scored 20 goals in 53 matches. Then he moved to Bordeaux for 1989 to 1990, scored 14 goals in 37 matches. Finally at the end of his career he moved to Werder Bremen, spent three seasons(1990-1993) in there, scored 18 goals in 78 matches.

        He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the course of 15 seasons (being crowned the competition's top scorer on two occasions), mainly in representation of Fortuna Düsseldorf and Koln.

      Allofs retired in June 1993 at nearly 37, after three seasons with SV Werder Bremen.After retiring from playing, he returned to briefly coach Fortuna Dusseldorf in 1998, and after a year with the now regional league club Allofs moved back to Werder Bremen to become director of sport. Alongside coach Thomas Schaaf he helped to build a team that won the League and Cup double in Germany in 2004 and the League Cup two years later.

Dieter Muller, the best striker of EURO 1976


        
This article is written by me on Kolkatafootball.com on 23/05/2012, follow this link http://www.kolkatafootballs.com/euro_2012_story/index.html#3
        Dieter Muller of West Germany currently known as Germany scored the most number of goals in Euro 1976 held in Yugoslavia. He tops the list by scoring 4 goals individually. That was the first Euro final decided in penalty-shoot-out, Czechoslovakia bagged the trophy by beating Germany in tie breaker in a 5-3 margin following a 2 all draw in schedule time & extra time. The Euro 1976 final will always be remembered for Antonin Panenka’s penalty kick as the Czechs became the first team to win a Euro final shoot-out. With so much pressure, no one was anticipating the amazing skill and coolness of Antonin Panenka's lofted penalty.
       Gerd Muller was the goalscoring hero for the Germans in Euro 1972 and now his namesake, Dieter was proving the scourge of defences. He struck a crucial hat-trick on his debut in Belgrade as the Germans staged a tremendous comeback. At 2-0 down they looked to be facing elimination but fought back to take the game into extra-time before running out 4-2 winners. The Czechs needed extra time to defeat Holland in Zagreb 3-1 after Johan Neeskens and Wim van Hanegem were both sent off .
          Helmut Schon's West German were firm favourites despite the fact that Czechoslovakia had gone 20 games without defeat since they were beaten at Wembley. The Czechs went 2-0 up in 25 minutes with goals by Svehlik and Dobias. Muller struck back almost immediately but but just when it seemed that Czechs had done enough  then West Germany equalized the game while Holzenbein's headed into the net from a Bonhof corner, match goes to extra time. After a goalless period of extra-time, the players stepped up for the first ever penalty shootout in the final of a major tournament. After seven successful spot-kicks, Uli Hoeness blazed over the bar and it was left to Panenka to seal the victory. He calmly waited for Sepp Maier to commit himself before chipping his penalty down the centre of the goal and Czechoslovakia were crowned Euro 1976 winners.
         
           Dieter Muller the top scorer of that tournament was born in Offenbach, West Germany on 1st April 1958. He used to play in striker position. He appeared in twelve senior matches, scoring nine goals for Germany. He played in the 1976 European Football Championship (in the final of which he scored) and the 1978 FIFA World Cup. In his club football career he scored 249 goals in 454 matches. He started his club football career in Kickers Offenbach, played two matches for them only in 1972-13 season, couldn’t score any goal, major part of his club football career he played with FC Koln, he stayed there since 1973 to 1981, played 248 matches for them & scored 159 goals, he set a record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Bundesliga match. On 17 August 1977, he contributed six goals (scoring in the 12th, 23rd, 32nd, 52nd, 73rd and in the 85th minute) to Koln's 7–2 victory over Werder Bremen in front of a crowd of 19,000 at Koln's Mungersdorfer Stadion. He was crowned Bundesliga topscorer that season (24 goals in 33 games), just like the season before (34 goals in 34 appearances). In later he moved to VFB Syuttgart, stayed there since 1981 to 1982, scored 14 goals in 30 appearences. After that he moved to Girondins Bordeaux, stayed there for 1982 to 1985 season & scored  43 goals in 93 matches. Once again  in his career he moved to the Grasshoppers Zurich, played there for one season only,1985, scored 7 goals in 3 matches. In 1985-1986 season he moved to FC Saarbrucken, scored 4 goals for them in 23 matches. Finally in the end of his career once again he returned to his first club Kickers Offenbach, stayed there for a period of four years(1986-1989), scored  26 goals for them in 51 matches.
         He is the son of Heinz Kaster, who played as a defender for FC St.Pauli Hamburg and Kickers Offenbach in the early 1950s. The striker had already been a schoolboy international, when his stepfather's adoption turned his surname into Muller. He currently hosts the post of chairman of  Kickers Offenbach.