Showing posts with label english. Show all posts
Showing posts with label english. Show all posts

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Manchester United F.C














Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 50 million supporters worldwide; average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964-65.

The club is also one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986-87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club. They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world, and until recently had the highest revenue of any football club for several years running. As of 2007, the club has the fourth largest turnover in club football, but remains the most profitable club based on operating income. Manchester United also remains the most valuable club in the world. The club is a founding member of the G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been manager of the club since 6 November 1986. The captain is Gary Neville, who succeeded Roy Keane in November 2005.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Ryan Gigg - Manchester United Forever














Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE[1] (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Cardiff) is a Welsh footballer, currently playing for Manchester United in the English Premiership, and formerly for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on June 2, 2007. Giggs received an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, alongside his former team mate Teddy Sheringham, who received an MBE.

Giggs' father was Danny Wilson, a noted Rugby League player, and his mother was Lynne Giggs. Although born in Cardiff, he was raised in Pendlebury, England and speaks with a Mancunian accent. His father was of mixed race (of Sierra Leonean ancestry) and Giggs has always expressed pride at his mixed heritage.[2]

Giggs is Manchester United's longest-serving current player, having made his first appearance for the club during the 1990-91 season and been a regular player since the 1991-92 season. He has played the second highest number of competitive games for the club (second only to Bobby Charlton), and holds the club record of team trophies won by a player (23).[3] Since 1992, he has collected nine Premier League winners' medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, two League Cup winner's medals and one Champions League winner's medal. He also has runners-up medals from two FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of four United teams who have finished second in the league.

Giggs captained England Schoolboys (which all schoolboys in England are eligible to play for, regardless of nationality), but played for the Welsh national team as an adult. At the time of his début in 1991, Giggs (still only 17 at the time) was the youngest player to represent his country at the highest level. He was appointed captain of Wales in 2004.

He also won the PFA Young Player of the Year award twice (1992 and 1993), making him the first player to win the award in consecutive years - a feat matched only by Robbie Fowler and current team-mate Wayne Rooney. Giggs holds many other records, including that of the top all-time scorer in the FA Premier League not to play regularly in the position of striker, and holds the record for scoring Manchester United's fastest goal (15 seconds), set in November 1995 against Southampton, and is one of only two players to have scored in every Premiership campaign (Gary Speed being the other). Also, having scored his first European goal of the season in United’s 3-1 victory over Benfica, Giggs became the first player in Champions League history to score in 12 successive seasons.

Fans have also voted that Giggs scored Manchester United's greatest goal, in the semi-final of the 1999 FA Cup against Arsenal where he beat four defenders (Lee Dixon twice) to score. Giggs' squad number for Manchester United is 11.

Giggs is currently vice-captain to Gary Neville at Manchester United.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Steven Gerrard














Steven George Gerrard MBE (IPA: ['stiːvn 'dʒɛɹɑːd]) (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. He is the captain of Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. He is the England vice captain, for which he usually wears the number 4. An inspirational and versatile midfielder known for his long-range shots and trademark defence-splitting passes, he is usually employed in the commanding "box-to-box" midfield role, although he has often been deployed as a right-sided midfielder, and occasionally as a second striker. Throughout his career he has won the PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, European Midfielder of the year, Premier League Most Valuable Player (twice), and UEFA Most Valuable Player. He has also been awarded the MBE for his outstanding contributions in both the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final in which he greatly inspired his team's comeback.[2][3][4][5] He has been nominated for the FIFA Player of the Year twice, once in 2005 and another in 2006.