Football: a small part of each of us

Football was born in England in 1848. The objective of the game is to score more points (called goals) than the opposing team, by passing the ball over the opponent’s goal line.The duration of a match is 90 minutes, divided into two halves of 45. Before the birth of official competitions, club calendars consisted exclusively of friendly matches.
Friendlies between teams remained present in large numbers until the early 1860s. In 1871, for example, some English clubs were unable to register for the first edition of the FA Cup, played in 1871-1872, as their calendars were already full. Trying to stabilize the situation, the English clubs decided to create the first league in 1888-1889. Thus the two main elements of a club’s calendar were born: the league and the cup.

The evolution of air transport and the installation of lighting devices for night matches played during the week made it possible to create what are now continental competitions. The “European Champions Cup” (from 1992-1993 called the UEFA Champions League, or simply known as the Champions League) was born in Paris on the initiative of the sports newspaper L’Équipe: the first edition was held in 1955-1956 and was initially limited to national champions only.

There were also competitions between nations. The FIFA World Cup, held every 4 years, is the most important event in the world of football. It was inaugurated in 1930 by Jules Rimet, president of FIFA at the time: in the current format, the final phase is played by 32 national teams qualified by means of preliminary rounds held by each individual confederation in the 2 years preceding the final phase. Eight national selections have won the World Cup at least once: Brazil (5 wins), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (2), France (2), Uruguay ( 2), England and Spain (1).

There are also a lot of football legends who have inspired today’s kids. DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA, has dragged his team (Naples) to two league titles, a Uefa Cup, an Italian Cup and a Super Cup, for what has been considered by many to be a god of football.
There are also many players who have made history such as: Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pelé (he was the first football legend), Platini, Zidane, Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Ronaldo il Fenomeno, Ronaldinho, Kakà, Neymar and many others.

As you can see football is not just a sport but also a well of emotions – if there is an end to all this, there will be an eternal memory.