Germany football team

Germany national football team

 The Germany national football team (German: Die deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908.^[2] It is governed by the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund), founded in 1900.^[6][7] Ever since the DFB was reinaugurated in 1949 the team has represented the Federal Republic of Germany – until the German reunification in 1990 commonly referred to as West Germany in informal usage. Under Allied occupation and division, two other separate national teams were also recognized by FIFA: the Saarland team (1950–1956) and the East German team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). Both have been absorbed along with their records^[8][9] by the current national team. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following the reunification in 1990.
Germany is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions, having won a total of three World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990) and three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996).^[6] They have also been runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and have won a further four third places.^[6] East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976.^[10] Germany is the only nation to have won both the men's and women's World Cups. The current coaching staff of the national team include head coach Joachim Löw, assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick, goalkeeper coach Andreas Köpke, athletic coach Shad Forsythe, athletic coach Oliver Bartlett, scout Urs Siegenthaler, and team manager Oliver Bierhoff

History

 Between 1899 and 1901, prior to the formation of a national team, there were five unofficial international matches between different German and English selection teams, which all ended as large defeats for the German teams. Eight years after the establishment of the German Football Association (DFB), the first official match of the Germany national football team^[13] was played on 5 April 1908, against Switzerland in Basel, with the Swiss winning 5–3.^[2] Coincidentally, the first match after World War I in 1920, the first match after World War II in 1950 when Germany was still banned from most international competitions, and the first match in 1990 with former East German players were all against Switzerland as well. Germany's first championship title was even won in Switzerland.
At that time the players were selected by the DFB, as there was no dedicated coach. The first manager of the Germany national team was Otto Nerz, a school teacher from Mannheim, who served in the role from 1926 to 1936.^[14] The German FA could not afford travel to Uruguay for the first World Cup staged in 1930 during the Great Depression, but finished third in the 1934 World Cup in their first appearance in the competition. After a poor showing at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Sepp Herberger became coach. In 1937 he put together a squad which was soon nicknamed the Breslau Elf (the Breslau Eleven) in recognition of their 8–0 win over Denmark in the then German city of Breslau, Lower Silesia (now Wrocław, Poland).

After Austria became part of Germany in the Anschluss of March 1938, that country's national team – one of Europe's better sides at the time due to professionalism – was disbanded despite having already qualified for the 1938 World Cup. As required by Nazi politicians, five or six ex-Austrian players, from the clubs Rapid Vienna, Austria Vienna, First Vienna FC, were ordered to join the all-German team on short notice in a staged show of unity orchestrated for political reasons. In the 1938 World Cup that began on 4 June, this "united" German team managed only a 1–1 draw against Switzerland, and then lost the replay 2–4 in front of a hostile crowd in Paris, France. That early exit stands as Germany's worst ever World Cup result (excluding the 1930 and 1950 tournaments in which they did not compete).
During World War II, the team played over 30 international games between September 1939 and November 1942, when national team games were suspended, as most players had to join the armed forces. Many of the national team players were gathered together under coach Herberger as Rote Jäger through the efforts of a sympathetic air force officer trying to protect the footballers from the most dangerous wartime service

ICC Rankings

ICC T20 Ranking

Rank Team Matches Qfy Matches Points Rating 1 Sri Lanka 21 25 2709 129 2 India 15 19 1843 123 3 South Africa 23 29 2818 123 4 Pakistan 30 40 3638 121 5 West Indies 19 24 2148 113 6 Australia 23 29 2526 110 7 New Zealand 23 29 2475 108 8 England 24 31 2522 105 9 Ireland 9 14 783 87 10 Bangladesh 12 16 853 71

ICC ODI Ranking Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 Australia 47 5505 117 2 India 63 7214 115 3 South Africa 44 4825 110 4 England 47 5102 109 5 Sri Lanka 56 6059 108 6 Pakistan 58 5873 101 7 New Zealand 43 4048 94 8 West Indies 48 4300 90 9 Bangladesh 26 2165 83 10 Zimbabwe 26 1439 55 ICC Test Ranking Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 South Africa 30 3988 133 2 India 36 4213 117 3 Australia 39 4314 111 4 England 44 4713 107 5 Pakistan 29 2890 100 6 Sri Lanka 33 2953 89 7 West Indies 29 2516 87 8 New Zealand 34 2773 82 9 Zimbabwe 11 372 34 10 Bangladesh 19 359 19

The England cricket team^[1] is the team that represents England and Wales (and until 1992 also Scotland) in international cricket. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996.^[2][3]

England and Australia were the first teams to play a Test match (on 15–19 March 1877), and those two countries together with South Africa formed the Imperial Cricket Conference (predecessor of the International Cricket Council) on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also played the first One Day International (ODI) on 5 January 1971. England's first international Twenty20 match was played on 13 June 2005 against Australia. As of 5 January 2014, England have won 336 of the 945 Test matches they have played and lost 273 (with 336 draws).^[4] England's One Day International record includes finishing as runners-up in three Cricket World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992), and also as runners up in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004 and 2013. They won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010.
As of 3 February 2014, the team is ranked fourth in the ICC Test rankings, fourth in the ODI rankings and eighth in T20 Internationals^[5] and the Twenty20 world rankings

Australian cricket team

The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877.^[2] The team also playsOne Day International cricket and Twenty20 International, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season^[3] and the first Twenty20 International, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season,^[4] winning both games. The team mainly draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – theSheffield Shield, the Australian Domestic One-Day Series and the Big Bash League.

The Australian team has played 764 Test matches, winning 358, losing 202, drawing 202 and tying two.^[5] Australia is ranked the number-one team overall in Test cricket in terms of overall wins, win-loss ratio and wins percentage. As of 5 January 2014, Australia is ranked third in the ICC Test Championship behind India and South Africa.^[6]

Australia has played 797 ODI matches, winning 490, losing 272, tying nine and with 26 ending in no-result.^[7] They have led the ICC ODI Championship since its inception for all but a period of 48 days in 2007. Australia have made record six World Cup final appearances (1975, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007) and have won the World Cup a record four times in total; 1987 Cricket World Cup, 1999 Cricket World Cup, 2003 Cricket World Cup and 2007 Cricket World Cup. Australia is the first team to appear in 4 consecutive World Cup finals (1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007), surpassing the old record of 3 consecutive World Cup appearances by West Indies (1975, 1979 and 1983).

The team was undefeated in 34 consecutive World Cup matches until 19 March at the2011 Cricket World Cup where Pakistan beat them by 4 wickets.^[8] Australia have also won the ICC Champions Trophy twice – in 2006 and in 2009 – making them the first and the only team to become back to back winners in the Champions Trophy tournaments. The team has also played 39 Twenty20 Internationals,^[9] making the final of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, which they lost to England

History of Barcelona club. Best club in history

Barcelona club

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture andCatalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (More than a club). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the world's second-richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of $613 million, and the third most valuable sports team on the globe, worth $2.6 billion.^[2][3] The official Barcelona anthem is the "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs.^[4]

Barcelona is the most successful club in Spain, in terms of overall official titles won (83). Barcelona was ranked first in the 'All-Time Club World Ranking' by IFFHS, on December 31, 2009,^[5] and is also currently placed on top of the UEFA club rankings.^[6] They are the current Spanish football champions and has won 22 La Liga, 26 Copa del Rey, 11 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte^[7] and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, Barcelona has won four UEFA Champions League, a record fourUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, four UEFA Super Cup, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup^[8] and a record two FIFA Club World Cup trophies.^[9] The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid; matches between the two teams are referred to as "El Clásico".

Barcelona is one of the most supported teams in the world, and has the largest fan base among all sports teams on all major social networks (with over 52 million fans on Facebook, around 11 million followers on Twitter, and more than 6 million on Google+).^{[10][11][12][13]} Barça's players have won a record number of Ballon d'Or awards (10), as well as a record number ofFIFA World Player of the Year awards (7). In 2010, the club created history when three players who came through its youth academy (Messi, Iniesta &Xavi) were chosen as the three best players in the world, having bagged the top spots at the FIFA Ballon d'Or, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football school.

Barcelona is the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1955, and one of three clubs which have never been relegated from La Liga, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental trebleconsisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. That same year, it also became the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year, thus completing the sextuple, comprising the aforementioned treble and the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.^[14] In 2011, the Blaugrana again became European champions and won a total of 5 titles, missing out only on the Copa del Rey (in which they finished runners-up). This all-conquering Barça team, which reached a record 6 consecutive Champions League semi-finals and racked up 14 trophies in just 4 years under Guardiola's charge, is considered by several managers, players and experts to be the greatest team of all time.^{[15][16][17][18]}

about Madrid Football Club

Madrid Football Club

Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, has traditionally worn a white home kit since. The word Real is Spanish for royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 85,454-capacitySantiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since its inception.The club is the world's richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €513 million, and the most valuable sports team, worth €3.3 billion.^[6][7][8] It is one of three clubs to have never been relegated from the top flight of Spanish football, along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. Real Madrid holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásicowith FC Barcelona and El Derbi madrileño with Atlético Madrid.The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. Domestically, Real Madrid has won a record 32La Liga titles, 18 Copas del Rey, 9 Supercopas de España, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la Liga.^[9] Internationally it has won a record nineEuropean Cup/UEFA Champions League titles and a joint record threeIntercontinental Cups, as well as two UEFA Cups, and one UEFA Super Cup. 

Madrid Football Club 2014 line up 

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