IFFHS STATISTICS AND NEWS OF THE WEEK 8
GOALKEEPER IKER CASILLAS EYES SPANISH FA PRESIDENCY
FC Porto first choice keeper and legendary Spain goalkeeper, Iker Casillas has, in a twitter message, expressed his intention to run for the presidency of the Spanish Football Association, RFEF. “I will stand for the presidency of the Spanish FA when elections are called. Together, we will put our federation at the level of the best football in the world,” his tweet runs. The 38-year-old goalkeeping celebrity who has not played with his professional club side since April 2019 following a heart attack which he suffered during training in May, has been on the coaching staff while looking to be fully rehabilitated. Before planning to give up playing for football administration, Iker Casillas, at Porto from Real Madrid since 2015 has won a number of titles, including, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 3 UEFA Champions Leagues, 5 La liga titles, and the European Championships in 2008 and 2012. He won five times the IFFHS Award of THE WORLD'S BEST GOALKEEPER 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 !
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FINAL DRAW FOR TOTAL CHAN CAMEROON 2020 MADE IN YAOUNDE
The Final Draw for the Total African Nations Championships, CHAN, Cameroon 2020 was made last week at the Yaounde Multi-purpose Sports Complex in the presence of the country`s Prime Minister, members of the Cameroon Government, top officials of the Confederation for African Football, CAF, and delegates from the sixteen participating countries, as well as a cross-section of football legends and fans. Supervised by the CAF Director for Competitions, Samson Adamu, two legends of the Cameroon National Football Team, Indomitable Lions, midfielder Salomon Olembe, and defender and 1990 World Cup team captain, Stephen Tataw, drew the lots in the heavily attended socio-cultural ceremony carried live on the State-owned Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV, main broadcaster of the upcoming event. The draw produced the following groups:
· Group A, based in Yaounde – Mfandena: Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe.
· Group B, based in Douala – Japoma: Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Niger.
· Group C, based in Douala – Bepanda: Morocco, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo.
· Group D, based in Limbe, Buea: Zambia, Guinea, Namibia, Tanzania.
The opening match will pit Cameroon against Zimbabwe at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde on April 4th, and the final game at the Douala Japoma Stadium on April 25th.
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HOPE SOLO ELIGIBLE FOR THE HALL OF FAME
Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo (four time IFFHS Award Winner of THE WORLD'S BEST WOMAN GOALKEEPER 2012 to 2015) is among the first-time eligible players on the ballot for the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame. Solo, dismissed from the team following the 2016 Olympics, joins fellow U.S. national team members Brad Davis, Whitney Engen, Herculez Gómez and Clarence Goodson among 14 players first-time eligible players on the 42-person ballot. Arguably one of the most successful goalkeepers on the international stage, Solo made 202 appearances with the national team with 153 wins and an international-record 102 shutouts. During the 2015 World Cup championship run, she allowed three goals in seven games with five shutouts. But her career was marked at times by controversy, and her contract with the national team was not renewed after the Brazil Games, when she called the Swedish team “cowards” for taking a defensive posture against the defending gold medalists.
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RECORDS
Goalkeepers who have played in the most UEFA Competitions games :
· 188 – Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid CF, FC Porto)
· 171 – Pepe REINA (FC Barcelona, Villareal, Liverpool FC, SSC Napoli, AC Milan)
· 166 – Gianluigi BUFFON (Parma, FC Juve, Paris SG)
· 143 – Olexandr SHOVKOVSKIY (Dynamo Kyiv)
· 143 – Edwin VAN DER SAR (FC Ajax, FC Juve, Fulham, FC Manchester United)
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INDIA 2020
Match schedule and host cities announced for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020™ as future stars of women’s football prepare to “Kick Off The Dream” • Five host cities across India to host the 32 matches involving 16 of the world’s best youth teams in women’s football • Kick Off The Dream™ unveiled as Official Slogan • Tournament to showcase future stars of the women’s game from 2-21 November 2020 The stage is set for the future stars of women’s football as the match schedule and host cities for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020™ were unveiled by FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) today, alongside the Official Slogan for the tournament. With only 258 days to go until the action gets underway, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata and Navi Mumbai have been confirmed as the five host cities for the tournament. Sixteen teams featuring the rising stars of women’s football will compete across 32 matches to lift the coveted trophy in Navi Mumbai on 21 November. Following the launch of the Official Emblem in November 2019, the unveiling of the five host cities and the match schedule marks a major milestone for the tournament as fans in the host cities and across India prepare to welcome the future stars and heroes of women’s football. In another significant announcement, the Official Slogan – Kick Off The Dream™ – was also unveiled at a press conference in Delhi today. Building on the passion and excitement generated by last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in France, as well as the legacy left by the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ that was hosted by India in 2017, Kick Off The Dream represents a powerful message that aims to encourage and inspire both men and women in India and beyond to pursue their dreams and help to kick start a new era of growth for women’s football in the country and around the world. Roberto Grassi, FIFA Head of Youth Tournaments, said: “With five host cities and 16 teams playing across 32 matches, the stage is set for the rising stars at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020. Tournament preparations are well underway and approaching their final stages, and we are excited to work closely with the LOC to bring the tournament to life. We are confident that India will deliver a truly spectacular FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup later this year, while providing the players with a platform to perform at their highest level.” Group-stage matches will be played in four host cities (Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Kolkata), with the knockout stages also taking place in four cities (Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Navi Mumbai). The winners will lift the trophy at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on 21 November. The key dates for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020 include: • Opening match – 2 November
• Quarter-finals – 12 and 13 November
• Semi-finals – 17 November
• 3rd/4th-place playoff & final – 21 November
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HISTORICAL DAY
Spain’s top-flight female footballers have signed their first collective agreement on pay and conditions, breaking an impasse with sporting authorities which led to a strike last November. The agreement, signed on Tuesday and made public on Wednesday, guarantees Primera Division players a minimum annual salary of €16,000 (£13,300) as well as paid holiday and maternity leave among other benefits. “This is a historic day because this collective agreement is very important for players who were worried about their futures,” said the sports minister, Irene Lozano. “It’s also important for all Spanish women because when one group of people makes advances then so does everyone else.” Ruben Alcaine, president of the Association of Women’s Football Clubs, said: “This is a moment to celebrate and now all actors in women’s football need to work together. We needed a sustainable model for women’s football in order to arm the sport with better resources.”
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Portugal and Juventus mega-striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has added one more achievement in his crowded repertoire by making his 1000th international appearance, and scoring his 725th goal when he barely tapped over the goal line in Saturday`s 2-1 defeat of hosts, SPAL. The game was his 836th in club football as against 164 international ones
The IFFHS legend player, and 5-time FIFA Ballon d`or winner began his senior club career with Sporting Lisbon during the 2002/3 season where he played 31 games, scoring 5 times, before relocating to Manchester United at only 18. After 6 years at Manchester United, during which he scored 118 goals in 292 games, he moved to Real Madrid in 2009 scoring 425 goals in 9 seasons, and only joined Juventus last year where he currently tallies 53 goals in 72 appearances. The phenomenal scorer has also netted 164 goals in 99 appearances for Portugal.
The facts and figures speak volumes of the potential of the player. But we still can afford to focus on a few games of his 1000-match career that tell of Cristiano Ronaldo`s football wonders. He has scored 56 career hat tricks with the first when in his 303rd game, Manchester United devastated Newcastle 6-0 on January 12, 2008. His first hat trick for Portugal was in his 633rd match played on September 6th, 2013 when they defeated N. Ireland 4-2. Ronaldo went on to score 5 goals in one game when on April 5, 2015, Real Madrid whitewashed Granada 9-1. It was his 731st match. He further broke Raul`s Real scoring record when in his 758th match, they won against Levante 3-0 on October 17, 2015. And on April 18th, 2017, Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 UEFA Champions League goals when Real prevailed over Bayern Munich 4-2. It was Cristiano Ronaldo`s 849th match.
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GOKULAM KERALA FOR THE FIRST TIME INDIAN WOMEN'S LEAGUE WINNER
4th edition of Indian Women’s football league concluded last week with a new champion. South indian state kerala based Gokulam kerala beat North East indian club KRYPHSA FC in a neck to neck battle. The new season of Indian Women's league saw the heavyweight final after two undefeated teams entered the tournament decider. Malabarians opened the score card within a minute and doubled it in 25th minute by Indian forward Kamala devi. But in the second half KRYPHSA Came back with the help of their Captain and Indian forward Dangmei Grace. Grace spirited her team with an accurate free kick and another indian national Ratnabala devi equalized the match from a cross. When the final went more tensed Tournament top scorer Sabitri destroyed the hopes of KRYPHSA in the 87th minute.
Both KRYPHSA and Gokulam Kerala didn't spare any points in their group stage matches. Gokulam scored 28 goals and 16 of them from the boots of their Nepalease Striker Sabitri Bhandari. Meanwhile KRYPHSA defense was so strong in the group stage which didn't send any goal to their net.
2019 -20 season finale at bangalore was widely noticed after the quality performance of indian and other forign players. Former Kerala center back and current Indian Under 19 women’s team head coach Priya PV coached Gokulam was the strong candidate after their recent solid performances. Last season they lost to the Manipur Police team in the semifinals. In this season they defeated defending champions Sethu FC in the semifinals.
KRYPHSA Player Ratnabala devi was selected as the most valuable player. And their Goalkeeper Linthoingambi Devi was selected as best Goalkeeper of the tournament. Gokulam player Manisha won the emerging player Award.
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LIONEL MESSI : 1000
Last week, Lionel Messi scored four goals against Eibar in the Spanish Liga and entered again in the Football History. He became the first Player to register 1000 official Goal contributions at the highest Level.
FC Barcelona goals : 626
FC Barcelona Assists : 261
Argentina goals : 70
Argentina assists : 45
TOTAL Goal Contributions : 1002
A new Record for Lionel Messi and certainly not the last …