Know Your Player - Steve McManaman

Steven "Steve" McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder, winger andplaymaker for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City. McManaman is the most decorated English footballer to have played abroad, with the UEFA website stating that "of all England's footballing exports in the modern era, none were as successful as McManaman." He is a regular pundit on BT Sport football coverage.

After nine years at Liverpool, during which time he won the FA Cup and League Cup, McManaman moved to Real Madrid in 1999. The transfer became one of the most controversial and high profile Bosman rulings of all time. He became the first English player to win the UEFA Champions League with a non-English club in 2000, and two years later became the first English player to win the Champions League twice. He also won La Liga twice before moving to Manchester City in 2003, and retiring from football in 2005. After his retirement he worked as a football pundit for Setanta Sports, ESPN and BT Sport. In 2008, he was ranked third in a Top 10 of greatest British footballers to play overseas, just behind Kevin Keegan and John Charles.

Although McManaman had a couple of quieter seasons with the advent of the Premier League, he continued to develop a reputation as one of English football's two best wingers alongside Ryan Giggs of Manchester United, with both players known to "embarrass defences with their mazy runs, which too often lack the finishing touch they deserve."

In 1993–94, McManaman showed fine form with two goals against Swindon Town and some assists including a spectacular run and assist against Tottenham Hotspur. However this form faltered following a confidence drop after an incident with Bruce Grobbelaar towards the end of a Merseyside derby, when the players exchanged blows after Grobelaar lambasted McManaman for a poor clearance which led to a goal being conceded (an incident later named as one of the top five bust ups between team mates in Premier League history).

In 1994–95, McManaman got a new million pound contract, and was given a central, freer role by new coach Roy Evans, who wanted to utilise McManaman's natural running and dribbling ability to drift all over the park. It proved a successful decision as McManaman began mesmerising defences with runs that were later to become hallmarks of the Liverpool side of the 1990s. That season he collected a League Cup winner's medal after scoring twice in his side's 2–1 win over Bolton; such was his performance that fans named it "The McManaman Final". For his second Wembley final appearance in succession he was awarded man of the match, earning the Alan Hardaker Trophy and a tribute from guest of honour, celebrated veteran winger Sir Stanley Matthews, who exclaimed after the final: "He reminds me of me when I was playing... I wish there are more dribblers like him."

By the end of 1995–96, McManaman was top of the Premier League goal assists chart with 25 assists over the season, including assists and top ratings in a match against Newcastle voted the best of the decade in the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards. By now, McManaman was ranked as one of the finest midfielders in England and had developed a strong reputation on the European stage following UEFA Euro 1996, earning praise from many at the time including Kevin Keegan, who said "there are few finer sights in world football than the sight of Steve McManaman running down the length of the pitch."

McManaman had also been noted for his versatility in his free role, switching from right to left wings, and his ability to play in central midfield, behind the front pair, or as a forward, with many notable managers including then Ajax coach Louis van Gaal, describing it as a role few could pull off the way McManaman had. McManaman was credited for making the role manager Evans gave him work, with the result being that Liverpool were playing some of the most aesthetically pleasing attacking football at the time in England.McManaman was also said to have been one of only a handful of so-called "talismanic" players along with Eric Cantona and Gianfranco Zola in the league at the time believed to have the charisma to lift supporters from their seats each time they got the ball. Managers would deploy a man-marker specifically to follow him for an entire game, with Gianfranco Zola noting that McManaman was the player the Italian national players monitored the most. Howard Wilkinson said McManaman was "virtually unstoppable" at times, while then Middlesbrough manager, Bryan Robson, was quoted as saying that "everyone in the Premiership knows that if you stop McManaman, you stop Liverpool." Roy Evans, attempting to diminish the attention on marking McManaman, stated "I would hate to think we are no more than a one-man team." German coach Berti Vogts named McManaman as one of only three Premiership players in his select European XI Team.

McManaman was once described as "England's forgotten man" but was also accused of being apathetic and having a laidback attitude and having a reputation for being a troublemaker, which began after an infamous "dentists' chair" incident before Euro96, where along with Teddy Sheringham and Gascoigne, McManaman was photographed drinking and accused of causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to a Cathay Pacific first class flight cabin. McManaman's reputation was also not aided by the fact that he was also known for being a serial prankster with Fowler, which did nothing to help new coaches' negative opinions about him, with the Spice Boys' image also making it worse, although, colleague Gareth Southgate did say McManaman and Fowler's antics though "silly", helped foster team spirit. In 2004, certain journalists even called for McManaman to be included in the Euro 2004 squad, arguing that McManaman's experience would have been worth his inclusion in the side alone, but to no avail as McManaman himself decided to retire shortly after.

Sir Tom Finney, 'one of the all-time greats for England', dies aged 91

Former Preston and England forward Sir Tom Finney has died at the age of 91.  The forward made his league debut in 1946 and remained with the Lancashire the club until his retirement in 1960.

He scored 210 goals in 473 appearances for the Lillywhites, while his record for England was equally eye-catching, netting 30 times in 76 appearances.

Preston confirmed the news in a statement on Friday night which paid tribute to the club's most famous son, who emerged as one of this country's greatest talents in the post-war era.

'Preston North End have been informed of the extremely sad news of the passing of Sir Tom Finney,' the statement read.

'Sir Tom was the greatest player to ever play for Preston North End and one of the all-time greats for England. 'The thoughts of everyone at the club, and those connected with it, are with his family at this time.

'The club will be making an official statement on Saturday 15th February 2014, but have no other comment at this time.' VIA  dailymail.co.uk

Know Your Player - Luis Suárez

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Uruguayan national team.

In 2006, Suárez moved to the Netherlands to play for Groningen in the Eredivisie. Suárez transferred to Ajax in 2007. In 2008–09 he was named Ajax Player of the Year. The following year, he was made the club captain, became the league's top scorer with 35 goals in 33 games, and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year. He scored 49 goals in all competitions and Ajax won the KNVB Cup. In the 2010–11 season, he scored his one hundredth Ajax goal, joining a group of players including Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp in doing so.

In January 2011, Suárez transferred to Liverpool for €26.5 million (£22.8 million). During his partial season at Liverpool, Suárez helped the club move from twelfth in the league in mid-January to finish sixth at the end of the season. In February 2012 Suárez won his first trophy with Liverpool, as they won the Football League Cup. On 4 December 2013 he scored his fifth Premier League hat-trick for the club, making him the most frequent scorer of hat-tricks in Premier League history, one every 17.4 games. Suárez represented Uruguay in the 2007 U-20 World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup he played an important role in Uruguay's fourth place finish and scored three goals, including when he infamously blocked an extra time goalbound header with his hands during the quarter finals against Ghana. At the 2011 Copa América Suárez scored four goals for Uruguay as they won a record fifteenth Copa América and was named Player of the Tournament. On 23 June 2013, Suarez became Uruguay's all-time record goalscorer with 35 goals. In December 2013, Suárez was ranked by The Guardian as the ninth-best footballer in the world.

Brief history of Notts County F.C.

Notts County Football Club (often known as Notts or County or by their nickname The Magpies) is a professional football club based in Nottingham, England. Formed on 28 November 1862, Notts County are the oldest football team in the world to currently play at a professional level. 

Between 1888–89 and 2012–13 they played a total of 4,710 Football League matches – more than any other English team. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier in the English football league system. County play their home games at Meadow Lane in black and white striped shirts.

The club has had several spells in the top division of English football, most recently in 1991–92, when County played in the old First Division. Notable former managers of Notts County include Jimmy Sirrel, Howard Wilkinson, Neil Warnock, Howard Kendall and Sam Allardyce. The club has had several owners. In the 21st century, a series of financial problems has seen the club owned by a Supporters' trust, who sold the club to Munto Finance – a subsidiary of Qadbak Investments Further monetary difficulties saw the club sold, for a nominal fee, to Peter Trembling, who then sold the club to Ray Trew for £1 after the club had been served with two winding up petitions from HM Revenue and Customs due to demands for a late PAYE payment of around £500,000

Notts County's first known colours were amber and black hooped shirts, dating from the 1870s. This was followed by short spells playing in amber, then chocolate and blue halves. In 1890 the club adopted black and white striped shirts, and have played in these colours for most of the rest of their history.

Notts County view their main rivals as neighbours Nottingham Forest. However, during recent stints in the lower levels of the Football League, rivalry has increased with Nottinghamshire neighbours Mansfield Town. Other clubs sharing local rivalries with Notts County are Derby County, Leicester City, Lincoln City and Chesterfield.

Brief history of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista

In 1910 the football in Brazil was an elitist sport. The top clubs were formed by people who were part of the upper classes. Among them were Club Athletico Paulistano, São Paulo Athletic Club, & Associação Atlética das Palmeiras. Lower-class society excluded from larger clubs founded their own minnow clubs and only played "floodplain" football.

Bucking the trend, a group of five workers of the São Paulo Railway, more precisely Joaquim Ambrose and Anthony Pereira (wall painters), Rafael Perrone (shoemaker), Anselmo Correia (driver) and Carlos Silva (general laborer), residents of the neighborhood of Bom Retiro. It was August 31, 1910 when these workers were watching a match featuring an London-based club touring Brazil, Corinthians FC. After the match, while the group returned home, The men spoke of partnerships, business idea's, & general dreams of grandeur. In the mind of each one surfaced a great idea: the foundation of a club, after several exchanges in a lively argument, a common ground led those athletes the same dream. The arguments led to the conclusion that they would meet the next day to make a dream into reality.

September 1, 1910. In anticipation of heavy rains, the group agreed to meet after sundown in public sight. That night at 8:30pm, on Rua José Paulino ("Rua dos Imigrantes" (Immigrants Street)), underneath the glow of an oil lamp the five workers reunited alongside their guest and neighbors from Bom Retiro. That night the club was founded, alongside its board of directors, who elected Miguel Battaglia as the first Club President.

Corinthians played their first match on September 10, 1910, away against União da Lapa, a respected amateur club in São Paulo; and despite being defeated by 1–0, this match would mark the beginning of a successful era as an amateur club.

On September 14, Luis Fabi scored Corinthians' first goal against Estrela Polar, another amateur club in the city, and Corinthians won their first game 2–0.

With good results and an increasing number of supporters, Corinthians joined the Liga Paulista, after winning two qualifying games, and played in the São Paulo State Championship for the first time, in 1913. Just one year after joining the league, Corinthians was crowned champion for the first time (in 1914), and were again two years later. There were many fly-by-night teams popping up in São Paulo at the time, and during the first practice held by Corinthians a banner was placed by the side of the field stating "This One Will Last".

The year of 1922, the Centennial of Brazilian Independence, marks the start of Corinthians hegemony in the São Paulo State Championship. As football was almost exclusively played at Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo by that time, the two state champions were considered to be the two top clubs in Brazil. After defeating the Rio de Janeiro State Championship champion of that year, América, Corinthians joined the company of the great teams in Brazil.

The same year also marked the first of three State Championships in a row, something that happened again in 1928–1930 and 1937–1939.

Corinthians seemed destined to win State Championships in threes; after six years without being a champions, they came won three more from 1937 the 1939. The 1940s were a more difficult time; and the club would win a championship in 1941 and would only win their next in 1951.

At the beginning of the 1950s Corinthians made history in the São Paulo Championship. In 1951, the team composed of Carbone, Cláudio, Luisinho, Baltasar and Mário scored 103 goals in thirty matches of the São Paulo Championship, registering an average of 3.43 per game. Carbone was the top goalscorer of the competition with 30 goals. The club would also win the São Paulo Championships of 1952 and 1954. In this same decade, Corinthians were champions three times of the Rio-São Paulo Championship (1950, 1953 and 1954), the tournament that was becoming most important in the country with the increased participation of the greatest clubs from the two most important footballing states in the country.

In 1953, in a championship in Venezuela, Corinthians won the Small Cup of the World, a championship that many consider as a precursor of the Worldwide Championship of Clubs. On the occasion, Corinthians, substituting for Vasco da Gama, went to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital and recorded six consecutive victories against Roma (1–0 and 3–1), Barcelona (3–2 and 1–0) and Selection of Caracas (2–1 and 2–0). The club would also win the Cup of the Centenary of São Paulo, in the same year (1954).

After the triumphs in the São Paulo Championship and the Rio-São Paulo of 1954, Corinthians had a lengthy title drought. The breakthrough finally came when they won the São Paulo state championship in 1977, breaking a string of 23 years without a major title.

Under the leadership of Sócrates, Wladimir and Casagrande, Corinthians were the first Brazilian club in which players decided about concentração, a common Brazilian practice where the football players were locked up in a hotel days before a game, and discussed politics. (In the early 1980s, military dictatorship, after two decades, ended in Brazil). In 1982, before the election of government of São Paulo State, the team wore a kit with the words: DIA 15 VOTE (Vote on 15th), trying to motivate the biggest number of fans to vote.

In 1990, Corinthians won their first Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, beating their rivals, São Paulo in the final at the opponents' own stadium, Estádio do Morumbi. In the following year, Corinthians beat Flamengo and won the Supercopa do Brasil. In the 1995, the club won the Copa do Brasil for the first time, beating Grêmio in the final at the Estádio Olímpico Monumental in Porto Alegre. In the same decade, the club won the state championship in 1995, 1997 and 1999, and won the national championship again in 1998 and in 1999.

In 2000, Corinthians won the first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, beating Vasco in the final played at the Estádio do Maracanã. To reach the final, Corinthians finished ahead of Real Madrid of Spain, Al-Nasr of Saudi Arabia and Raja Casablanca of Morocco. In the same decade, the club won the state championship in 2001 and in 2003 and the Copa do Brasil in 2002, beating Brasiliense in the final.

Between 1990 and 2005, the club also won the Ramón de Carranza Trophy in 1996, the Rio-São Paulo Tournament in 2002, the São Paulo Youth Cup in 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2005, and the Dallas Cup in 1999 and 2000.

The club's situation in early 2004 was among the most difficult in their history. Bad administration, lack of money and terrible campaigns both in the 2003 Brazilian Championship and in the 2004 São Paulo State Championship caused their millions of supporters to worry. Fortunately, some young players and a new manager Tite helped the team to improve from their terrible start. At the end of the championship, Corinthians finished in 5th place and gained entry to the Copa Sudamericana (a minor continental championship).

This situation was one of the factors which enabled Corinthians' president, Alberto Dualib, to convince the club's advisors to sign a controversial deal with an international fund of investors called Media Sports Investment. The deal granted the company a large degree of control over the club for 10 years in exchange for large financial investments in return. This has brought many quality players to the team, such as Carlos Tevez, Roger, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Alberto.

Despite the MSI investments, Corinthians experienced a slow start in the 2005 state championship, but managed to improve as it progressed, eventually managing to finish second. Their start to the Brazilian championship during 2005 was difficult, too, but after Daniel Passarella's dismissal (due to an unexpected 5–1 loss to Corinthians' rivals, São Paulo), the club finished the championship round well, and were eventually crowned Brazilian Champions for the fourth time, after a controversial annulment of eleven games due to a betting scandal.

The relationship between Corinthians' managers and the MSI president, Kia Joorabchian was not good, and after being eliminated in the Copa Libertadores, the club experienced a crisis which was responsible for the bad performances for the rest of 2006. Eventually, the partnership came to an end.

On December 2, 2007, following a 1–1 draw away to Grêmio, Corinthians were relegated to the second division.

Corinthians, who won promotion to the top division of Brazilian football for 2009 by winning the Serie B tournament, signed with three-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldo. In 2009, lead by Ronaldo, Corinthians won their 26th Campeonato Paulista and their third Copa do Brasil. Confirming the club's good moment, Corinthians finished the Campeonato Brasileiro 2010 in 3rd place, granting their place on the subsequent Copa Libertadores. After being eliminated from the South American tournament by the relatively less traditional Deportes Tolima, though, Corinthians saw Ronaldo retire from football. To replace him, the club signed with other 2006 national squad veteran Adriano.

 In 2011, Corinthians won their fifth national title. On July 4, after reaching the final of the 2012 Copa Libertadores undefeated, Corinthians won its first title after a two-match final against 6-time champions Boca Juniors by drawing 1-1 in Argentina and accomplishing an inaugural victory at the Estádio do Pacaembu in São Paulo winning 2-0, becoming the ninth Brazilian side to win the Copa Libertadores. After this historical title, Corinthians is considered the most valuable club in Brazil. The club won the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup for the second time after defeating English club Chelsea 1–0 on December 16, 2012

Brief history of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo

Flamengo was founded on November 17, 1895 (although the club celebrates its founding every year on November 15, which is also a Brazilian national holiday) as a rowing club by José Agostinho Pereira da Cunha, Mário Spindola, Nestor de Barros, Augusto Lopes, José Félix da Cunha Meneses and Felisberto Laport.

The group used to gather at Café Lamas, in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, and decided to form a rowing team. Rowing was the elite sport in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century. The young men hoped that forming a rowing club, would make them popular, with the young ladies of the city's high society.

They could only afford a used boat named "Pherusa", which had to be completely rebuilt before it could be used in competition. The team debuted on October 6, 1895 when they sailed off the Caju Point, from the Maria Angu beach, heading off to Flamengo beach. However, strong winds turned over the boat and the rowers nearly drowned. They were rescued by a fishing boat named Leal ("Loyal"). Afterwards, as the Pherusa was undergoing repairs, the boat was stolen and never again found. The group then had to save up money to buy a new boat, the "Etoile", renamed "Scyra".

On the night of November 17, the group, gathered at Nestor de Barros's manor on Flamengo beach, founded the Flamengo Rowing Group ("Grupo de Regatas do Flamengo", in Portuguese) and elected its first board and president (Domingos Marques de Azevedo). The name was changed a few weeks later to "Clube de Regatas do Flamengo" ("Flamengo Rowing Club"). The founders also decided that the anniversary of the club foundation should be celebrated on November 15, so as to coincide with the Day of the Republic, a national holiday.

Flamengo only embraced football when a group of dissatisfied players from Fluminense Football Club broke away from the club following a dispute with the board. The players (Alberto Borghert, Othon de Figueiredo Baena, Píndaro de Carvalho Rodrigues, Emmanuel Augusto Nery, Ernesto Amarante, Armando de Almeida, Orlando Sampaio Matos, Gustavo Adolpho de Carvalho, Lawrence Andrews and Arnaldo Machado Guimarães) decided to join Flamengo because Borgeth, who was the team's captain, was also a rower for Flamengo. Admittance of the new members was approved on November 8, 1911. A motion against the club taking part in football tournaments was defeated, and the members assembly officially created the football team on December 24, 1911.

The new team used to train on Russel beach, and gradually gained the support of the locals, who closely watched their practice games. The first official match was played on May 3, 1912 and is, to this day, the most spectacular victory of the club, as the team defeated Mangueira 16 to 2. The first intracity rivalry, the Flamengo vs. Fluminense aka Fla-Flu was Fla-Flu (which would eventually become one of the most famous football derbies in the world) was also played in that year, on July 7, and was won by Fluminense, by 3–2.