Cristian Săpunaru
Cristian Ionuț Săpunaru (born 5 April 1984) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back for Liga I club Rapid București, which he captains. He can also be deployed as a right-back or a defensive midfielder. Săpunaru began his senior career with Național București in 2002, before going on to make a name for himself at Rapid București four years later. In 2008 he signed with Porto in Portugal, where he won ten major honours over the course of four years, including the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. After two additional seasons in Spain featuring for Zaragoza and Elche, Săpunaru spent his late years with stints between his native country and Turkey. A full international for Romania between 2008 and 2019, he amassed 36 caps and represented the nation in two European Championships. Club career Early career / Porto Săpunaru was born in Bucharest and is a product of Național București, joining its youth system at the age of only six. He signed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Romania National Football Team
The Romania national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a României) represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation ( ro, Federația Română de Fotbal), also known as FRF. They are colloquially known as ''Tricolorii'' (The Tricolours). Romania is one of only four national teams from Europe—the other three being Belgium, France, and Yugoslavia—that took part in the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930. Including that participation, Romania have qualified for seven World Cup editions, the latest in 1998. The national team's finest hour came in 1994, when led by playmaker Gheorghe Hagi it defeated Argentina 3–2 in round of 16. This moved them on to the quarter-finals of the competition, where they were eliminated by Sweden on a penalty shoot-out. At the European Championships, Romania's best performance was in 2000 when they advanced to the quarter-finals from a group with Germany, Por ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Captain (association Football)
The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game or has good leadership qualities. The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband. Responsibilities The only official responsibility of a captain specified by the Laws of the Game is to participate in the coin toss prior to kick-off (for choice of ends or to have kick-off) and prior to a penalty shootout. Contrary to what is sometimes said, captains have no special authority under the Laws to challenge a decision by the referee. However, referees may talk to the captain of a side about the side's general behaviour when necessary. At an award-giving ceremony after a fixture like a cup competition final, the captain usually leads the team up to collect their medals. Any trophy won by a team will ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Público (Portugal)
''Público'' (; English: ''Public'') is a Portuguese daily national newspaper of record published in Lisbon, Portugal. History and profile ''Público'' was first published on 5 March 1990. The paper was founded by Sonae and is owned by the Sonae group. In 1992 Italian media company Repubblica International Holding SA, a subsidiary of Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, acquired 16.75% of the paper. ''Público'' is published in tabloid format and has its headquarters in Lisbon. The paper is known as a publication of the French school with extensive texts and few illustrations. Its first editor-in-chief was Vicente Jorge Silva, formerly sub-editor-in-chief at ''Expresso''. José Manuel Fernandes also served as the editor-in-chief of the paper. Since 2009 Bárbara Reis has served as the editor-in-chief. ''Público'' is one of the first Portuguese mainstream newspapers to have an online edition which was started in 1995. Its online edition was free and included almost all the articles fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Taça Da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tiers of Portuguese football. Unlike Portugal's other domestic cup competition, the Taça de Portugal, the winners do not qualify for European competitions. The Taça da Liga was established in the 2007–08 season, thus becoming the third official competition for professional clubs in Portugal, after a proposal by Sporting and Boavista was approved by LPFP members on 28 November 2006. For sponsorship reasons, it is currently known as Allianz Cup (with the English word ''cup''). Benfica are the most decorated team, having won a record seven trophies, four of which consecutively. The current holders are Sporting who defeated Benfica in the 2022 final to secure their fourth title in the competition, making Sporting the second most successf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008–09 Taça Da Liga
The 2008–09 Taça da Liga was the second edition of the Taça da Liga, also known as Carlsberg Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The first matches were played on 2 August 2008 and the final was held on 21 March 2009 at the Estádio Algarve in Faro. Present for the second time in the final of this competition, Sporting CP were once again defeated 3–2 on penalties, this time by their rivals Benfica. Format After the first season, a change in the format was approved by the Portuguese League for Professional Football. The Cup began with a two-legged round between teams from Liga de Honra (2nd level). Winners were joined by the clubs classified 7th–14th from last season's Primeira Liga (1st level) plus two promoted to this season's Liga. There were six groups of three clubs each, and every team played two matches (once home and once away). Winners of the groups joined the top-six teams from the last season's Primeira Liga and there were three groups of four teams, each club pla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Double (association Football)
The Double, in association football, is the achievement of winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season. The lists in this article examine this definition of a double, while derivative sections examine much less frequent, continental instances. ''The Double'' can also mean beating a team both home and away in the same league season, a feat often noted as ''doing the double'' over a particular opponent. The first club to achieve a double was Preston North End in 1889, winning the FA Cup and The Football League in the inaugural season of the league. The team that holds the record for the most doubles is Linfield of Northern Ireland, with a total of 25. Europe Albania In Albania, five teams have won the Double of the Kategoria Superiore and the Kupa e Shqipërisë. Andorra In Andorra, four teams have won the Double of the Primera Divisió and the Copa Constitució. Armenia Prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, Armenian clu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of just 231,800 people in a municipality with only 41.42 km2. Porto's metropolitan area has around 1.7 million people (2021) in an area of ,Demographia: World Urban Areas March 2010 making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008–09 Primeira Liga
The 2008–09 Primeira Liga was the 75th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. It began on 22 August 2008 and ended on 24 May 2009. Porto was the three-time defending champions and secured a fourth consecutive title for the second time in its history. Promotion and relegation Teams relegated to Liga de Honra * Boavista *União de Leiria União de Leiria have been relegated to the Liga de Honra after finishing in last place in 2007–08 Primeira Liga. Boavista were also relegated as a punishment for their participation in a match fixing scandal in 2003–04 season. Accordingly, Paços de Ferreira, which was originally scheduled to be relegated, was saved from demotion. Teams promoted from Liga de Honra * Trofense *Rio Ave Leiria and Boavista were replaced by two promoted teams from Liga de Honra. The first was Trofense, which clinched the second level title. This was its first appearance in Primeira Liga. Trofe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, it is contested by 18 teams since the 2014–15 season, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Liga Portugal 2 and replaced by the top-three non-reserve teams from this division. Founded in 1934 as Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão, it was named Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão from 1938 until 1999, when it was changed to its current naming. Over 70 teams have competed in the Primeira Liga, but only five have been crowned champions. Among them, the " Big Three" teams – Benfica (37 wins), Porto (30 wins) and Sporting CP (19 wins) – have won all but two Primeira Liga titles; the other winners are Belenenses ( 1945–46) and Boavista ( 2000–01). The Primeira Liga has increased its reputation in recent yea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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José Bosingwa
José Bosingwa da Silva (born 24 August 1982) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a right-back. An attacking fullback, his pace and ability to get up and down the flanks created problems for the opposition. He spent most of his professional career with Porto and Chelsea, winning 13 honours overall including the UEFA Champions League with both clubs: 2004 with the former and 2012 with the latter. A Portuguese international since 2007, Bosingwa represented the nation at Euro 2008 and the 2004 Summer Olympics, earning a total of 27 caps. Club career Early years Born in Mbandaka, Zaire to a Portuguese father and a Congolese mother, Bosingwa moved with his parents at a very young age to Seia in the Portuguese hinterland, in the Guarda District. He was the youngest of the couple's ten children. Bosingwa was picked as a youth to play for Boavista FC, making his professional debut on loan to S.C. Freamunde in the Segunda Liga and appearing sparingly as the northern cl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chelsea F
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament constituency), a former parliamentary constituency at Westminster until the 1997 redistribution ** Chelsea (London County Council constituency), 1949–1965 ** King's Road Chelsea railway station, a proposed railway station ** Chelsea Bridge, a bridge across the Thames ** Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, a former borough in London United States * Chelsea, Alabama * Chelsea (Delaware City, Delaware), a historic house * Chelsea, Georgia * Chelsea, Indiana * Chelsea, Iowa, in Tama County * Chelsea, Maine * Chelsea, Massachusetts ** Bellingham Square station, which includes a commuter rail stop called Chelsea ** Chelsea station (MBTA), a bus rapid transit station in Chelsea * Chelsea, Michigan * Chelsey Brook, a stream in Minnesota * Chelsea, Je ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . The euro is divided into 100 cents. The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally, over 200 million people worldwide use currencies pegged to the euro. As of 2013, the euro is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. , with more than €1.3 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |