|
Paul Okon
Paul Michael Okon (born 5 April 1972) is a former Australian soccer player. He has Belgian citizenship. He previously captained the Australian National Team and has represented Australia Olympic Football Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Okon's career began at Marconi Stallions in the old NSL in Australia. He then went on to play at many European clubs including S.S. Lazio and Fiorentina in Italy's Serie A, Vicenza Calcio in Serie B, Middlesbrough F.C. and Leeds United F.C. in the English Premiership, Club Brugge, K.V. Oostende in Belgium's Jupiler League and APOEL in the Cypriot First Division. Okon was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2009, for his services to football in Australia. During his time in Belgium, Okon acquired citizenship of the country. Club career Okon grew up in a Sydney suburb of Bossley Park. He is of German and Italian descent. He represented his high school, Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield during his time a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defender (association Football)
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either side to their left and right, but can be played in threes with or without full-backs. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-back, sweeper, full-back, and wing-back. The centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations dependent on the manager's style of play and tactics. Centre-backs are usually tall and positioned for their ability to win duels in the air. Centre-back The centre-back (also known as a central defender or centre-half, as the modern role of the centre-back arose from the centre-half position) defends in the area directly in front of the goal and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Coast Mariners FC
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mariners were founded in 2004 and are one of the eight original A-League teams. It is the first professional sports club from the Gosford region to compete in a national competition. Despite being considered one of the smallest-market clubs in the league, the Central Coast Mariners have claimed one A-League Championship from four Grand Final appearances and topped the table to win the A-League Premiership twice. The club has also appeared in the AFC Champions League five times. The club plays matches at Central Coast Stadium, a 20,059-seat stadium in Gosford; its purpose-built training facility, Mariners Centre of Excellence, is located in the suburb of Tuggerah. The facility is also home to a youth team that competes in the A-League Youth. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Australians
Italian Australians ( it, Italiani Australiani) are Australians with Italian ancestry. Italian Australians constitute the sixth largest ancestry group in Australia, and one of the largest groups in the global Italian diaspora. At the 2021 census, 1,108,364 Australian residents nominated Italian ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), representing 4.4% of the Australian population. The 2021 census found that 171,520 were born in Italy. As of 2021, there are 228,042 Australian residents who speak Italian or Italian dialects at home. The Italo-Australian dialect is prominent among Italian Australians who use the Italian language. History Early history Italians have been arriving in Australia in a limited number since before the first fleet. Two individuals of Italian descent served on board the Endeavour when Captain James Cook arrived in Australia in 1770. Giuseppe Tuzi was among the convicts transported to Australia by the British in the First Flee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Australians
German Australians (german: link=no, Deutsch-Australier) are Australians with German ancestry. German Australians constitute one of the largest ancestry groups in Australia, and German is the fifth most identified European ancestry in Australia behind English, Irish, Scottish and Italian. German Australians are one of the largest groups within the global German diaspora. At the 2021 census, 1,026,138 respondents stated that they had German ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry), representing 4% of the total Australian population. At the 2021 census, there were 107,940 Australian residents who were born in Germany. History Germans have been in Australia since the commencement of European settlement in 1788. At least seventy-three Germans arrived in Australia as convicts.Donohoe, J.H. (1988) ''The Forgotten Australians: Non-Anglo or Celtic Convicts and Exiles''. 19th century Germans formed the largest non-English-speaking group in Australia up to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bossley Park
Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. History Bossley Park was named after John Brown Bossley (1810–72), an English chemist who purchased a large block of land on Smithfield Road. He named his property ''Edensor'' after a village in Derbyshire, England. When the area north of Edensor was subdivided in 1890, it became known as Bossley Park. The public school was built in 1890 and a post office in 1895. After World War II, Bossley Park received many migrants from Italy, who have since played a large role in the local community. Bossley Park and its surrounding suburbs were rural areas until the 1970s, when they were developed into a residential settlement. Demographics According to the 2021 census of population, there were 15,492 residents in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially known as the Cyta Championship. The league is contested by 14 teams and runs from August to May, with the three lowest-placed teams being relegated to the Cypriot Second Division, and replaced by the top three teams in that division. History Football was introduced to Cyprus early in the 20th century by the British. Initially played in the island's schools, it proved hugely popular and a number of clubs were duly formed. Since 1911, when Anorthosis Famagusta FC was founded, many clubs were established and in 1932 the Cypriot Championship began annually at first unofficially. Every season, the championship was organized by a different football club which caused some conflicts between some of the teams. As football became more established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian First Division A
The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 teams from the 2023–24 season onwards, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Challenger Pro League. Seasons run from early August to late April, with teams playing 34 matches each in the regular season, and then entering Play-offs I (also known as the ''Championship Playoff'', ''title playoffs'' or ''Champions' play-offs'') or Play-offs II (also known as the ''Europa League playoff'' or ''Europe play-offs'') according to their position in the regular season. Play-offs I are contested by the top-four clubs in the regular season, with each club playing each other twice. The team finishing in 18th place is relegated directly. However, the 17th place will battle for promotion-relegation play-off against 2nd place of the Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FA Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL). Seasons typically run from August to May with each team playing 38 matches (playing all 19 other teams both home and away). Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures. The competition was founded as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights sale to Sky UK, Sky. From 2019 to 2020, the league's accumulated television rights deals were worth around £3.1 billion a year, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 128 and 32 games respectively. The Premier League is a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 Serie B, 1929–30 season. It had been organized by Lega Nazionale Professionisti, Lega Calcio until 2010, when the Lega Serie B was created for the 2010–11 season. Common nicknames for the league are ''campionato cadetto'' and ''cadetteria'', since ''cadetto'' is the Italian name for junior or cadet. History A junior football championship was created in Italy in 1904; after seven editions of the Serie A, major tournament of FIGC. It was called Seconda Categoria, Second Category, and was composed of senior squads of town clubs and by youth teams of city clubs. If the first ones won the championship, they would be promoted to Prima Categoria, First Category, which consequently improved in size: the first team to reach the honour, was F.C. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa Campioni d'Italia. It has been operating as a round-robin tournament for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been organized by the Direttorio Divisioni Superiori until 1943 and the Lega Calcio until 2010, when the Lega Serie A was created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A is regarded as one of the best football leagues in the world and it is often depicted as the most tactical and defensively sound national league. Serie A was the world's strongest national league in 2020 according to IFFHS, and is ranked fourth among European leagues according to UEFA's league coefficient – behind the Bundesliga, La Liga and the Premier League, and ahead of Ligue 1 – which is based on the performance of Italian clubs in the Champ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its demise in 2004, when it was succeeded by the A-League competition run by Football Federation Australia, the successor to the Australian Soccer Association. During the history of the NSL the league was contested by a total of 42 teams; 41 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. Seasons initially ran during the winter seasons, until 1989 when this was changed to the summer season. In 1984, the league was split into two conferences (Northern and Southern) to introduce more teams into the competition; the league returned to a single division in 1987. The competition was known by various names through sponsorships; these names included the Philips Soccer League, the Quit National Soccer League, Olympic Airways Soccer League, Coca-Cola S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
