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Steve Zakuani
Steve Zakuani (born 9 February 1988) is a Congolese former footballer. He was born in Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and grew up in London. After a successful college career, he played for the Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers. Zakuani played for the Arsenal youth academy, but then struggled finding a team. He attended the University of Akron on a soccer scholarship, excelling as a forward. In 2009, Seattle selected Zakuani with the first overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. He quickly became a fan favorite as a winger with the speed and ability to take on opposing defenders. Success continued in 2010 with Zakuani scoring ten goals and debuting for the Congo DR national football team in a friendly. However, in 2011, he suffered an almost career-ending leg injury. He failed to recapture his early success upon returning in 2012, before retiring after playing the 2014 MLS season with the Portland Timbers. After his retirement from soccer, Zakuani he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The Sounders are a phoenix club, carrying the same name as the original Sounders franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1983. The club's majority owner is Adrian Hanauer, and its minority owners are the estate of Paul Allen, Drew Carey, and 14 families from the Seattle area. Former USL Sounders coach and assistant coach Brian Schmetzer took over as head coach in July 2016 after the departure of Sigi Schmid. The Sounders play their home league matches at Lumen Field, with a reduced capacity of 37,722 seats for most matches. Along with several organized groups, a 53-member marching band called "Sound Wave" supports the club at each home match. Seattle has long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa (after Sudan and Algeria), and the 11th-largest country in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaire was the most-populous officially Francophone country in Africa, as well as one of the most populous in Africa. The country was a one-party totalitarian military dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution party. Zaire was established following Mobutu's seizure of power in a military coup in 1965, following five years of political upheaval following independence from Belgium known as the Congo Crisis. Zaire had a strongly centralist constitution, and foreign assets were nationalized. The period is sometimes referred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Generation Adidas
Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. developmental system not yet eligible for the MLS SuperDraft early entry, allowing MLS to compete with foreign professional clubs without comparable restrictions on player signing. From its establishment in 1997 to 2005, the program was sponsored by Nike and was called ''Project-40''. Originally intended to improve the U.S. national team player pool, American national team eligibility is no longer required for program entry. Carlos Parra was the first Project-40 player when he signed with the league and was allocated to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 1997. Since then, the program has included players such as Tim Howard, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Ben Olsen, Sacha Kljestan, Fred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USL Premier Development League
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league features 113 teams for 2022, split into sixteen regional divisions across four conferences. USL League Two is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Ventura County Fusion are the current champions, having defeated Long Island Rough Riders 2–1 in the 2022 USL League Two Championship game on August 6, 2022. Competition format USL League Two is divided into 4 conferences (Eastern, Central, Southern, and Western), comprising 16 divisions. The league season runs from May through July, with the playoffs decided through July and August. All teams play a regular season schedule of 14 games, seven home and seven away, within their division. Playoffs The USL2 playoffs see division winners and each conference's best second-place finisher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soccer America
''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the US, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History and profile The magazine was founded by Clay Berling in 1971 under the name Soccer West. In 1972 the name changed to Soccer America because the magazine had begun fulfilling subscriptions nationwide. A weekly print magazine throughout most of its history, Soccer America was included in the Chicago Tribune's selection of "The 50 Best Magazines" in 2003. Soccer America launched its Web site in 1995, its e-letters in 2001,and discontinued its print magazine in 2017. Soccer America's e-letters include: SoccerAmericaDaily, SA Confidential, GameReport, Soccer on TV, the YouthSoccerInsider and Paul Gardner's SoccerTalk. Gardner won the National Soccer Hall of Fame Colin Jose Media Award in 2010. Editor in Chief Paul Kennedy won Colin Jose Media Award in 2017. In 2021, Soccer America cele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Trophy
The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the NPSL's successor, the North American Soccer League, established a trophy to annually recognize the top men's collegiate soccer player. The trophy, named the Hermann Trophy, has been awarded each year since 1967. In 1988, a second Hermann Trophy was inaugurated to recognize the top women's collegiate player of the year. In 1986, the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) began naming an annual player of the year as a rival to the Hermann Trophy. Then in 1996, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) initiated its own annual player of the year award. These three competing awards began merging three years later when the NSCAA and MAC agreed to cooperate on naming a combined collegiate pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preston North End F
Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Borough of Preston, a local government district containing the settlement from 1835 to 1974 **Preston (UK Parliament constituency) **Preston railway station in Preston, Lancashire **The PR postcode area, also known as the Preston postcode area **Preston Urban Area, the conurbation with Preston at its core *Preston, Devon (in Paignton) *Preston, Teignbridge, in Kingsteignton parish *Preston, Dorset *Preston, East Riding of Yorkshire, near Kingston upon Hull *Preston, Cotswold, Gloucestershire *Preston, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire *Preston, Hertfordshire *Preston, London, near Wembley **Preston (ward) *Preston, Northumberland, the location of Preston Tower, Northumberland, Preston Tower *Preston, Rutland *Preston, Shropshire, in Upton Magna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colours are violet and white, used on the kit in stripes from its foundation on 20 June 1928. The team plays its home games at the Estadio José Zorrilla, which seats 27,846 spectators. Valladolid's honours include a single trophy of great relevance, the defunct Copa de la Liga 1983–84. It has been runner-up in the Copa del Rey on two occasions ( 1949–50 and 1988–89), and has participated in two editions of the UEFA Cup ( 1984–85 and 1997–98) and also one edition of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup ( 1989–90). The team subsidiary, the Real Valladolid Promesas, currently play in the Primera División RFEF. Since its La Liga debut in the 1948–49 season (in which it became the first club from the region to play in La Liga – five oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and hosts home matches at the AFAS Stadion. AZ has won the Eredivisie twice, in 1980–81 and 2008–09. In the same season as their first league title, they also reached the UEFA Cup Final, which they lost to Ipswich Town. In addition, the team has won the KNVB Cup on four occasions and one Johan Cruyff Shield. History 1910–1972: Foundation and first years AZ was founded on 10 May 1967 as AZ '67, the result of a merger of Alkmaar '54 and FC Zaanstreek. Alkmaar '54 was founded as a professional team in April 1954 to play in the 10-team NBVB league, created because the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) refused to organize a professional league (the KNVB took over in 1955). Alkmaar '54, and by extension AZ, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wigan Athletic F
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington to the south. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732 and the wider borough of 330,713. Wigan was formerly within the historic county of Lancashire. Wigan was in the territory of the Brigantes, an ancient Celtic tribe that ruled much of what is now northern England. The Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain and the Roman settlement of ''Coccium'' was established where Wigan lies. Wigan was incorporated as a borough in 1246, following the issue of a charter by King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by Royal charter. The Industrial Revolution saw a dram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Road since 1917, other than two brief spells at the White City Stadium. They share rivalries with various other clubs, most notably they contest the West London derby. The club was founded as Christchurch Rangers in 1882 and took up their current name after merging with St Judes Institute four years later. Having won the West London League in 1898–99, they joined both the Southern League and Western League. Having won titles in both leagues, they were elected to the Football League in 1920. They played in the Third Division South until winning promotion as champions in 1947–48. Relegated in 1952, they won the Third Division and League Cup in the 1966–67 season under the stewardship of Alec Stock. Promoted from the Second Division ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
