Blog - Football

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Football

WHO WAS THE ONLY GOALKEEPER
TO WIN THE BALLON D'OR?

The Ballon d'Or, which rewards the best soccer player of the year, is awarded to outfield players. Only once has this coveted award gone to a goalkeeper: in 1963, Lev Yachin, Russian goalkeeper for Dynamo Moscow. A trophy now bears his name, that of the best goalkeeper at a World Cup.

A BIG MOMENT OF LONELINESS?

Yes, in 1937, when Chelsea met Charlton, the match was interrupted in the 60th minute by thick fog. The Charlton goalkeeper stayed on the pitch 20 minutes longer than his team-mates, because he couldn't see that the match had been stopped!

"The more the minutes ticked by, the less I could see the numbers of my team-mates. In the second half, a man came to my rescue: 'But my God, what are you still doing here?', asked a policeman. When I got back to the dressing room, my team-mates, already showered and dressed, burst out laughing. A great moment of solitude."

IN WHICH CITY WILL THE 2022 WORLD CUP FINAL BE HELD?

The opening match and final of the next World Cup in Qatar will take place in Lusail. Where is this city on the map? Nowhere! It's currently under construction and is set to be avant-garde in terms of transport and ecology.

1919-2019

Red socks, white shorts and a white jersey with large red and blue stripes - that's what our footballers were wearing in 1919. The French team played just one match that year. It was against Belgium, and the final score was 2-2.

To get to Belgium, the French team travelled by plane for the first time in history, using four aircrafts! 1919 is a key date for soccer, marking the birth of the official soccer organization we know today.
Blue became the benchmark color for the French soccer team.

DAYS OF FOOTBALL : The most beautiful story of global football - G. Montgermont , P. Cazaban , S. Laget

BEFORE THE FEDERATION…

The CFI brings together all the football federations in France except the USFSA, the Union des Sociétés françaises de Sports Athlétiques. A new competition was born: the Trophée de France. Pierre de Coubertin, who was close with Charles Simon, was to endow him with a trophy comparable to the Brennus Shield he had donated a few years earlier for the French Rugby Championship.

To preserve the memory of Charles Simon, who died in battle in June 1915, the French Cup was named after him. This polo shirt is proudly made in partnership with the Musée National du Sport.

WHEN DID THE FRENCH FOOTBALL TEAM FIRST WIN AGAINST ENGLAND?

In 1921, in front of 30,000 spectators at the Pershing Stadium in Paris, France won 2-1. The fact that the English team were described as "amateurs" in no way belittles France's achievement. There is still a strong amateur school in England.

What's more, the French team had a long-standing relationship with the English amateurs, who were 60-2 up on the seven matches they had played up to that point. The daily L'Auto wrote: "Now that it has beaten its British master, there is no hope for French football". Other titles were delighted with this success on the centenary of Napoleon's death. After this match, the English would no longer take the risk of sending "amateur" teams to defend their colours!

WHEN WAS THE FIRST BLUE JERSEY INTRODUCED?

It was on 23 March 1908 against England in London that France played for the first time in a blue jersey! It was a blue jersey that didn't bring them much luck: the match ended in a heavy defeat for the French team!

The two interlaced blue and red rings can be seen on the heart. Worn by most French teams at the beginning of the last century, these two blue and red rings were the symbol of L'USFSA. Founded in 1887, the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques was France's most influential all-purpose sports organisation at the time.

It was not until 1919, after the creation of the official football federation as we know it today, that blue became the benchmark colour for the French national football team.

THE FIRST EUROPEAN TROPHY

In 1984, for the second time in its history, France was chosen to host the European Championship. The Blues distinguished themselves by winning all their group matches, and found themselves in the final against Spain.

The Spaniards, just as determined as the Blues, seemed to find their feet more quickly on 27 June 1984. Michel Platini, undoubtedly the key player in this championship, broke the deadlock by opening the scoring at the start of the second half, and Bruno Bellone scored the winner in the 91st minute! The princes of the Parc des Princes were on cloud nine as a jubilant France clinched its first ever European Championship title!

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