Youngest major UEFA club competition final winning coaches33y 213d: André Villas-Boas (Porto, 2011 UEFA Europa League) 33y 308d: Gianluca Vialli (Chelsea, 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) 34y 102d*: Sven-Göran Eriksson (IFK Göteborg, 1982 UEFA Cup) 34y 163d: Víctor Fernández (Real Zaragoza, 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup) 36y 101d: Joaquim Rifé (Barcelona, 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup)Youngest UEFA Champions League winning coach38y 129d: Josep Guardiola (Barcelona, 2009)Youngest European Champion Clubs' Cup winning coach36 yrs 184 days: José Villalonga (Real Madrid, 1956)
Football Update
Lincoln stun Celtic as Crvena zvezda, BATE win
Lincoln 1-0 CelticBoth Gibraltarian teams came through their respective first qualifying round ties last week, with Europa also progressing in their namesake competition, but perennial champions Lincoln raised the bar again tonight. Celtic had most of the play and twice hit the woodwork but the winner came on 48 minutes though Lee Casciaro, who also was the first to score a compeitive goal for Gibraltar away to Scotland last year. He will be back in Glasgow next Wednesday.Valletta 1-2 Crvena zvezdaCeltic's fellow former European chamions Crevna zvezda only just avoided an upset of their own as they came from behind in Malta. Valletta led ...
Everything you need to know about UEFA EURO 2020
How many teams will qualify?The success of the first 24-team UEFA European Championship – UEFA EURO 2016 – vindicated UEFA's decision to broaden the net for the final tournament, and 24 sides will be involved again at UEFA EURO 2020. There will be no automatic qualifiers, however, with all the nations with host cities required to earn their place at the finals.The European Qualifiers – running from March to November 2019 – will send 20 competitors to the tournament, namely the top two teams in each of the ten qualifying groups. Four more countries will qualify via the new UEFA Nations League, with the decisive play-offs to be staged in March 2020...
Stuttgart crowd sets another UEFA record
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship consists of three distinct stages: the qualifying round, the elite round and the final tournament.Qualifying roundThe qualifying round, played in autumn, is made up of 13 groups of four teams playing in one-venue mini-tournaments. The top two from each progress alongside the third-placed team with the best record against the top pair in their group.Elite roundIn the elite round, played in the spring, those 27 qualifiers join the top seed, given a bye, in seven mini-tournament groups of four. The group winners then join the hosts in the finals.Final tournamentThe seven qualifiers plus the...
Renato Sanches named Young Player of the Tournament
Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches has been named as SOCAR Young Player of the Tournament at UEFA EURO 2016.The award – open to all players born on or after 1 January 1994 – was chosen by the UEFA technical observers, led by UEFA chief technical officer Ioan Lupescu and including Sir Alex Ferguson and Alain Giresse. The accolade caps a sensational breakthrough season for the teenager, whose performances as a substitute in three of Fernando Santos' side's first four matches in France earned him his maiden international start for the quarter-final against Poland.Sanches scored his first goal for his...
Sacrifices ‘all worth it’ for final referee Clattenburg
It has been some season for Mark Clattenburg. Having officiated at the FA Cup final and then the UEFA Champions League showpiece in May, the 41-year old is about to add the UEFA EURO 2016 showdown between Portugal and France at Saint-Denis to his impressive CV.In a tournament in which the standard of all the refereeing teams has been impressively high, Clattenburg has joined his peers in focusing on working together as a team, developing fitness levels and preparing meticulously, including detailed analysis of how sides play.How did it feel to hear you will referee the UEFA EURO 2016 final?Mark Clattenburg: Sunday is one of the bigge...
How Portugal and France made it to the final
PortugalGroup F: Portugal 1-1 IcelandJoe Walker (@UEFAcomJoeW): I felt an air of deception and frustration about Portugal after this match. They offered so much yet lacked the killer touch.Group F: Portugal 0-0 AustriaJoe Walker: Frustration again. A whole host of missed chances, a penalty off the upright and a disallowed effort. Not to worry, they will beat Hungary ... Group F: Hungary 3-3 PortugalJoe Walker: Where to start? Yet more frustration, but ove...