50 Years after the tragedy

On 6 February 6, 1958, one of the most tragic accidents in football happened. British European Airways Flight 609 carrying Manchester United team, crashed near Munich. Twenty-three of the 44 passengers died. Nine of the victims were players of the famous Man. Utd. generation known as Busby Babes…
Manchester was playing a second leg Champions Cup game against Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade. Next day they were coming back in England after qualifying for the semi finals of the competition. The plane landed in Munich for refueling. After 2 unsuccessful attempts to take-off, the pilot made his last, fatal attempt. The frozen runway lowered the speed of the plane and it crashed near after the taking-off.
The team that was destined to conquer Europe was destroyed... Their families left with their hearts full of pain…

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Wikipedia article about the accident

Records and achievements

Did you know ...

The first televised game was an Arsenal practice match at the Highbury ground in 1937.

The largest attendance for a football match ever was 199,854 people - Brazil vs. Uruguay in the World Cup at the Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, July 1950.

The most goals scored by one player in a single football match was 16 - Stephan Stanis (France) playing for Racing Club de Lens in December 1942.

Based on video evidence, one of the fastest ever scored was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera (Uruguay) in December 1998.

Diego Maradona was only 16 when he made his debut for Argentina.

Chris Woods once went 1196 minutes without conceding a goal while at Rangers, from between November 26 1986 and January 31 1987.

The biggest victory ever in a World Cup football match was between Yugoslavia and Zaire 9-0.

20 red cards were shown during a 1993 game between Sportivo Ameliano and General Caballero in Paraguay.

Goalkeeper Arthur Wharton was the first black professional football player. He was born in Ghana (then Gold Coast) and played for English League team Rotherham United in 1889.

In 1957 with only 30 minutes remaining, Charlton Athletic game back from a 5-1 deficit to defeat Huddersfield Town 7-6.

Madagascan team Stade Olympique L'Emryne scored 149 own goals against champions AS Adema in 2002. They repeatedly scored own goals in protest of a refereeing decision in their previous game.

Sir Stanley Matthews never received a booking in his 33 year long career.

Michael Laudrup appeared for Real Madrid in a 5-0 win over Barcelona and also Barcelona when they beat Real Madrid 5-0.

Mexico was the first country to host the World Cup twice.

Ballon d'Or

At the end of every calendar year, the French magazine “France Football” gives their award Ballon d’Or to the best player in Europe, and it’s one of the most prestigious awards worldwide.
In December, this prize was won by the Brazilian maestro Kaka for his performances playing for the European champion AC Milan. Kaka won the prize with 444 votes. But we all ask: Was Kaka the best? This award is always followed with controversy by people who watch football, football analyzers, coaches and reporters.
Runner-up for 2007 was C. Ronaldo with 277 votes, followed by Messi with 255 and Drogba who won 108 votes.

View all candidates

The magazine gives their award traditionally every year since 1956. Stanley Matthews form Blackpool was the first winner, back in “56
In 2006 Fabio Cannavaro won this prize and it was, unfortunately, one of the most controversial victories.
Historically, Juventus and Milan (its players) are leading with most victories among the clubs with 8 prizes, followed by Real Madrid (6), Bayern M. (5) and Barcelona(4), and Nederland and Germany are most winning nations, both with 7 titles. Johan Cruijff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten are players who won Ballon d’Or three times in their career.

See all winners