Want some incredible football facts? We've got you covered.
Whether you're revising for a pub quiz, bored at work or looking for something to read on the loo, we've got facts on all facets of the beautiful game.
So strap in for a long, old ride and remember to add yours in the comments below!
200 incredible football facts
1. Switzerland didn't concede a single goal at the 2006 World Cup. The Swiss were eventually eliminated on penalties by Ukraine, proving that their defence didn't take after their cheese when it came to holes.
2. Nemanja Vidic is the only Premier League winner with a surname made entirely of Roman Numerals. V is five, I is one, D is 500 and C is 100.
3. Harry Maguire has more World Cup knockout goals than Cristiano Ronaldo. Weird, huh.
4. New Zealand was the only team undefeated at the 2010 World Cup. The All Whites' three draws, unfortunately, were insufficient to advance them past the group stage: Spain eventually claimed the tournament but suffered a surprise defeat in their opening match, losing 1-0 to Switzerland. Interestingly, Spain also scored only eight goals across the competitions seven matches, winning every knockout game 1-0.
5. Fernando Torres was Diego Simeone's captain. Torres held a young captaincy role at Atletico Madrid during El Cholo's final years as a player at the club, before Simeone later became Torres's manager at Atletico.
6. Only one professional club's ground is located off the mainland: Portsmouth's Fratton Park. Pompey's stadium is on Portsea Island.
7. Scott Parkers first four England caps were earned playing for four different clubs. He made his debut in 2003 against Denmark as a Charlton Athletic player, next got the nod in 2004 while at Chelsea, and then in 2006 while at Newcastle United. He wasn't given a game again until 2011: by then, he was at West Ham United.
8. Mario Balotellis sole Premier League assist ever was for Sergio Aguero's dramatic title-winning goal for Manchester City in the 2011/12 season. The absolute perfect time to start passing.
9. When Sweden play Denmark, the TV shows SWE-DEN in the corner. The leftover letters? DEN-MARK. See also: Poland vs Andorra. Look out for those next time.
10. West Ham United won more games in the Europa Conference League the season they won the competition, than they did in the Premier League. 11 in the Prem, 12 in Europe.
11. In 2003, Inter Milan were eliminated from the Champions League on the away goals rule, which was peculiar... since they were playing Milan. UEFA has since abolished that particular rule, of course.
12. Harry Kane's trophy curse was stronger than Kingsley Coman's record. The Frenchman had won the league title in every season of his career for Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus until Kane came to the Allianz Arena.
13. Norway are unbeaten against Brazil. Played four, won two and drew two: watch out, Carlo.
14. Philipp Lahm almost won as many trophies (22) as he received yellow cards (26) in his career. Would be a cooler fact if he'd won five more trophies, but still damn impressive.
15. In 1967, Wolves, Stoke, and Sunderland played in a domestic football league in the United States. The recently established United Soccer Association imported entire European teams and deployed them across America. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Stoke City, and Sunderland were renamed LA Wolves, Cleveland Stokers, and Vancouver Royals respectively, with their original squads and coaches competing for these American franchises. Wolves ultimately won the league's solitary season.
16. Antoine Griezmann has never won La Liga. Despite playing for two giants Atletico and Barcelona the Frenchman was playing for the other one when each of them won their titles. Unlucky.
17. Historically, the closest football ground to the River Mersey has never been Everton's or Liverpool's. Stockport County's Edgeley Park was always the answer to this quiz question but since the opening of the Hill Dickinson, it's been bumped into second place. Awkard.
18. Germany wearing green as a change strip is in tribute to Ireland. The Irish accepted friendlies with the Germans after World War II, hence the honouring.
19. Motherwell won the Copa Del Rey, beating Real Madrid in the final. No, really: they were invited to play in the 1927 edition.
20. Bixente Lizarazu was the first player to be a World and European Champion at both club and international levels. The French full-back won the Champions League final and Intercontinental Cup with Bayern Munich in 2001, following his World Cup triumph in 1998 and the European Championship victory in 2000.
21. Giuseppe Bergomi featured in four World Cups yet never participated in a qualifier. 'The Uncle' received a late selection for the 1982 squad at just 18 years old, taking part in the last three games of the competition, but he wasn't a regular throughout the qualifying stage. As champions in 1986, Italy received automatic qualification, and in 1990, The Azzurri hosted the tournament. After being dropped by Arrigo Sacchi, Bergomi was a late inclusion for 1998, where he made three appearances.
22. Pele is the only man to win three World Cups as a player while Mario Zagallo is the only man to win four overall. Although technically, Zagallo won two as a player, one as a manager and one as an assistant. He would've gotten five if not for 1998.
23. 2006 was the first World Cup that France successfully qualified for since 1986. Les Bleus failed to qualify for 1990 and 1994, were selected as hosts in 1998 and were the last country to qualify for the following tournament (2002) as holders.
24. James Milner shares the record for registering the most assists in a Champions League campaign with Luis Figo. There aren't many other things they have in common.
25. As of Euro 2024, Xherdan Shaqiri was the only player to have scored in the last three European Championships and last three World Cups. Longevity.
26. More Ballon d'Or winners have played for Charlton Athletic than Arsenal. The Gunners have never had a BDO winner on their books. 1977 winner, Allan Simonsen, however, spent a season at Charlton.
27. Vedran Corluka played in Euro 2008 and wasn't booked but he didn't play in Euro 2024 but was booked. The former Tottenham Hotspur defender was an assistant on the Croatia bench in Germany, and given a yellow for mouthing off against Albania.
28. Emerson Palmieri is the only man to have won the Champions League, Super Cup, Europa League, Conference League, and the Euros. First three at Chelsea, fourth at West Ham and the last with Italy.
29. Kenny Dalglish and Joe Hart are the only two players in history to win all three domestic trophies in both England and Scotland. Kenny managed the feat at Liverpool and Celtic, Hart at City and Celtic.
30. The last two England players to captain England in a World Cup quarter-final attended the same secondary school. That's David Beckham (2006) and Harry Kane (2018, 2022), of Chingford Foundation School.
31. Matt Busby played for both Manchester City and Liverpool. Indeed, the iconic Manchester United manager accumulated more than 300 playing appearances for Uniteds two fiercest rivals before guiding the Red Devils to their debut European Cup success and establishing the course the club would follow for the next 50 years.
32. Chelsea are the sole club to simultaneously hold the Europa League and the Champions League titles. The Blues clinched their inaugural Champions League trophy in 2012: the subsequent season, with Rafa Benitez in charge, they secured the Europa League final on May 15. Given the Champions League final was scheduled for May 25, the Blues held both major European titles for a period of 10 days.
33. Since 1982, at least one Bayern Munich player has participated in every World Cup final. The previous streak was that at least one Bayern player was starting, but Corentin Tolisso was only on the bench for the 2018 final. Lucas Hernandez signed for the German side that summer but was an Atletico Madrid player when he lifted the Cup.
34. Ferenc Puskas, arguably the greatest Hungarian footballer ever, represented Spain at the 1962 World Cup. He changed nationality, which was permitted at the time. His teammate Alfredo Di Stefano also switched, moving from Argentina, to Colombia, and finally to Spain the fickle so-and-so.
35. Andrey Arshavin has a degree in fashion design. Chic.
36. In 1938, reigning champions Manchester City were relegated, having scored more goals than the team that won the league. Back in the days where it was still just two points for a win, Arsenal were crowned champions with 52 points and 77 goals scored, while City finished 21st of 22, scoring 80 and finishing on 36 points.
37. From 1935/36 until last year, Manchester United fielded a player who had played for either Sir Matt Busby or Sir Alex Ferguson. Jonny Evans was the last one in the chain.
38. The 2015/16 Stoke squad contained players who played in the Champions League semi-finals in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019 and 2024. Joselu was the last member of that vintage to feature.
39. The first Englishman to manage a team in a World Cup final wasn't Alf Ramsey. It was George Raynor, who reached the final eight years earlier, managing Sweden. Pioneer.
40. Bobby Zamora and Obafemi Martins are the only two players to have scored Premier League penalties with both their right and left foot. Thierry Henry and Robert Pires are also the only two players to attempt passing a penalty to each other in the Premier League.
41. Rio Mavuba was born at sea. The midfielder, most famously of Lille, was born on a boat in international waters and was therefore without a nationality at birth. He was granted French citizenship in 2004, having grown up in France.
42. Bringing celery into Stamford Bridge is prohibited and could result in a lifetime ban. After an NSFW chant involving the vegetable became popular in the 2000s, fans began throwing it onto the pitch which the club swiftly outlawed.
43. Owen Hargreaves is the only player to have represented the England senior team without having previously resided in the United Kingdom. Hargreaves played for Wales U19s, was raised in Canada, and was playing in Germany when his first call-up to the England squad arrived.
44. Luka Modric and Mark Viduka are cousins. Viduka's father, Joe, hailed from Croatia, from where he emigrated to Australia in the 1960s.
45. Three England captains have played for Scunthorpe United. Kevin Keegan, Ray Clemence, and Sir Ian Botham. Keegan began his career at Scunthorpe United before moving to Liverpool. Fellow Red, Ray Clemence, never got to play alongside Keegan for Scunthorpe, leaving for Anfield in 1968. England cricket captain Botham had to choose between cricket and football as a teenager and, though he chose the smaller ball, Beefy made 11 appearances in the Football League for Scunny between 1980 and 1985.
46. Gonzalo Montiel is the only player to score the winning penalty in a World Cup final and a European final in the same season. The Argentine did it for Sevilla in the Europa League, a few months after winning the biggest prize in football in Qatar.
47. The longest wait that a player has had between their first and last European Cup/Champions League titles is 18 years: Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta (both 1989 and 2007) and Scott Carson (2005 and 2023. Carson's came at the same stadium, too.
48. Manchester United lost fewer games in their Treble-winning season than Arsenal did in their Invincible season. The Red Devils lost four times (three losses in the Premier League, one in the League Cup), while the Gunners lost six (twice in the League Cup, three times in the Champions League and once in the FA Cup).
49. In the 1930 World Cup, 300 spectators attended a match between Romania and Peru. One week later, 80,000 people attended the Uruguay vs. Romania match. Of course, the tournament being held in Uruguay greatly helped the later attendance figures. Quite the experience for those Romania players, though.
50. Sergio Aguero was sent off at home to QPR in 2012. No, you didnt imagine things: the Argentine striker was given a second yellow card from removing his shirt after that goal.
51. Cheltenham Town once forgot to enter the FA Cup. The Robins neglected to fill out the paperwork in 1974, the year in which a Kevin Keegan brace sank Newcastle in the final and King Kev was unbelievably lucky that the mighty Cheltenham weren't available to halt him that season.
52. Boca Juniors adopted their kit colours from Sweden. Legend has it that in 1906, Boca Juniors played against Nottingham de Almagro. Both teams wore similar black and white kits, so they played a match to decide who would keep the colours. Boca lost and decided to adopt the colours of the flag of the first ship to sail into the port at La Boca. That ship turned out to be Swedish: and that's why Boca has worn blue and yellow ever since.
53. When Groningen were promoted in 1971, they had only conceded seven goals throughout the entire season. All seven goals were scored in seven different matches, yet Groningen didn't even win the league, finishing second that year. Lean.
54. Portsmouth maintain the longest tenure as FA Cup holders seven years despite winning it only once in that stretch. This occurred because they won the tournament in 1939, and all professional football ceased during World War II. Similarly, Italy possessed the World Cup trophy between 1934 and 1950 a remarkable 16 years, or four tournaments having only won it twice during that time.
55. In 1979, Perugia competed an unbeaten season and still didn't win the league. The Griffins won 11 and drew 19, finishing second to Milan, who'd lost three times.
56. James Milner has played for managers born in 1933 and 1993. That's Bobby Robson and Fabian Hurzeler, respectively.
57. Gordon Strachan is the only man born before 1960 to score a Premier League hat-trick. The treble came against Blackburn Rovers in April 1993.
58. Arsenal are the only club to have gone unbeaten away from home in the Premier League twice. The Invincibles obviously managed the feat in 2003/04, but two years prior, Arsene Wenger's Double winners didn't lose on the road.
59. Patrick Kluivert and Ruud van Nistelrooy were born on the exact same day but experienced wildly divergent careers. Both born on July 1, 1976, Kluivert was a Champions League final goalscorer and winner in 1995 and had played for Milan and Barcelona before the turn of the millennium. By the time Van Nistelrooy joined Manchester United in 2001, Kluiverts influence was beginning to wane, eventually moving to Newcastle United in 2004. RVN would later play for Real Madrid in the mid-2000s, while Big Pat had already returned to the Netherlands with PSV. Considering their shared age, their careers barely overlapped: Van Nistelrooys last international goal, for instance, came eight years after Kluivert's.
60. Carlo Ancelotti is the only man to have won all five of Europe's top five leagues as a coach. Don Carlo won Serie A with Milan, the Premier League with Chelsea, Ligue 1 with PSG, La Liga with Real Madrid and the Bundesliga with Bayern.
61. 10 French players from the Euro 2000 final went on to feature among the nation's top 12 most-capped players. That impressive list includes Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc, Bixente Lizarazu, Sylvain Wiltord, and Fabian Barthez. Dynasty.
62. Samuel Etoo won consecutive continental trebles in 2009 and 2010 with Barcelona and Inter Milan. Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved from Inter in 2009 to Barcelona in 2010 as part of the deal a move in which Etoo clearly secured the better outcome.
63. Gil Scott-Heron's father was Celtic's first black player. Gil Scott-Heron was a poet, author, musician, and activist, famously dubbed the godfather of rap; his work has been sampled by artists like Kanye West, Jamie xx, and Drake. His father, Gil Heron, was a Jamaican striker who represented the Bhoys in the 1950s.
64. In the qualification campaign for the 1998 World Cup, Australia did not lose a single match yet still failed to qualify for the tournament. The Socceroos were unstoppable in their qualifying group: they won all their group fixtures the highlight being a 13-0 demolition of the Solomon Islands in which goalkeeper Mark Bosnich even scored before being required to play the other group winner, who (surprise, surprise) were New Zealand. After dispatching their local (sort of) rivals 5-0 on aggregate, all the Aussies needed to do was beat Iran over two legs. They drew 2-2 at home and 1-1 away, sending the Iranians to the 1998 tournament on the away goals rule. How unlucky can you be?
65. The record for most goals in the FA Cup belongs to Kettering Town. They've scored 927 goals, ahead of Spurs in second place.
66. Ryan Giggs was never sent off while playing for Manchester United. That's an incredible 963 appearances over 24 years. He was, however, sent off once while playing for Wales.
67. Pep Guardiola has only ever signed one player, having coached him at another club: Thiago Alcantara. Guardiola also resigned Ilkay Gundogan in 2024 after the German spent a year at Barcelona.
68. When he signed for Sunderland, Stefan Schwarz had a clause in his contract that he wasn't allowed to go into space. Schwarz had shown an interest in space tourism, with the Black Cats wanting to avoid losing their star to a trip beyond the clouds, so inserted the bizarre loophole.
69. Kevin De Bruyne never won Premier League Player of the Month. Outrageous.
70. In 1941, Rapid Vienna were crowned German champions. In fact, that Bundesliga title meant that until Xabi Alonso's stint as coach, Rapid had actually won more German titles than Bayer Leverkusen.
71. The 1968 European Championship semi-final was settled by a coin toss. Italy defeated the Soviet Union via the toss and went on to win the final. Madness.
72. Hull City is the only team in the Football League with a name in which you cannot colour in any of the letters. This is because there are no fully closed letters in the words "Hull" and "City."
73. Widzew Lodz is the only club this century to successfully defend the title of second-division champions. They won the league in 2007/08 and were promoted to the Ekstraklasa but were immediately relegated due to their involvement in a corruption scandal. In the 2008/09 season, they won it again.
74. Prior to the Champions League rebrand, the only player to have won European Cup winners medals with two different English clubs was Jimmy Rimmer. Rimmer was injured just nine minutes into the 1982 final with Aston Villa and had to be replaced by Nigel Spink as the club defeated Bayern Munich while as a 20-year-old, he was on the bench for Manchester United during their victory in 1968.
75. In 2003, Franz Beckenbauer threatened the German league with moving Bayern Munich to Italy. The Bayern president issued the threat in response to Bundesliga administrators accusing his club of financial wrongdoing. If they continue to nag us, we will apply to play in the Italian league, Becks declared. Juventus, Milan and Roma are fantastic teams and would make great opponents. Then well see how the Bundesliga gets on without us. Borussia Dortmund are still heartbroken it never happened.
76. Gareth Bale's first trophyless season after departing Tottenham was the very season he returned to Tottenham. Oops.
77. Goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt scored three Champions League goals all penalties for different clubs against Juventus. In 2000, Butt scored past Edwin van der Sar in the Juventus net for Hamburg, during a thrilling 4-4 Champions League draw. The German joined Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer in 2001 and featured in every game up to the Champions League final, scoring a penalty in a 3-1 home win against Juventus in the second group stage. In 2009, the 35-year-old slotted another spot-kick past Gianluigi Buffon this time in a 4-1 victory while playing for Bayern Munich.
78. Neither Manchester United nor Liverpool have ever defeated Gillingham in a competitive match. They are the two most successful English clubs ever, but they've never managed to get one over the mighty Gills. Manchester City have, however, thanks to George Weah.
79. Aberdeen's stadium, Pittodrie, roughly translates to shitheap in Gaelic. If that's not the most Scottish thing youve ever heard
80. In the 2010/11 season, David and James were the most frequent first names in the Premier League. Coincidentally, this was also the first Premier League season without David James. Miss you, Dave.
81. The last Welsh speaker to score a goal at the old Wembley is rumoured to be Gabriel Batistuta. Okay, this is less of a fact and more of an urban legend. Welsh people first settled in Patagonia in 1865, migrating to preserve their native Welsh culture and language, which they felt was under threat in their homeland and a Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Chubut Province, Argentina, still exists today. The story suggests that Batigol had Welsh speakers in his family from Patagonia. Apparently, he knew some of the language, too, so after scoring against Arsenal for Fiorentina in the Champions League at Wembley in the late 90s, he supposedly became the last Welsh speaker to net at the old ground. It's never been officially confirmed, unfortunately; Gabriel Heinze was also rumoured to be a Welsh speaker.
82. Javier Mascherano's debut game in senior football was for Argentina's senior national team, not his then-club, River Plate. Mascherano was such a prodigious talent that his country called upon him before his club did.
83. Robert Earnshaw is the only footballer to have scored a hat-trick in all three divisions of the English Football League, the Premier League, the League Cup, the FA Cup, and for his country at international level. His first treble was for Cardiff City against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup in November 2000; a month later, he hit three goals against Torquay United in what is now League Two. In September 2002, he netted his first League Cup hat-trick for Cardiff against Boston United, and in November of that year, he scored another three against Queens Park Rangers for his first League One hat-trick. In 2003, he achieved a Championship hat-trick for Cardiff against Gillingham, in 2004, he scored three for Wales against Scotland, and in 2005, he completed his truly unique collection, scoring a Premier League hat-trick for West Bromwich Albion against Charlton Athletic.
84. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the only player to have scored at least a goal in De Klassieker in Netherlands, Derby della Madonnina and Derby d'Italia in Italy, El Clasico and Derbi barceloni in Spain, Le Classique in France, Manchester Derby and North-West Derby in England, El Trafico and California Clasico in the United States. Hitman.
85. Dundee United boast a 100 per cent winning record against Barcelona. Played four, won four. Dundee United have twice been drawn against Barcelona in European competitions scoring seven goals and conceding only two in the process to win every tie.
86. Just one team has ever won the men's World Cup final while wearing red. Despite the popularity of the colour at club level, England are the only side to ever wear a world title in red.
87. One player was involved in both matches decided by the 'Silver Goal': Tomas Galasek. The only Silver Goal in international football was scored by Traianos Dellas in the Euro 2004 semi-final against the Czech Republic it was Dellas's only goal for his country in 53 appearances. The only Silver Goal in club football occurred in a Champions League qualification match between Ajax and Grazer AK.
88. Only one professional footballer has played in all six FIFA confederations: Lutz Pfannenstiel. The German goalkeeper played for 25 clubs, including spells in Malaysia, England, New Zealand, Singapore, United States, Brazil, South Africa, Finland, Canada, Namibia, Norway, Armenia and Albania. Journeyman.
89. Only three times has the world transfer record been broken by teams not from Italy, England, or Spain. Naturally, Paris Saint-Germain most recently broke it for Neymar, but the other two teams you're looking for are River Plate and Falkirk. In 1932, River paid �32,000 for Bernabe Ferreyra; ten years earlier, Falkirk had emptied the piggy bank to fork out �5,000 for West Ham Uniteds Sydney Puddlefoot. Crazy money.
90. Coventry City did not finish in the top six of any division between 1970 and 2018. In 1970, the Sky Blues finished sixth, but the teams directly above and below them qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. What followed was almost five decades of agonizing near-misses.
91. The Arsenal captain traditionally determines the length of the entire teams sleeves for the match. The iconic white sleeves were introduced by legendary manager Herbert Chapman to help the Gunners distinguish themselves from other teams. Nowadays, its common for the Arsenal captain to simply choose short sleeves and allow the rest of the team to wear long-sleeved undershirts if they prefer. It was common, however, in the early 2000s for French skippers Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry to opt for long sleeves, while preceding captain Tony Adams favoured a shorter sleeve. These days, however, it seems to be a free-for-all, with many players opting not to follow Martin Odegaards orders. Sort it out, Gooners.
92. In 1996, Eidur Gudjohnsen was substituted onto the pitch for Arnor Gudjohnsen, making them the first (and still only) father and son to appear in the same international football match. Eidur was 17 at the time, and Arnor 34. The pair remain disappointed that they never had the chance to play for Iceland together. The president of the Football Association of Iceland, Eggert Magnusson, issued an explicit order to the coach, Logi Olafsson, not to play them simultaneously in that game: he wanted the momentous occasion to happen on home soil, but Gudjohnsen Jr subsequently broke his leg. By the time he was fit again, Gudjohnsen Sr had retired.
93. John Obi Mikel's actual first name is Michael: Mikel was the result of a spelling error. Mikel was born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna. During the registration process for the 2003 Under-17 World Championships, Nigerian officials incorrectly submitted his name as Mikel instead of Michael. The former Chelsea and Manchester United (sort of) midfielder liked the sound of his new name and kept it, officially changing his name to Mikel John Obi in 2016.
94. Steve Finnan is the only player to have competed in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, and the top five tiers of English football. This includes the 2002 World Cup with the Republic of Ireland and the European club competitions for Liverpool plus the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Finnan also played for Welling United, Birmingham City, Notts County, and Fulham during his comprehensive tour of the football pyramid.
95. The first major competitive game to feature numbered shirts didnt have both teams numbered 1-11. In the 1933 FA Cup final, Everton wore shirts numbered 1-11, with opponents Manchester City given the 12-22 digits.
96. Every player who featured in Shinji Kagawa's first international game for Japan against Ivory Coast in 2008 was still playing professional football ten years later. Incredibly, Shinji Kagawa is still only 36 years old.
97. Roy Hodgson used to be a school teacher. Before becoming a manager, Roy taught both English and PE at Monks Hill High School, now The Quest Academy, in Selsdon. Former pupil, Ramzi Musallam, stated in 2012 that he remembers Roy conducting English lessons while wearing his tracksuit. When I tell people that Roy Hodgson was my teacher, people think I'm making it up, Musallam said. It's amazing to see how far he's come since he coached the school's football team.
98. Leeds United legend Lucas Radebe was initially signed merely to keep another new signing content. Philemon Masinga was joining the Yorkshire outfit and requested that the club acquire a South African teammate to join him. Leeds United selected Radebe, who turned out to be the significantly better investment. In fact, Leeds-based indie band Kaiser Chiefs take their name from the club Leeds bought Radebe from.
99. There was no World Cup final in 1950. The tournament format featured a final group stage, so while a decisive match occurred between Uruguay and Brazil which became the last time Brazil would lose a competitive home game until Germany hammered them 7-1 in 2014 it was not formally the World Cup final.
100. In 2014, three Chelsea goalkeepers were credited with clean sheets in a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid. Mark Schwarzer entered the game as a substitute, replacing Petr Cech in the 18th minute with the score still level. Schwarzer didn't concede, and neither did the Atletico keeper, Thibault Courtois who was on loan from Chelsea.
101. Feyenoord goalkeeper Ronald Graafland had to wait 18 years to make his senior league debut for the club after initially joining them. Graafland came up through the Rotterdam academy in the late 90s and was part of the first-team squad as a 19-year-old reserve keeper. He left in 2000 but returned in 2011. He was brought on as a substitute in the last match of the 2013/14 season, aged 34, against AZ Alkmaar for a 15-minute debut with Feyenoord leading 1-0 and he couldnt hold onto the clean sheet. Johan Gudmundsson scored a long-range equaliser.
102. David Beckham and David Moyes were once team-mates. Moyes was at Preston North End from 1993 to 1999, while Beckham spent the 1994/95 season at Deepdale on loan from Manchester United.
103. The largest attendance ever recorded at Old Trafford was 76,962 for an FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town on March 25, 1939. Despite the Theatre of Dreams being Manchester United's stadium, United haven't managed to fill it to quite the same capacity that Wolves did.
104. The first World Cup hat-trick and clean sheet were both achieved by Americans. United States goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas recorded the first clean sheet of the inaugural 1930 tournament in a 3-0 victory against Belgium. Four days later, Bert Patenaude scored three goals in another 3-0 win, this time against Paraguay.
105. Arsenal and Port Vale are the only two clubs in the country whose names do not contain the geographical location of the team. Arsenal was originally named Woolwich Arsenal after the area in south London it represented, dropping the Woolwich moniker when they relocated to the north of the city. Port Vales name is a tribute to the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal; the club is based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent.
106. Reading are (possibly) permitted to wear their home kit for every match if they so choose. Well, apparently even Reading aren't sure if this is entirely true. Because the club is the figurehead team of the royal county of Berkshire they're the Royals, naturally they could, if they wished, play every league game in their home strip. That's right they could, for example, play Birmingham City at St. Andrews and force City to wear their away kit by royal decree. At least thats the theory. Reading has never enforced it (obviously), though they have officially acknowledged the rumour and have never contacted the Football League to confirm if it would be theoretically possible. Theyve even admitted that the specifics of the rule have been lost to time. We may never know
107. The Brunei national team used to compete in Malaysian club competitions and won the Malaysian Cup in 1999. The Brunei national football team is relatively young compared to some FIFA members and has never reached a World Cup in fact, they didn't even enter the qualifiers in their early years. They have been consistently invited to participate in Malaysian cup competitions, however, and went as far as winning a tournament in 1999 a shock to everyone involved.
108. France endured a 20-year stretch without winning a World Cup match on foreign soil. The third-place play-off against Belgium in Mexico in 1986 was the last time Les Bleus would win a game "away" at a World Cup for two decades: they failed to qualify for the 1990 or 1994 editions of the tournament, before winning on home ground in 1998. As holders in 2002, they crashed out of the group stage in Japan and South Korea without a single victory. After drawing their first two matches in Germany in 2006, the French side beat Togo 2-0 to finally end the long drought.
109. Alvin Martins first-ever hat-trick was scored against three different goalkeepers. The West Ham defender yes, a defender scored his first from close range, tapping in a free-kick. Newcastle United keeper Martin Thomas was carrying an injury concern before the game and, sure enough, had to leave the field after the first goal; he had only started the match because Newcastle's reserve keeper was also injured. Midfielder Chris Hedworth went in goal for half an hour, conceded another Martin goal before damaging his collarbone, only for Peter Beardsley to step in between the sticks. Martin sealed his hat-trick against the England star.
110. The last team to win three FA Cups in a row actually came in the 1880s. Blackburn Rovers achieved the feat between 1884 and 1886 and no ones done it since.
111. Arsenal nearly merged with Fulham, Chelsea, and Tottenham. In 1908, Arsenal was experiencing financial difficulties. Clubs like Chelsea and Tottenham expressed interest in absorbing the club, while in 1910, Fulham chairman Sir Henry Norris proposed merging the Woolwich-based club with his West London side but that proposal fell through. Ultimately, it was Rangers that purchased two shares in the Gunners for a pound each not a substantial amount, but the two sides formed an alliance and played regular friendlies. It saved Arsenal from the unthinkable.
112. Queen's Park, a Glasgow-based team, has played in two FA Cup finals. Scottish clubs used to participate in the tournament's early days until 1887, when the Scottish Football Association banned its members from taking any further part in the FA Cup. Renton, Hearts, Rangers, and Partick Thistle have all entered the competition in the past, while Gretna, who are located in Scotland but near the border, played in the competition until they joined the Scottish Football League in 2002.
113. The first two players born in a reunified Germany combined for the World Cup-winning goal. Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle were both brought onto the field against Sweden in 2010 to become the first two players born since the German reunification to represent the nation. In 2014, it was Schurrle who provided the assist for Gotze's extra-time winner against Argentina in the World Cup final.
114. Only two players have played in three European Cup finals for three different clubs. Clarence Seedorf won the tournament with Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 2000, and Milan in 2003 and 2007 but Patrice Evra wasn't quite as fortunate. The left-back was a runner-up with Monaco in 2004 before being a member of Manchester Uniteds two silver medal-winning teams in 2009 and 2011, losing to Barcelona both times. In 2015, he lost to Barcelona yet again, this time while playing for Juventus. He did, however, win the trophy with United in 2008.
115. Thomas Muller scored 10 goals at World Cups but never scored once in the European Championship. The self-proclaimed raumdeuter played at Euro 2008, Euro 2016, Euro 2020, and Euro 2024 but failed to net in 16 appearances. He came agonisingly close against England, though.
116. Milan won the 1993/94 Serie A title having only scored 36 goals. For context, fellow black-and-red-striped side Bournemouth scored 40 when they were relegated to the Championship in 2019/20. Milan conceded a mere 15 goals that season, though, and went on to smash Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final.
117. During one season, N'Golo Kante had his first four starts of the season under four different managers. In 2022/23, the Frenchman began Chelsea's season under Thomas Tuchel before picking up a hamstring injury. He returned for Graham Potter's final game in charge, before featuring in Bruno Saltar's sole match against Liverpool. A couple of weeks later, he started for Chelsea against Brentford under interim boss, Frank Lampard.
118. The only two Yorkshiremen to win the Premier League Golden Boot are Jamie Vardy and Erling Haaland. Yes, Haaland was born in Leeds.
119. Paolo Maldini captained Milan to a Champions League final victory in England exactly 40 years after his father achieved the same feat. Cesare Maldini led Milan to a 2-1 win in the 1963 European Cup final at Wembley Stadium over Benfica. Four decades later, the 2003 Champions League title was secured by Milan on penalties, with skipper Paolo earning the Man of the Match award.
120. In 2002, Michael Ballack finished second in the Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and World Cup: in 2008, he finished second in the Champions League, Premier League, League Cup and Euros. Cursed.
121. Rogerio Ceni scored more goals than Ronaldinho in the 2004/05 season. Ceni was a goalkeeper.
122. Scotland have a 100 per cent record in penalty shootouts and have never missed a penalty in one. Ruthless.
123. In the 1950 World Cup, England was beaten 1-0 by the USA and the goalscorer wasnt even a US citizen. Joe Gaetjens was a Haitian working as a dishwasher in New York City. He was never granted US citizenship and even went on to represent Haiti internationally yet he still delivered the sucker punch against the Three Lions in Brazil.
124. Alfredo Di Stefano was offered on loan to Manchester United, but the move was blocked by the FA. In the immediate aftermath of the Munich Air Disaster, Di Stefano the most exciting player in the world at the time was all set to travel to Manchester on a short-term loan, with Real Madrids blessing. All parties agreed to the deal, except the FA, who disallowed the transfer on the grounds that it would hinder the development of a British player. Spoilsports.
125. The first football match attended by Queen Elizabeth II was the Stanley Matthews FA Cup final. It must have been a bit of a comedown after that.
126. Three of Antoine Griezmanns children share the same birthday despite being born in different years. His fourth-born, Shai, broke the pattern but the others were all born on April 8.
127. John Terry scored more Premier League goals for Chelsea than Andres Iniesta scored La Liga goals for Barcelona. Iniesta was never primarily a goal-getter, but then neither was Terry. Terry edges out Iniesta, 42 to 35.
128. In the three whole seasons prior to winning the World Cup Golden Ball, Ronaldo played just 26 club games. Like riding a bike.
129. Nottingham Forest is the only team that has been champions of Europe more times than champions of its own country. Nottingham Forest won the league in 1978, qualifying for the European Cup the following year, which they won. As holders of the 1979 trophy, they qualified for the 1980 edition, which they also won. Forest is also the unfortunate recipient of another record, though: they are the first European Cup winners to be relegated two tiers.
130. Fitz Hall appeared in the movie The Fifth Element as a teenager. 'One Size' Fitz Hall had a notable career playing for clubs like Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers, yet he has a role at the beginning of the 1997 Luc Besson film. Frank Leboeuf also played a doctor in The Theory of Everything, while we're on the subject of acting footballers.
131. Before the Champions League era, Scotland was the only nation to produce two cities with two clubs that reached the European Cup semi-finals. In 2016, Manchester City reached the Champions League semi-finals, almost 50 years after United first did so in 1968; Chelsea first made the final four in 2004 at the expense of local rivals Arsenal, who made it in 2006. But Scotland held a long-standing record like this well beforehand. Rangers were semi-finalists in the 1960 European Cup, while bitter rivals Celtic won the competition in 1967. Dundee were beaten semi-finalists in 1963, while Dundee United completed a unique set in 1984, when they also reached the semis.
132. While serving as a director at Birmingham City, Karren Brady sold her husband Paul Peschisolido to Stoke for �400k. No idea if they discussed it first.
133. Only one of Ruud Van Nistelrooy's 150 goals for Manchester United was scored from outside the penalty box. It was against Charlton Athletic, and if you ever watched the man play, this statistic shouldn't come as a huge shock. Still, it's impressive consistency.
134. AC and Inter Milan originated as a single club that separated due to a disagreement. In the nascent years of Italian football, there were two separate leagues: one for Italian players and one for overseas players. Key figures at AC Milan wished to limit their team to only Italian players, excluding internationals which is somewhat ironic, as the club was founded by Englishmen (hence the Anglicised spelling of Milan). Some members of the club disagreed with this stance, leading to the formation of Internazionale. The two leagues were short-lived and merged shortly after Inter had splintered off.
135. Mark Hughes once played for Wales and Bayern Munich on the same day. Hughes joined Bayern Munich in November 1987 on a season-long loan from Barcelona. Manager Uli Hoeness apparently orchestrated the two games in a single day for him. In passing, he said what time is the game? And I said, I think it's about half-past three, four oclock. From that moment on he was making phone calls and came back into the room and said, I think you may be able to play for us the same night, Hughes recalled. I thought he was just kidding but obviously he wasn't, so he organised everything.
136. David Beckham was born at Whipps Cross hospital. The aptly-named hospital is located just north of Leytonstone.
137. Gianfranco Zola and Carlo Ancelotti have an unusually intertwined professional history. As players, Zola and Ancelotti competed against each other in Serie A, playing for Napoli and Milan respectively, between 1989 and 1992. They played on the same team exactly once, when Italy faced Norway in a European Championship Qualification match in 1991; this was Ancelotti's final game for the Azzurri and Zola's debut. When Ancelotti managed Reggiana in the 1995/96 Serie A season, Zola played against Don Carlo for Parma. Ancelotti was Zola's manager for three months at Parma in 1996, before Zola left for Chelsea. Finally, in the 2009/10 Premier League season, they met as managers, in charge of West Ham United and Chelsea, respectively.
138. France holds a record for several firsts related to new technology in football. France was awarded the first penalty via VAR at the 2018 World Cup, in a group match against Australia they also had the first goal disallowed by VAR, in 2017 against Spain. In 2014, Karim Benzema scored the first goal to be awarded by goal-line technology during a World Cup rout against Honduras, while in 2006, Zinedine Zidanes infamous headbutt only resulted in a red card when the referee missed it originally and Gianluigi Buffon instructed the fourth assistant to watch the footage, pointing at the stadium's big screen. This became the first sending off to be issued following a decision by an official watching video footage.
139. Crooner Julio Iglesias was once a Real Madrid goalkeeper. Specifically, he played for Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda Division. The singer's professional football prospects were dashed when he was involved in a severe car accident in 1963 that left him unable to walk for two years. He later fathered Enrique, who released the heart-melting hit, Hero.
140. St Johnstone is the only team in Britain whose name contains the letter J. Have this as a bonus: Cowdenbeath FC is the only team in the UK with the letters A, B, C, D, and E all contained within its name.
141. The United States Men's team won both silver and bronze medals at the 1904 Olympics. Despite the Yanks' reputation for not being heavily involved in football culture, they've appeared sporadically throughout the game's history. Perhaps unsurprisingly in this instance, there were only three teams competing. FIFA does not recognise the results as official, but the IOC does.
142. Peter Osgood's ashes are interred beneath the penalty spot at the Shed End of Stamford Bridge. Unbelievably badass.
143. The last time both European Cup/Champions League finalists fielded no foreign players in their starting XIs was in 1967. Although the presence of overseas players is primarily associated with the modern game from the 1990s onward, you must look back to the 1967 match between Celtic and Inter Milan to find an absence of foreigners in both teams' starting line-ups. As you may have heard, the entire Celtic squad was born within a 30-mile radius of Glasgow.
144. Libya has played in the opening game of every African Cup of Nations tournament in which they have participated. In 1982, the North African nation competed in the competition for the first time as hosts. They reached the final but wouldn't qualify again until 2006. They were drawn against hosts Egypt on that occasion for the first match of the competition, and in their only other AFCON appearance in 2012, they were again drawn against the hosts in the opening game, this time Equatorial Guinea.
145. Dejan Stankovic has represented three different national teams at World Cups. The former Inter Milan man played for Yugoslavia in their last tournament appearance in 1998, before playing for Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 and an independent Serbia side in 2010.
146. Johan Cruyff played for PSG. Despite the club being only 23 years old when he played, Cruyff featured in two games for Paris Saint-Germain in 1975 during the Paris Tournament. The Dutch master agreed to this because he was an admirer of designer Daniel Hechter, the clubs then-president and the man responsible for those iconic red, blue, and white shirts. Not many people also know that despite his obvious association with Ajax, Cruyff left the club to join Feyenoord in his twilight years due to a dispute with his former club.
147. The first 50 Premier League goals scored by Bosnian players all came from Edin Dzeko. The 51st was scored by Asmir Begovic. Begovic's 2014 strike against Southampton was noted in the Guinness World Records book as the longest goal scored in football at 91.9 meters. Begovic later linked up with the goalkeeper he scored against in that game when he signed for Bournemouth and took Artur Borucs No. 1 shirt.
148. Before Alex Ferguson took charge at Manchester United, Aston Villa was the more decorated club. In 1986, both teams held one European Cup and seven league titles each however, the Villans had one more FA Cup than the Red Devils.
149. Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola is the only player to receive a red card in a World Cup finals... on his birthday. The incident took place during the 1994 tournament. Well, at least the referee remembered to get him a card.
150. In 1975, Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney dislocated his jaw while yelling at his defenders. You wouldn't have wanted to be one of his defenders, would you?
151. Ally McCoist is the only British player to have won consecutive European Golden Boots. Kevin Phillips of Sunderland is the only English player to won it for an English team.
152. Real Madrid beat their reserve team in the 1980 Copa Del Rey final. Dominant.
153. The only team that Thierry Henry played in the Premier League but failed to score against was Swansea City. That came in his second spell at Arsenal.
154. Andy Cole scored 187 Premier League goals and just one of them was a penalty. If penalties were excluded from final goal totals, Cole would be second to Alan Shearer in the all-time rankings.
155. Mia Hamm is the only outfield player to ever play in goal at a World Cup. After starting goalkeeper, Briana Scurry, received a red card, and all substitutes had already been used, Hamm kept a clean sheet against Denmark and even made a couple of saves.
156. Lionel Messi received seven Puskas Award nominations but never won the award. The GOAT has the most nominations for the award, in fact.
157. The first British player to win the Champions League with a foreign side was Paul Lambert. The Scotsman pocketed Zinedine Zidane while at Borussia Dortmund and was the first British player to win the rebranded competition full stop.
158. Hugo Sanchez scored 38 goals in the 1989/90 La Liga season for Real Madrid and all of them came with his first touch. In April 2018, Bas Dost ended a run of 45 goals scoring with his first touch when he scored in a Sporting win against Belenenses.
159. Benjamin Pavard's stunning 2018 World Cup goal against Argentina was the first goal he'd ever scored with his foot. His two previous goals had both been headers.
160. Each of the first three nations that won two Africa Cup of Nations trophies, won their second under a different flag. Egypt won the first one under a green flag with a half-moon, then as the United Arab Republic with a flag similar to their current one; Ghana won it with a flag with a yellow stripe and then with a white middle stripe; while DR Congo won it once and then as Zaire, with a different flag each time.
161. Jari Litmanen is the only male footballer to have played international football in four separate decades. The former Liverpool man debuted for Finland in 1989 and retired in 2010.
162. Shamrock Rovers won a trophy on corners. The 1969 Presidents Cup between Drogheda and Rovers ended 0-0 but the latter pipped their rivals 14-7 on corners so took home the title. Oh, the olden days.
163. Neil Armstrong wanted to take a football to the moon, but his idea was rejected by NASA. The soccer icon was too un-American, apparently.
164. France went to the 2002 World Cup with three leagues' top scorers and still got knocked out without scoring a goal. Les Bleus boasted Thierry Henry from the Premier League, Djibril Cisse from Ligue 1 and David Trezeguet from Serie A and still, they couldn't hit a barn door.
165. Grimsby Town's Main Stand is older than Barcelona as a club. It's also older than Australia and the paper clip.
167. Denmark won Euro 92 having not qualified for the tournament. A common one this, but the Danes failed to make the competition through qualifying and only got there when Yugoslavia dropped out.
168. Alessandro Del Piero netted a hat-trick on his full debut in Serie A. Del Piero scored in his first two appearances off the bench but then struck three in his first start for Juventus.
169. Olivier Giroud's scorpion kick won the Puskas Award but not the Premier League Goal of the Month. Andy Carroll pipped the Frenchman with an overhead kick for West Ham against Crystal Palace.
170. Hertha Berlin's reserve team have made it to the DFB Cup final more recently than the first team. The first team was eliminated in the Round of 16 in 1993 and haven't topped the reserves since.
171. When Port Vale played local rivals Crewe Alexandra in League One in 2012, Vale defender Joe Davis was in the house of the opposition manager at the time. Crewe's manager was his father, Steve, while his elder brother, Harry, was also at Crewe. Family affair.
172. Prior to Toni Kroos, the last player to retire at Real Madrid was Jerzy Dudek. The Polish goalkeeper did so in 2011.
173. For four years, Chelsea didn't lose a single FA Cup game other than at Wembley and they didn't win the trophy once in that time. The Blues lost three successive finals in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
174. Jose Mourinho went nine years without losing a home match. This incredible run stretched for fixtures at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid, lasting 150 home matches and included Chelsea's record 77 games without defeat at Stamford Bridge. The run ended in 2011 against the mighty Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu.
175. The Republic of Ireland only took two goalkeepers to the 1990 World Cup: Niall Quinn was registered as the third-choice. In fact, only six Irish players from Jack Charlton's squad were born in Ireland.
176. Only two clubs have won the Charity Shield or Community Shield having not won a league title or FA Cup is Brighton & Hove Albion. They won the trophy in 1910, which was contested between the winners of the Football League (Aston Villa) and the Southern League (Brighton).
177. Wigan Athletic failed in 34 applications to be elected to the Football League. The club applied for the Scottish League Second Division but were rejected from that, too, eventually being allowed into the English Football League in 1978.
178. Wycombe Wanderers were founded in 1887 but didn't have a manager until 1968. Before that, the Chairboys' team selection and recruitment was handled by a club committee.
179. Lincoln City's 1958/59 squad included David Short, who was 5ft 2in, and George Long, who was 6ft 3in. Extremes.
180. Salford City are the only club who have held a trophy for 24 hours. The Ammies won the 2019/20 Papa John Trophy on March 13 2021 which was delayed because of COVID-19 before they had to hand the trophy back to the organised a day later for Sunderland to lift it, as they'd won the 2020/21 edition.
181. Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle played in goal for Portsmouth FC. He played under the pseudonym AC Smith. Elementary.
182. The first British club to play in the European Cup Hibernian were invited after finishing fifth. Scottish champions Aberdeen declined to compete, as did Celtic, Rangers and Hearts, who all finished above Hibs but chose not to take part. That season, Hibs became the only club ever to play home and away European ties aganst foreign opposition without leaving their country. When severe winter weather prevented Djurgardens from playing their home leg in Sweden UEFA switched the tie to Partick Thistle's Firhill.
183. Steve Harper is Newcastle United's longest-serving player, having been at the club for 20 years but he only made 157 league appearances in that time. Harper was named on the bench over 600 times.
184. Bob Wilson and Charlie George were team-mates in Arsenal's Double-winning team of 1971: they first met when Wilson was George's teacher in a secondary school in Islington. Educational.
185. The only incidence of a team winning the league with more away points than home points came in 1924/25, when Huddersfield were crowned champions. Town managed 30 points on the road and 28 at home.
186. The world-record attendance for a fourth-tier game is over 50,000. It was set by Rangers in 2013, following their forced relegation.
187. Derby County didn't complete their first game at Pride Park. The match against Wimbledon in 1997 was abandoned when the floodlights failed.
188. The lowest level of football to ever see matches postponed due to international call-ups is the National League North. Hereford United had two games postponed in 2019, due to conflicts.
189. The only Rolex clock at a football ground in world football is situated at the end of the Stratton Bank stand at the County Ground. Swindon Town erected the clock next to the scoreboard in 1963 after they were promoted to the Second Division. Timely.
190. Radamel Falcao made his professional debut aged 13. The Colombian appeared for Lanceros Boyac in the Colombian Categora Primera B in August 1999, playing the last 40 minutes against Deportivo Pereira at the age of 13 years and 199 days, becoming the youngest debutant at that level of Colombian professional football.
191. In 2022/23, Southampton finished their season, having played 42, won 14, drawn 14, lost 14, scored 40, conceded 40 and picked up 42 points. Symmetry.
192. Iago Aspas has scored 244 career goals but he took more corners at Liverpool than he had shots on goal. The Spaniard took 21 corners for the Reds and had just 16 shots on goal.
193. Swindon Town is the only football club in England or Scotland that doesn't contain any letters that appear in the wordmackerel. Fishy.
194. Michael Owen is the only player to have scored for Stoke City but never started for them. The 2001 Ballon d'Or winner played nine times for the Potters all from the bench netting once.
195. In 1991/92, Middlesbrough were promoted to the Premier League, having scored just two more goals than relegated Brighton. Boro netted just 58 in 46 league matches.
196. Shaun Wright-Phillips has more England caps than his father, Ian Wright. Wrighty managed just 33 appearances for the Three Lions but son Shaun played 36 times.
197. Every nation at the 1966 apart from Soviet Union had kits manufactured by Umbro. Smart.
198. Station Park is the second-furthest football stadium from a train station in Britain. The ground is approximately 14 miles from the nearest stations in Dundee or Arbroath, though Balmoor Stadium in Peterhead is actually further away from a station. Incidentally, three clubs
199. From 1975 to 1988, West Bromwich Albion's managers had the following names: Johnny, Ronnie, John, Ron, Ronnie, Ron, Johnny, Nobby, Ron and Ron. Variety.
200. In 2004/05 Manchester City beat Barnsley 7-1 in the League Cup: later in the season Rangers beat Dundee Utd 7-1 in the Scottish League Cup, with two goalkeepers playing in both games. Ronald Wattereus was in goal for the winners and Nick Colgan for the losers on both occasions.
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