World football has witnessed many more historical milestones since Leicester City last qualified for the UEFA Cup in 2000.
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| * The Leicester City - Swansea match takes place at 10:15 PM today, April 24th. Live on VnExpress. Claudio Ranieri's team's performance this season is nothing short of a fairy tale. "The Foxes" dominate the top of the Premier League after 34 rounds, five points ahead of second-placed Tottenham. For the first time in the club's history, Leicester has qualified for Europe's most prestigious competition, the Champions League 2016-17. Leicester waited 16 years for their return to European competition, since their elimination in the first round of the UEFA Cup in 2000-01 (losing to Red Star Belgrade 2-4 on aggregate). Below are eight notable events that have occurred in world football over the past 16 years. |
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| Asia and Africa hosted the World Cup for the first time. 2002 and 2010 are considered two of the most notable years in world football history. The South Korea-Japan alliance co-hosted the first FIFA World Cup held outside of Europe and the Americas. In that tournament, Brazil defeated Germany in the final, setting a record of five World Cup titles. In 2010, South Africa became the first and only African nation to date to host a World Cup. This tournament saw Spain achieve their first ever world football championship. |
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| Arsenal achieved what seemed like an impossible feat in the history of club football. Under the leadership of Arsene Wenger, the "Gunners" won the Premier League in the 2003-04 season without losing a single match: 26 wins, 12 draws, and 90 points. |
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| Spain dominates European and world football. The Spanish national team won consecutive European Championships in 2008, 2012, and the 2010 World Cup. After a successful run of three major titles in just four years, Spain were surprisingly eliminated in the first round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. However, they remain one of the favorites to win Euro 2016 in France this summer. |
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| Chelsea and Manchester City have emerged as new powerhouses. Both were once considered easy opponents in England. However, their fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better as the new millennium began. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, and since the 2004-05 season, trophies have poured into Stamford Bridge. Chelsea has won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, and one Champions League title since the 2004-05 season. Manchester City has also enjoyed considerable success in recent years, following the arrival of Arab businessman Sheikh Khaldoon Al Mubarak as the club's new owner in 2008. Since then, the Manchester club has won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup, two League Cups, one Community Shield, and reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in the club's history this season. |
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| A rivalry has emerged between superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. They are two iconic players who have fiercely competed for the title of world football's number one star in recent years. Their rivalry began in 2009, when the Portuguese striker joined Real Madrid from Manchester United for a then-world-record fee. At that time, Lionel Messi had already established himself at Barcelona. Playing for two of the world's top clubs, they have competed for the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards over the years. Messi remains the only player in history to have won the FIFA Ballon d'Or five times, including four consecutive times. Ronaldo has also won three FIFA Ballon d'Or awards. |
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| Man Utd surpasses Liverpool in the number of English football league titles. Former manager Alex Ferguson once said that his biggest challenge was not competing for the championship every season, but dethroning Liverpool from the top spot in terms of the number of titles in English football history (18). And the legend of Old Trafford did that with Man Utd in the 2010-11 season, setting a record of 19 English football league titles. The former Scottish strategist also won the Premier League title with the "Red Devils" once more in the 2012-13 season before retiring. |
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| Sepp Blatter's reign at FIFA has collapsed. The 80-year-old Swiss football official was FIFA's eighth president and the third longest-serving leader in the organization's history. His terms spanned consecutively from June 1998 to February 26, 2016. Blatter was re-elected for another term in June 2015, but subsequently resigned due to a series of allegations of corruption, money laundering, and mismanagement of finances against him and several high-ranking FIFA officials. He and several others were banned from football activities for six years, starting in October 2015. |
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| Zinedine Zidane transitioned from player to coach. The 43-year-old French football legend was appointed to manage Real Madrid in January 2016, following the club's abrupt dismissal of Rafa Benitez. From 2001 to 2006, Zidane was still a player, winning one La Liga title and one Champions League trophy with Real Madrid. |
According to VNE
