Reading

200px
Full name	Reading Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Royals
Founded	1871
Ground	Madejski Stadium Reading (Capacity: 24,161[1])
Owner	Thames Sport Investment
Chairman	Sir John Madejski
Manager	Brian McDermott
League	Premier League
2011–12	The Championship, 1st (promoted)
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Reading Football Club ( /ˈrɛdɪŋ/) is an English professional football club, based in Reading, that plays in the Championship. The club will compete in the 2012–13 Premier League season having guaranteed promotion at the end of the current season.

Reading are nicknamed The Royals, due to Reading's location in the Royal County of Berkshire, though they were previously known as The Biscuitmen, due to the town's association with Huntley & Palmers. Established in 1871, the club is one of the oldest teams in England, but did not join The Football League until 1920, and had never played in the top tier of English football league system before the 2005–06 season.

The club played at Elm Park for 102 years in West Reading. The club moved in 1998 to the outskirts to the south of Reading to the new Madejski Stadium, which is named after the club's chairman Sir John Madejski.

The club holds the record for the number of successive league wins at the start of a season, with a total of 13 wins at the start of the 1985–86 Third Division campaign and also the record for the number of points gained in a professional league season with 106 points in the 2005–06 Football League Championship campaign. Reading finished eighth in their first season as a top flight club. Relegation occured a year later, only for the club to regain its top flight status four years later.

History[link]

Reading were formed on 25 December 1871, following a public meeting at the Bridge Street Rooms organised by the future club secretary Joseph Edward Sydenham.^[2][3] The early matches were played at Reading Recreation Ground, and later the club held fixtures at Reading Cricket Ground, Coley Park and Caversham Cricket Ground.^[2] The switch to professionalism in 1895 resulted in the need for a bigger ground and, to this end, the club moved again, to the purpose-built Elm Park on 5 September 1896.^[4] In 1913 Reading had successful tour of Italy, prompting the leading sports newspaper Corriere della Sera to write "without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy."^[5]

Reading were elected to the Football League Third Division South of the Football League in 1920. Reading's best performance in the FA Cup came in 1926–27 when they lost to eventual winners Cardiff City at Wolverhampton in the semi-final. Reading lost their place in Division Two in May 1931, and remained in Third Division South until the outbreak of World War II. The club won the Southern Section Cup, beating Bristol City in the two-legged final in 1938, and when taking part in the regional London War League and Cup competitions, gained another honour by beating Brentford in the London War Cup Final of 1941 by 3–2 at Stamford Bridge.

When League football resumed after the war, Reading quickly came to prominence once again. The club's record victory, 10–2 versus Crystal Palace, was recorded in September 1946, and Reading twice finished runners-up in the Third (South), in 1948–49 and 1951–52, but they were denied a return to Division Two as only the champions were promoted.^[2] The side's moment of cup glory came in 1988 when they won the Simod Cup, beating a number of top flight sides en-route to their Wembley win over Luton Town. Reading were promoted to the Second Division as champions in 1986 under the management of Ian Branfoot, but were relegated back to the Third Division in 1988.

The appointment of Mark McGhee as player-manager, shortly after the takeover by John Madejski, in 1991 saw Reading move forward. ^[6] They were crowned champions of the new Division Two in 1994. 35-year-old striker Jimmy Quinn was put in charge of the first team alongside midfielder Mick Gooding and guided Reading to runners-up in the final Division One table – only to be denied automatic promotion because of the streamlining of the Premier League, from 22 teams to 20. In 1995 Reading had eased past Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals and looked to have booked their place in the Premier League only to lose against Bolton Wanderers in the final. Quinn and Gooding's contracts were not renewed two years later after Reading had slid into the bottom half of Division One. Their successor, Terry Bullivant, lasted less than one season before being sacked in March 1998.

The last ever competitive match played at Elm Park between Reading and Norwich City in May 1998

1998 also saw Reading move into the new 24,200 all-seater Madejski Stadium, named after chairman, John Madejski. Tommy Burns had taken over from Terry Bullivant but lasted just 18 months before being replaced by Alan Pardew who had previously been reserve team manager before being released. The club finished third in 2000–01 qualifing for the play-offs, losing 2–3 in the final against Walsall at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.^[7] Reading returned to Division One for 2002–03 after finishing runners-up in Division Two. The following season they finished fourth in Division One and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost in the semi-final to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Alan Pardew moved to West Ham United^[8] the following October and was replaced by Steve Coppell.^[9]

Reading won the 2005–06 Championship with a league record 106 points, scoring 99 goals and losing only twice.^[10] Reading were promoted to English football's top division for the first time in their history. The 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first appearance in the top flight of English football. Reading defied pre-season predictions of relegation to finish the season in eighth place with 55 points.^[11] Reading turned down the chance to play in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.^[12] In the run up to their second season in the Premier League, Reading took part in the 2007 Peace Cup in South Korea.^[13] This second season was less successful and Reading were relegated back to the Championship.^[14]

Reading started the 2008–09 season with a 15 match unbeaten home run. They finished fourth and qualify for the play-offs,^[15] where they lost to Burnley in the semi-final. Manager Steve Coppell resigned just hours after the game,^[16] and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers.^[17] Rodgers left the club by mutual consent on 16 December 2009 and Brian McDermott made caretaker manager the same day.^[18] In the 2010–11 FA Cup, Reading reached the quarter-final, where they lost 1–0 to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium,^[19] Reading eventually finished 5th in the Championship to qualify for the division's play-offs.^[20] After beating Cardiff City in the semi-finals they lost 4–2 to Swansea City in the final at Wembley Stadium.^[21][22] In the 2011–12 season a streak of good form in the second half of the season, ensured promotion to the Premier League on 17 April 2012 with 1–0 home win against Nottingham Forest.^[23] On 21 January 2012, it was announced that John Madejski planned to sell 51% of the club to Thames Sport Investment led by Russian-born Anton Zingarevich^[24] which was eventually completed on 29th May 2012.^[25][26]

Crest and colours[link]

The first crest to appear on a Reading kit was in 1953, it featured just the letter "R". There was no crest seen again until 1981 when there was a crest featuring three trees and the rivers Thames and Kennet, this only last two seasons. From 1987–96 the crest used the new kit colours of yellow, sky blue, royal blue and white.^[27] In 1995 chairman John Madejski thought it was important that the club moved with the times saying "I know some traditionalists will say we should keep the old badge but they should bear in mind the need to move forward." This crest only lasted from 1996–98 when the club moved to the new Madejski Stadium.^[28] The current crest was first seen on the kits for the 1998-99 season.^[27] It is based on the club colours, blue and white, a crown representing royal sovereignty for the County of Berkshire and an image of Reading's most famous landmark, the Maiwand Lion.^[29]

A change from 1965 to 1969 saw Reading run out in sky blue[27]

The vertical stripes from 1891–92 lasting until 1937–38[27]

In 1871, at the formation of the Club, Reading did play in hoops. This lasted for only a few years, and upon entering the Southern Football League in 1894 the Club was playing in stripes – possibly so they did not clash with other teams who were already in the Southern League and wore hoops. Reading then reverted to hoops until the beginning of the Second World War, because numbering of shirts became compulsory (in 1939), and the numbers were easier to see against a hooped background. Since then the club have had several more changes. In the mid 1960s they changed the shirts to sky blue, following the fashion introduced by Coventry City. That remained until 1969, when they returned to hoops under the orders of manager of Jack Mansell.^[27] Reading have remained in a variety of hooped shirts ever since, apart from the mid 1980s when they played in blue and white panels before hoops returned in 1992.^[30]

Stadiums[link]

The club played at Reading Recreation Ground until 1878, before moving on to Reading Cricket Ground (1878–1882), Coley Park (1882–1889) and Caversham Cricket Ground (1889–1896).

Elm Park was Reading's stadium for 102 years, pictured in 1981

In 1889, Reading were unable to continue playing at Coley Park as W B Monck (the local squire) no longer allowed football due to "rowdyism [by] the rougher elements".^[31] With club membership exceeding 300 by the time the club went professional in 1895, Reading required a proper ground. A meeting the following year determined that funding would be difficult.^[31] £20 was donated by J C Fidler, on the proviso that "no liquors were to be sold" on site.^[31] The rest of the cost was financed through donations by wealthy supporters, as well as one large individual donation.^[32] A former gravel pit in West Reading was identified as the site.^[33] The first game at Elm Park was held on 5 September 1896 between Reading and A Roston Bourke's XI. The visitors were a scratch team from Holloway College.^[34] £44 was taken on the gate, with an attendance of approximately 2,500.^[32]

In 1908, the club's annual general meeting proposed moving to a new ground near Reading railway station. A board meeting the following year decided that the move would not be possible, as "there was no chance of a move to the ground near to the GWR railway stations due to the actions of the Great Western Railway".^[34]

The Madejski Stadium has been Reading's home ground since 1998

In 1994, the Taylor Report made all-seater stadiums compulsory in the top two divisions (the Premier League and the first division). Reading were champions of the second division in 1994, and were promoted to the first division. Reading became subject to the Taylor requirements, though converting Elm Park to an all-seater stadium would have been impractical.^[34] Instead, a location in Smallmead (to the south of the town) was identified as the site for a new stadium.^[34] The former council landfill site was bought for £1, with further conditions that the development of the stadium would include part-funding of the A33 relief road.^[35] Expansion of the club's home would also allow alternative commercial ventures (particularly leisure facilities) and shared use with other teams (such as rugby union clubs Richmond and London Irish).^[35] The last competitive match at Elm Park took place on 3 May 1998 against Norwich City, with Reading losing 0–1.^[36]

Reading began the 1998–99 season at the Madejski Stadium.^[34] It was opened on 22 August 1998 when Luton Town were beaten 3–0. The stadium cost more than £50m to build and the pitch incorporates a system of synthetic fibres interwoven with natural grass, installed at a cost of more than £750,000.^[37] For the first time in their history, Reading Football Club participated in the Premier League in the 2006–07 season. As a result of the sell-out crowds for their first few fixtures of the season, the club announced their intention, in October 2006,^[38] to make a planning application to extend the ground to between 37,000 to 38,000 seats. The application was made on 24 January 2007, proposing initially the extension of the East Stand with a further 6,000 seats (raising capacity to around 30,000) and subsequently extension of the North and South Stands to reach the full proposed capacity.^[39] On Thursday 24 May 2007 it was announced that planning permission had been granted to extend the stadium to a capacity of 36,900.^[40]

Supporters and rivalries[link]

Supporters at a Reading match at Elm Park in 1913

In 2001, Reading became the first football club to register their fans as an official member of their squad, giving the "player" registered with squad number 13 as 'Reading Fans'.^[41][42]

Before going out of business in 1992, Aldershot were Reading's biggest rivals.^[43][44] There was a strong rift between the two sets of fans, with fighting between fans occurring on several occasions. Strong feelings remain between fans of Reading and fans of Aldershot Town, the refounded club in Aldershot. With Aldershot Town rejoining the league in 2008, it remains to be seen whether this traditional rivalry will be reestablished.

Since Aldershot's exile, Reading's main local rivalries have been with Oxford United and Swindon Town. When the three teams had shared a division, their rivalry was referred to as the "Didcot Triangle".^[45][46] However, the rivalry between Oxford and Swindon is stronger than between either of the two and Reading, partly due to them both spending their recent history in lower divisions than Reading.^[47]

Sponsorship[link]

Records and statistics[link]

Reading's progress through the English football league system from 1920 to 2012

Reading holds the record for the number of successive league wins at the start of a season, with a total of 13 wins at the start of the 1985–86 Third Division campaign ^[49] and also the record for the number of points gained in a professional league season with 106 points in the 2005–06 Football League Championship campaign.^[50] Reading finished champions of their division on both of these occasions.^[49][51]

The club's largest win was a 10–2 victory over Crystal Palace on 4 September 1946 in the Football League Third Division South.^[49] Reading's heaviest loss was a 18–0 defeat against Preston North End in the FA Cup 1st round on 27 January 1894.^[49] Reading have lost the two highest scoring matches in the history of the Premier League; Portsmouth 7 Reading 4 on 29 September 2007 and Tottenham Hotspur 6 Reading 4 on 29 December 2007.

The player with the most league appearances is Martin Hicks with a total of 500 from 1978 to 1991.^[49] The most capped player is Kevin Doyle, who earned 26 for Ireland while at the club.^[52][49] The most league goals in total and in a season is Ronnie Blackman with 158 from 1947 to 1954 and 39 in 1951–52 respectively.^[49] The payer with the most league goals in a game is Arthur Bacon with 6 against Stoke City in 1930–31.^[49] The first Reading-based player to play in the World Cup is Bobby Convey at the 2006 World Cup with the United States.^[49] The record time for a goalkeeper not conceding a goal is Steve Death at 1103 minutes in 1978–79, which is a former English league record.^[53]

Reading's highest attendance at Elm Park was in 1927, when 33,042 spectators watched Reading beat Brentford 1–0.^[54] The highest attendance at the Madejski Stadium is 24,134 for the Premier League game with Manchester United on 19 January 2008.^[55]

The highest transfer fee received for a Reading player is the £7 million 1899 Hoffenheim paid for Gylfi Sigurdsson on 31 August 2010.^[49][56] The most expensive player Reading have ever bought was Emerse Fae, who cost £2.5m from Nantes on 2 August 2007.^[49][57]

Players[link]

As of 22 March 2012.^[58][59]

Current squad[link]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Adam Federici 4 MF Jem Karacan 5 DF Alex Pearce 6 MF Brynjar Gunnarsson 7 MF Jay Tabb 8 MF Mikele Leigertwood 9 FW Adam le Fondre 10 FW Noel Hunt 11 MF Jobi McAnuff (captain) 12 GK Alex McCarthy 14 MF Jimmy Kébé 15 DF Sean Morrison 16 DF Joseph Mills 17 DF Kaspars Gorkšs 18 FW Simon Church 19 FW Hal Robson-Kanu 21 FW Karl Sheppard

No. Position Player 23 DF Ian Harte 24 DF Shaun Cummings 25 MF Jake Taylor 27 FW Nicholas Bignall 28 MF Michail Antonio 31 GK Mikkel Andersen 33 FW Jason Roberts 35 DF Michael Hector 37 MF Jordan Obita 39 FW Brett Williams 40 MF Lawson D'Ath 43 DF Nick Arnold 45 MF Ryan Edwards 46 DF Angus MacDonald 47 MF Charlie Losasso 49 FW Gozie Ugwu — MF Garath McCleary

Out on loan[link]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 22 FW Mathieu Manset (at Shanghai Shenhua until 30 June 2012)

Notable players[link]

In 1999 Reading F.C. commissioned a poll of the supporters' "Player of the Millennium", to determine the club's best ever player.^[60] However, Reading's most successful period was winning promotion to the Premier League up till now. Therefore, many other notable players, such as Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and Gylfi Sigurdsson are not included in the poll.

Pos.	Player
1	Robin Friday
2	Trevor Senior
3	Steve Death
	Shaka Hislop
5	Phil Parkinson
6	Alf Messer
7	Jimmy Quinn
8	Michael Gilkes
9	Ronnie Blackman
10	Martin Hicks

Player of the Season[link]

International players[link]

Former players[link]

Club officials[link]

John Madejski has been the Chairman of Reading since 1990

Board of Directors & Senior club staff

• Chief Executive: Nigel Howe
• Commercial Director: Pat Coyne
• Club Secretary: Sue Hewett
• Financial Controller: Bryan Stabler
• Directors: John Madejski (Chairman), Anton Zingarevich, Christopher Samuelson, Andrew Obolensky, Nigel Howe and Ian Wood-Smith^[26]

Management team^[61][62][63]

• First Team Manager: Brian McDermott
• Director of Football: Nick Hammond
• First Team Coach: Nigel Gibbs
• Goalkeeping Coach: Sal Bibbo
• Head Of Sports Science: Karl Halabi
• First Team Physio: Luke Anthony
• Development Coach: Chris Cummins
• First Team Head Scout: Steve Shorey
• Academy Manager: Eamonn Dolan
• Assistant Academy Manager: David Dodds
• Academy Development Manager: Lee Herron
• Kit Manager: Selby Armstrong
• Masseur: Dan Buchanan
• ProZone: Lucy Rushton

Managers[link]

Honours[link]

• English 2nd tier:

2006, 2012

1995 (runners-up)

• English 3rd tier:

1926, 1986, 1994

1932, 1935, 1949, 1952, 2002 (runners-up)

• English 4th tier:

1979

• Full Members Cup:

1988

• London War Cup:

1940–41

• Football League Third Division South Cup:

1938

• FA Cup:

Semi-finalists 1927

• Football League Cup:

Quarter-finalists 1996, 1998

• Highest league finish:

Premier League 2007, 8th Place

Managerial[link]

• LMA Manager of the Year
  • Steve Coppell 2005–06, 2006–07
• LMA Championship Manager of the Year
  • Brian McDermott 2011–12^[64]

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reading F.C.

• Official website
• STAR (Supporters Trust at Reading)
• Reading F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club statistics

Inter

200px
Full name	Football Club Internazionale Milano S.p.A.
Nickname(s)	I Nerazzurri (The Black and Blues) La Beneamata (The Cherished One) Il Biscione (The Big Grass Snake) Baüscia (Boasters in Lombard language)
Founded	March 9, 1908; 104 years ago  (1908-03-09)
Ground	San Siro, Milan (Capacity: 80,018[1])
Owner	Massimo Moratti
President	Massimo Moratti
Head coach	Andrea Stramaccioni
League	Serie A
2011–12	Serie A, 6th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Football Club Internazionale Milano S.p.A., commonly referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy. The club is commonly known as Inter Milan outside of Italy.^[2][3] They have spent their entire history in the top flight First Division (known as Serie A since 1929). Internazionale have won 30 domestic trophies, including the league eighteen times, the Coppa Italia seven and the Supercoppa Italiana five. From 2006 to 2010 the club won five successive league titles, equalling the all-time record.^[4] They have won the Champions League three times; two back-to-back in 1964 and 1965 and then another in 2010. The last completed an unprecedented Italian treble with the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto. The club has also won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.

Inter's home games are played at San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The stadium, which is shared with A.C. Milan, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 80,018.^[5] Milan are considered one of their biggest rivals, and matches between the two teams are called Derby della Madonnina, which is one of the most followed derbies in football.^[6] As of 2010, Inter is the second most supported team in Italy,^[7] and the eighth most supported team in Europe.^[8] The current president and owner of Inter is Massimo Moratti. The club is one of the wealthiest and most valuable in Italian and world football.^[9] It was a founding member of the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe's leading football clubs as well as its replacement, the European Club Association.^[10]

History[link]

Foundation and early years (1908–1922)[link]

First Inter side to win the scudetto, in 1909–10

The club was founded on 9 March 1908 as Football Club Internazionale, following a "schism" from the Milan Cricket and Football Club (44 members). A group of Italians and Swiss (Giorgio Muggiani, a painter who also designed the club's logo, Bossard, Lana, Bertoloni, De Olma, Enrico Hintermann, Arturo Hintermann, Carlo Hintermann, Pietro Dell'Oro, Hugo and Hans Rietmann, Voelkel, Maner, Wipf, and Carlo Ardussi) were unhappy about the domination of Italians in the AC Milan team, and broke away from them, leading to the creation of Internazionale. The name of the club derives from the wish of its founding members to accept foreign players as well as Italians.

The club won its very first Scudetto (championship) in 1910 and its second in 1920. The captain and coach of the first Scudetto was Virgilio Fossati, who was killed in World War I.

After early years (1922–1960)[link]

In 1922 Inter were in Group B of the Serie A and came in dead last after picking up only 11 points in the season. Thanks to the reunion of the C.C.I. (Confederazione Calcistica Italiana) and Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC), Inter remained in the top league after winning the salvation play-off.

In 1928, during the Fascist era, the club was forced to merge with the Unione Sportiva Milanese and was renamed Società Sportiva Ambrosiana.^[11] They wore white shirts around this time with a red cross emblazoned on it. This shirt design was inspired by the flag and coat of arms of the city of Milan, which in turn is derived from the flag of the patron saint of Milan, St. Ambrose and dates back to the 4th century AD. The new upcoming President Oreste Simonotti decided to change name to Associazione Sportiva Ambrosiana in 1929. However, supporters continued to call the team Inter, and in 1931 new president Pozzani caved to shareholder pressure and changed the name to Associazione Sportiva Ambrosiana-Inter.

Their first Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) was won in 1938-39, led by the great legend Giuseppe Meazza, for whom the San Siro stadium is officially named, and a fifth league championship followed in 1940, despite an injury to Meazza. After the end of World War II the club re-emerged under a name close to their original one; FC Internazionale Milano, which they have kept ever since. Following the war, Inter won its sixth championship in 1953 and the seventh in 1954.

Grande Inter (1960–1968)[link]

Facchetti on a 1968 Ajman stamp

In 1960, Helenio Herrera joined Internazionale from FC Barcelona. From FC Barcelona, he brought his midfield general Luis Suárez who would win the European Footballer of the Year in the same year for his role in FC Barcelona's La Liga/Fairs Cup double. He would transform Internazionale into one of the greatest teams in Europe. He modified a 5-3-2 tactic known as the Verrou (door bolt) to include larger flexibility for counter attacks. The Catenaccio system was invented by an Austrian coach named Karl Rappan. Rappan's original system was implemented with 4 fixed defenders, playing a strict man-to-man marking system, plus a playmaker in the middle of the field who plays the ball together with two midfield wings. Herrera would modify it by adding a fifth defenders, the sweeper or libero behind the two centre backs. The sweeper or libero who acted as the free man would deal with any attackers who went through the two centre backs. Internazionale would finish 3rd in Serie A his first season, 2nd the next year and first in his 3rd season. And then followed a back-to-back European Cup victory in 1964 and 1965. Herrera earned the title "ll Mago" which meant the magician. The code of Herrera's team was the fullbacks Tarcisio Burgnich and Giacinto Facchetti, Armando Picchi the sweeper, Luis Suárez the playmaker, Jair the winger, Mario Corso the left midfielder and Sandro Mazzola who played the inside-right.

In 1964, Internazionale reached the Final by beating Borussia Dortmund in the semifinal and FK Partizan in the quarterfinal. In the Final, they met Real Madrid, a team had reached 7 out of the 9 existing Finals. Real Madrid consisted of the aging stars of the 1950s and a few emerging players that would win the European Cup in 1966. It was Sandro Mazzola who stole the show by scoring two goals in a 3-1 victory.

A year later, Inter repeated the feat by beating two-time winner SL Benfica in the final held at home. Jair was the lone scorer in 1-0 win.

By 1967, Jair was gone. Luis Suárez was injured and missed the Final. Sandro Mazzola's penalty was not enough to stop Celtic FC from winning the title.