The UEFA U-21 Championship 2006 began in August 2004. On December 15, 2005, Portugal was selected to host the finals of the competition, which took place May 23 - June 4, 2006. The tournament was won by the Netherlands, who beat Ukraine 3-0 in the final.

The finals tournament featured two groups of four, with the winners and runners up of each group going through to the semi-finals.
The draw for the finals groups took place on February 8, 2006.

The finals took place between 23 May and 4 June 2006 in Portugal.

Players born after 1 January 1983 were eligible to play.

The European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970. A true Under 23 championship was then formed, starting in 1972.

The age limit was reduced to 21 for the 1978 championship and it has remained so since. To be eligible for the campaign ending in 2011, players need to be born in or after 1988. Many can be actually 23 years old by the time the finals tournament takes place; however, when the qualification process began (late 2009) all players would have been 21 or under.

Under-21 matches are typically played on the day before senior internationals and where possible, the same qualifying groups and fixtures were played out. This was not true for the shortened 2006-2007 Championship.

This tournament has been considered a stepping stone toward the senior team. Players such as Mesut Özil, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Luís Figo, Petr Čech, 2010 World Cup winner Iker Casillas, 2006 World Cup winners Francesco Totti and Andrea Pirlo, and Euro 2004 winner Georgios Karagounis began their international careers in the youth teams.

The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short, or the npower Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League.

The Football League Championship was introduced for the 2004–05 season, having been previously known as the Football League First Division. According to Deloitte, in the 2004–05 season it was the wealthiest non-top flight football division in the world, and the sixth richest division in Europe.

The winners of the Football League Championship receive the Football League Championship trophy which is the same trophy as the old First Division (now the Premier League) Champions were handed prior to the Premier League's inception in the 1992–93 season.

For the 2012-13 season, Ipswich Town will have held the longest tenure in the Championship, having not been promoted or relegated from the division since the 2002–03 season.

Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [fiˈlippo inˈdzaɡi]; born 9 August 1973) commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian professional footballer who is currently a free agent.

Inzaghi became the first striker to score in all international club competitions open to European teams after his double against Boca Juniors during the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2007.

Filippo Inzaghi is currently the second all time most prolific goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals only beaten by Raúl's 77 goals. He is also Milan's top international goal scorer in the club's history with 43 goals. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in Serie A (10), and the UEFA Champions League (three – tied with Michael Owen and Lionel Messi).

The brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, Inzaghi got his start playing for hometown club Piacenza Calcio as a teenager in 1991, but made only two league appearances before being loaned to Serie C1 side Leffe, with whom he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 matches. In 1993, Inzaghi moved to Serie B club Verona and scored 13 goals in 36 league appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he scored 15 times in 37 games helping his team win Serie B and proving himself to be an exciting young prospect.

Paweł Łukasz Brożek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈpavɛw ˈbrɔʐɛk]; born 21 April 1983 in Kielce) is a Polish footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premier League club Celtic, on loan from Trabzonspor and the Poland national football team.

In 1992 Paweł Brożek began his career at Polonia Białogon Kielce, together with his twin brother Piotr. In 1998 he moved to Zabrze to play for SMS Zabrze team. A half a year later he joined Wisła Kraków, together with his brother.

He made his debut for Wisła Kraków in Ekstraklasa on 8 April 2001 in a match against Górnik Zabrze. On 21 April 2001 he scored his first goal in the Ekstraklasa in a match against Odra Wodzisław. On May 2001 Brożek signed a new 10-year contract with Wisła Kraków. He won the Ekstraklasa championship in 2000–01 season with Wisła Kraków. In 2002 he was loaned to ŁKS Łódź to play in the Polish First League. A half year later he returned to Wisła Kraków and won with his second club Ekstraklasa title, in 2002–03 season. In 2004 he was loaned to GKS Katowice for a year and a half. He was a stand out player at GKS Katowice. On December 2004 he was invited for a trial together with his twin brother Piotr by West Ham United.