Franco-Provençal language

Franco-Provençal (Francoprovençal), Arpitan or Romand (in Switzerland) (Vernacular: francoprovençâl, arpetan, patouès; Italian: francoprovenzale, arpitano; French: francoprovençal, arpitan, patois) is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland, northwestern Italy, and in enclaves in the Province of Foggia in Apulia, Italy. Franco-Provençal has several distinct dialects and is separate from but closely related to neighboring Romance languages: Oïl languages, Occitan, Gallo-Italian, and Romansh. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I. Ascoli in the 19th century because it shared features with French and Provençal without belonging to either. Arpitan, a neologism, is becoming a popular name for the language and the people who speak it.

Today, the largest number of Franco-Provençal speakers reside in the Aosta Valley, an autonomous region of Italy. The language is also spoken in alpine valleys in the province of Turin, two isolated towns in Foggia, and rural areas of the Romandie region of Switzerland. It is one of the three Gallo-Romance language families of France and is officially recognized as a regional language of France, but its use is marginal. Organizations are attempting to preserve it through cultural events, education, scholarly research, and publishing.

Mauro Bressan

Mauro Bressan (born January 5, 1971 in Valdobbiadene, Italy) is a retired Italian football player who played as a midfielder, and who worked as a director of sports for the Hungarian club Vasas SC.

Football career

His career peaked whilst playing for Fiorentina during 1999–2001 and though he didn't have many league starts, he did start three Champions League games for the Italian side. Bressan's main fame comes from one of these games, in the 3–3 draw against Barcelona on November 2, 1999. After 14 minutes he scored what is considered one of the greatest goals of all time, a spectacular 25 yard bicycle kick. An ITV programme on the 50 greatest Champions League goals had it at number 2, behind Zinedine Zidane's winning volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League Final. Sky One also placed this goal as number 8 in their list of the 50 greatest Champions League goals. In the very same game against Barcelona, Bressan combined well with Abel Balbo, providing a spectacular backheel pass to assist Balbo in scoring Fiorentina's second goal of the game. He won the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina during the 2000-01 season.

Champions League

Champions League most commonly refers to the UEFA Champions League. It may also refer to:

Association football