Mes: septiembre 2022

As of Tuesday 22nd February 2011, Southampton Football Club find themselves 5th place in the npower League 1 table. Just a little under 8 years ago, they had placed 8th in the Premier League, runners-up in the F.A. Cup and were to be competing in the UEFA Cup in a shiny new £30million stadium. So, where did it all go wrong?

After a fairy-tale ending to 103 years of football at the Dell, with club hero Matt Le Tissier scoring a sensational volley to seal a 3-2 victory over Arsenal, the club were to move into the new 32,000 seater St. Mary’s Stadium. Things started slowly at the new ground but picked up to see Saints finish 11th in the 2001/02 season under the guidance of Gordan Strachan. Things got even better the following season with an 8th place finish and an F.A. Cup runners-up medal, but this was to be the beginning of a rapid fall from grace for the club.

The 2004/05 season saw a struggling Southampton acquire a certain Harry Redknapp from local rivals Portsmouth. In addition to this, Rugby World Cup winner Sir Clive Woodward was employed as ‘Technical Director/Performance Director/Director of Football’ on a multi-million pound contract from which no benefit was ever seen. Despite the big-name investment, Southampton FC were relegated from the Premier League on 15th May 2005 after a total of 27 years in the top flight of English football. Needless to say things didn’t get any better with Harry Redknapp returning to Portsmouth in November of the same year.

After a few seasons of Championship football, Chairman Rupert Lowe’s money-grabbing strategy of selling off the best young players rising from the clubs prestigious academy to line his own pockets caught up with him. The sales of Wayne Bridge, James Beattie, Kevin Davies, Kenwyne Jones, Andrew Surman, David McGoldrick, Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale came to a total sum of £45million.

With £30million of debt, blamed on the new stadium, on 23rd April 2009 Southampton FC went into administration. The Football League gave the club the following ultimatum:

«If you stay up this season, you will be deducted 10 points this season [ensuring relegation].»

«If you are relegated this season, you will be deducted 10 points next season.»

The club were relegated that season and therefore, providing they could find a buyer to keep them running, would start the following season on minus 10.

After countless renditions from fans of «Swing Lowe, Swing Rupert Lowe, Hanging from the Itchen bridge», the chairman finally stood down from his position. Numerous bids to buy the club failed, including the Pinnacle Group, fronted by Matt Le Tissier, who even made an exclusivity payment of £500,000, before Swiss billionaire Markus Liebherr stepped in.

Markus Liebherr, owner of the Mali Group and with an estimated personal wealth of £5billion, purchased the club on 8th July 2009. The club’s debt was immediately wiped off and significant investment into the team was made. Nicola Cortese was unveiled as chairman, with Alan Pardew brought in as manager and Rickie Lambert was purchased for £1million from Bristol Rovers. He was to make a huge contribution to the team, scoring 36 goals in his first season at the club.

Despite the difficult start to the season, Saints managed to finish 7th place in the league and also win the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final at Wembley.

On 11th August 2010, the club was hit with the tragic news that Markus Liebherr had died at the age of 62 from a heart-related illness. Following this, the mysterious dismissal of Alan Pardew as manager following a resounding away victory at Bristol Rovers looked set to continue the club’s instability.

The 12th September 2010 saw the appointment of Nigel Adkins as manager. The storm created by the January transfer window has been weathered with the retention of services of prized assets Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and plans to remove the current ‘Premier League standard’ training facilities in favour of a new £3million development of the club’s foundations have been approved.

15 managers in 10 years at Southampton F.C. gives an indication as to the instability the club has seen in recent times. With the finances now seemingly secure, a strong chairman in place and a manager with the faith of all the fans behind him, it appears that the club is back on the rise. All thanks go to Saint Markus Liebherr, a true legend and saviour of the club.

Camisetas REAL MADRID

Barcelona FC play their home games at a magnificent stadium in the centre of the city and one of the biggest tourist attractions when visiting Barcelona is going to their famous Camp Nou home ground.

This world famous football stadium has seen many great matches over the years and most of the world’s greatest football players at one time or another. It has also played host to the final stages of major competitions. The Camp Nou or Noucamp stadium can hold up to one hundred thousand spectators and is truly one of the world’s great sports arenas.

With Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry in the crop of current stars but luminaries such as Johann Cruyff glittering through the past the old place really has seen it all down the decades. The worlds best players have played in some all time great matches on the turf of the Nou Camp.

So – you might ask – how do you get a ticket for a Barcelona match if you are visiting the city?

You’ve got several options but do remember that the team have been in superb form since 2005 and it is not always easy to get a seat for match day when they are playing this well – good play and good results tend to bring old closet fans out of the woodwork. Getting a Barcelona FC ticket also depends on what time of year you plan to go. Some tickets are always available direct at Camp Nou stadium, or you can book them by phone and theoretically online. Football tickets can also be purchased through the serviCaxi ticket buying service. If you are not a club member of Barcelona FC (equivalent to a season ticket holder in the UK) then you need to buy your tickets by phone or online at least 15 days before the match. Their is an internet booking service but it has a reputation for unreliability at times.

Tickets for a match can cost anything from 30 euros to 120 euros with the price depending on where you sit and on how big the match is. On match days there are ticket touts all around the stadium and to be fair, most of these people are usually members who have a spare ticket. But be careful of rip offs and conmen with forged tickets. If they claim to be a member with a spare seat then get them to take you into the stadium with them and don’t hand over your cash until you are sitting comfortably in your seat.

Some games are simply impossible to get tickets for – for example: if you are thinking of gong to see Barcelona vs. real Madrid, then don’t bother unless you have very large amounts of spare cash on hand. Major matches like this are pretty much impossible to get tickets for this game as it is the biggest game of the year for both of these clubs.

Taking in a match and seeing Barcelona F.C play at Camp Nou is certainly something that you should do if you are a football fan – it’s sure to be an unforgettable experience.

On non match days you can also buy a ticket for a tour around the stadium where you just might have the chance to meet one of the super stars from the team and pay a visit to the trophy room and dressing rooms.

Camisetas RETRO