2014, full of events in football stadiums, is coming to an end. The World Cup in Brazil, intriguing finishes of national leagues, and fierce battles in international competitions from the most popular sport on the planet almost did not let go. As the winter holidays approach, the portal "EuroFootball.com" offers to remember the most important moments of the last twelve months.
January 13 - Cristiano Ronaldo wins the Golden Ball award. The star of Madrid's "Real" outperformed Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery in 2013 and held the "Ballon d'Or" prize at the beginning of the year. Many believed that Ronaldo deserved the title of the second best player on the planet long ago and for the past three years he had been undeservedly behind Messi. Finally, as injuries began to plague Messi, the voting journalists had no choice but to give the Golden Ball to the leader of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo had been wanting this award without any doubt, as his reactions during previous award ceremonies indicated. In 2013, the forward scored 66 times in 56 matches.
April 20 - "Manchester United" loses to Liverpool's "Everton". The return of David Moyes to "Goodison Park" was painful for the "Red Devils". Goals from Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirallas in the first half ensured Everton's victory and at the same time dashed Manchester United's hopes of playing in the UEFA Champions League the following season. The season ended in seventh place for "United". This led to the end of a streak where, under Sir Alex Ferguson's guidance, the "Red Devils" had competed in the strongest European tournament for 18 consecutive seasons.
May 14 - Lisbon's "Benfica" loses the UEFA Europa League final to Sevilla. The Portuguese champions suffered a defeat in the eighth final of the international tournament in a row. Furthermore, "Benfica", after losing in the Europa League final to London's "Chelsea" in 2013, was once again the runner-up in the Europa League this year. Jorge Jesus's team lost on penalties, despite dominating and playing much better football than their opponents from Spain. Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo missed penalties, allowing the trophy to go to Seville. The main discussion topic was once again the famous Bela Guttman curse. The former "Benfica" strategist, who led the team to numerous international trophies in the 20th century, was asked by the club's management to raise his salary after the victory against Madrid's "Real" in 1962, but his offer was rejected. After this decision, Guttman refused to continue working in Portugal and left, saying the word...
May 17 - London's "Arsenal" wins the FA Cup. After the first nine minutes of the final, hopes of the "Gunners" fans were already dashed - Curtis Davies' goal put Hull City ahead 2-0. Less than 15 minutes into the game, the capital city team could have already been buried, but thankfully, Kieran Gibbs cleared Alex Bruce's header off the goal line. If not for this action by the English defender, the period without a trophy for the "Arsenal" team might have lasted even longer. However, the team led by Arsene Wenger finally had success after 3,283 days since their last triumph in the same tournament. Santi Cazorla's penalty helped pull one back, and in the second half Laurent Koscielny...
May 17 - Madrid's "Atletico" becomes the Spanish champion. The last match against Barcelona ended in a draw, breaking the nine-year dominance of Catalonia and Madrid's "Real" in the "La Liga" championship. The third club, led by the genius called Diego Simeone, managed to triumph in the "championship of two teams". The "Mattress Makers" proved that with hard work and dedication to the game, it is possible to compete even with teams that are willing to spend huge sums of money for players almost every summer. It is worth noting that "Atletico" itself earned nearly 36 million euros from the transfer market prior to the season. The triumph of the capital team was also another confirmation of the golden rule that "offense wins games, but defense wins championships". Madrid's players only conceded 26 goals in 38 games...
May 18 - "AC Milan" finishes in eighth place in the Italian championship. The 2013-14 season in the "rossoneri" camp was truly dismal. Two coaches, zero goals achieved - it can be described like that. The team, which played poorly throughout the year, ultimately fell behind the "Torino" players in "Serie A". The Milan team can still rejoice as they managed to advance to the UEFA Europa League only by a step, as they achieved it only through the winter changes. In January, head coach Massimiliano Allegri was replaced by Clarence Seedorf, and a number of significantly strengthened newcomers also arrived. "AC Milan" really did not live up to the legendary name of the European club last season. The "Fashion Capital" team failed to make it to an international tournament for the first time in the 21st century. In the 15 seasons before that, the "bianconeri" had constantly competed in the Champions League and several times fought for the UEFA Cup...
In 2014, the football world lost four great players: on May 15, Carles Puyol announced the end of his career, on the 19th - Ryan Giggs, on December 16 - Thierry Henry, and three days later - Eric Abidal. Puyol played for "Barcelona" in the starting lineup for 15 seasons, during which he won 21 trophies with the Catalan club. The defender also represented the Spanish national team 100 times and became a European and world champion with them. Ryan Giggs spent almost 24 years at "Manchester United" and appeared on the field 963 times. He is also the second oldest player to have scored in the UEFA Champions League. His record was only surpassed this year by "Roma" captain Francesco Totti. Thierry Henry, on the other hand, can be called a legend of London's "Arsenal". The Frenchman scored more than 200 goals for the "Gunners". The forward also helped Arsene Wenger's students win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups. After his spell in England, Henry became a Spanish and World Club champion and won the UEFA Champions League with...
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