Overview of the events of 2011 in association football
The following are the association football events of the year 2011 throughout the world.
News
North American professional expansion
In 2011, the major leagues of the men's and women's sport in the United States and Canada each added at least one new team:
2011–12 Russian Premier League
The 2011–12 season is a transitional season of the Russian Premier League , as it will stretch over 18 months instead of the conventional 12 months. The unusual length of the season is the result of the decision to adapt the playing year to an autumn-spring rhythm similar to most of the other UEFA leagues.[citation needed
The season will comprise two phases.[1]
The top eight teams of the first phase will compete for the championship and the spots for both the 2012–13 Champions League and Europa League . Accordingly, the bottom eight teams will have to avoid relegation. The bottom two teams of this group will be directly relegated, while the 13th- and 14-placed teams will compete in a relegation/promotion playoff with the third- and fourth-placed teams of the 2011–12 National League Championship .[2]
Headlines
5 January: Kristine Lilly , whose 352 appearances for the US women's national team made her the most-capped player in the sport's history, announced her retirement after an international career that started shortly after her 16th birthday in 1987.[3]
31 January: The 4th highest transfer fee in football history (£49.5m) was recorded, when Fernando Torres signed for Chelsea from Liverpool . Andy Carroll 's same-day move from Newcastle United to Liverpool for £35m was the eighth highest fee received for a player.
June: trials started for people allegedly involved in fixing Finnish football matches. One team, Tampere United was indefinitely suspended from Finnish football for accepting payments from a person known for match-fixing.[4]
11 September: The first official match of the recently built, 41,000 seated Juventus Stadium , Juventus 4 – 1 Parma , where Stephan Lichtsteiner scored the first goal in the new stadium on the 17th minute.[5]
2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal : an ongoing investigation about match fixing , incentive premium, bribery, establishing a criminal organization, organized crime , extortion , threat and intimidation in Turkey's top two association football divisions, the Süper Lig and First League .
61st FIFA Congress
The 61st FIFA Congress was held in Zurich, Switzerland between 31 May and 1 June. At the congress, Sepp Blatter was re-elected as the President of FIFA .[6] [7]
Continental champions
Wembley Stadium, located in London hosted the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final. Several international continental tournaments were held to determine berths into the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup .
Most notably, FC Barcelona of Spain's La Liga won the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United of the English Premier League 3–1.[8]
Elsewhere, the 2011 CONCACAF Champions League Finals was historic in the essence that it was the first final in the modern North American champions league-era not to feature an all-Mexican final. Nevertheless, Monterrey of Mexico's Premiera Division won the 2011 title 3–2 on aggregate over Real Salt Lake of the United States' Major League Soccer .[9] Los Angeles Galaxy in 2000.[10]
New Zealander teams continued their dominance in the OFC Champions League as Auckland City won their second OFC Champions League honor against Amicale of Vanuatu's Premia Divisen .[11]
Al-Sadd of Qatar's Starts League won the 2011 AFC Champions League Final against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors of the Korean K-League 2–2 (4–2 in penalties). Al-Sadd qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time after winning its second title in Asia.
On 6 November, the 2011 CAF Champions League Final will be contested between Wydad Casablanca of Morocco's Botola and Espérance Tunis of Tunisia's CLP-1 . The second leg will be contested on 12 November.
List of men champions
Women
Deaths
January
1 January – Nikolay Abramov , Russian defender (26)[14]
4 January – Coen Moulijn , Dutch international forward (73)
6 January – Uche Okafor , Nigerian international defender (43)
8 January – Josep Artigas , Spanish international midfielder (87)
8 January – Ángel Pedraza , Spanish midfielder and manager (48)
8 January – Thorbjørn Svenssen , Norwegian international defender (86)
9 January – Richard Butcher , English midfielder (29)
9 January – Jerzy Woźniak , Polish international defender (78)
10 January – Bora Kostić , Yugoslavian international striker (80)
13 January – Charles Muscat , Maltese footballer (48)
15 January – Nat Lofthouse , English international forward (85)
16 January – Alcides Silveira , Uruguayan international midfielder (72)
19 January – Mihai Ionescu , Romanian footballer (74)
21 January – Wally Hughes , English football coach (76)
24 January – Alec Boden , Scottish footballer (85)
24 January – Francisco Hernández , Mexican international midfielder, member of the 1950 FIFA World Cup Mexico squad (83)
25 January – Kiril Milanov , Bulgarian international forward (62)
25 January – Bill Holden , English footballer (82)
27 January – Svein Mathisen , Norwegian international midfielder (58)
29 January – Corona , Spanish defender (92)
29 January – Norman Wilkinson , English footballer (79)
31 January – Norman Uprichard , Northern Irish footballer (82)
February
1 February – Les Stubbs , English footballer (81)
2 February – Jimmy Fell , English footballer (75)
3 February – Neil Young , English forward (66)
6 February – William Morais , Brazilian midfielder (19)
6 February – Billy Gallier , English footballer (78)
7 February – Eric Parsons , English footballer (87)
11 February – Josef Pirrung , German footballer (61)
14 February – Peter Feteris , Dutch footballer (58)
16 February – Tonny van Ede , Dutch international winger (86)
17 February – George Clarke , English footballer (89)
19 February – Ernő Solymosi , Hungarian international defender (70)
19 February – Norman Corner , English footballer (68)
20 February – Tony Kellow , English footballer (58)
21 February – Jean Baeza , French international defender (68)
22 February – Ivo Pavelić , Croatian footballer (103)
24 February – Yozhef Betsa , Soviet Ukrainian midfielder, 1956 Olympic champion (81)
26 February – Kostas Andriopoulos , Greek footballer (26)
26 February – Dean Richards , English defender (36)
26 February – Jorge Santoro , Brazilian footballer
28 February – Jan van Schijndel , Dutch footballer (83)
March
5 March – Viktor Voroshilov , Soviet footballer (84)
6 March – Ján Popluhár , Slovak footballer (75)
6 March – Reg Stewart , English footballer (85)
7 March – Adrián Escudero , Spanish footballer (83)
7 March – Vladimir Brazhnikov , Russian footballer (69)
8 March – Masoud Boroumand , Iranian footballer (82)
10 March – Danny Paton , Scottish footballer (75)
19 March – Barrington Gaynor , Jamaican footballer (45)
20 March – Néstor de Vicente , Argentine footballer (46)
21 March – Jesús Aranguren , Spanish defender and coach (66)
21 March – Ladislav Novák , Czech footballer (79)
21 March – Hans Boskamp , Dutch footballer (78)
22 March – Patrick Doeplah , Liberian footballer (22)
22 March – José Soriano , Peruvian footballer (93)
23 March – Trevor Storton , English footballer (61)
26 March – František Havránek , Czech football manager (87)
31 March – Oddvar Hansen , Norwegian footballer (89)
April
3 April – Yevgeny Lyadin , Russian footballer (84)
4 April – John Niven , Scottish footballer (89)
4 April – Juan Tuñas , Cuban footballer (93)
6 April – Jim Blair , Scottish footballer (64)
6 April – John Morris , English footballer (87)
10 April – Mikhail Rusyayev , Russian footballer (46)
11 April – Jimmy Briggs , Scottish footballer (74)
11 April – Billy Gray , English footballer (83)
11 April – Doug Newlands , Scottish footballer (79)
12 April – Ronnie Coyle – Scottish footballer (46)
12 April – Robert Lokossimbayé , Chadian footballer (35)
18 April – Olubayo Adefemi , Scottish footballer (25)
20 April – Allan Brown , Scottish footballer (84)
16 April – Chinesinho , Brazilian midfielder, winner of the 1966–67 Serie A . (75)
22 April – Cheung Sai Ho , Hong Kong international midfielder. (35)
22 April – Wiel Coerver , Dutch footballer (86)
28 April – Willie O'Neill , Scottish footballer (70)
30 April – Eddie Turnbull , Scottish footballer (88)
May
2 May – Eddie Lewis , English footballer (76)
2 May – Shigeo Yaegashi , Japanese footballer (78)
4 May – Sammy McCrory , Northern Irish footballer (86)
5 May – Yosef Merimovich , Israeli footballer (86)
5 May – Tomm Wright , Scottish footballer (83)
6 May – Yoon Ki-won , South Korean footballer (23)
11 May – Glyn Williams , Welsh footballer (92)
14 May – Ernie Walker , Scottish footballer administrator (82)
17 May – Frank Upton , English footballer (76)
22 May – Alexandru Ene , Romanian footballer (82)
22 May – Nasser Hejazi , Iranian goalkeeper and coach (61)
25 May – Miroslav Opsenica , Serbian footballer (29)
28 May – Hermann Bley , German footballer (75)
29 May – Billy Crook , English footballer (84)
30 May – Jung Jong-kwan , South Korean footballer (29)
30 May – Eddie Morrison , Scottish footballer (63)
June
2 June – Willie Phiri , Zambian footballer (57)
5 June – Célestin Oliver , French footballer (80)
8 June – Nasir Jalil , Zambian footballer (56)
9 June – Josip Katalinski , Bosnian footballer (63)
18 June – Echendu Adiele , Nigerian footballer (32)
18 June – Ulrich Biesinger , German international forward (77)
20 June – Vladimir Pettay , Russian football referee (38)
22 June – Albert Johnson , English footballer (80)
22 June – Coşkun Özarı , Turkish footballer (80)
23 June – Dennis Marshall , Costa Rican international defender (25)
24 June – Tomislav Ivić , Croatian footballer (77)
26 June – Jung Jung-suk South Korean footballer (28)
26 June – Jan van Beveren , Dutch footballer (63)
27 June – Ken Bainbridge , English footballer (90)
27 June – Mike Boyle , English footballer (64)
28 June – Giorgio Bernardin , Italian footballer (83)
29 June – Carlos Diarte , Paraguayan footballer (57)
July
August
4 August – Naoki Matsuda , Japanese international defender (34)
5 August – Stan Willemse , English footballer (86)
6 August – Kuno Klötzer , German footballer (89)
7 August – Eddie Gibbins , English footballer (85)
11 August – Mark Sinyangwe , Zambian footballer (31)
11 August – Ignacio Flores , Mexican international defender (58)
13 August – Álvaro Lara , Chilean footballer (26)
14 August – Fritz Korbach , German footballer (66)
15 August – Nenad Bijedić , Bosnian football manager (51)
16 August – Frank Munro , Scottish footballer (63)
19 August – Yevhen Yevseyev , Ukrainian footballer (24)
21 August – Ezra Sued , Argentine footballer (88)
22 August – Žarko Nikolić , Serbian footballer (72)
24 August – George Knight , English footballer (90)
24 August – Alfons Van Brandt , Belgian footballer (84)
27 August – John Parke , Northern Irish footballer (74)
28 August – Bernie Gallacher , Scottish footballer (44)
29 August – Mark Ovendale , English footballer (37)
30 August – João Carlos Batista Pinheiro , Brazilian footballer (79)
September
October
3 October – Zakaria Zerouali , Moroccan footballer (33)
5 October – Edward Acquah , Ghanaian footballer (76)
5 October – Níver Arboleda , Colombian footballer (43)
5 October – Richard Holmlund , Swedish football manager (47)
7 October – Julien Bailleul , French footballer (23)
11 October – Henk Hofs , Dutch footballer (60)
11 October – Derrick Ward , English footballer (76)
19 October – Édison Chará , Colombian footballer (31)
23 October – Winston Griffiths , Jamaican footballer (33)
25 October – Leonidas Andrianopoulos , Greek footballer (100)
31 October – Flórián Albert , Hungarian striker (70)
November
8 November – Jimmy Adamson , English footballer (82)
8 November – Valentin Ivanov , Russian footballer (76)
9 November – Ézio Leal Moraes Filho , Brazilian footballer (45)
12 November – Alun Evans (FAW) , Welsh footballer administrator (69)
13 November – Bobsam Elejiko , Nigerian footballer (30)
14 November – Alf Fields , English footballer (92)
14 November – Alf Fields , English defender (92)
16 November – Djamel Keddou , Algerian footballer (59)
18 November – Jones Mwewa , Zambian footballer (38)
19 November – Karl Aage Præst , Danish footballer (89)
20 November – David Cargill , English footballer (75)
20 November – Mario Martiradonna , Italian footballer (73)
21 November – Jim Lewis , English footballer (84)
22 November – Pío Corcuera , Argentine footballer (90)
23 November – Henry Øberg , Norwegian football referee (80)
24 November – Humberto Medina , Mexican footballer (69)
24 November – Johnny Williams , English footballer (76)
26 November – István Gajda , Hungarian footballer (30)
27 November – Gary Speed , Welsh international midfielder and manager (42)
28 November – Aruwa Ameh , Nigerian footballer (20)
December
1 December – Hippolyte Van den Bosch , Belgian footballer (85)
2 December – Artur Quaresma , Portuguese footballer (94)
4 December – Sócrates , Brazilian international midfielder (57)
5 December – Gennady Logofet , Russian footballer (69)
6 December – Lawrie Tierney , Scottish footballer (52)
7 December – Peter Croker , English footballer (89)
8 December – Peter Brown , English footballer (77)
8 December – Vinko Cuzzi , Croatian footballer (71)
8 December – Giorgio Mariani , Italian footballer (65)
9 December – Len Phillips , English footballer (89)
10 December – Hamilton Bobby , Indian footballer
13 December – Klaus-Dieter Sieloff , German international footballer (69)
14 December – Pedro Febles , Venezuelan footballer (53)
19 December – Luciano Magistrelli , Italian footballer (73)
19 December – Héctor Núñez , Uruguayan footballer (75)
23 December – Neil Davids , English footballer (56)
25 December – Christophe Laigneau , French footballer (46)
25 December – George Robb , English footballer (85)
27 December – Catê , Brazilian footballer (38)
29 December – Ron Howells , Welsh footballer (84)
29 December – Ked Johnson , English footballer (80)
31 December – Roy Greenwood , English footballer (80) 
Egypt
Rwanda
Qatar
Peru
Republic of Ireland
Ecuador
South Africa
Serbia
United States
Denmark
Netherlands
Mexico
Argentina
Romania
Colombia
Chinese Taipei
India
Portugal
United States
Iceland
Japan
Sweden
Italy
Germany
France
Switzerland
