football facts Archives - Primary Facts

Ansu Fati Facts and Information

James

Here are some facts about the Spanish footballer Ansu Fati.

Ansu Fati’s full name is Anssumane Fati Vieira.
He was born on 31 October 2002 in Guinea-Bissau in Africa.
When he was six years old he moved to Herrera (near Seville) with in Spain with his family.
He comes from a family of footballers. His father, Bori Fati, played football in Portugal, and his older brother, Braima Fati, played matches for the FC Barcelona B team and for K. Patro Eisden Maasmechelen in Belgium.
As a child, Ansu played for his local club Herrera. After that he played for the Sevilla youth teams, and then he joined Barcelona’s youth academy (La Maisa) when he was ten years old.
In 2019 he signed his first professional contract with Barcelona, and on 25 August 2019, he made his Barcelona debut in La Liga when he came on as a sub. He was only 16 years and 298 days old, making him Barcelona’s second youngest player of all time.
He became Barcelona’s youngest ever goalscorer when he scored against Osasuna on 31 August 2019, aged 16 years and 318 days.
He became a Spanish citizen in September 2019, and he made his debut for the Spanish Under-21 team on 20 August 2020.
He made his full international debut on 3 September 2020, and he scored his first international goal on 6 September 2020, becoming Spain’s youngest ever goalscorer (at 17 years and 311 days).
He broke his leg when he was thirteen and was forced to miss almost a full year of football.

After he made his Barcelona debut, he gained 500,000 Instagram followers in just two days. His account now has more than 4 million and it’s growing all the time.
He is a very versatile attacking player and can play in several different positions. Albert Puig (the former technical director of Barcelona’s football academy) said he is able to play as a 9, 11, 7, or 10 (on both wings, and as either striker).
The Barcelona contract he signed as a 16-year-old has a €100 million release clause.
At the Barcelona academy, he was good friends with Takefusa Kobo (dubbed the Japanese Messi).
Ansu’s younger brother, Miguel, is friends with Thiago Messi (Lionel Messi‘s son).
In the FIFA 21 videogame, Fati received an 89 score for Agility and Acceleration, an 87 for Sprint Speed, and an 82 for Balance.
In September 2020, Algerian rapper BX wrote a song about him called Ansu Fati is Not for Sale.
On 27 September, Ansu Fati couldn’t win the Man of Match Award for his performance against Villarreal because he was too young (at 17). The sponsor of the award was Budweiser, a beer manufacturer, and Fati is still too young to drink alcohol.
During the 2020/2021 season, Fati wore Nike Mercurial Vapor XIII Elite football boots / cleats.

Walter Tull: Facts and Information

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Here are some interesting facts about Walter Tull.

Walter Tull was an English footballer who played for Northampton Town and Tottenham Hotspur. He was also the first black officer in the British army and fought in World War 1.

He was born in Folkestone, Kent, in April, 1888 and was raised in an orphanage in East London. His grandmother was a slave on the Caribbean island of Barbados.
Walter Tull began playing football for the orphanage team and joined Clapton FC in 1908. He was soon named Player of the Season and won the FA Amateur Cup and London Senior Cup.
He was signed up by Tottenham Hotspur in 1909, at the age of 21. The team toured Argentina and Uruguay, making Tull the first black player to play in South America.
Supporters of the opposing team often insulted Tull because of the colour of his skin.
He was signed up as half-back for Northampton Town FC in 1911, and he went on to score 9 goals in 110 senior appearances before enlisting to fight in World War I.
Tull was promoted to sergeant and took part in the 1916 Battle of the Somme. He was sent back to England in December 1916 with trench fever.

In 1917, he fought in Italy. He was widely recognized for his bravery, especially on one occasion where he led over 20 men across a fast flowing river at night.
In March, 1918, Walter Tull was shot and killed while leading an attack on the German trenches. He was recommended for a Military Cross, and was awarded the British War and Victory Medal.
A memorial was erected to Walter Tull at Northampton Town FC in 1999. He has been featured on a £5 coin and has been the subject of several biographies and documentaries.

Angel Di Maria: Facts and Information

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Here are some facts about Angel Di Maria.

Angel Di Maria’s full anme is Angel Fabian Di Maria Hernandez.
He was born on 14 February 1988 in Rosario, Argentina.

His family didn’t have much money when he was growing up and they struggled to afford his football boots.
Di Maria signed for Rosario Central as a youth, and went on to make 35 appearances for their senior first team, scoring 6 goals.
In 2007 he was signed by Benfica (Portugal), where he made 76 league appearances and scored 7 league goals.
In 2010, Real Madrid (Spain) purchased Di Maria for around $25 million. He played 124 league matches for Real, scoring 22 goals.
In 2014, Manchester United purchased Angel Di Maria for nearly £60 million, the highest fee ever paid by a British club and, at the time, the sixth most expensive transfer of all time.
He has represented Argentina at under-20, under-23 and senior levels.
Angel Di Maria is a winger / attacking midfielder, known for his pace, dribbling skills and left-footed shot.
He is 1.8 metres tall.
At the 2014 World Cup, he was voted one of the ten best players in the tournament.
He is married to Jorgelina.
He is nicknamed Fideo (the Noodle) because he is skinny.
He has an Olympic gold medal. He was part of the Argentina team that beat Nigeria in 2008 at the Beijing Games.

World Cup Facts

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Here are some facts about the World Cup.

The World Cup is an international football (soccer) competition between FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) countries. It has been held every 4 years since 1930, except 1942 and 1946.

Brazil has played in every competition and has won the World Cup 5 times up to 2014. Italy and Germany have won the competition 4 times each (up to 2014).
England won once, in 1966 when 100,000 fans packed Wembley Stadium to see England beat West Germany 4-2. The match was the last World Cup game to be televised in black and white.
The trophy awarded is the Jules Rimet Trophy, named after the FIFA president. It is made of solid 18 carat gold, and stands 36 cm high.
World Cup rules state that players have to wear football boots to play. India dropped out of the 1950 competition when told that they could not play barefoot.
Brazil’s Pele is the only player to have won 3 World Cup championships. He was also one of the youngest players to appear in a final, at just under 18 years old.
The first hat trick was scored by Bert Patenaude of the United States in the 1930 competition. One of the fastest ever goals was scored 11 seconds into the game by a Turkish player in 2002.
The system of issuing yellow and red cards to players was introduced in the 1970 competition. Chile’s Carlos Caszely was the first player to receive the red card, in 1974.
The 2014 competition in Brazil generated over 4 billion dollars in revenue for FIFA. Almost 10 percent of the world’s population watched the competition, making it the most watched sporting event.
However, the 2014 World Cup also cost an estimated 16 billion dollars. Security at the matches in Brazil was helped by using robots and drone spy planes to fly overhead.

Ryan Giggs: Facts and Information

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Here are some interesting facts about Ryan Giggs.

Ryan Giggs is a football coach and former player. He is the most decorated player in English football history and has also been named Manchester United’s best ever player.

Giggs was born in Cardiff, Wales in November 1973. He enjoyed playing rugby league until the family moved to Manchester when Ryan was 6 years old.
He played for Salford Boys, leading them to victory in the 1987 Granada Schools Cup competition. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson visited Giggs’ house personally, as he was so impressed with his skill.
Ryan Giggs made his league debut playing for Manchester United against Everton in 1991. Giggs was only 17, the youngest ever member of United’s first team.
Giggs hosted his own television show during the 1990s about football skills, and also wrote a book based on the show. He has appeared in advertisements for watches, cologne, burgers and cable television.
He has scored more goals against Tottenham Hotspur than against any other team. He was the first player to score 100 premier League goals for Manchester United.
He has introduced ballet and yoga as part of his training routine, stating that yoga helps to give him strength and flexibility.
There is a portrait of Giggs in the National Library of Wales.
In 2006, Giggs became an ambassador for the charity UNICEF.
In April 2014, Giggs became the temporary player-manager of Manchester United. The following month he announced that he would not be playing football, so that he could focus on his management career. Following the appointment of Lois van Gaal as manager, Ryan Giggs took on the role of assistant manager.
Ryan Giggs’ awards include two young player of the year awards, the Golden Foot award, the goal of the season award and an OBE. In all, Giggs has received over 25 awards.
In total, as a Manchester United player, Giggs won 13 Premier League trophies, 4 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 2 Champion’s League trophies, 1 Cup Winner’s Cup, and 1 UEFA Super Cup.
He represented Wales 64 times, scoring 12 goals.
Giggs is only one a handful of players to have played in the Premier League at the age of 40.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Facts and Information

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Here are some facts about Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballer (soccer player).

Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Funchal, Portugal, on 5th February 1985.
He is 6′ 1″ tall (1.86 metres).

His full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro.
He has played for several different football clubs, including Andorinha (Portugal), Nacional (Portugal), Sporting CP (Portugal), Manchester United (England), Real Madrid (Spain), and Juventus (Italy).
Real Madrid paid Manchester United £80 million for Ronaldo in 2009.
Ronlado scored a goal in each of his first four La Liga games. He is the only person to have done this.
In 2010-11 season, he became the first player to score more than 40 La Liga goals in one season. He repeated this feat in the 2011-12 season by scoring 46 league goals, and 60 in all competitions.
From 2009-2013, Ronaldo averaged more than 1 goal per game, making him one of the most prolific goalscorers to ever play the game.
Ronaldo made his international debut in 2003, and he scored his first goal for Portugal in 2004 against Greece. He has since scored more than 100 goals for his country, and in 2021 he broke the international goalscoring record.
Ronaldo was reluctant to wear the number 7 shirt when he joined Manchester United because it had previously been worn by great players such as George Best, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. Alex Ferguson convinced him to make the number his own. Ronaldo also wore the number 7 shirt for Real Madrid and Portugal.
Ronaldo has won many individual and team honours. He is often described as an all-time great player and, had he not been playing in the same era as Lionel Messi, he would be a unanimous choice of the best player of his generation.
Ronaldo is a brilliant dribbler, is incredibly fast and he has great reactions and coordination. He doesn’t have any weaknesses in terms of his forward play. He can score with both feet, is a very good header of the ball.
In 2021, in a game against Luxembourg, Ronaldo scored his tenth international hat-trick.
Ronaldo has played in five European Championship tournaments – he is the only player to have done this.
He has won more than 30 club trophies, including seven league titles and five Champions League trophies.
Ronaldo has scored more than 800 goals in his professional career.
In March 2021, Ronaldo scored his 20th goal of the season for Juventus. This meant that he had scored at least 20 goals in a season for the last 12 consecutive seasons.
In August 2021, Ronaldo returned to Manchester United from Juventus.
Ronaldo has scored more than 130 goals in the Champions League during his career.
Ronaldo’s son, Cris, joined the Manchester United academy at the age of 11, playing alongside Wayne Rooney‘s son, Kai.
Ronaldo does not drink any alcohol.
When he was growing up he had two nicknames: Little Bee (because of his speed) and Cry Baby.
Ronaldo was the first Portuguese player to play for Manchester United.
In 2001, a one-of-a-kind Ronaldo NFT football trading card (minted by the soccer game company Sorare) sold at a Bonhams auction for more than $400,000.
A mint condition Ronaldo Panini rookie sticker from 2002-2003 sold at auction in the US for $80,000.

Last updated: June 2022