IFFHS NEWS AND STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 46
Picture : Football in the World, middle in the forest near Moscow (Russia) ... Universal football.
SERGIO RAMOS = 177
Last Wednesday, Sergio Ramos, the captain of Real Madrid and the National Team of Spain, became the PLAYER in Europe with the most international caps (177), one more than Gianluigi Buffon, Italy’s great Legend Goalkeeper and winner of 5 IFFHS Awards !
Sergio Ramos has the possibility to beat the World Record of international caps (men football) . 7 caps more and he will join World’s Recordman , Egyptian Ahmed Hassan (184 caps). In 2021, Ramos can become the only World Recordman in the World.
CRISTIANO RONALDO = 102
With 102 goals in international matches, Cristiano Ronaldo is ranked second Best International Goalscorer with the National Team just behind Ali Daei (109 goals) ! Place 3 for Ferenc Puskas (Hungary) with 84 goals. The Record is near for Cristiano Ronaldo …
In the Ranking of the Active players currently, Cristiano is the best before Sunil Chhetri (India) 72 and Lionel Messi (Argentina) 71. Neymar (64) and Robert Lewandowski (63) are just behind.
SAN MARINO = 2
After 40 consecutive defeats, the National Team of San Marino has realized a great performance in his history with two draws in one month against Liechtenstein and Gibraltar ! It is the best performance in the History of San Marino ! The team has not won a match since 2004, scoring 12 goals in the last 16 years of international matches.
GODFREY CHITALU = 79
The best player in the History of Zambia, Godfrey Chitalu, is always the Recordman of International goals with the National Team in Africa. He scored 79 goals in his career for Zambia (108 international caps). In the ranking, he preceeds Kinnah Phiri (Malawi) with 71 goals (115 caps), Hossam Hassan (Egypt) with 68 goals (169 caps), Didier Drogba (Cote Ivoire) with 65 goals (104 caps) and Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) with 56 goals (118 caps).
CANON SPORTIF YAOUNDE = 90
Cameroon’s most popular football, Canon Sportif, Yaounde have celebrated their 90th anniversary this November 11thwith tears and regrets as the club are only a shadow of what they used to be in years gone by.
Founded on 11 November 1930 by a Beti indigene called Hermann Yene, the club whose names, Canon “Kpa-kum,” from the military artillery and its fire-power sound were immediately adopted ahead of their first-ever game, played with bare feet and assorted attires, began writing their history forthright.
In ninety years of existence they won 3 African Champions Cups(1971, 1978, 1980) and 1 African Cup Winners Cup(1979); featured four times as winners of the African Golden Boot through such players as Thomas Nkono (picture) (1979, 1982), Mango Onguene(1980), and Théophile Abega(1984); domestically, they won some two-dozen championship and cup titles; as well as overwhelmingly featured the greatest players to have sported the colors of the National Football Team, Indomitable Lions. Some of them, besides those already mentioned included, Emmanuel Mve, Grégoire Mbida, Ibrahim Aoudou, Jean Paul Akono, Emmanuel Kunde, Ephrem Mbom, François Omam Biyick, Luois Paul Mfede, Jacques Songo’o, Marc Vivien Foe, Jules Dénis Onana, Alain Nkong, Marcus Mokake…
Since their last continental cup win in 1980, managerial squabbles have taken front seat therein with rival factions tearing themselves apart and laying bare the club fabric for football scavengers to feed on. The consequence has been a skeletal version of the once brilliant side which are the only club in the country ever to be decorated with the prestigious honors of Commander of National Order of Valour. That was after their continental title in 1980. In fact, they have been so inconsistent and uninspiring to the point of being demoted to the second tier league in 2017 for two seasons, and were going the same way this past season until Covid-19 perturbed the rest of the way. It has therefore been an anniversary in tears and regrets over impossibility to rekindle their performing flames of the past decades.
MANUEL NEUER = 96
In a few days, Manuel Neuer, Germany’s Goalkeeper, will honor his 96th international cap against Spain. He will beat at this moment the Record of Sepp Maier, FC Bayern’s and Germany’s , Recordman (95 international caps) since 41 years !
STEPHANIE FRAPPART = 1
She is now the only woman to referee in the five European Top Leagues (Spain, England, Italy, Germany and France)! Stephanie Frappart, crowned last year as the IFFHS World’s Best Woman Referee, can beat some records in the future. Germany’s Bibiana Steinhaus (4 IFFHS Awards of The World’s Best Woman Referee) has announced before some weeks her retirement.