Football World Records

Football World Records


Most Soccer World Cup Wins

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) instituted the first World Cup on July 13, 1930, in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is held quadrennially. Brazil has won a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.


Most European Cup Soccer Wins

The most European Champions Cup (instituted 1957) wins is nine by Real Madrid (Spain), in 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1997–98, 1999–2000 and 2002. Probably the greatest club in the history of football, Real Madrid has a history littered with trophies, having won 29 Spanish League titles, 17 King's Cups (Copa del Rey, equivalent to the FA cup), and even a couple of UEFA Cups. Their current squad (September 2001) boasts the world's two most expensive players, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.


Most Soccer Cup-Winners Cups

The Cup-Winners Cup, contested until 1999 by the winners of the national cups in Europe, was won a record four times by Barcelona (in 1979, 1982, 1989, and 1997).


Most Ever League Championships

Glasgow Rangershold the record of winning the most ever League Championships with 50 League Titles (one of which was shared with Dumbarton). They are also the most domestically successfull club in the world with 105 domestic trophies.


Largest Football Attendance

The greatest recorded crowd at any soccer match was 199,854, for the Brazil v. Uruguay World Cup final in the Maracanã Municipal Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 16, 1950.


Longest Unbeaten run (Soccer)

Nottingham Forest were undefeated in 42 consecutive First Division matches from Nov 20, 1977, to Dec 9, 1978. In Scottish Football, Glasgow Celtic were undefeated in 62 matches (49 won, 13 drawn), from Nov 13, 1915 until April 21, 1917.
Since now, Arsenal have broken the record set by Forest and are still going strong on 44 games unbeaten.


Most World Cup Finals Appearances

The record for appearances in the soccer World Cup finals is five. The record is jointly held by Mexico's Antonio Carbajal - who played in the 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 , and 1966 finals; and Germany's Lothar Matthäus - who played in the 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998 finals. Matthäus has played in a record 25 World Cup games.


Oldest Player In A Soccer World Cup Match

The oldest is Albert Roger Milla (b. 20 May 1952) for Cameroon v. Russia on 28 June 1994, aged 42yr 39days. During this match he also scored making him the oldest scorer in the finals. Africans are very proud of Albert Roger Milla. The people of Cameroon voted him best player of all time and he was awarded African footballer of the year in 1976 and in 1990. In his many years playing soccer, Albert Milla has seen big changes in the soccer scene - some of which he's not very happy about. "In our time you played with great individuals who could handle the ball, but now many players, if not all, think initially of their pocket before football," he says.


Youngest Player In A Soccer World Cup

The youngest footballer to play in a World Cup finals match is Norman Whiteside, who was 17 years, 41 days old when he played for Northern Ireland against Yugoslavia on June 17, 1982. Whiteside also played for Manchester United, and later for Everton.


Oldest International Soccer Player

William Henry “Billy” Meredith (1874–1958) became the oldest international soccer player when he played for Wales v England at Highbury, London, England, on March 15, 1920, aged 45 years 229 days. Meredith played for both Manchester United and Manchester City. He died in 1958 at the age of 83.


Most Senior Soccer Appearances

Peter Shilton (UK) made a record 1,390 senior appearances, including a record 1,005 League appearances: 286 for Leicester City (1966–74), 110 for Stoke City (1974–77), 202 for Nottingham Forest (1977–82), 188 for Southampton (1982–87), 175 for Derby County (1987–92), 34 for Plymouth Argyle (1992–94), 1 for Bolton Wanderers (1995) and 9 for Leyton Orient (1996–97); 1 League play-off, 86 FA Cups, 102 League Cups, 125 internationals, 13 Under-23s, 4 Football League XIs and 53 various European and other club competitons.
Norman John Trollope (UK) made 770 League appearances for one club, Swindon Town, between 1960 and 1980.


Most International Caps In Women's Football

The record for the most international appearances for a woman for a national side is held by Kristine Lilly, who represented the United States 225 time between 1987 and 2000.

The sign on the road into Kristine's hometown reads "Welcome to Wilton - Hometown of Olympic gold medallist Kristine Lilly". The folk of Wilton, Connecticut, USA, have dedicated a day to their gold medallist, named the Wilton High School soccer field after her, and held a big parade after she won the gold medal. Being this popular, it's no wonder Kristine returns home every summer to run the Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy. Kristine debuted for the USA in the 16th match ever played by the US women's soccer team on August 3, 1987, at the age of 16 years, 12 days, making her the second youngest player ever to don a US jersey behind Mia Hamm.


Fastest ever goal:

Ricardo Olivera scored in just 2.8 seconds. He scored for Rio Negro against Soriano on 26 December 1998.


Fastest goal in the Champions league:

Gilberto Silva scored against PSV after just 20.07 seconds. Arsenal went on to win 4-0.


Most Consecutive Soccer Hat Tricks

The most consecutive top-flight games in which a player has scored a hat trick is four, achieved by Japanese League player Masashi Nakayama, of Jubilo Iwata, on April 29, 1998. He scored five goals against Cerezo Osaka at Nagai Stadium on April 15, 1998; four goals against Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Jubilo Iwata Stadium on April 18, 1998; four goals against Avispa Fukuoka at Kumamoto City Stadium on April 25, 1998; and three goals against Consadole Sapporo at Jubilo Iwata Stadium on April 29, 1998.


Most Goals Scored In A Soccer Season

The record for the most goals in a league season is 60 in 39 games, by William Ralph “Dixie” Dean (1907–80) for Everton (First Division), in 1927/28. With 3 more in Cup ties and 19 in representative matches, Dean's total that year was 82.


Most Goals In A Soccer Career

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in Tres Coracos, Brazil, Pelé is arguably the best soccer player ever. He scored more goals than anyone else, banging in 1,279 over a career spanning 21 years playing only for two clubs: Santos of Rio de Janeiro, and the New York Cosmos. He scored on his club debut for Santos in September 1956 aged just 16, and notched his 1,000th playing for the same outfit in November 1969.
Pelé's greatest successes came in the famous yellow shirt of Brazil, playing in four – and winning three – World Cups. "He featured in some of the best teams to ever play the round ball game," says Guinness World Records sports editor Chris Marais. "Not only that, he was voted Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999, and he never even took part in an Olympic games! It is unlikey we will ever see a career like it again."


Longest Clean Sheet In Soccer

The longest any goalkeeper has succeeded in preventing goals being scored past him in top-class soccer competition is 1,275 min, a record held, as of April 1, 1991, by Abel Resino of Atlético Madrid, Spain


Most Soccer Goals Scored By A Goalkeeper

José Luis Chilavert, who plays for Paraguay and Vélez Sarsfield of Argentina, scored a record 54 official and international goals between July 1992 and August 2000. Chilavert often takes free kicks and penalties - he once scored a hat-trick of penalties for Vélez Sarsfield in their 6-1 defeat of Ferro Carril Oeste in the Argentine professional league. Off the field he is an outspoken and controversial figure whose comments have regularly angered both fans and officials alike.


Most Penalties Missed By One Soccer Player

Martín Palermo of Argentina, missed three penalties during his team’s defeat by Colombia, in the 1999 Copa América in Paraguay. His first shot hit the crossbar, the second landed in the stands, and the third was saved.


Most Federations In FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

A record 198 federations registered to play the FIFA qualifiers for the 2002 soccer World Cup, to be played jointly in South Korea and Japan.


Most Goals Scored In An International Match

During the 31-0 defeat by Australia of American Samoa in a World Cup qualifying match at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, on April 11, 2001, Archie Thompson scored an international record 13 goals.

When they went up against the Australian team, the American Samoans were ranked 203rd in the world, and are now in the bottom 3 (2001). They went into the record-breaking World Cup qualifying match with less than high hopes of winning, but lost a record 31-0!


Most Valuable Soccer Club

Manchester United Football Club, in the English Premier League, had a market capitalization over £1 billion ($1.59 billion) on March 8, 2000 – the first football club to ever reach that milestone.

They've won virtually every soccer title, and have twice been crowned kings of Europe. But if dominating the game wasn't enough, Manchester United are also the richest club on the planet! Under manager Matt Busby in the 1950s and 1960s, they became the first English side ever to win the coveted European Cup, beating Portuguese giants Benfica 4-1 in May 1968. During the 1990s, the club won 14 major trophies, including six of the first eight English Premiership titles. Their star performance came in 1999, when having already topped the English Premiership and claimed the FA Cup, they proceeded to the final of the European Champions League.


Most Expensive Soccer Player

The highest transfer fee quoted for a player is a reported 13,033,000,000 Spanish pesetas (£47 million) for France's Zinedine Zidane from Juventus to Real Madrid on July 9th, 2001.


FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYER TRANSFERS OF ALL TIME

1. In 2001, Zinedine Zidane went from Juventus to Real Madrid for $66.1 million.
2. In 2000, Luis Figo went from Barcelona to Real Madrid for $56 million.
3. In 2000, Hernan Crespo went from Parma to Lazio $53.2 million.
4. In 1999, Christian Vieri went from Lazio to Inter Milan for $48 million.
5. In 2001, Gianluigi Buffon went from Parma to Juventus for $47 million.


Most Expensive Soccer Defender

Britain's Rio Ferdinand became the world's most expensive defender in July 2002 when he joined Manchester United from Leeds United in a deal worth £30 million ($46.9 million). When he was 16, Ferdinand joined English soccer club West Ham and two years later made his debut. He quickly became one of the most exciting prospects in English soccer and was part of England's 1998 and 2002 World Cup squads.


Most Valuable Soccer Program

A program for the FA Charity Shield replay between Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers, at Stamford Bridge, London, on April 29, 1908, was sold by Phillips, at Old Trafford, Manchester, England, for £8,050 ($12,759), on April 10, 2000. The programme was bought by the Manchester United Museum based at Old Trafford.


Largest Football (Soccer)

A football made from artificial leather PV-PVC and hand-sewn by staff at Ihsan Sports of Hajipura, Sialkot, Pakistan, had a diameter of 4m (13ft 1in) when measured on 30 June 2002.

The super-sized soccer ball – an exact replica of the company's standard football – was made from 32 separate panels that were laminated, printed then hand-stitched together. It was unveiled at the Al Faysaliah shopping mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by members of the Disabled Children's Society. "I was amazed at the size of the football," said one spectator, "and I imagine it would be really hard to actually play with."


Best-Selling Computer Soccer Game

The FIFA series of games, developed by EA Sports, has sold more than 16 million units worldwide. Launched in PC format on November 27, 1998, the game features a full pop soundtrack including tracks by such recording artists as Fatboy Slim. EA Sports is based in Redwood City, California.


Heaviest Goalkeeper (Soccer)

The biggest goalkeeper in soccer was the England international Willie Henry “Fatty” Foulke (1874-1916), who was 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) and weighed 141 kg (310 lb).


TOP FIVE STRANGE SOCCER-RELATED SHENANIGANS

1. The national championship play-off between Penarol and Nacional of Uruguay ended with the arrests of 10 players. An incident towards the end sparked a mass brawl involving players, coaching staff, and fans.
2. Joaquin Valerio, goalkeeper of Spanish Real Betis, was sent off before kick-off for talking about the referee!
3. Guam, a tiny US colony, suffered a mighty World Cup preliminary match defeat. The islanders lost 19-0 to Iran, before being knocked out of the competition 16-0 by Tajikistan.
4. Dutch fans angered by the state of the soccer pitch at Amsterdam's Arena showed what they thought of it by releasing two cows on to the turf.
5. The very young and soundly defeated American Samoan soccer team prayed, cried, and sang hymns after losing 8-0 to their archrivals. Most of the best available players for American Samoa couldn't play because they did not have American passports.