Linfield F.C.
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| Full name | Linfield Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "The Blues" | ||
| Founded | 1886 | ||
| Ground | Windsor Park, Belfast | ||
| Capacity | 20,332 | ||
| Chairman | Jim Kerr | ||
| Manager | David Jeffrey | ||
| League | IFA Premiership | ||
| 2007-08 | 1st | ||
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Linfield F.C. are a football club playing in the Irish Premier League in Northern Ireland. Founded in March 1886 in south Belfast, Linfield play at Windsor Park, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland international team. The club has an almost exclusively Protestant fan base in Belfast, which has been involved in many well-reported incidents of sectarian abuse and violence against fans and even players from other teams.
2006-2007 season
Linfield retained their Irish League title on 21 April 2007, winning the championship for the 47th time. The club retained the Irish Cup on 5 May 2007 with a win over Dungannon Swifts on a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw making them the first club in over 70 years to win the league and cup 'double' in successive seasons, and the first Linfield side to do so since 1922-23. One week later, the club narrowly missed out on a remarkable 'treble' when they were themselves defeated in a penalty shoot out in the Setanta Sports Cup Final to reigning champions Drogheda United following a 1-1 draw.
2007-2008 season
Linfield won their third successive Irish League title on 26 April 2008, finishing the 30-game campaign with 74 points, three ahead of nearest rivals Glentoran. The club also won the CIS Insurance League Cup on 2 February 2008 defeating Crusaders F.C. by 3-2 in a final which saw striker Glenn Ferguson come on as a late substitute with Linfield losing 2-1 and score twice in the closing minutes - the first of which was his 500th career goal and his 250th for Linfield. On 3 May 2008 Linfield achieved a third successive League and cup 'double' when they defeated Coleraine F.C. 2-1 in the Irish Cup Final with two goals by leading scorer Peter Thompson. This was the first time the feat had been achieved in Irish football since Linfield themselves managed it in 1891-93.
Windsor Park
Linfield's home ground is Windsor Park, which is located in south Belfast. The governing body of Northern Irish football, the Irish Football Association, leases the ground for use by the Northern Ireland national football team. The club currently receives 15% of Northern Ireland international gate receipts. However due to capacity concerns, the IFA no longer consider Windsor Park a suitable international venue, and are currently trying to break the contract negotiated in the 1980s.[1] There are controversial plans to develop a multi-sports stadium for Northern Ireland at the disused Maze prison outside Lisburn for the use of Rugby, Gaelic games and football.[2]
European record
As the province's most dominant club side, Linfield have been regular campaigners in European football. Their most notable achievement was reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1967. After beating FC Aris Bonnevoie of Luxembourg and Valerenga of Norway, they faced CSKA Sofia in the final eight. This resulted in a 2-2 draw at home and 1-0 defeat away.
In the 1984/85 season, after overcoming Shamrock Rovers on away goals, Linfield faced eventual semi-finalists Panathinaikos in the second round. After a 2-1 defeat away, Linfield went 3-0 up in the return leg at Windsor Park only to draw 3-3.
In the 1987/88 campaign Linfield's home game against Lillestrom was marred by missile throwing, resulting in UEFA sanctions which meant that the club had to play their next two home games in European competitions at Welsh club Wrexham A.F.C. in the 1988/9 and 1989/90 seasons.
The 1993/94 campaign saw Linfield drawn with Dynamo Tbilisi of Georgia. After losing 3-2 on aggregate, they were reinstated when their opponents were expelled from the competition for alleged match fixing and paying the officials. Linfield faced FC Copenhagen in the first round proper. They won the first leg 3-0, and lost the second leg 4-0 after extra time. This proved costly, as victory would have meant a lucrative financial tie against eventual champions AC Milan in the next round.
Success
Linfield are the world's most successful team in terms or trophies won, with over 200 trophy wins since their establishment in 1886, however only UEFA endorsed competitions count. Rangers FC of Scotland are officially the most successful football team in the world with 109 UEFA endorsed trophies[citation needed].
The club, which has the biggest fan base of any Irish League side[citation needed], has a playing record unsurpassed in domestic football, winning the Premiership title 48 times (the 48th time on the 26 April 2008). Only Rangers F.C of Scotland have won more domestic leagues. They have also won the Irish Cup a record 39 times. In 2005-2006 they won a domestic clean sweep winning all four trophies available in the Irish league, the Gibson Cup (Irish League championship), the Irish Cup, the CIS Insurance Cup, and the County Antrim Shield. This was the 2nd time Linfield have achieved a domestic clean sweep, winning it in the 1921-22 season. However, contrary to popular belief, although the 1961-62 side won seven trophies, this was not a domestic clean sweep as they failed to win an eighth[3].
They also won the double in 2006, their 18th double, which broke a tie with Scottish team Rangers for the top spot on the all-time world list. They added a second consecutive 'double' in 2007, the first team to achieve this feat in over seventy years, and followed that with a third successive double (and 20th overall) in 2008, a feat which had not been achieved in 115 years.
In 2005, Linfield won the inaugural Setanta Cup, a competition between the top teams of both the Republic of Ireland's and Northern Ireland's premier leagues when they beat strong favourites Shelbourne 2-0 in Dublin.
Despite winning the first ever Setanta Cup competition, Linfield Football Club failed to reach the same feat in the tournament the following year, losing 1-0 to eventual winners, Drogheda United, at the semi-final stage. In 2006-2007 they topped their group for the third successive season, becoming the only side to progress beyond the group stages in every year of the competition, and reached the final where they were again defeated by Drogheda United, this time on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.
Linfield's illustrious history has been documented in print and film. Belfast Telegraph journalist Malcolm Brodie wrote 'Linfield : 100 Years', as part of the clubs centenary year in 1986.
A Linfield encyclopedia is scheduled to be released in 2011, to coincide with the club's 125th anniversary. Most of the book will be compiled from research by former Linfield chairman David Crawford, who died in 2007. The club announced that worked would continue on the book, as a tribute to him
A video documenting the club's history, titled 'Weavers to Winners' was released in 1992, with commentary by UTV reporter and Linfield fan, Ivan Little. Among fans pictured in crowd scenes in the video was a teenage Davy Larmour, who went on to play for the club from 1997 to 2006. So far, there are no plans to re-release 'Weavers to Winners' on DVD.
In Autumn 2008, an updated club history, 'Into The Blue', produced by NVTV, is expected to be released on DVD, after first being broadcast on NVTV.
Honours
Senior honours
- Irish League: 48
- 1890/91, 1891/92, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1897/98, 1901/02, 1903/04, 1906/07, 1907/08, 1908/09, 1910/11, 1913/14, 1921/22, 1922/23, 1929/30, 1931/32, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1948/49, 1953/54, 1954/55, 1955/56, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62, 1965/66, 1968/69, 1970/71, 1974/75, 1977/78, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1985/86, 1986/87, 1988/89, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08
- Irish Cup: 39
- 1890/91, 1891/92, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1897/98, 1898/99, 1901/02, 1903/04, 1911/12, 1912/13, 1914/15, 1915/16, 1918/19, 1921/22, 1922/23, 1929/30, 1930/31, 1933/34, 1935/36, 1938/39, 1941/42, 1944/45, 1945/46, 1947/48, 1949/50, 1952/53, 1959/60, 1961/62, 1962/63, 1969/70, 1977/78, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1993/94, 1994/95, 2001/02, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08
- Irish League Cup: 9
- 1986/87, 1991/92, 1993/94, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2001/02, 2005/06, 2007/08
- City Cup: 22
- 1894/95, 1897/98, 1899/00, 1900/01, 1902/03, 1903/04, 1907/08, 1909/10, 1919/20, 1921/22, 1926/27, 1928/29, 1935,36, 1937/38, 1949/50, 1951/52, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1961/62, 1963/64, 1967/68, 1973/74
- Gold Cup: 33
- 1915/16, 1920/21, 1921/22, 1923/24, 1926/27, 1927/28, 1928/29, 1930/31, 1935/36, 1936/37, 1942/43, 1946/47, 1948/49, 1949/50, 1950/51, 1955/56, 1957/58, 1959/60, 1961/62, 1963/64, 1965/66, 1967/68, 1968/69, 1970/71, 1971/72, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1987/88, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1996/97
- Ulster Cup: 15
- 1948/49, 1955/56, 1956/57, 1959/60, 1961/62, 1964/65, 1967/68, 1970/71, 1971/72, 1974/75, 1977/78, 1978/79, 1979/80, 1984/85, 1992/93
- Floodlit Cup: 2
- 1993/94, 1997/98
- County Antrim Shield: 41
- 1898/99, 1903/04, 1905/06, 1906/07, 1907/08, 1912/13, 1913/14, 1916/17, 1921/22, 1922/23, 1927/28, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1931/32, 1932/33, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1937/38, 1941/42, 1946/47, 1948/49†, 1952/53, 1954/55, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1960/61, 1961/62, 1962/63, 1965/66, 1966/67, 1972/73, 1976/77, 1980/81, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1994/95, 1997/98, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06
- North-South Cup: 1
- 1961/62
- Blaxnit Cup: 1
- 1970/71
- Tyler Cup: 1
- 1980/81
- Setanta Cup: 1
- 2005
Intermediate honours
- Irish League B Division/B Division Section 2/Reserve League: 17
- 1951/52†, 1952/53†, 1975/76†, 1977/78†, 1978/79†, 1979/80†, 1982/83†, 1983/84†, 1984/85†, 1987/88†, 1988/89†, 1990/91†, 1991/92†, 1998/99†, 1999/00†, 2003/04†, 2004/05†
- Irish Intermediate Cup: 13
- 1897/98†, 1899/00†, 1901/02†, 1922/23‡, 1925/26‡, 1929/30†, 1946/47†, 1949/50†, 1956/57†, 1957/58†, 1971/72†, 2001/02†, 2003/04†
- Steel & Sons Cup: 9
- 1895/96†, 1898/99†, 1915/16†, 1939/40†, 1946/47†, 1948/49†, 1972/73†, 1983/84†, 1997/98†
† Won by Linfield Swifts (reserve team)
‡ Won by Linfield Rangers (reserve team)
Junior honours
- Irish Junior Cup: 3
- 1890/91†, 1893/94‡, 1905/06ƒ
- County Antrim Junior Shield: 2
- 1904/05ƒ, 1914/15#
† Won by Linfield II (reserve team)
‡ Won by Linfield Swifts (reserve team)
ƒ Won by Linfield Pirates (reserve team)
# Won by Linfield Rangers (reserve team)
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
ReferencesExternal links
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