North African Players in Top European Leagues - 2013/2014

Players from the geographic region of North Africa that are currently playing in the top level leagues of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Algeria 

England
Adlène Guédioura - Crystal Palace

France
Salim Arrache - Ajaccio
Nadjib Baouia - Evian TG
Ryad Boudebouz - SC Bastia
Kamel Ghilas - Stade Reims
Faouzi Ghoulam - Saint-Etienne
Féthi Harek - SC Bastia
Foued Kadir - Stade Rennais
Mehdi Mostefa - Ajaccio
Bilal Ouali - Stade Reims

Italy
Ishak Belfodil - Inter Milan
Djamel Mesbah - Parma
Saphir Taider - Inter Milan

Spain
Yacine Brahimi - Granada
Liassine Cadamuro - Real Sociedad
Sofiane Feghouli - Valencia
Mehdi Lacen - Getafe
Hassan Yebda - Granada


Chad
None


Egypt

England
Ahmed Elmohamady - Hull City
Gedo - Hull City

Italy
Ahmed Hegazy - Fiorentina


Libya
None


Mali

England
Jimmy Kébé - Crystal Palace
Modibo Maïga - West Ham United
Yacouba Sylla - Aston Villa

France
Cheick Diabaté - Bordeaux
Drissa Diakité - SC Bastia
Sigamary Diarra - Ajaccio
Tongo Doumbia - Valenciennes
Mohamed Fofana - Stade Reims
Cédric Kanté - Sochaux
Sidy Koné - Lyon
Adama Niane - Nantes
Mamadou Samassa - Guingamp
Oumar Sissoko - Ajaccio
Birama Touré - Nantes
Abdou Traoré - Bordeaux
Kalilou Traoré - Sochaux
Mahamane Traoré - OGC Nice
Mustapha Yatabaré - Guingamp

Italy
Mamadou Samassa - Chievo Verona


Mauritania

France
Adama Ba - SC Bastia


Morocco

England
Oussama Assaidi - Stoke City
Marouane Chamakh - Crystal Palace
Karim El Ahmadi - Aston Villa
Adel Taarabt - Fulham

France
Karim Aït-Fana - Montpellier
Rachid Alioui - Guingamp
Chahir Belghazouani - Ajaccio
Nabil Dirar - AS Monaco
Abdelhamid El Kaoutari - Montpellier
Yassine Jebbour - Montpellier
Mounir Obbadi - AS Monaco
Adrien Regattin - Toulouse

Germany
Mohamed Amsif - FC Augsburg

Italy
Mehdi Benatia - AS Roma
Omar El Kaddouri - Torino

Spain
Zakarya Bergdich - Real Valladolid
Issam El Adoua - Levante
Youssef El Arabi - Granada
Mounir El Hamdaoui - Malaga
Nabil El Zhar - Levante


Niger
None


South Sudan
None


Sudan
None


Tunisia

France
Aymen Abdennour - Toulouse
Fahid Ben Khalfallah - Bordeaux
Saber Khalifa - Olympique Marseille
Wahbi Khazri - SC Bastia
Jamel Saihi - Montpellier
Saad Trabelsi - Nantes

Germany
Sami Allagui - Hertha BSC
Änis Ben-Hatira - Hertha BSC
Karim Haggui - VfB Stuttgart
Ahmed Sassi - TSG Hoffenheim

Italy
Yohan Benalouane - Parma
Karim Laribi - US Sassuolo

FIFA Rankings of Region:

28 - Algeria

38 - Mali

46 - Tunisia

50 - Egypt

70 - Libya

74 - Morocco

102 - Niger

140 - Sudan

150 - Mauritania

158 - Chad

205 - South Sudan

Map picture from wikimedia commons

CONCACAF: All-Time Best FIFA Rankings

The best all-time FIFA ranking of every nation in CONCACAF.

4 - Mexico
4 - USA
17 - Costa Rica
20 - Honduras
25 - Trinidad & Tobago

27 - Jamaica
35 - Panama
38 - Haiti
40 - Canada
46 - Cuba

49 - El Salvador
50 - Guatemala
73 - St. Vincent and the Grenadines
76 - Bermuda
83 - Antigua and Barbuda

84 - Suriname
86 - Dominican Republic
86 - Guyana
88 - Grenada
92 - Barbados

97 - Puerto Rico
106 - St. Kitts and Nevis
108 - St. Lucia
118 - Netherlands Antilles
127 - Cayman Islands

128 - Belize
128 - Dominica
132 - Nicaragua
138 - Bahamas
146 - Curaçao

149 - Aruba
149 - US Virgin Islands
158 - Turks and Caicos
160 - British Virgin Islands
174 - Montserrat
189 - Anguilla

FIFA World Cup Seeded Team Results

All-time results of FIFA World Cup seeded teams from 1930-2010

Format:
World Cup Year - (Number of Teams)
WC Finishing Position - Nation (Round Eliminated)

South Africa 2010 - (32)
1 - Spain (Winners)
2 - Netherlands (Runners-up)
3 - Germany (SF)
5 - Argentina (QF)
6 - Brazil (QF)
13 - England (16)
20 - South Africa* (Group Stage)
26 - Italy (Group Stage)

Germany 2006 - (32)
1 - Italy (Winners)
2 - France (Runners-Up)
3 - Germany* (SF)
5 - Brazil (QF)
6 - Argentina (QF)
7 - England (QF)
9 - Spain (16)
15 - Mexico (16)

Korea/Japan 2002 - (32)
1 - Brazil (Winners)
2 - Germany (Runners-Up)
4 - South Korea* (SF)
5 - Spain (QF)
9 - Japan* (16)
15 - Italy (16)
18 - Argentina (Group Stage)
28 - France (Group Stage)

France 1998 - (32)
1 - France* (Winners)
2 - Brazil (Runners-Up)
4 - Netherlands (SF)
5 - Italy (QF)
6 - Argentina (QF)
7 - Germany (QF)
11 - Romania (16)
17 - Spain (Group Stage)

USA 1994 - (24)
1 - Brazil (Winners)
2 - Italy (Runners-Up)
5 - Germany (QF)
10 - Argentina (16)
11 - Belgium (16)
14 - USA* (16)

Italy 1990 - (24)
1 - Germany (Winners)
2 - Argentina (Runners-Up)
3 - Italy* (SF)
4 - England (SF)
9 - Brazil (16)
11 - Belgium (16)

Mexico 1986 - (24)
2 - Germany (Runners-Up)
3 - France (SF)
5 - Brazil (QF)
6 - Mexico* (QF)
12 - Italy (16)
14 - Poland (16)

Spain 1982 - (24)
1 - Italy (Winners)
2 - Germany (Runners-Up)
5 - Brazil (QF)
6 - England (QF)
11 - Argentina (R2)
12 - Spain* (R2)

Argentina 1978 - (16)
1 - Argentina* (Winners)
2 - Netherlands (Runners-Up)
3 - Brazil (SF)
4 - Italy (SF)
6 - Germany (QF)

Germany 1974 - (16)
1 - Germany* (Winners)
4 - Brazil (SF)
10 - Italy (Group Stage)
13 - Uruguay (Group Stage)

Mexico 1970 - (16)
No official seeds for this WC

England 1966 - (16)
1 - England* (Winners)
2 - Germany (Runners-Up)
9 - Italy (Group Stage)
11 - Brazil (Group Stage)

Chile 1962 - (16)
1 - Brazil (Winners)
3 - Chile* (SF)
10 - Argentina (Group Stage)
12 - Uruguay (Group Stage)

Sweden 1958 - (16)
No official seeds for this WC

Switzerland 1954 - (16)
2 - Hungary (Runners-Up)
3 - Austria (SF)
4 - Uruguay (SF)
5 - Brazil (QF)
6 - England (QF)
9 - Turkey (Group Stage)
10 - Italy (Group Stage)
11 - France (Group Stage)

Brazil 1950 - (13)
1 - Uruguay (Winners)
2 - Brazil* (Runners-Up)
7 - Italy (Group Stage)
8 - England (Group Stage)

France 1938 - (15)
1 - Italy (Winners)
2 - Hungary (Runners-Up)
3 - Brazil (SF)
4 - Sweden (SF)
5 - Czechoslovakia (QF)
6 - France* (QF)
8 - Cuba (QF)
10 - Germany (R1)

Italy 1934 - (16)
1 - Italy* (Winners)
2 - Czechoslovakia (Runners-Up)
3 - Germany (SF)
4 - Austria (SF)
6 - Hungary (QF)
9 - Argentina (Preliminary Round)
9 - Netherlands (Preliminary Round)
14 - Brazil (Preliminary Round)

Uruguay 1930 - (13)
1 - Uruguay* (Winners)
2 - Argentina (Runners-Up)
3 - USA (SF)
6 - Brazil (QF)
9 - Paraguay (Group Stage)


* Host Nation

FIFA Best/Worst Ranking - September 2013

Nations currently at their best or worst all-time ranking position in the September 2013 FIFA Rankings.

Best Ranking

1 - Spain

6 - Belgium

35 - Panama

132 - Afghanistan

175 - Guam

Worst Ranking

59 - Republic of Ireland

106 - Canada

140 - Sudan

205 - South Sudan

FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison - September 2013

Comparing FIFA Confederations using the average FIFA ranking of the top 5 teams from each region.

Top 5 Avg. - Confederation (+/- August)

4.6 - Europe (-0.4)
1 - Spain
3 - Germany
4 - Italy
6 - Belgium
9 - Netherlands

7.6 - South America (+1.4)
2 - Argentina
5 - Colombia
7 - Uruguay
8 - Brazil
16 - Chile

28.4 - CONCACAF (+4.4)
13 - USA
21 - Mexico
33 - Costa Rica
35 - Panama
40 - Honduras

29.0 - Africa (-0.4)
19 - Côte d'Ivoire
24 - Ghana
28 - Algeria
36 - Nigeria
38 - Mali

51.6 - Asia (-1.6)
42 - Japan
48 - Iran
53 - Australia
57 - Uzbekistan
58 - South Korea

130.8 - Oceania (-4.0)
67 - New Zealand
95 - New Caledonia
146 - Tahiti
169 - Solomon Islands
177 - Samoa

Non-European Premier League Medal Winners

Non-European Players who have received an English Premier League winner's medal.

Criteria From the 2012-2013 FA Premier League Handbook:
The League Champions shall further receive 30 commemorative medals to be presented by the Club to its Manager and to such of its Players and Officials as it thinks fit provided, in the case of a Player, that he has that Season played in a minimum of 10 of its League Matches. Additional medals may be presented with the consent of the Board..

Africa

Cameroon
2 - Lauren, 01-02, 03-04 (Arsenal)
2 - Geremi, 04-05, 05-06 (Chelsea)

Ghana
1 - Michael Essien, 05-06 (Chelsea)

Ivory Coast
3 - Didier Drogba, 04-05, 05-06, 09-10 (Chelsea)
2 - Kolo Toure, 03-04, 11-12 (Arsenal, Manchester City)
1 - Salomon Kalou, 09-10, (Chelsea)
1 - Yaya Toure, 11-12 (Manchester City)

Liberia
1 - Christopher Wreh, 97-98 (Arsenal)

Nigeria
2 - Nwankwo Kanu, 01-02, 03-04 (Arsenal)
1 - John Obi Mikel, 09-10 (Chelsea)

South Africa
1 - Quinton Fortune, 02-03 (Manchester United)



Asia

Australia
1 - Robbie Slater, 94-95 (Blackburn Rovers)
1 - Mark Bosnich, 99-00 (Manchester United)

Japan
1 - Shinji Kagawa, 12-13 (Manchester United)

South Korea
4 - Park Ji-Sung, 06-07, 07-08, 08-09, 10-11 (Manchester United)



CONCACAF

Mexico
2 - Javier Hernandez, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)

Trinidad and Tobago
3 - Dwight Yorke, 98-99, 99-00, 00-01 (Manchester United)



CONMEBOL

Argentina
3 - Carlos Tevez, 07-08, 08-09, 11-12 (Manchester United, Manchester City)
1 - Hernan Crespo, 05-06 (Chelsea)
1 - Juan Sebastian Veron, 02-03 (Manchester United)
1 - Gabriel Heinze, 06-07 (Manchester United)
1 - Pablo Zabaleta, 11-12 (Manchester City)
1 - Sergio Agüero, 11-12 (Manchester City)

Brazil
4 - Anderson, 07-08, 08-09, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)
3 - Rafael, 08-09, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)
2 - Edu, 01-02, 03-04 (Arsenal)
1 - Gilberto Silva, 03-04 (Arsenal)
1 - Juliano Belletti, 09-10 (Chelsea)
1 - Alex, 09-10 (Chelsea)
1 - Fabio, 10-11 (Manchester United)

Ecuador
2 - Antonio Valencia, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)

Uruguay
1 - Diego Forlan, 02-03 (Manchester United)



Original Post 12/31/08
Updated 09/12/13

World Cup Qualifier Upsets - September 2013

Upsets from the last round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (September, 2013).

FIFA Rank difference -- Score -- Home Team (Rank) v Away Team (Rank)

Upset Wins (25+ FIFA rank difference) 
49 -- 0:1 -- Bosnia-Herzegovina (13) v Slovakia (62)
43 -- 2:1 -- Macedonia (89) v Wales (46)
40 -- 1:2 -- Czech Republic (26) v Armenia (66)
35 -- 2:0 -- Gambia (163) v Tanzania (128)
32 -- 2:1 -- Iceland (70) v Albania (38)
31 -- 3:2 -- Luxembourg (140) v Northern Ireland (109)
25 -- 2:3 -- Sudan (135) v Lesotho (160)

Upset Draw (40+ FIFA rank Difference)
80 -- 2:2 -- Estonia (85) v Netherlands (5)
74 -- 0:0 -- Georgia (97) v France (23)
57 -- 1:1 -- Cote d'Ivoire (18) v Morocco (75)
55 -- 4:4 -- Switzerland (15) v Iceland (70)
52 -- 1:1 -- Israel (63) v Azerbaijan (115)
47 -- 1:1 -- Bolivia (64) v Ecuador (17)
44 -- 1:1 -- Poland (72) v Montenegro (28)



In case CONCACAF fans are wondering, Honduras (43) over Mexico (20) and Costa Rica (42) over USA (19) didn't make the list as both matchups had a FIFA rank difference of 23, just short of the 25+ cutoff.

Premier League Number Nines

Players from current EPL clubs that have worn squad number "9" in the Premier League since 1993.

Arsenal
Alan Smith, Paul Merson, Nicolas Anelka, Davor Suker, Francis Jeffers, José Antonio Reyes, Júlio Baptista , Eduardo, Park Chu-Young, Lukas Podolski

Aston Villa
Dean Saunders, Savo Milošević, Stan Collymore, Dion Dublin, Juan Pablo Angel, Marlon Harewood, Stephen Ireland, Darren Bent, Nicklas Helenius

Cardiff City
Andreas Cornelius

Chelsea
Tony Cascarino, Mark Stein, Gianluca Vialli, Chris Sutton, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Mateja Kezman, Hernán Crespo, Khalid Boulahrouz, Steve Sidwell, Franco Di Santo, Fernando Torres

Crystal Palace
Chris Armstrong, Neil Shipperley, Dougie Freedman, Kevin Phillips

Everton
Tony Cottee, Duncan Ferguson, Kevin Campbell, James Beattie, Louis Saha, Landon Donovan, Arouna Koné

Fulham
Steve Marlet, Facundo Sava, Andy Cole, Michael Brown, Heidar Helguson, David Healy, Bobby Zamora, Stefano Okaka, Orlando Sá, Dimitar Berbatov

Hull City
Jozy Altidore, Danny Graham

Liverpool
Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler, Nicolas Anelka, El-Hadji Diouf, Djibril Cissé, Fernando Torres, Andy Carroll, Iago Aspas

Manchester City
Niall Quinn, Paul Dickov, Paulo Wanchope, Andrew Cole, Emile Mpenza, Valeri Bojinov, Emmanuel Adebayor, Alvaro Negredo

Manchester United
Brian McClair, Andy Cole, Louis Saha, Dimitar Berbatov

Newcastle United
Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, Alan Shearer, Obafemi Martins, Andy Carroll, Papiss Demba Cissé

Norwich City
Gary Megson, Mattias Jonson, Grant Holt, Ricky van Wolfswinkel

Southampton
Iain Dowie, Neil Shipperley, Mark Hughes, Mark Draper, James Beattie, Jay Rodriguez

Stoke City
Richard Cresswell, James Beattie, Kenwyne Jones

Sunderland
Craig Russell, Niall Quinn, Tore Andre Flo, Jonathan Stead, Anthony Stokes, Djibril Cissé, Fraizer Campbell, Danny Graham, Steven Fletcher

Swansea City
Craig Beattie, Michu

Tottenham Hotspur
Darren Anderton, Les Ferdinand, Frederic Kanoute, Grzegorz Rasiak, Dimitar Berbatov, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Roberto Soldado

West Bromwich Albion
Danny Dichio, Geoff Horsfield, Roman Bednář, Shane Long

West Ham United
Trevor Morley, Tony Cottee, Paul Kitson, Davor Suker, Jermain Defoe, Dean Ashton, Ilan, Carlton Cole, Andy Carroll

"Rovers" Club Logos

Albion Rovers FC - Scotland

Bantu Rovers - Zimbabwe

Barton Rovers - England

Blackburn Rovers - England

Bristol Rovers - England

Bromsgrove Rovers - England

Doncaster Rovers - England

Forest Green Rovers - England

Great Wakering Rovers - England

Letterkenny Rovers - Ireland Republic

Peebles Rovers - Scotland

Raith Rovers - Scotland

River City Rovers - United States

Rochedale Rovers - Australia

Shamrock Rovers - Ireland Republic

Sligo Rovers - Ireland Republic

Mhlambanyatsi Rovers - Swaziland

Tampines Rovers - Singapore

Taringa Rovers - Australia

Threave Rovers - Scotland

Tolka Rovers - Ireland Republic

Tranmere Rovers - England

EPL: Home Grown Players by Club

Barclays Premier League Squad Lists 2013/2014

"A Home Grown Player will be defined as one who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

Arsenal (5) - Bendtner, Gibbs, Ramsey, Szczesney, Walcott

Aston Villa (14) - Agbonlahor, Albrighton, Baker, N'Zogbia, Bennett, Bowery, Clark, Delph, Given, Herd, Lowton, Stieber, Weimann, Westwood

Cardiff City (16) - Bellamy, Brayford, Campbell, Caulker, Connolly, Hudson, Lewis, Mason, Maynard, Moore, Mutch, Noone, Smith, Taylor, Turner, Whittingham

Chelsea (5) - Terry, Cole, Lampard, Cahill, Bertrand

Crystal Palace (14) - Bannan, Gabbidon, Gayle, Hunt, Mariappa, McCarthy, Moxey, O'Keefe, Phillips, Price, Puncheon, Jerome, Thomas, Ward

Everton (7) - Gibson, Hibbert, Jagielka, Osman, Baines, Barry, McCarthy

Fulham (12) - Stockdale, Etheridge, Hughes, Senderos, Richardson, Briggs, Duff, Sidwell, Parker, Taarabt, Kacaniklic, Bent

Hull City (15) -  Rosenior, Bruce, Chester, Davies, Huddlestone, Graham, Livermore, McShane, Boyd, Dudgeon, Harper, Aluko, Quinn, McLean, Fryatt

Liverpool (8) - Allen, Gerrard, Henderson, Johnson, Jones, Kelly, Moses, Sturridge

Manchester City (8) - Boyata, Clichy, Hart, Lescott, Milner, Richards, Rodwell, Nimely, Wright

Manchester United (13) - Amos, Carrick, Cleverley, Evans, Ferdinand, Giggs, Smalling, Rooney, Welbeck, Young, Rafael, Fabio, Fletcher

Newcastle United (9) - Ameobi, Dummett, Elliot, Gosling, Krul, Tavernier, R Taylor, S Taylor, Williamson

Norwich City (13) - Ayala, Bennett, Bunn, Fox, Hooper, Howson, Johnson, Martin, Nash, Olsson, Pilkington, Ruddy, Turner

Southampton (13) - Clyne, Cork, K Davis, S Davis, Fox, Lallana, Lambert, Rodriguez, Schneiderlin, Barnard, Forte, Martin, Sharp

Stoke City (11) - Begovic, Crouch, Etherington, Huth, Ireland, Pennant, Shawcross, Walters, Whelan, Wilkinson, Wilson

Sunderland (12) - Bardsley, Borini, Brown, Cattermole, Colback, Gardner, Johnson, Larsson, Mannone, O'Shea, Vaughan, Westwood

Swansea City (9) - Britton, Dyer, Lita, Monk, Obeng, Richards, Routledge, Taylor, Williams

Tottenham Hotspur (10) - Dawson, Defoe, Lennon, Naughton, Obika, Rose, Sigurdsson, Townsend, Walker, Dawkins

West Bromwich Albion (13) - Brunt, Camp, Daniels, Dawson, Foster, Jones, Long, Morrison, Myhill, Reid, Ridgewell, Sinclair, Anichebe

West Ham United (15) - Carroll, Cole, Collins, Collison, Downing, Henderson, Jarvis, McCartney, Noble, Noland, O'Brien, Spence, Taylor, Tomkins, Vaz Te

Belgian Players with $10m+ Market Value

Belgian players with a market value of $10,000,000 or more according to the website Transfer Markt.

€MV  ~ $MV - Player (Club)

€42m ~ $55m - Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
€35m ~ $46m - Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
€32m ~ $42m - Axel Witsel (Zenit St. Peterspurg)
€28m ~ $37m - Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
€24m ~ $32m - Romelu Lukaku (Everton)

€22m ~ $29m - Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)
€20m ~ $26m - Moussa Dembélé (Tottenham Hotspur)
€18m ~ $24m - Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid)
€18m ~ $24m - Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
€16m ~ $21m - Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal)

€15m ~ $20m - Kevin de Bruyne (Chelsea)
€14m ~ $18m - Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari)
€13m ~ $17m - Dries Mertens (Napoli)
€11m ~ $14m - Kevin Mirallas (Everton)
€10m ~ $13m - Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit St. Petersburg)

€10m ~ $13m - Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid)
€10m ~ $13m - Simon Mignolet (Liverpool)
€09m ~ $12m - Nacer Chadli (Tottenham Hotspur)
€09m ~ $12m - Maxime Lestienne (Club Brugge)
€08m ~ $11m - Steven Defour (FC Porto)