2006 in association football

The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 2006 throughout the world.

Events

• January 1 – Australia officially left the OFC and joined the AFC.
• January 3 – Antonio Cassano left Roma and joined Real Madrid. He debuted for the merengues on January 18, in a Copa del Rey match against Real Betis, and scored his first goal just three minutes after he came in during the second half.
• January 4 – Robert Maaskant returns at Dutch club RBC Roosendaal as their new coach.^[1]
• January 17 – Euro 2008 qualifying group assignments announced.
• February 1 – Rini Coolen resigns as manager of Dutch club FC Twente.
• February 2 – South Korean club Bucheon FC moved to Jeju Island and changed their name to Jeju United FC.
• February 8 – Turkey are banned from staging their six home qualifying matches for Euro 2008 in Turkey due to incidents during their 2006 World Cup qualification match against Switzerland, which finished 4–2 on November 16, 2005.
• March 5 – Sydney FC are crowned Australian champions in the first season of the revamped national league (the A-League)
• April 5 – Celtic win the Scottish Premier League.
• April 9 – Netherlands Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven won its second consecutive title, their nineteenth in total.
• April 16 – Lyon clinch their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title with a 1–0 victory at Paris Saint-Germain.
• April 22 – Alan Shearer announces his retirement from football, three weeks earlier than planned, the cause of his early decision being a niggling knee injury.
• April 29 – Chelsea win second Premiership title in a row.
• April 30 – Starting the largest match fixing scandal in the history of Italian Serie A football. On May 14, Juventus clinch 29th Italian title.
• May 13 – Bayern Munich win second Bundesliga title in a row.
• May 14 – Anderlecht wins the Belgian First Division, their twenty-eighth in total.
• May 17 – FC Barcelona beat Arsenal 2–1 in the Champions League Final.
• June 3 – The 2006 FIFI Wild Cup final game, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus vs. Zanzibar. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus won the game 4–1 in a penalty shootout, winning their first title.
• June 9 – The 2006 World Cup finals kick off, as Germany beat Costa Rica 4–2.
• June 21 – Midfielder Philip Cocu plays his 100th international match for the Netherlands, when Holland draws with Argentina (0-0) at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
• July 9 – 2006 World Cup final game, Italy vs. France. Italy won the game 5–3 in a penalty shootout, winning their fourth title.
• August 16 – CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores final game, Internacional vs. São Paulo. Internacional won the cup after the draw in 2–2 in the second game. In first game, Internacional won by 2–1.
• September 14 – Recopa Sudamericana 2006 return match, Boca Juniors wins its 16th international title against São Paulo, breaking the world record on number of international club titles.

International tournaments

• 2006 African Cup of Nations (January 20 – February 10)
  1.  Egypt
  2.  Ivory Coast
  3.  Nigeria
  4.  Senegal
• 2006 FIFI Wild Cup (May 29 – June 3)
  1.  Northern Cyprus
  2.  Zanzibar
  3. Republic of St. Pauli
  4.  Gibraltar
• 2006 FIFA World Cup (June 9 – July 9)
  1.  Italy
  2.  France
  3.  Germany
  4.  Portugal

National champions

UEFA nations

Albania: KS Elbasani  Andorra: FC Rànger's  Armenia: FC Pyunik  Austria: Austria Wien  Azerbaijan: FK Baku  Belarus: BATE Borisov  Belgium: RSC Anderlecht  Bosnia and Herzegovina: NK Široki Brijeg  Bulgaria: Levski Sofia  Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb  Cyprus: Apollon Limassol  Czech Republic: Slovan Liberec  Denmark: Copenhagen  England: Chelsea  Estonia: FC Levadia  Faroe Islands: HB Torshavn  Finland: Tampere United  France: Lyon  Georgia: Sioni Bolnisi  Germany: Bayern Munich  Greece: Olympiacos  Hungary: Debrecen  Iceland: FH Hafnarfjörður  Ireland: Shelbourne  Israel: Maccabi Haifa  Italy: Internazionale (Juventus stripped of title)

Kazakhstan: FC Astana  Latvia: FK Ventspils  Liechtenstein: FC Vaduz  Lithuania: FBK Kaunas  Luxembourg: F91 Dudelange  Macedonia: FK Pobeda  Malta: Birkirkara FC  Moldova: FC Sheriff Tiraspol  Netherlands: PSV  Northern Ireland: Linfield  Norway: Rosenborg  Poland: Legia Warsaw  Portugal: Porto  Romania: Steaua București  Russia: CSKA Moscow  San Marino: SS Murata  Scotland: Celtic  Serbia and Montenegro: Red Star Belgrade  Slovakia: MFK Ruzomberok  Slovenia: ND Gorica  Spain: FC Barcelona  Sweden: IF Elfsborg  Switzerland: FC Zürich  Turkey: Galatasaray  Ukraine: Shaktar Donetsk  Wales: Total Network Solutions

CONMEBOL nations

A = Apertura, C = Clausura

Argentina: Boca Juniors (C), Estudiantes La Plata (A)  Bolivia: Club Bolivar (C), Wilstermann (A)  Brazil: São Paulo  Chile: Colo Colo (A &C)  Colombia: Deportivo Pasto (I), Cúcuta Deportivo (II)

Ecuador: El Nacional  Paraguay: Club Libertad  Peru: Alianza Lima  Uruguay: Nacional Montevideo  Venezuela: Caracas FC

CONCACAF nations

A = Apertura, C = Clausura

Canada: Italia Shooters (CSL)  Costa Rica: Deportivo Saprissa  HON: Olimpia (C), Motagua (A)  El Salvador: C.D. FAS (A), C.D. Águila (C)  Jamaica: Waterhouse F.C.

Mexico: Chivas de Guadalajara (A), Pachuca (C)  Panama: San Francisco F.C.  Trinidad and Tobago: Joe Public F.C.  United States: Houston Dynamo (MLS)

CAF nations

Cameroon: Cotonsport Garoua  Ivory Coast: ASEC Mimosas  Egypt: Ahly Sporting Club  Libya: Al Ittihad Tripoli  Morocco: Wydad Casablanca

Nigeria: Ocean Boys FC  South Africa: Mamelodi Sundowns  Sudan: Al-Hilal  Tunisia: Espérance

AFC nations

Australia: Sydney FC  China: Shandong Luneng  Hong Kong: Happy Valley  India: Mahindra United  Indonesia: Persik Kediri  Iraq: Al Zawraa  Iran: Esteghlal FC  Japan: Urawa Red Diamonds  Lebanon: Al-Ansar  Malaysia: Negeri Sembilan FA

Qatar: Al-Sadd  Saudi Arabia: Al-Shabab  Singapore: SAFFC  South Korea: Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma  Syria: Al-Karamah  Thailand: Bangkok University FC  United Arab Emirates: Al-Ahli  Uzbekistan: FK Pakhtakor  Vietnam: Đồng Tâm Long An

International club tournaments

• FIFA Club World Cup – Sport Club Internacional
• UEFA Champions League – FC Barcelona
• UEFA Cup – Sevilla
• CONCACAF Champions' Cup – Club América
• CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores – Sport Club Internacional
• CONMEBOL Sudamericana Cup – Pachuca
• CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana – Boca Juniors
• CAF Champions League – Al Ahly SC
• CAF Confederation Cup – Étoile du Sahel
• AFC Champions League – Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
• AFC Cup – Al-Faisaly
• OFC Champions League – Auckland City FC

Movies

• Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle (France)
• Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen (Germany)
• Once in a Lifetime (US)

Deaths

January

• January 7 – Gábor Zavadszky (31), Hungarian footballer
• January 8 – Elson Becerra (27), Colombian footballer^[2]
• January 9 – Gerrie Kleton (52), Dutch footballer
• January 13 – Peter Rösch (75), Swiss footballer
• January 14 – Mark Philo (21), English footballer^[3]

February

• February 4 – Jenő Dalnoki (74), Hungarian footballer
• February 8 – Ron Greenwood (84), English footballer and manager
• February 9 – André Strappe (77), French footballer
• February 13 – Joseph Ujlaki (76), French footballer
• February 17 – Jorge Pinto Mendonça (51), Brazilian footballer
• February 23 – Telmo Zarraonaindía (85), Spanish footballer^[4]
• February 25 – Charlie Wayman (83), English footballer
• February 27 – Ferenc Bene (61), Hungarian footballer^[5]

March

• March 1 – Peter Osgood (59), English footballer^[6]
• March 6 – Roman Ogaza (54), Polish footballer
• March 12 – Jimmy Johnstone (61), Scottish footballer
• March 13 – Roy Clarke (80), Welsh footballer
• March 26 – Ole Madsen (71), Danish footballer^[7]

April

• April 16 – Georges Stuber (80), Swiss footballer
• April 18 – John Lyall (66), English manager
• April 21 – Telê Santana (74), Brazilian manager^[8]
• April 25 – Brian Labone (66), English footballer

May

• May 2 – Luigi Griffanti (89), Italian footballer
• May 23 – Kazimierz Górski (85), Polish manager

June

• June 9 – Shay Gibbons (77), Irish footballer
• June 24 – Jean Varraud (85), French footballer and manager

July

• July 21 – Bert Slater (70), Scottish footballer
• July 31 – Pascal Miézan (47), Ivorian footballer

August

• August 1 – Ferenc Szusza (82), Hungarian footballer
• August 15 – Faas Wilkes (82), Dutch footballer
• August 19 – Óscar Míguez, Uruguayan striker, winner of the 1950 FIFA World Cup and Uruguay's all-time record World Cup goalscorer with eight goals. (78)
• August 20 – Oscar Miguez (78), Uruguayan footballer
• August 24 – Mokhtar Ben Nacef (80), Tunisian footballer
• August 31 – Mohamed Abdelwahab (23), Egyptian footballer

September

• September 2 – Pietro Broccini (78), Italian footballer
• September 4 – Giacinto Facchetti (64), Italian footballer

October

• October 17 – Lieuwe Steiger (82), Dutch footballer

November

• November 3 – Alberto Spencer (68), Ecuadorian footballer
• November 4 – Sergi López Segú (39), Spanish footballer
• November 5 – Pietro Rava, Italian defender, oldest surviving winner of the 1938 FIFA World Cup.(90)
• November 17 – Ferenc Puskás (79), Hungarian footballer and manager
• November 28 – Max Merkel (87), Austrian footballer and manager

December

• December 5 – Gernot Jurtin (51), Austrian footballer
• December 15 – Alessio Ferramosca and Riccardo Neri (17), Italian footballers
• December 31 – Ya'akov Hodorov (79), Israeli footballer

References

1. "Roosendaal appoint Maaskant again". CNN. 4 January 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
2. "Gunmen murder Colombian striker". The Guardian. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
3. Bateman, Stephen (15 January 2006). "Wycombe mourn Philo loss". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
4. Cuenca, Nika (24 February 2006). "Murió Zarra". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 February 2024.
5. "Elhunyt Bene Ferenc". Heti Világgazdaság (in Hungarian). 27 February 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
6. "Football mourns death of Osgood". BBC Sport. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
7. "Landsholdskæmpen Ole Madsen er død". Politiken (in Danish). 26 March 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
8. "Brazil mourn passing of Santana". BBC Sport. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024.