2008 in association football

Overview of the events of 2008 in association football

2008 in sports
Years in association football
← 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 →
Air sports American football Aquatic sports Association football Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Canadian football Chess Climbing Combat sports Sumo Cricket 2007–08 2008 2008–09 Cycling Dance sports Darts Equestrianism Esports Field hockey Flying disc Golf Gymnastics Handball Ice hockey Ice sports Korfball Lumberjack sports Mind sports Modern pentathlon Motorsport Orienteering Paralympic sports Precision sports Shooting Racquetball Roller sports Sailing Skiing Speedway Rugby league‎ Rugby union Snooker 2007–08 2008–09 Strength sports Weightlifting Squash Table tennis Tennis Triathlon Volleyball

The following are the association football events of the year 2008 throughout the world.

News

January

3 – Argentine midfielder Éver Banega leaves Boca Juniors and joins the Spanish club Valencia for an estimated fee of €18 million.
5 – Everton are knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Oldham Athletic, a team from Football League One (third division) as Huddersfield Town from the same division beat Birmingham City.
6 – Toulouse are eliminated from the Coupe de France by Paris FC, a team from the Championnat National (third division).
9 – Sam Allardyce leaves the manager's position at Newcastle United by mutual agreement.
11 – Jürgen Klinsmann is unveiled as the new coach of Bayern Munich, effective July.
20 – The Africa Cup of Nations begins in Ghana with the hosts beating Guinea 2–1.
23 – Tottenham Hotspur defeat Arsenal 5–1 in the semi-final second-leg of the League Cup. This was the first time they had beaten their local rivals since 1999.
24 – George Burley is announced as the new coach of the Scotland national football team.
28 – Mohamed Sissoko leaves Liverpool to sign for Juventus, costing the Italian team €13 million.

February

2 – Frédéric Kanouté is named 2007 African Footballer of the Year
4 – Víctor Muñoz is sacked from the managers job of Spanish team Recreativo Huelva; Manolo Zambrano is immediately installed as the new coach of the La Liga team.
10 – Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Cameroon in the final 1–0.
13 – Giovanni Trapattoni is announced as the new coach of the Republic of Ireland. He will officially take up this role in May.
23 – South Korean men's team won East Asian Cup 2008.
23 – Japanese J. League Cup winner Gamba Osaka defeated MLS champion Houston Dynamo at the final game of Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 by 6–1, won the champion title of inaugural tournament. The Los Angeles Galaxy won the third place match against Sydney FC from A-league by 2–1.
24 – Japan won the Women's East Asian Cup 2008 with three straight wins over South Korea, North Korea, and China.
24 – Tottenham Hotspur win the Football League Cup after beating Chelsea 2–1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium.
24 – Newcastle Jets win the Hyundai A-League Grand Final by defeating the Central Coast Mariners by 1–0 at the Sydney Football Stadium.

March

11 – Newport County win the FAW Premier Cup beating Llanelli 1–0 in the final.
12 – The United States women's national soccer team wins the 2008 Algarve Cup for the sixth time, beating Denmark 2–1 in the final.
16 – Rangers win the Scottish League Cup by beating Dundee United 3–2 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw at Hampden Park.

May

5 – Real Madrid wins the 31st La Liga title after beating Osasuna 2–1.
8 – Announced that Frank Rijkaard would leave his managerial post at Barcelona at the end of the season, to be replaced by Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola.
11 – Manchester United wins its tenth Premier League title after beating Wigan Athletic 2–0 away.
17 – Portsmouth wins the 127th FA Cup after beating Cardiff City 1–0 at Wembley Stadium
21 – Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League after beating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes in Moscow
22 – Celtic win the SPL title for the third successive season by three points from Rangers on the final day.
24 – Avram Grant is sacked as Chelsea manager after just eight months in charge of the Premier League club.

June

2 – José Mourinho replaces Roberto Mancini as manager of Inter Milan
25 – LDU Quito won the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final beating Fluminense 4–2.
29 – Spain wins UEFA Euro 2008 after beating Germany 1–0 in the final.

July

1 – Luiz Felipe Scolari becomes the new manager of Chelsea.
2 – LDU Quito wins the Copa Libertadores beating Fluminense in penalties 3–1 after a 5–5 aggregate draw.

August

8 – Scottish Premier League team Gretna are formally liquidated.^[1]
21 – United States women's team win gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics
23 – Argentina's men's team win gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics

September

1 – Manchester City sign Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £32.5 million
1 – Manchester United sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur for £30.75 million.
4 – Kevin Keegan resigns as manager of Newcastle United.

International tournaments

Men

20 January – 10 February: 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana
- : Egypt
- : Cameroon
- : Ghana
- 4th: Ivory Coast
17 – 23 February: Men's East Asian Cup 2008 final in Chongqing, China
- : South Korea
- : Japan
- : China
- 4th: North Korea
11 – 23 March: 2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament in Nashville, United States
- : Honduras
- : United States
- : Canada
- 4th: Guatemala
4 – 16 May: 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in Turkey
- : Spain
- : France
- : Turkey and Netherlands
7 – 29 June: UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland
- : Spain
- : Germany
- : Turkey and Russia
30 May – 1 June: Baltic Cup in Riga, Latvia
- : Latvia
- : Lithuania
- : Estonia
3 – 14 June: 2008 SAFF Championship in Maldives and Sri Lanka
- : Maldives
- : India
30 July – 13 August: AFC Challenge Cup, India
- : India
- : Tajikistan
- : North Korea
- 4th: Myanmar
7 – 23 August: 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament in Beijing, China
- : Argentina
- : Nigeria
- : Brazil
5 – 28 December: 2008 AFF Championship in Indonesia and Thailand
- : Vietnam
- : Thailand
- : Indonesia, Singapore

Women

18 – 24 February: Women's East Asian Cup 2008 final in Chongqing, China
- : Japan
- : North Korea
- : China
- 4th: South Korea
5 – 12 March: 2008 Algarve Cup in Algarve, Portugal
- : United States
- : Denmark
- : Norway
- 4th: Germany
6 – 21 August: 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament in Beijing, China
- : United States
- : Brazil
- : Germany
30 October – 16 November: 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand
- : North Korea
- : United States
- : Germany
- 4th: England
20 November – 7 December: 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile
- : United States
- : North Korea
- : Germany
- 4th: France

National champions

AFC nations

UEFA nations

CAF nations

CONMEBOL nations

Primera División Argentina: River Plate (C) / Boca Juniors (A)
Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano: Universitario (A) / Aurura (C)
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: São Paulo
Primera División de Chile: Everton (A) / Colo-Colo (C)
Colombian Professional Football: Boyacá Chicó (A) / América de Cali (C)
Serie A de Ecuador: Deportivo Quito
Primera División de Paraguay: Libertad (A) (C)
Primera División Peruana: U. San Martín
Primera División Uruguaya: Defensor Sporting
Primera División Venezolana: Deportivo Táchira

(A = Apertura, C= Clausura)

CONCACAF nations

BFA Senior League: IM Bears
Digicel Premiere League: Notre Date Sports Club
Belize Premier Football League: Hankook Verdes
Bermudian Premier Division: PHC Zebras
British Virgin Islands Championship: Islanders
Canadian Soccer League: Trois-Rivières Attak
Cayman Islands League: Scholars International
Primera División de Costa Rica: Saprissa (A) (C)
Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba: Cienfuegos
Dominica Championship: Centre Bath Estate
Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador: Firpo (C) / Isidro Metapán (A)
Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala: Comunicaciones (C) (A)
Grenada League: Carib Hurricane
Ligue Haïtienne: Racing Gonaïves (C) / Tempête (A)
Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras: Marathón (C) / Olimpia (A)
National Premier League: Portmore United
Primera División de México: Santos Laguna (C) / Toluca (A)
Nevis Premier Division: SL Horsford Highlights
Primera División de Nicaragua: Real Estelí
Liga Panameña de Fútbol: Árabe Unido (C) / San Francisco (A)
Puerto Rico Soccer League: Sevilla
Saint Kitts Premier Division: Newtown United
Saint Lucia Premier Division: Aux Lyons United
NLA Premier League: Avenues United
Sint Maarten League: D&P Connection
Surinamese Hoofdklasse: Inter Moengotapoe
TT Pro League: San Juan Jabloteh
MFL League: Beaches
Major League Soccer: Columbus Crew
US Virgin Islands Championship: Positive Vibes

(A = Apertura, C= Clausura)

OFC nations

Football Federation American Samoa Soccer League: Pago Youth
Cook Islands Round Cup: Nikao Sokattack
Fijian National Football League: Ba
FSMFA Top League: Yap
Kiribati National Championship: competition canceled
New Caledonia Division Honneur: AS Magenta
ASB Premiership: Waitakere United
Niue Soccer Tournament: Talava
Norfolk Island Soccer League: unknown
Palau Soccer League: Surangel & Sons Company
Papua New Guinea National Soccer League: PRK Hekari United
Samoa National League: Sinamoga
Solomon Islands National Club Championship: Koloale
Tahiti Division Fédérale: AS Manu-Ura
Tonga Major League: Lotoha'apai
Tuvalu A-Division: Nauti
Vanuatu Premia Divisen: Tafea

Deaths

January

1 January – Božidar Sandić (85), Serbian footballer, Yugoslavia international
4 January – Vyacheslav Ambartsumyan (67), Russian footballer, Soviet Union international
4 January – Bjørn Odmar Andersen (64), Norwegian international footballer and manager
5 January – Louis Hon (83), French international footballer
9 January – Paul Aimson (64), English footballer
11 January – Frank Loughran (77), Australian international footballer
12 January – Leszek Jezierski (78), Polish footballer and manager
13 January – Seyran Osipov (46), Russian footballer
14 January – Kaj Christiansen (86), Danish international footballer and manager
14 January – Johnny Steele (91), English footballer and manager
18 January – Wally Fielding (88), English footballer
21 January – Billy Elliott (82), English international footballer
24 January – Jorge Recio (66), Argentine international footballer
26 January – Celestino Celio (82), Italian international footballer and manager
27 January – Bengt Lindskog (74), Swedish international footballer
28 January – Eleuterio Santos (67), Spanish international footballer

February

1 February – Władysław Kawula (70), Polish footballer
2 February – Yiu Cheuk Yin (80), Hong Kong footballer
9 February – Guy Tchingoma (22), Gabonese footballer
10 February – Ove Jørstad (37), Norwegian footballer
12 February – Jean Prouff (88), French footballer and manager
12 February – Thomas Grosser (42), German footballer
14 February – Len Boyd (84), English footballer
15 February – Inge Thun (62), Norwegian footballer
17 February – Brian Harris (72), English footballer and manager
21 February – Emmanuel Sanon (56), Haitian footballer

March

2 March – Carl Hoddle (40), English footballer
5 March – Derek Dooley (78), English footballer and manager
25 March – Thierry Gilardi (49), French commentator

April

3 April – Hrvoje Ćustić (24), Croatian footballer
5 April – Wang Donglei (23), Chinese footballer
18 April – Erminio Favalli (64), Italian footballer
19 April – Constant Vanden Stock (93), Belgian footballer, manager, and executive

May

8 May – François Sterchele (26), Belgian footballer
10 May – Eusebio Ríos (73), Spanish footballer and manager
15 May – Tommy Burns (51), Scottish former footballer and manager
23 May – Heinrich Kwiatkowski (81), German footballer

June

6 June – Victor Wégria (71), Belgian footballer
11 June – Adam Ledwoń (34), Polish footballer
22 June – Ron Stitfall (82), Welsh footballer

July

13 July – Rudolf Nafziger (62), German footballer
15 July – Gionata Mingozzi (23), Italian footballer
18 July – George Niven (79), Scottish footballer

August

3 August – Anton Allemann (72), Swiss footballer

September

3 September – Joan Segarra (80), Spanish defender
4 September – Tommy Johnston (81), Scottish footballer
25 September – Jimmy Sirrel (86), Scottish football player and manager

October

October 8 - Chicão, Brazilian midfielder, semi-finalist at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. (59)
October 21 - George Edwards (87), Welsh footballer
October 25 - Ian McColl (81), Scottish football player and manager

November

1 November – Dermot Curtis (76), Irish football player and manager
17 November – Peter Aldis (81), English footballer
27 November – Gil Heron (87), Jamaican footballer

December

8 December – John Cumming (78), Scottish footballer
9 December – Dražan Jerković (72), Croatian football player and manager
9 December – Ibrahim Dossey (36), Ghanaian footballer
12 December – Maksym Pashayev (20), Ukrainian footballer

References

^ "Liquidation signals the final nail in Gretna coffin". The Cumberland News. 2008-08-08. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2009-09-23.

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v t e 2008 in association football
AFC	Australia China India Indonesia Japan Korea Republic
CONCACAF	Canada United States
CONMEBOL	Brazil
OFC
UEFA	Belgium Croatia England France Germany Italy Netherlands Poland Scotland Spain Switzerland Ukraine Wales

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