2008 in association football explained

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
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17 - 23 February: Men's East Asian Cup 2008 final in Chongqing,
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11 - 23 March: 2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament in Nashville,
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4 - 16 May: 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in
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7 - 29 June: UEFA Euro 2008 in and
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30 May - 1 June: Baltic Cup in Riga,
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3 - 14 June: 2008 SAFF Championship in and
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30 July - 13 August: AFC Challenge Cup,
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7 - 23 August: 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament in Beijing,
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5 - 28 December: 2008 AFF Championship in and
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Women

18 - 24 February: Women's East Asian Cup 2008 final in Chongqing,
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5 - 12 March: 2008 Algarve Cup in Algarve,
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6 - 21 August: 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament in Beijing,
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30 October - 16 November: 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in
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20 November - 7 December: 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in
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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
4 March - Jocelyne Henry (54), French 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

Notes and References

News: Liquidation signals the final nail in Gretna coffin . The Cumberland News . 2008-08-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090314001628/http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/1.218555 . 2009-03-14 . dead . 2009-09-23 .