In sport , a Golden Generation , or Golden Team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved. The term was first being cited by the media for Portugal's success during the FIFA Youth Championships in both 1989 and 1991. Below is a list of teams who have been referred to by the media as golden generations, most of which played in the 21st century.
146-706: Led by Manu Ginóbili and accompanied by players like Luis Scola , Fabricio Oberto , Carlos Delfino , Andres Nocioni , Pablo Prigioni and Walter Herrmann , the Argentina national basketball team between 2000 and 2012 has been referred to as the "Golden Generation". The team won gold in the Americas Championship 2001 , silver in 2002 FIBA World Championship , gold in Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics , gold in FIBA Diamond Ball 2008, bronze in Basketball at
292-458: A buzzer-beating jump shot , the Spurs lost Game 6 and the series 4–2. While Ginóbili did not start in a single playoff game as he did in 2003, his playoff statistics improved significantly, with 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. After some initial issues with San Antonio over his contract, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs and started every game during the 2004–05 season . This
438-646: A 1–0 victory over Ural Yekaterinburg . He started to play for the Croatia under-21 team and eventually progressed to his country's national team , for which he soon made his debut in the friendly match against world champions Italy on 16 August 2006 in Livorno . Croatia won the match 2–0 and Ćorluka, aged 20 during his debut, entered the game in the second half and satisfied critics with his very good, solid performance against experienced Serie A forwards. During Croatia's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, he became one of
584-523: A 1–2 defeat to Japan in which they went down to 10-men in under five minutes, Colombia beat Poland 3–0 and later beat Senegal 1–0 to qualify as group winners. They were knocked out by England in the round of sixteen ; losing on penalties. Between June and August 2016, Colombia were ranked as 3rd in both FIFA and Elo ranking . Other key players from this generation include Carlos Sánchez , Fredy Guarín , Jackson Martínez , Cristián Zapata and Carlos Bacca . The golden generation of Canada's national team
730-585: A 1–2 defeat to host nation Brazil , in the quarter-finals . James Rodríguez was the tournament top goalscorer ; and Colombia earned the FIFA Fair Play Award . At the Copa América Centenario , Colombia won third place after beating the United States 1–0. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup , Colombia were considered group favourites for Group H ; featuring Japan , Poland and Senegal . Following
876-450: A 2–2 draw against Bolton Wanderers on 3 October 2009. On 2 February 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes at right-back ahead of the injured Alan Hutton in the 1–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park . In the January 2012 transfer window, Ćorluka signed on loan for German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen for the remainder of the 2011–12 season on 31 January, with
1022-534: A 3–2 victory. In September 2012, March 2014, and December 2014 Ćorluka won the monthly poll among Loko supporters in the social networks and was named the best club player of the month. In June 2015, after Ćorluka helped Lokomotiv to win Russian Cup , fans named him team's Player of the Year. On 1 April 2021, Ćorluka announced his departure from the club at the end of the season . He played his last game for Lokomotiv in
1168-510: A 93–88 win over the Toronto Raptors , becoming the first guard in Spurs' history to have at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game. On 21 April 2008, the NBA announced that Ginóbili had won the 2008 Sixth Man Award , winning 123 out of the 124 first place votes. He had a statline of 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on .460 shooting averaging 31.1 minutes. Only a couple of weeks later,
1314-517: A goal from Thierry Henry . They won the Copa America again in 2007 , but the quality of players paled in comparison to the superstars between 1998 and 2006. Key players from this generation include Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka , Roberto Carlos , Cafu , Lucio , Gilberto Silva , Dida , Adriano and Robinho . Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Kaka have all won the Ballon D'or . In 2010, however,
1460-540: A golden generation of players that achieved great success in the NHL and eventually won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics , beating Finland with 3–2 in the gold medal game. Future members of Hockey Hall of Fame Nicklas Lidström , Peter Forsberg , Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson , along with Markus Näslund is the most famous players from the generation. Born in the mid-1980s, the Canadian national men's hockey team has had
1606-477: A golden generation of young stars. Finland won the IIHF World U20 Championships in 2014, 2016 and 2019. In the 2016 NHL Draft , three of the top five picks were from Finland. Manu Gin%C3%B3bili Emanuel David " Manu " Ginóbili ( English: / ˈ m æ n uː dʒ ɪ ˈ n oʊ b l i / MAN -oo jin- OH -blee , Spanish: [ˈmanu ʝiˈnoβili] ; born 28 July 1977 )
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#17329166838081752-431: A golden generation or the "second golden generation" of Algerian football in reference to the side which reached the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and won the 1990 African Cup of Nations . Key players in the 2010–2014 period included Madjid Bougherra , Mehdi Lacen , Djamel Mesbah , Hassan Yebda , Sofiane Feghouli , Islam Slimani , Yacine Brahimi and Raïs M'Bolhi . Algeria later won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and
1898-584: A golden generation which contributed to five consecutive IIHF World U20 Championships between 2005 and 2009, and subsequently won back-to-back gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics , and gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey . Twelve players have also won the Stanley Cup and six are members of the Triple Gold Club . Born in the mid- to late 1990s, the Finland men's national ice hockey team has had
2044-479: A loss to the Houston Rockets, Ginóbili became the 15th second-rounder to reach 13,000 points and joined Rashard Lewis as the only second round draft picks in NBA history with 13,000 career points and at least 1,300 three-pointers. In Game 5 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals against Houston, Ginóbili blocked James Harden's shot in the closing seconds to help San Antonio to a 110–107 victory. In Game 3 of
2190-400: A new generation of footballers, led by Luis Suárez , Diego Forlán and Edinson Cavani , formed a team considered to be Uruguay's best in the last four decades, catching international attention after finishing fourth in the 2010 World Cup . Uruguay opened the tournament with a goalless draw against France, followed by defeats of South Africa (3–0) in and Mexico (1–0) respectively, finishing at
2336-496: A red card and earning Uruguay universal scorn. Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty, forcing the game to go into penalties where Uruguay would win 4–2, sending them into the last four. They played the Netherlands in the semi-finals but were beaten 3–2. For the third-place match, they played Germany, again losing 3–2. This placed Uruguay in fourth place for the tournament, their best result in 40 years. Diego Forlan
2482-592: A round of 16 elimination at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and a group stage exit at UEFA Euro 2004 , both under controversial circumstances, they would win the 2006 FIFA World Cup , Italy's fourth ever title at the tournament. After Italy's win in 2006 the team begin suffering poor results including being eliminated at the Euro 2008 quarterfinals and suffering group stage eliminations in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Portugal won consecutive FIFA Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991 . Subsequently, Portugal's senior team reached
2628-498: A row from 2005–06. He also played a dominant part in his side capturing the Croatian Cup in the 2006 season. After consistently strong performances, Ćorluka was signed by English Premier League side Manchester City on 2 August 2007. City did not reveal the fee, though Croatian media reports suggested the deal was worth around £ 8 million, with the 21-year-old penning a five-year deal. As usual, Ćorluka consistently found
2774-557: A starting spot for his side in the Premier League. Despite a nightmare blunder during his side's shocking 6–0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge , he remained strong during his first season in England as his side finished ninth in the league and gained entry to a UEFA Cup qualifying round via the UEFA fair play ranking . On few rare occasions, he was also used as a defensive midfielder during
2920-474: A stoppage of play. As the bat flew past, Ginóbili swatted the bat to the ground with his hand. He then carried the creature off the court, earning the applause of the crowd. On 9 April 2010, the Spurs and Ginóbili agreed to a three-year, $ 39 million contract extension through the 2012–13 season. In 2010–11, Ginobili was regarded as the key player on his team, and he finished eighth on the NBA MVP ballot following
3066-614: A young Cristiano Ronaldo . After their success in Euro 2016 beating France in the final , a new generation of players were progressing through the ranks of Europe mainly through the Primera Liga . They won the inaugural UEFA Nations League beating the Netherlands in the final and in addition to Ronaldo, this new generation of players includes Bruno Fernandes , Bernardo Silva , João Cancelo , Ruben Dias , Rafael Leao , Diogo Jota , João Felix , Diogo Costa , Ruben Neves , Diogo Dalot , Raphaël Guerreiro and Nuno Mendes . After
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#17329166838083212-496: Is also the national team's highest ever goalscorer), several other players found contracts in the biggest football stages in the world, such as brothers Yaya and Kolo Touré , Didier Zokora , Emmanuel Eboué , Cheick Tioté , Gervinho and Salomon Kalou . During this period, Ivory Coast managed its first FIFA World Cup appearances in 2006 , 2010 and 2014 . They also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, as well as, reaching
3358-607: Is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Credited for popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA , he is regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards and sixth men in the league's history and as the greatest Latin American player of all time. Ginóbili notably led Argentina to a gold medal-winning the FIBA Olympics MVP award in Athens 2004 , and achieving with his team
3504-697: The 1962 World Cup , Brazil earned its second title with Garrincha as the star player, a mantle and responsibility laid upon him after the regular talisman, Pelé, was injured during the second group match against Czechoslovakia and unable to play for the rest of the tournament. Brazil won its third World Cup in Mexico in 1970 . It fielded what has been widely considered the best World Cup football squad ever, led by Pelé in his last World Cup finals, captain Carlos Alberto Torres , Jairzinho , Tostão , Gérson and Rivellino . Even though Garrincha had retired, this team
3650-639: The 1998 FIFA World Cup , becoming the first French team to win the World Cup . Two years later, David Trezeguet 's golden goal in extra time gave France a 2–1 win over Italy to give France the 2000 European Championship . France was subsequently ranked No. 1 in the FIFA World Rankings and ranked No. 1 in the World Football Elo Ratings for two years. The team also secured the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup . Despite this impressive recent record,
3796-406: The 1998 World Cup final and then proceeded to lose 3–0 to France , led by a dominant display from Zinedine Zidane , with Ronaldo being named player of the tournament with 4 goals and 3 assists. In 1997, they won the Copa America beating Bolivia 3–1 in the final and 1999, retained their title defeating Uruguay 3–0 in the final with both Rivaldo and Ronaldo scoring each being top scorers of
3942-582: The 2003–04 season , the Spurs began featuring Ginóbili more prominently, starting him in half of the 77 regular season games in which he played. Ginóbili's statistics improved in all major categories, as he averaged 12.8 points , 4.5 rebounds , 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. During the 2004 playoffs , the Spurs lost again to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. Following Game 5 where Derek Fisher scored
4088-465: The 2006 FIBA World Championship , where his team finished in 4th place. Ginóbili was the flag bearer for Argentina at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics , which was held in Beijing, China. At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics basketball tournament , Argentina defeated Lithuania to win the bronze medal game, although the shooting guard did not play in that match, after sustaining an injury in
4234-651: The 2006 FIFA World Cup Spain began focusing on new skills and new techniques for the team. Spain began a winning streak from 2006 through 2009 along with the Spanish players this generation of players playing a unique brand of football at the time, with tiki-taka helping them dominate world football for years. This golden generation was filled with players most notably including, Iker Casillas , Xavi , Andrés Iniesta , Sergio Ramos , Carles Puyol , Cesc Fàbregas , Sergio Busquets , David Villa , Fernando Torres , Gerard Piqué , Xabi Alonso and David Silva helped Spain win
4380-454: The 2006 FIFA World Cup , marking their first appearance at the tournament since 1974 . Under experienced manager Guus Hiddink , the team sported talents such as Harry Kewell , Mark Viduka , Lucas Neill , and Tim Cahill . In Group F, the Socceroos finished second following a 3-1 victory over Japan before losing to Brazil 2-0 and drawing 2-2 with Croatia . Australia lost 1-0 to Italy in
4526-442: The 2010 FIFA World Cup , conceding just one goal in eight matches. Verbeek largely used the same group of players which featured in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2007 AFC Asian Cup campaigns. Verbeek criticised the quality of Australia's newly established A-League and was reluctant to select Australian-based players for the national team. Despite a 1-1 draw against Ghana and a 2-1 victory over Serbia , Australia failed to qualify for
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4672-405: The 2010 World Cup , both in which they were knocked out in the group stages, only scoring one goal. For the first time in 6 years, they reached the knockout stages of an international tournament advancing from the group stages of the 2012 Euros and the 2014 World Cup before being knocked out in the quarter-finals of both competitions by Spain and Germany respectively. In 2016, they reached
4818-416: The 2014 FIFA World Cup after suffering a disastrous group stage elimination. Yugoslavia's generation of young footballers won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship and finished runner-up at the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship . The nation then reached the quarter-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and, a year later, a Red Star Belgrade team featuring many of the national team 's stars became
4964-564: The 2018 FIFA World Cup , the team's best ever performance at the World Cup ; and reach number one in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in November 2015. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup , Belgium performed excellently, earning themselves a third-place finish. Captain Hazard won the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament behind Luka Modric whereas goalkeeper Courtois was awarded
5110-695: The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification with an aging MLS -based team, a large influx of young new American soccer talent arose during the COVID-19 pandemic playing for top European clubs led by former Chelsea player Christian Pulisic , whose transfer to the club made him the most expensive North American player of all time . Key players include Giovanni Reyna , Weston McKennie , Folarin Balogun , Brenden Aaronson , Sergiño Dest , Yunus Musah , Timothy Weah , and Tyler Adams . The new young group has widely been described as America's golden generation. This new group won
5256-622: The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup with the likes of Riyad Mahrez , Ismaël Bennacer , Youcef Belaïli and Baghdad Bounedjah , but crashed out of the group stage of the next edition of the AFCON and failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup . Despite winning the 1992 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations , the country saw an outpour of talent during the first half of the 2000s (decade). The majority of this generation consisted of talented players who enjoyed considerable success in Europe. Led by Didier Drogba (who
5402-748: The All-NBA Third Team . In 2007–08, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year . Ginóbili announced his retirement from the NBA in August 2018. In April 2022, he was announced as a first ballot inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . Ginóbili comes from a family of basketball players. His oldest brother, Leandro, retired in 2003 after seven years in the Argentine basketball league , while brother Sebastián has played in both
5548-536: The Argentina national team at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis , Ginóbili made the All-Tournament Team , alongside future NBA star Yao Ming and established NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojaković , and helped lead Argentina to a second-place finish. Ginóbili joined the Spurs for the 2002–03 NBA season , where he played backup for veteran guard Steve Smith . Ginóbili spent much of
5694-601: The Detroit Pistons . Ginóbili recorded career-highs in his playoff numbers, most notably 20.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg, and had the third-highest point total in the entire playoffs. In the NBA Finals MVP Award voting, the shooting guard was a candidate but was edged out by teammate and captain Tim Duncan . The former finished the 2004–05 season as the second-leading scorer on the team. During the season, Ginóbili became only
5840-471: The Dinamo Zagreb Youth Academy , before making his professional debut for the senior team in 2003. In 2007, he made a £8 million move to Premier League club Manchester City , and after a season moved on to Tottenham Hotspur . He spent four seasons there before joining Lokomotiv Moscow , where he eventually retired in 2021. As a Croatia international, Ćorluka has earned 103 caps for
5986-500: The Euro 1976 edition. Aside from the team's "mastermind" Johan Cruyff, the Oranje also consisted of players, the likes of Piet Keizer , Willem van Hanegem , Johnny Rep , Ruud Krol , and Johan Neeskens , as well as their tactically brilliant coach, Rinus Michels , who played a key part into the Oranje's road to the final. Egypt 's Golden Generation won three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations and beat Ivory Coast's Golden Generation in
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6132-539: The FIFA rankings since October of that year. In the next few years, numerous young talents continued to emerge. With the likes of Phil Foden , Jack Grealish , Mason Mount , Jadon Sancho , Luke Shaw , Reece James , Trent Alexander-Arnold , James Maddison , Bukayo Saka , Marcus Rashford , and Declan Rice , England was one of the favorites at the UEFA Euro 2020 , where they reached the final, losing to Italy on penalties. At
6278-646: The Los Angeles Lakers . The Spurs reached the NBA Finals again, where they faced the Heat for the second consecutive year. This time, they dominated the series, winning 4–1 to claim that franchise's fifth championship; Ginóbili won his fourth championship as a Spur. On 20 July 2015, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs. On 14 January 2016, in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers , he played his 900th NBA game, all with
6424-698: The UEFA European Championship in 2008 and 2012 , and the FIFA World Cup in 2010 , making them the first team ever to win the World Cup and both continental championships either side of it. They also reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup . During this time, Spain dominated the FIFA World Rankings, topping the rankings almost uninterrupted for six years, between July 2008 and July 2014 when Spain officially ended their generation at
6570-494: The World Cup 2022 , with the addition of young talent Jude Bellingham , England was again expected to challenge for the title, but ultimately lost to France 1–2 in the quarter finals. At the Euro 2024 , England again reached the final with the addition of Cole Palmer , although they lost to Spain 1–2 in the final. In late 1998, the France national football team began a period of international dominance defeating Brazil 3–0 to win
6716-595: The country's division . Several players from the Yugoslav team went on to finish in third place at the 1998 World Cup with Croatia . This pre-dissolution golden generation in soccer was also mirrored by a golden generation of Yugoslav basketball that won the 1990 FIBA World Championship. Notable players from this generation include Alen Bokšić , Robert Prosinečki , Igor Štimac , Robert Jarni , Dejan Savićević , Siniša Mihajlović , Davor Šuker , Zvonimir Boban and Vladimir Jugović . The 1970s have been widely recognized as
6862-607: The final of the Euros , with Antoine Griezmann being star player, being awarded player of the tournament and the golden boot. Then in 2018, they won the FIFA World Cup , beating Croatia 4–2 in the final and thus starting a new golden generation of players including Kylian Mbappe , Ousmane Dembele , Paul Pogba , Antoine Griezmann , Olivier Giroud , N'Golo Kante , Hugo Lloris , Benjamin Pavard , Lucas Hernandez , Presnel Kimpembe , Samuel Umtiti , Raphael Varane and Blaise Matuidi . At
7008-419: The " Second Golden Generation " of Colombia, in reference to Colombia's Golden Generation from the 1980s and 1990s. Star players James Rodríguez , Juan Cuadrado and Radamel Falcao helped the team reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage after topping a group featuring Greece , Ivory Coast and Japan , winning all three games. Colombia then beat Uruguay in the round of sixteen , before suffering
7154-462: The 12th player to have played for the San Antonio Spurs franchise to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . However, he is one of only four Spurs players to be inducted who played exclusively for San Antonio for their entire NBA career the others being fellow 2022 inductee George Karl , David Robinson and Tim Duncan . Former teammate Tim Duncan presented Ginóbili at
7300-527: The 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons with Italian team Basket Viola Reggio Calabria . In 1999, he teamed with Brent Scott , Brian Oliver and Sydney Johnson to earn promotion from the Italian 2nd Division to the Italian 1st Division . Ginóbili then entered the 1999 NBA draft and the San Antonio Spurs selected him late in the second round with the 57th overall pick. However, Ginóbili did not sign with
7446-561: The 2006 tournament remains Australia's joint-best finish at the FIFA World Cup. Australia later joined the Asian Football Confederation for stronger competition and a more equitable path to qualifying for future FIFA World Cups. With Graham Arnold as a caretaker coach, the team went on to compete in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup , where unconvincing performances led to a disappointing quarter-final exit against Japan. That tournament
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#17329166838087592-570: The 2008 Summer Olympics , and gold in 2011 FIBA Americas Championship , resulting in Argentina reaching the first position in the FIBA Men's Ranking at the end of the 2008 Olympic Games . During the 10 years from 2002 to 2012 in which Belgium failed to qualify for major tournaments, a golden generation matured, many of whom gained both prime individual and team awards in foreign European clubs and competitions. These include Eden Hazard , who at his peak
7738-400: The 3rd and 4th place match. Despite Canada leading the match, Uruguay managed to equalize in the 92nd minute and eventually won on penalties. Canada finished the 2024 Copa America in 4th place, the highest-placing CONCACAF team in the tournament. Canada finished the 2024 calendar year as 31st in the FIFA World Rankings , its highest-ever position. After infamously failing to qualify during
7884-663: The A-League. Viduka rued the demise of the Australian Institute of Sport 's football program , which other golden generation players Vince Grella , Mark Bresciano , Josh Kennedy and Brett Emerton attended. Critics have also argued that the National Football Curriculum has failed to develop the same calibre of players as Australia's golden generation. Born in the early 1970s, the Swedish national ice hockey team had
8030-1023: The Argentine local league and in the Spanish 2nd-tier level Liga Española de Baloncesto . Their father, Jorge, was a coach at a club in Bahía Blanca , Argentina , where Ginóbili learned to play the game. Given the proliferation of basketball clubs in Bahía Blanca and his idolization of Michael Jordan , Ginóbili's love for basketball grew rapidly. Ginóbili has dual citizenship in Argentina and Italy, thanks to his Marchesan descent. He speaks Italian and English fluently in addition to his native Spanish. In his free time, Ginóbili enjoys listening to Latin music , watching movies, and traveling. In 2004, he married fellow Argentine Marianela Oroño. On 16 May 2010, his wife gave birth to twin boys, Dante and Nicola. On 21 April 2014, she gave birth to their third son, Luca. In
8176-680: The Argentine was also named to the All-NBA Third Team. In the playoffs , the Spurs defeated the Suns 4–1 in the first round, and Ginóbili was moved to the starting lineup in the second round against the New Orleans Hornets after the Spurs lost the first two road games. San Antonio eventually prevailed in seven games, the Argentine played another strong series, leading the Spurs in points and assists per game (21.3 and 6.0 respectively). However, San Antonio lost to arch-rivals Los Angeles Lakers in
8322-570: The Argentinian squad have improved by winning it. This core of players consisted of Lionel Messi , Angel Di Maria , Rodrigo De Paul , Lautaro Martinez , Emiliano Martinez , Nahuel Molina , Marcos Acuna , Nicolas Otamendi , Paulo Dybala , Cristian Romero , Leandro Paredes , and later Alexis Mac Allister , Julian Alvarez , and Enzo Fernandez . The backbone of the Chile team which won back to back Copa América titles in 2015 and in 2016 came from
8468-445: The Conference Finals in five games, and once again failed to capture back-to-back NBA championships. The following season , Ginóbili was injured for most of the campaign, managing only 44 regular-season games and missing the 2009 NBA Playoffs entirely. San Antonio qualified for the playoffs as the third seed with a 54–28 record, but with an aging supporting cast (Bowen, Michael Finley and Kurt Thomas were all in their late 30s),
8614-406: The Final of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and Algeria's Golden Generation in the semi-final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations , they also did one of the best performances in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup because they almost tied with Brazil in the opening match, won at the time World Champions Italy 1-0, and only losing to the United States . However, due to overconfidence and pressure in
8760-438: The French team flopped at the 2002 FIFA World Cup , losing to newcomers Senegal in the opening match of the tournament and crashing out in the group stages without scoring a single goal and taking only one point from their three games. A year later they were successful at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup , winning the competition after beating Cameroon in the final thanks to a golden goal from Thierry Henry. They also reached
8906-512: The Golden Glove for his performance during the tournament. Numerous sports commentators marked Belgium's elimination from the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the end of Belgium's golden generation. Ahead of that tournament, midfielder De Bruyne had responded with “No chance, we're too old” to a question about Belgium's chances of winning the World Cup. Similarly, Hazard stated that they had "a better chance to win four years ago." De Bruyne echoed these sentiments, stating “I think our chance
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#17329166838089052-407: The NBA playoffs in each of his 16 NBA seasons. In 2007, ESPN sportswriter John Hollinger ranked Ginóbili as the sixth-best international player then active in the NBA, describing Ginobili as "one of the great draft heists of all time" and attributing the trend of NBA teams drafting developing European players to the success of the Argentine. The following year, Ginóbili was named by ESPN as one of
9198-446: The Spurs at this point. Instead, he returned to Italy to play for Kinder Bologna , whom he helped win the 2001 Italian League Championship, the 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups , and the 2001 EuroLeague . In the lattermost, Ginóbili was named the 2001 EuroLeague 's Finals MVP . He was also named the Italian League MVP in 2000–01 and 2001–02, and made the Italian League's All-Star Game three times during this period. While playing with
9344-482: The Spurs go 50–16. The team advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated 4–2 by the Oklahoma City Thunder . In Game 5 of the series, Ginóbili scored 34 points. In 2012–13 , the Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals , where they faced the Miami Heat . In the Spurs' Game 5 victory, Ginóbili scored a season-high 24 points and helped his team take a 3–2 series lead. However, the Spurs went on to lose Games 6 and 7. On 11 July 2013, Ginóbili re-signed with
9490-413: The Spurs on a two-year deal. In 2013–14 , the Spurs had a league-best 62–20 record. Ginóbili finished third in the voting for Sixth Man of the Year. In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, the Big Three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginóbili notched their 110th career playoff win, matching the number of playoff wins attained by Magic Johnson , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper of
9636-428: The Spurs to defeat the Denver Nuggets , Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz ; the team then swept the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ginobili's third and San Antonio's fourth championship. Ginóbili was to play an even bigger role for the Spurs the following season, reaching career high averages in points, rebounds, assists, and three-point field goal percentage. On 11 February 2008, he scored 34 points and recorded 15 rebounds in
9782-425: The Spurs were only considered fringe contenders for the championship. As it turned out, the strong play of Duncan and Tony Parker were not enough to help the Spurs avoid a 4–1 defeat by Dallas, and the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000. On 31 October 2009, in a game against the Sacramento Kings , a bat descended onto the court at the AT&T Center , causing
9928-418: The Spurs. On 4 February, Ginóbili underwent surgery after suffering a testicular injury in the Spurs' win over the New Orleans Pelicans the previous night. He was subsequently sidelined for one month. He returned to the action on 5 March after missing 12 games with the injury, scoring 22 points in 15 minutes against the Sacramento Kings. On 14 July 2016, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs. On 9 November, in
10074-666: The U-20 squad that finished third at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada (most notably Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal ). However, in 2017, they finished runners-up to Germany 's B team at the Confederations Cup and then inexplicably failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup , despite most of the squad being in the prime of their careers, following unexpected losses to Bolivia and Paraguay in qualification . Other notable players during this period include Claudio Bravo , Eduardo Vargas , Mark Gonzalez , Mauricio Isla , Jean Beausejour , Gary Medel , Charles Aránguiz and Gonzalo Jara . The current Colombia team are considered as
10220-441: The Western Conference Finals against Golden State Warriors , Ginóbili became the first player at the age of 39 to score 20 or more points off the bench in a playoff game since the NBA began recording starts in the 1970–71 NBA season . On 24 August 2017, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs. In January 2018, he became the only player in NBA history to have multiple 20-point games off the bench at age 40 or older. Ginóbili also became
10366-481: The World Cup final in Berlin at the 2006 FIFA World Cup , where they lost to Italy. The French golden team was composed of players such as Zinedine Zidane , Thierry Henry , David Trezeguet , Lilian Thuram , Laurent Blanc , Robert Pires , Patrick Vieira , Didier Deschamps , Fabien Barthez , Emmanuel Petit , Marcel Desailly , Bixente Lizarazu and Franck Ribéry .Between 2006 and 2016, France underwhelmed in several international tournaments such as Euro 2008 and
10512-420: The World Cup. The team made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup before losing 3–0 to Argentina in the semi finals and then subsequently winning 2–1 against Morocco in the 3rd place playoff. The team made it to the final of the 2023 UEFA Nations League , but ultimately lost to Spain 5–4 on penalties after Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic missed their penalties during the shootout. During
10658-450: The bench for most of his career. He was also known for his difficult-to-defend passes, including the no-look pass. Ginobili was also willing to draw charges on defense. In 2007, he was listed by ESPN writer Thomas Neumann at No. 6 on the list of greatest floppers in NBA history. Five years later, Ian Thomsen, a Sports Illustrated columnist, grouped Ginóbili with fellow European league players Anderson Varejão and Vlade Divac as
10804-430: The best EuroLeague players to have graced the NBA. Awards Titles Personal honours Vedran %C4%86orluka Vedran Ćorluka ( Croatian pronunciation: [ʋědran tɕǒrluka] ; born 5 February 1986) is a Croatian football coach and former player who played as a centre-back or right-back . He is an assistant to Zlatko Dalić in the Croatia national team . Ćorluka graduated from
10950-466: The best football teams in the world after winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup , beating Italy in the final on penalties , with Roberto Baggio missing the deciding spot-kick marking Brazil return as one of the best sides in the world and champions for the first time in 24 years led by Romario , Bebeto , Dunga and Claudio Taffarel . They then proceeded to reach the final of the 1995 Copa America only to lose to Uruguay on penalties and then reached
11096-527: The ceremony. Ginóbili joins fellow 2022 inductee George Karl as being one of only five players of the twelve elected to the Hall of Fame to play five or more seasons with the Spurs, the others being George Gervin , Tim Duncan, and David Robinson. Ginóbili was a core member of a hugely successful Argentina national basketball team , which is sometimes referred to as the Golden Generation . Ginóbili played with
11242-559: The country, making him one of the nation's most capped players. He represented Croatia at various youth levels before making his senior debut in August 2006, in a friendly match against Italy . He was part of the country's squad at the UEFA European Championships in 2008 , 2012 , 2016 and at the FIFA World Cups in 2014 and 2018 . In August 2018, Ćorluka confirmed his retirement from international football. Ćorluka
11388-403: The crowd at the end of the match. On 1 September 2008, it was announced that Ćorluka had signed for Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £8.5 million on a six-year contract, joining his fellow Croatian international and best friend Luka Modrić at the club. During the match against Stoke City on 19 October, Ćorluka was severely injured; kneed under his chin by teammate Heurelho Gomes , he
11534-543: The defending champions Los Angeles Lakers , at which point Ginóbili rose to prominence. I told Timmy , 'This guy is coming, and nobody in the U.S. knows how good he is.' And Timmy gave me that whole raised eyebrow thing he does. In contrast to his regular season, Ginóbili became an integral part of Gregg Popovich 's rotation in the playoffs, playing in every game. The Spurs eliminated Phoenix and Los Angeles and in those games, Ginóbili's scoring threat took opponents by surprise, giving them one more thing to cope with against
11680-642: The early season injured, and found it hard to adjust to the NBA's style of play. As his injury improved, so did Ginóbili, winning the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in March, and being named to the All-Rookie Second Team at the end of the season. Still, he only started in five games as the Spurs chalked up a 60–22 regular season win–loss record. The Spurs then entered the playoffs eager to upend
11826-542: The ensuing Round of 16 match courtesy of a late Francesco Totti penalty. Lucas Neill observed if he did not concede a foul against Fabio Grosso , who won Italy's penalty, Australia would have "possibly gone on to the semi-finals of the World Cup" had they defeated Ukraine who would have played them in the quarter-finals. Former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold believed that the 2006 team was "a once in my lifetime generation", with Guus Hiddink remarking "they deserved to get into at least one more round". The team's performance at
11972-416: The eventual tournament winner both times. With Miroslav Klose , Lukas Podolski , Philipp Lahm , Bastian Schweinsteiger and Per Mertesacker playing a major role in these results already, it was the addition of Manuel Neuer , Jérôme Boateng , Mats Hummels , Sami Khedira , Mesut Özil , Toni Kroos , Mario Götze and Thomas Müller that pushed Germany to a top-tier world class team. Led by Joachim Löw
12118-468: The final qualification group in CONCACAF with the most goals scored and the fewest goals conceded, qualifying for its first World Cup in 36 years. In 2024, Canada qualified for its first-ever Copa America . After finishing second in the group stages ahead of Peru and Chile, Canada won its quarter-final match against Venezuela on penalties. After losing to Argentina in the semi-finals, Canada faced Uruguay in
12264-603: The finals in 2006 and 2012 . For the 1958 World Cup , Brazil were drawn in a group with England , the USSR and Austria . They beat Austria 3–0 in their first match, then drew 0–0 with England . Before the match, coach Vicente Feola made three substitutions that were crucial for Brazil to defeat the Soviets: Zito , Garrincha and Pelé . From the kick-off, they kept up the pressure relentlessly, and after three minutes, which were later described as "the greatest three minutes in
12410-514: The first Yugoslav side to ever win the European Cup . Yugoslavia qualified for UEFA Euro 1992 with seven wins from eight matches and the best goalscoring record and goal difference of any team during the qualifying phase . However, the team was disqualified prior to the tournament due to the Yugoslav Wars (it was replaced by the eventual champion, Denmark ) and did not play together again after
12556-622: The first of Lars Bender 's brace in the 2–0 win over 1. FC Köln . On 27 June 2012, Lokomotiv Moscow announced the signing of Ćorluka from Tottenham for £5.5 million. The signing came in light of recent naming of former Croatia national team Slaven Bilić as the manager of Lokomotiv. Ćorluka signed a three-year contract following the successful completion of his medical examination. At Lokomotiv, he also reunited with Roman Pavlyuchenko , with whom he had previously played for Tottenham Hotspur from September 2008 until January 2012. He scored on his debut against newly promoted Mordovia Saransk in
12702-570: The first player in his 40s to score 15-plus points in back-to-back games since Michael Jordan in 2002–03. On 28 January against the Sacramento Kings , Ginóbili and Vince Carter scored 21 and 15 points respectively; it was the first game in NBA history where two players over the age of 40 scored 15 points or more. On 29 March, in a 103–99 victory over the Thunder, Ginobili became the Spurs' career leader in steals, passing David Robinson (1,388) for
12848-422: The fourth person to win consecutive Olimpias de Oro , this time sharing the award with soccer star Carlos Tevez . The 2005–06 season was an injury-plagued one for Ginóbili, who suffered foot and ankle injuries that hindered his ability to play. Ginóbili managed 65 games in the regular season, but saw a dip in major statistics as compared to the previous season. During the playoffs , he returned to form, but
12994-489: The franchise record. In Game 4 of the Spurs' first round playoff series against the Warriors, Ginóbili played in his 217th playoff game, breaking a tie with Shaquille O'Neal for sixth in league history. Ginóbili also passed Reggie Miller for third in career 3-pointers in playoff history. The Spurs lost to the Warriors in five games. On 27 August 2018, Ginóbili announced his retirement from professional basketball, making him
13140-423: The golden generation had stagnated, calling on a new group of players to feature for the Socceroos. Postecoglou took a relatively inexperienced Australian team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Mark Schwarzer , Lucas Neill , Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton , who all featured in the qualification campaign leading up to the tournament, had recently retired or were not selected for the final squad. Many pundits attribute
13286-560: The highest scoring Canadian player in La Liga . In 2017, the Canadian Premier League was founded, the first fully professional soccer league in the country. Canada ended 2021 40th in the FIFA World Rankings , its highest-ever position at the time, and earning the honour of "Most Improved Side" after having started the year 72nd. On February 10, 2022, Canada moved up to 33rd in the rankings. On March 27, 2022, Canada finished top of
13432-418: The history of football", Vavá gave Brazil the lead. They won the match by 2–0. Pelé scored the only goal of their quarter-final match against Wales , and they beat France 5–2 in the semi-final. Brazil then beat Sweden 5–2 in the final , winning their first World Cup and becoming the first nation to win a World Cup title outside of its own continent. Pelé described it tearfully as a nation coming of age. In
13578-503: The immediate aftermath of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Argentina in 2010, Ginóbili expressed his support for the bill, and added that while supportive of same-sex marriage, Ginóbili did not "consider himself qualified" to speak about same-sex adoption . He said that he would prefer to see a child being raised by two men or two women rather than to see that child in an orphanage. In March 2020, Ginóbili also expressed support for gay people playing basketball and expressed hope that
13724-482: The inaugural CONCACAF Nations League in 2021. The team set a U.S. men's program record for wins in a calendar year, with 17 wins, 2 losses, and 3 draws. The group was the youngest squad in the world to qualify in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification at an average age of 23.8 years old. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup , the USMNT had the second-youngest squad of the tournament at an average age of 25, with Tyler Adams being
13870-425: The individual players' successes at club level, inconsistency resulted in this group of players failing to live up to expectations, resulting in the group becoming synonymous with disappointment and failed potential. After Eriksson left in 2006 and Steve McClaren became manager, although many of the players continued to achieve success with their respective clubs, the team failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 , only
14016-480: The issue of sexual orientation will no longer be important soon. A documentary based on his life was directed by Rodolfo Lamboglia . Ginóbili made his professional debut in the Argentine basketball league for the Andino Sport Club of La Rioja in the 1995–96 season. Ginóbili was traded to Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca in 1996. He played with his hometown team until 1998. Ginóbili went to Europe to spend
14162-455: The junior Argentina national team at the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Championship , where his team finished in 4th place. Ginóbili was a member of the senior Argentina national basketball team , and made his senior debut during the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens. He also played at the 2002 FIBA World Championship , where he won a silver medal. Ginóbili's best accomplishment as a member of
14308-553: The key players under head coach Slaven Bilić . Croatia finished first in Group E, notably ahead of Russia and favourites England , who eventually failed to qualify from the group. Ćorluka was in the final match of the tournament where Croatia's exit came against Turkey in extra time and penalties. Turkey winger Arda Turan revealed in an interview with UEFA that Ćorluka is the most difficult right-back he has ever played against, whom he came up against during this match. The defender
14454-545: The knockout stage of the tournament due to poor goal difference from a heavy 4-0 loss against Germany . Verbeek left his post, with Holgier Osieck assuming the reins. Osieck led the team to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup final, losing 1-0 to Japan, before narrowly qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup after a series of poor performances. Under Osieck, the team suffered successive 6-0 friendly match defeats to Brazil and France , with Football Australia dismissing him to appoint Ange Postecoglou . At this point, analysts were stating how
14600-467: The late 1990s and early 2000s was renowned for an elite defense, most notably consisting of Paolo Maldini , Fabio Cannavaro , Alessandro Nesta , Gianluca Zambrotta , and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon . Other key players included Alessandro Del Piero , Christian Vieri , Francesco Totti , Filippo Inzaghi , Gennaro Gattuso , and Andrea Pirlo . This group of players reached their first major final at UEFA Euro 2000 , losing to France in extra time. After
14746-460: The late 1990s who won the bronze medal in at the 1998 FIFA World Cup , Croatia's debut at the World Cup. The team, under the leadership of captain Luka Modrić and the style of play by key players such as Mario Mandžukić , Ivan Rakitić , Ivan Perišić , Vedran Ćorluka and Mateo Kovačić reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup final , losing to France 4–2. The squad were praised for their performance at
14892-536: The lead in the first half. They rebounded with a 2–1 victory over England, in which Suárez scored a brace right after coming back from an injury, and a 1–0 victory over Italy, placing them second in their group and earning a spot in the last 16. During the match against Italy, forward Luis Suárez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on his left shoulder . Two days after the match, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee banned Suárez for nine international matches,
15038-436: The longest such ban in World Cup history, exceeding the eight-match ban handed to Italy's Mauro Tassotti for breaking the nose of Spain's Luis Enrique in 1994 . Suárez was also banned from taking part in any football-related activity (including entering any stadium) for four months and fined CHF 100,000 (approx. £65,700/€82,000/US$ 119,000). In the round of 16, Uruguay played Colombia but were beaten 2–0, eliminating them from
15184-561: The national team came at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics when he led Argentina to a gold medal as they became the first team other than Team USA to emerge as the competition's winner in 16 years. The highlight of the tournament was his game-winning buzzer beater with 0.7 seconds remaining, on the opening day of the Olympics, in a game versus Serbia and Montenegro . Ginóbili led the team in both scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game). Ginóbili played with Argentina at
15330-720: The now highly favored Spurs. He helped guide them past the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals and then the New Jersey Nets in the Finals , securing San Antonio's second championship. After the win, Ginóbili won his first Olimpia de Oro ("Golden Olympia") as Argentina's sportsperson of the year, and met Argentine president Néstor Kirchner . A gym in Bahía Blanca was also dedicated in Ginóbili's honor. In
15476-465: The only elimination of a US NBA team in the history of this competition. Over a 23-year professional career, Ginóbili became one of only two players (along with fellow Hall of Famer Bill Bradley ) to have won a EuroLeague title, an NBA championship , and an Olympic gold medal. A four-time NBA champion, Ginóbili was a member of the San Antonio Spurs for his entire 16-year NBA career. Along with Spurs teammates Tim Duncan and Tony Parker , Ginóbili
15622-475: The option to buy out his contract in the summer transfer window. Ćorluka made his debut for the club in a 2–2 home draw against VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on 4 February, playing the full 90 minutes. In his only Champions League appearance for the club, Ćorluka provided the cross for Michal Kadlec 's leveler in the 52nd minute in a 3–1 loss to Barcelona . On 25 February, the defender provided an assist for
15768-399: The peak of Dutch football, where the " Oranje ", led by Johan Cruyff had achieved remarkable success, making it into two back-to-back World Cup finals, where they faced West Germany in the World Cup 1974 and Argentina in the World Cup 1978 , infamous for potential corruption and Argentinian government interference. Whilst having good runs in the world cup, they also reached Semi-Finals in
15914-606: The physical, one-on-one play of the NBA and the more technical, jump-shooting rule set of FIBA . He is one of only two players in basketball history (along with Bill Bradley ) to win the EuroLeague , an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA championship ring. Ginóbili is also the first non-U.S. player to win both the NBA championship ring and the Olympic gold medal, and the second Latin American to be selected to play in an NBA All-Star game (after Panama 's Rolando Blackman ). The Spurs made
16060-417: The players who "made [flopping] famous", by exaggerating contact on the court in a manner analogous to diving in soccer games. He has a willingness to do what it takes to win, and to do it at the highest possible level of intensity, every single minute he steps on the court. Having traversed the major basketball continents during his career, Ginóbili is one of the few players who enjoyed success under both
16206-526: The reign of Sven-Göran Eriksson , Adam Crozier , the chief executive of the Football Association and some members of the British media, touted players such as David Beckham , Paul Scholes , Michael Owen , and Steven Gerrard as the nucleus of a potential Golden Generation team. Despite some impressive performances such as the 2001 Germany v England football match in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers and
16352-402: The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively before defeating Germany 2–0 in the final where Ronaldo scored 2 goals past Oliver Kahn , cementing themselves as one of the most dominant teams in football. Ronaldo was top scorer with 8 goals. They then won the Copa America in 2004 and then in the 2006 FIFA World Cup , they were then knocked out by France in the quarter-finals with
16498-407: The same level as Spain's golden generation of 2008–2014. With the rise of stars such as Harry Kane , Jamie Vardy , Dele Alli , Kyle Walker , Jordan Henderson , Kieran Trippier , Raheem Sterling , Harry Maguire , Eric Dier , John Stones , and other youngsters, England again became a powerhouse in world football, claiming 4th place at the FIFA World Cup 2018 and maintaining a top 5 place in
16644-542: The season, proving to be a factor for opposing attackers. Ćorluka scored his first goal in the 4–2 loss at Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the 2008–09 season . In the UEFA Cup second qualifying round match second leg, Ćorluka scored the decisive spot kick in the dramatic 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory over Danish minnows Midtjylland after the tie had ended 1–1 on aggregate. He played his last match for City against Sunderland on 31 August 2008, throwing his shirt into
16790-475: The season. Ginobili was injured in the last game of the regular season. Despite the injury, he averaged 20.6 points and 4.2 assists during the team's first-round series against Memphis Grizzlies ; however, the Spurs lost the series in six games. Ginóbili was named an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career and also was named to the All-NBA third team. In the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Ginóbili helped
16936-556: The second player that season to complete a career with one team, after Nick Collison of the Oklahoma City Thunder . On 28 March 2019, the Spurs retired Ginóbili's No. 20 jersey, right next to the No. 21 jersey of Tim Duncan . Source: Basketball Reference . On 24 September 2021, the San Antonio Spurs announced that they had appointed Ginóbili as special advisor to basketball operations. On 10 September 2022, Ginóbili became
17082-590: The second time England failed to qualify for a major tournament in over 20 years (of the last 12 major tournaments). Rio Ferdinand claimed that the pressure of the "Golden Generation" tag had a negative effect on the players, restricting their ability to perform to their full potential for the national team. In 2017, Pep Guardiola said he could not understand why England did not achieve more with players such as Wayne Rooney , David Beckham , Paul Scholes , Frank Lampard , Steven Gerrard , John Terry , Rio Ferdinand , Ashley Cole and Joe Cole , and claimed they were on
17228-407: The semi-finals of Euro 2000 and were runners-up at Euro 2004 on home soil. They were also 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists. Some critics have written that this generation underachieved at international level. It included players such as Luís Figo , Rui Costa , Ricardo Carvalho , Pauleta , Nuno Gomes , João Pinto , Paulo Sousa , Maniche , Simão , Paulo Ferreira , Costinha , Deco , and
17374-452: The semi-finals of the Euro 2024 despite not scoring a goal from open play in their previous games, owing to the solidity of their defence. However, the team subsequently lost 2–1 to Spain. After disappointing results in UEFA Euro 2000 and UEFA Euro 2004 , the Germany national football team reached the semi-finals in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the finals in the UEFA Euro 2008 , losing to
17520-516: The subsequent Euros , they were knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16 but then won the Nations League in 2021 , beating Spain in the final with goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe. In 2022, they reached the World Cup final but eventually lost to Argentina on penalties, despite Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in the final, being the first player to do so since Geoff Hurst in 1966 against West Germany. In 2024, France reached
17666-519: The team although Müller and Hummels did return for UEFA Euro 2020 in which Germany were knocked out in the Round of 16 . Between 1950 and 1956, the team recorded 42 victories, 7 draws and just one defeat, in the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany . Under the Elo rating system they achieved the highest rating recorded by a national side (2230 points, 30 June 1954). The generation of Italian players during
17812-545: The team finished in the top 4 in all major tournaments, additionally 2014 winning their first world title after the German reunification in 1990 and reaching first place in the FIFA rankings for the first time after 20 years. Commentators mark their early group stage exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup as the end of their ‘golden generation’ as well as Mesut Özil's retirement and Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels’ exclusion from
17958-749: The team's success to the poor quality of the domestic National Soccer League (NSL) , which forced players to move to European leagues to develop further. Following the Australian Government 's 2003 Crawford Report , the NSL was dissolved in favour of the A-League. Mark Schwarzer disagreed with the establishment of a new league, arguing that players would become comfortable with remaining in Australia instead of challenging themselves in Europe. Mark Viduka suggested that Football Australia did not focus on creating strong player academies and youth development sides attached to
18104-408: The team, they failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . Key players are Mohamed Aboutrika , Essam El Hadary , Gedo , Hossam Hassan , Mohamed Zidan , and Ahmed Hassan , this generation was led by Hassan Shehata who is considered to be the greatest Egyptian national football team manager. The Algerian team which reached the round of 16 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been described as
18250-426: The top of their group with seven points. In the second round, they played South Korea, defeating them 2–1 with star striker Luis Suárez scoring a brace and earning Uruguay a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970. Against Ghana, the match finished 1–1, forcing the game into extra-time. Both sides had their chances at extra time but Suárez blocked the ball with his hand in the penalty area, earning Suárez
18396-436: The tournament with 5 goals and Rivaldo winning player of the tournament. 2002 is commonly considered the peak of the national team as they won every game en route to victory at the 2002 FIFA World Cup with the 3R's ( Ronaldinho , Ronaldo and Rivaldo who scored 2, 8 and 4 goals respectively) carrying them to the trophy. They started by defeating Turkey, Costa Rica and China in the group stages, Belgium, England and Turkey again in
18542-466: The tournament's semifinals. In April 2010, Ginóbili announced that he would not participate in the 2010 FIBA World Championship , due to family reasons. However, he competed for the team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics , where Argentina narrowly missed out on winning the bronze medal, in the bronze medal game versus Russia . Ginóbili played his last international games at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics , where Argentina finished in 8th place. Ginóbili
18688-484: The tournament. After the 2018 FIFA World Cup , in which Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16 and sacked boss Jorge Sampaoli , Lionel Scaloni was hired and reached the semi-finals of the Copa America in 2019 before winning it in 2021 and 2024 . Between 2019 and 2022, Argentina went on the second longest international unbeaten streak in history of 36 matches but the 2022 FIFA World Cup showed how much
18834-413: The youngest captain. In 2023 the team defended their Nations League title and won the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League , conceding 0 goals in the finals . In 2024, the U.S. crashed out of the group stages of the 2024 Copa America , behind Uruguay and Panama. The result has led some commentators to question whether this group of players is, in fact, a golden generation. In 2005, Australia qualified for
18980-478: Was 2018. We have a good team, but it is aging.” Of the 26 players on the 2022 squad, 11 were at least 30 years old during the 2022 World Cup. Coach Roberto Martínez resigned following Belgium's elimination after six years with the team. The Croatia national football team of the late 2010s was thought of as the " Second Coming of the Golden Generation "; in reference to the Golden Generation of Croatia from
19126-472: Was Mark Viduka's final outing for the national team. In 2009, Football Australia established the National Football Curriculum with a focus on the Dutch style of play . The curriculum, combined with the significant goodwill Australia's football executives expressed from Dutchman Guus Hiddink's tactical nous, led to Pim Verbeek 's appointment as Socceroos head coach. Australia would cruise through qualification for
19272-523: Was awarded the Player of The Tournament. A year later, they won the Copa America for the first time in 16 years and broke the record for the most successful team in South America. Luis Suárez ended up as the Player of The Tournament. In the 2014 World Cup Uruguay was placed in Group D alongside Costa Rica , England , and Italy . They were upset by Costa Rica in the opening match, losing 3–1 despite taking
19418-567: Was born in Derventa , SR Bosnia and Herzegovina , SFR Yugoslavia . His parents, Jozo and Anđa, come from Modran, a village near Derventa. Due to the Bosnian War , in 1992 the family moved to Zagreb , where his father still works as an engineer in addition to being Ćorluka's manager. His mother is a judge. Vedran has one brother. Ćorluka began playing football in Dinamo Zagreb 's youth teams when he
19564-497: Was eight years old, impressing many scouts from the youth academy. His professional career began in 2003, but during that season he made no appearance for the first team. He was sent on a one-year loan to Inter Zaprešić , helping the team place second in the league, before returning to Dinamo in 2005. After establishing himself as a key player for Dinamo, he helped the club win the Croatian First League title three seasons in
19710-462: Was his best season yet as he was selected as a reserve by NBA coaches to the 2005 Western Conference All-Star team, marking his debut in the elite mid-season showcase. During the playoffs , Ginóbili's play was pivotal to winning San Antonio's third championship. The Spurs first defeated Phoenix 4–1 in the Conference Finals, before prevailing in a very defense-oriented seven-game series against
19856-460: Was immediately knocked unconscious. After ten minutes of on-field treatment, he was rushed to hospital where it was announced no serious damage was evident. In the League Cup final on 1 March 2009, Ćorluka scored his and Tottenham's only penalty in the shootout loss to Manchester United , receiving a runners up medal for his efforts. Ćorluka scored his first Premier League goal for Spurs during
20002-756: Was included for the preliminary squad for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine after impressive performances in his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen. Ćorluka was included in Croatia's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 21 June, he came on as an added-time substitute for Mario Mandžukić in a 3–0 group stage win over Argentina at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium , earning his 100th cap . On 10 August 2018, Ćorluka retired from international football, confirming his retirement via social media . On 17 May 2021, Ćorluka
20148-501: Was known as one of the " Big Three " during the Spurs' era of success. During their playing years together, the Spurs became a "model franchise" for other NBA teams. Since September 2021, Ginóbili had been appointed as special advisor to basketball operations for the Spurs. Ginóbili comes from a family of professional basketball players. He spent the early part of his career in Argentina and Italy, winning several individual and team honors. Ginóbili's stint with Italian club Kinder Bologna
20294-440: Was known for his clutch play. Ginóbili's go-to move was either a three-pointer or a fierce drive to the basket. He often lowered his head when driving to the basket to collapse defenses and create shots or passes to his teammates. Ginobili popularized the Euro step in the NBA, although he was not the first to use the move in the league. Ginobili was known as a team player. He accepted the Spurs coaches' decision to bring him off
20440-478: Was listed as 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) in shoes, weighed 205 lb (93 kg), and played left-handed. He established himself as a star shooting guard and became known as one of the greatest sixth men in NBA history. Ginóbili was a relatively late bloomer, entering the NBA at age 25 in a period when entering the NBA as a teenager was very common. He was known as a reliable and versatile backcourt player. Apart from his up-tempo and aggressive style, Ginóbili
20586-518: Was marked by the arrival of a generation of new young players, led by the first Canadian UEFA Champions League winner Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich , the most expensive Canadian soccer player in history, as well as Jonathan David , who joined Lille for €30 million in 2020. Other key players include Tajon Buchanan , the first ever Canadian international to play, and win, in Serie A with Inter Milan , Stephen Eustáquio , Ismaël Koné and Cyle Larin ,
20732-565: Was officially presented as Zlatko Dalić 's assistant for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 , succeeding Ivica Olić . At the press conference, Ćorluka expressed his wish to enroll in a coaching academy after the tournament. On 6 July 2021, he returned to Lokomotiv Moscow , also as an assistant coach, while still remaining the assistant coach of Croatia. On 19 July, he left Lokomotiv due to family reasons. Ćorluka married his long-time girlfriend, Croatian singer Franka Batelić on 21 July 2018. On 5 January 2020, Ćorluka and Batelić became parents of
20878-636: Was one of the top players in the world; defender and former captain Vincent Kompany ; Kevin De Bruyne , who is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation; and Romelu Lukaku , who is currently Belgium's all-time top scorer. Other key players of this golden generation include Thibaut Courtois , Jan Vertonghen , Yannick Carrasco , Axel Witsel , Mousa Dembélé , Dries Mertens , Marouane Fellaini , Thomas Vermaelen , and Toby Alderweireld . These players helped Belgium finish in third place at
21024-479: Was particularly successful as he won two Italian League MVP awards, the EuroLeague Finals MVP , and the 2001 EuroLeague championship and Triple Crown . Selected as the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft , Ginóbili joined the Spurs in 2002 and soon became a key player for the team. In addition to his four NBA championships, Ginóbili was named an All-Star in 2005 and 2011 and was selected twice for
21170-409: Was still a force to be reckoned with. They won all six of their games—against Czechoslovakia, England and Romania during group play, and against Peru , Uruguay and Italy in the knockout rounds. Jairzinho was the second top scorer with seven goals, and is the only player to score in every match in a World Cup; Pelé finished with four goals. From 1997 onwards, Brazil re-established themselves as one of
21316-683: Was unable to prevent the Spurs from being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals. In the 2006–07 season , the Spurs lacked energy from their reserves. Ginóbili came off the bench for most of the second half of the season, helping the Spurs attain the league's best record during that portion of the season. Ginóbili produced numbers closely identical to his successful 2004–05 campaign despite starting in only 36 of 75 games, his second-lowest number of starts since arriving at San Antonio. The 2007 NBA Playoffs saw him help
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