Rafael Márquez

Rafael Márquez Álvarez,

(born 13 February 1979 in Zamora, Michoacán) is a Mexican footballer, who is currently a free agent after being given a free transfer by his previous club Barcelona in La Liga. He plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder. He also captains the Mexico national team.

Club career

Atlas

Márquez began his career at Atlas, for whom he debuted in 1996 at the age of 17. Márquez rose to prominence while with Atlas, making 77 appearances for the team and being runner-up in the league losing the final against Deportivo Toluca in penalties.

Monaco

In 1999, Monaco purchased him for €6 million. Monaco scouts had gone to see Pablo Contreras on a Copa América match against Mexico, but they were impressed with Márquez's performance, so they signed the two defenders. Marquez was an immediate success with Monaco, helping lead the team to the French title in his first season with the club. Despite pressures from larger clubs, he would remain with the Monegasque club until 2003, when Barcelona signed him for €5 million to revitalize their back line. In doing so, he became only the second Mexican to play for Barcelona, after Horacio Casarín.

Barcelona

In his first season with Barcelona, Márquez appeared 21 times, helping the team to a second place finish in La Liga. During his second season, he was moved from his natural position as a center back to a defensive midfield role, due to injuries to players Thiago Motta, Edmílson and Gerard López. He completed a great season, being one of the main players that helped Barcelona win its 17th league title on 14 May 2005 after a 1–1 tie with Levante. After an injury in his left knee, he returned after a month to play against Milan in the first leg of the 2006 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Barcelona, playing away at the San Siro, won 1–0.

Márquez.

Márquez was present in the Champions League final on 17 May 2006 for Barcelona, in which they won the tournament over Arsenal. This achievement made him the first Mexican football player to ever win this competition, something Hugo Sánchez was not able to do during his time in La Liga with Real Madrid. After the 2006 World Cup, Barcelona extended his contract for the following 4 years to €38.5 million which will see his contract end in June 2010. Despite sustaining injuries, he was rumored to be up for sale at the end of the 2006–07 season. His future at Barça was up in the air until the 2007 Copa América, where Márquez regained his best form and was one of the best players of the competition, helping Mexico to an acceptable 3rd place.

In the 2007–08 season, Márquez got off to an excellent start, as he managed to form a solid partnership with new signing Gabriel Milito while captain Carles Puyol was out injured. However, constant injuries threw off his form. Márquez's success declined with the rest of the season leading Barcelona to end up in 3rd place after a miserable second half where injuries lead to his contribution being negligible. Even so, new coach Josep Guardiola continued to rely on his contributions; with the departure of Ronaldinho, Márquez has become the last original signing of the Rijkaard era to remain on the team. He was Guardiola's first choice at center back along with captain Puyol for the 2008–09 season. On 13 December 2008, Márquez played his 200th match for Barcelona in the clash against Real Madrid, which they won 2–0. He got injured on 28 April 2009, in a match against Chelsea in the semi-final. Márquez was told he needed surgery on his left knee, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. Barcelona would go on to win a historic treble after winning the 2008–09 Champions League, in which Márquez was present but was sidelined. Márquez also received an offer from Fiorentina. However, Márquez admits he would like to end his career at Barcelona and insists he is not concerned about the fact that his current contract runs out during the summer of 2010. Márquez signed a new contract with Barca in November 2009 that will keep him at the club until 2012. On 20 February 2010, he scored his first goal since his return against Racing Santander. Rafael officially left Barcelona after being released on a free transfer on 31 July 2010, he is currently without a club but has been consistently linked with a move to New York Red Bulls which would reunite him with Thierry Henry.

International career

Since making his international debut on 5 February 1997 against Ecuador, but was not chosen for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad. Márquez has been one of the Mexican national football team's most important players. Márquez has played various tournament's with the Mexican team, winning the 1999 Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Márquez started all four of Mexico's games during the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, where he was given the Captain's Armband by then coach Javier Aguirre despite his young age of 23. Despite a strong performance during the group stage of the tournament, he received a red card during Mexico's second round 2–0 loss to the United States for a deliberate midair head butt on Cobi Jones in the final minutes of the match. Márquez was an integral part of Mexico's subsequent World Cup qualification campaign and was selected by Ricardo Lavolpe for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

During the 2006 World Cup, Márquez played in all of four of Mexico's opening round matches, and scored the lone Mexican goal in a 2–1 loss to Argentina in the second round off a Pável Pardo free kick which was headed to the far post by Mario Méndez, allowing an unmarked Márquez to strike the ball into the back of the net. The winner was scored by Maxi Rodriguez in extra time after Hernán Crespo had equalised for Argentina. Since Mexico's second round exit, he has spoken out about the need to encourage future Mexican football players to play in Europe to increase the competitiveness of the team.

Former Mexican coach Hugo Sánchez asked Márquez to participate in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2007 Copa América. Rafael joined up with the team Mexico for the Gold Cup's championship game against the United States after the conclusion of 2006–07 La Liga; Rafa started the match, a game that Mexico lost 2–1.

Marquez captained the Mexico national football team at the 2010 World Cup. Marquez scored Mexico's first goal against South Africa in the 79th minute against the hosts tieing the game one a piece. In Mexico's 2-0 win against France, Marquez played a tremendous ball to Javier Hernández Balcázar which put them up 1-0 in the game.

Personal life

He was married to Mexican actress Adriana Lavat, the couple married in December 2001 and had 2 children, Santiago Rafael and Rafaela, before separating in early 2007. He is now dating Jaydy Michel.

Honours

Monaco

Ligue 1: 1

2000

Trophée des champions: 1

2000

Coupe de la Ligue: 1

2003

Barcelona

La Liga: 4

2005, 2006, 2009, 2010

Copa del Rey: 1

2009

Supercopa de España: 3

2005, 2006, 2009

Champions League: 2

2006, 2009

UEFA Super Cup: 1

2009

Club World Cup: 1

2009

International

FIFA Confederations Cup: 1

1999

CONCACAF Gold Cup: 1

2003

Individual

Ligue 1 Best Defender: 1

2000

Best North American player: 1

2005

IFFHS 3rd Most Popular Player in the World: 1

2006

Free Kick Masters: 1

2008

Career statistics

As of 25 April 2010.

Club performance League Cup Continental Total

Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals

Mexico League Cup North America Total

1996–97 Atlas Primera División 24 2 — — 24 2

1997–98 20 1 — — 20 1

1998–99 33 3 — — 33 3

France League Coupe de France Europe Total

1999–2000 Monaco Ligue 1 23 3 2 0 6 0 31 3

2000–01 15 1 0 0 4 0 19 1

2001–02 19 0 3 0 — 22 0

2002–03 30 1 0 0 — 30 1

Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total

2003–04 Barcelona La Liga 22 1 6 0 3 0 31 1

2004–05 34 3 1 0 6 0 41 3

2005–06 25 0 4 1 8 0 37 1

2006–07 21 1 7 0 7 0 35 1

2007–08 23 2 5 0 8 0 36 2

2008–09 23 1 4 1 10 1 37 3

2009–10 15 1 3 0 5 0 23 1

Total Mexico 77 6 — — 77 6

France 87 5 5 0 10 0 102 5

Spain 163 9 30 2 47 1 240 12

Career Total 327 20 35 2 57 1 419 23

National team

As of 8 February 2008.

All-Time National Performance

Nationality Year Games Played Minutes Played Goals Scored Yellow Card Red Card

Mexico 1997 1 29 — — —

1999 13 1177 1 2 —

2000 10 902 2 1 —

2001 12 1020 — 5 1

2002 7 557 1 — 1

2003 7 299 1 1 —

2004 8 676 1 3 —

2005 11 710 1 3 1

2006 6 554 1 2 —

2007 10 810 1 2 —

2008 6 540 1 2 —

2009 2 155 — 2 1

2010 6 496 1 — —

Career totals 93 7925 11 23 4

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition

1. 5 February 1999 Hong Kong Stadium, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Egypt 1 – 0 3 – 0 1999 Carlsberg Cup

2. 13 February 2000 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States Trinidad and Tobago 1 – 0 4 – 0 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup

3. 3 September 2000 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Panama 5 – 1 7 – 1 2002 World Cup qualifier

4. 12 May 2002 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Colombia 2 – 1 2 – 1 Friendly

5. 24 July 2003 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Costa Rica 1 – 0 2 – 0 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup

6. 19 June 2004 Alamodome, San Antonio, United States Dominica 0 – 3 0 – 10 2006 World Cup qualifier

7. 7 September 2005 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Panama 2 – 0 5 – 0 2006 World Cup qualifier

8. 24 June 2006 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany Argentina 0 – 1 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) 2006 FIFA World Cup

9. 28 March 2007 McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, United States Ecuador 2 – 2 4 – 2 Friendly

10. 10 September 2008 Estadio Víctor Manuel Reyna, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico Canada 2 – 0 2 – 1 2010 World Cup qualifier

11. 11 June 2010 Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa South Africa 1 – 1 1 – 1 2010 FIFA World Cup

Source:Rafael Márquez

Peter Mokaba Stadium

The Peter Mokaba Stadium is a football stadium in Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg), South Africa, that will be used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. When completed in 2010 it will have a capacity of 46,000.It was named after Peter Mokaba, a former leader of the ANC Youth League. It is located 5 kilometers from the city centre and is located just east of the existing Pietersburg Stadium The stadium is one of five new stadiums that will be built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Initial plans to upgrade the current Peter Mokaba Stadium were abandoned in favour of the R1,245,000,000 (ZAR) new Peter Mokaba stadium. The stadium will be used intensely for training and matches. Therefore the natural grass will be reinforced with artificial fibres, which anchors the field into a stable and a level grass surface: Desso GrassMaster. The first international game played at the stadium was the game between South Africa and Guatemala on 31 May 2010, wich South Africa won 5-0

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
2010-06-13	13.30	Algeria	vs	Slovenia	Group C	–
2010-06-17	20.30	France	vs	Mexico	Group A	–
2010-06-22	20.30	Greece	vs	Argentina	Group B	–
2010-06-24	16.00	Paraguay	vs	New Zealand	Group F	–

Source:wikipedia
Sponsor: Click2.info

Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Royal Bafokeng Stadium

Location	Phokeng, South Africa
Opened	1999
Renovated	2009
Expanded	2009
Owner	Royal Bafokeng Nation
Capacity	44,530
Tenants
Platinum Stars and Leopards

The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace is an football, rugby and athletics stadium in Phokeng near Rustenburg, South Africa. It was built and is managed by the Royal Bafokeng Nation. It is used as the home stadium for Premier Soccer League club Platinum Stars. The Leopards host large attendance matches during the Currie Cup at the stadium, instead of their usual home ground, Olen Park.
The capacity of the stadium was increased from 38,000 to 44,530 to be able to host five first round matches and one second round match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Royal Bafokeng Stadium plays host to the round one Group C match between England and the United States on 12 June, 2010.
For the 2010 tournament, the main west stand was upgraded and enlarged and given a new cantilever roof. Other improvements include the installation of new electronic scoreboards, new seats, and the upgrading of the floodlights and public address system.
The stadium upgrade was completed in March 2009 for hosting 4 matches of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

2010 FIFA World Cup

In the World Cup, the stadium will host five first round matches and one second round match and will be the smallest stadium for the tournament.

Matches

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
2010-06-12	20.30	England	vs	United States	Group C	–
2010-06-15	13.30	New Zealand	vs	Slovakia	Group F	–
2010-06-19	16.00	Ghana	vs	Australia	Group D	–
2010-06-22	16.00	Mexico	vs	Uruguay	Group A	–
2010-06-24	20.30	Denmark	vs	Japan	Group E	–
2010-06-26	20.30	Winners of Group C	vs	Runners-up of Group D	Round of 16	–

Source:wikipedia
Sponsor:Click2.info

Cape Town Stadium

The Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa is a newly built stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup During the planning stage it was known as the Green Point Stadium, which was the name of the previous stadium on the site. The stadium is located in Green Point, between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Cape Town city centre and to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a popular tourist and shopping venue. The stadium has a capacity of 69,070. The stadium is connected to the waterfront by a new road connection, Granger Bay Boulevard, and is surrounded by a 60 hectare urban park.

2010 FIFA World Cup

In the World Cup, it will host five first round matches, one second round, one quarter-final and one semi-final.^[3]

Matches

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
2010-06-11	20.30	Uruguay	vs	France	Group A	–
2010-06-14	20.30	Italy	vs	Paraguay	Group F	–
2010-06-18	20.30	England	vs	Algeria	Group C	–
2010-06-21	13.30	Portugal	vs	Korea DPR	Group G	–
2010-06-24	20.30	Cameroon	vs	Netherlands	Group E	–
2010-06-29	20.30	Winners of Group H	vs	Runners-up of Group G	Round of 16	–
2010-07-03	16.00	Winners of Match 52	vs	Winners of Match 51	Quarter Finals	–
2010-07-06	20.30	Winners of Match 58	vs	Winners of Match 57	Semi Finals	–

Name

Cape Town Stadium

Location of the stadium in the Cape Town metropolitan area

During construction, Cape Town Stadium was unofficially known as Green Point Stadium, the name of an older stadium demolished to make way for the new stadium. During October 2009, the city requested the public to propose names for the new stadium. and the name Cape Town Stadium was chosen.

Previous stadium

The old stadium

The beginnings of the Old Green Point Stadium during the Second Boer War. The old Mouille Point Lighthouse is visible in the background.

Aerial view of the old Green Point Stadium, which was demolished during 2007.

The stadium is adjacent to the now partially demolished 18,000 seat Green Point Stadium. It replaces a portion of the Metropolitan Golf Club site which has now been realigned.
The previous stadium, which was demolished in 2007, was a multi-purpose stadium used mainly for football matches, and was the home ground of Santos Football Club and Ajax Cape Town at different points. It also hosted music concerts including Michael Jackson, U2, Metallica, Paul Simon, Robbie Williams, the Coca Cola Colab Massive Mix and the 2003 46664 Concert for the benefit of AIDS victims.

Design

Construction of the Cape Town Stadium, located on the Green Point Common between the twin icons of Table Mountain and Robben Island, began in March 2007. In just 33 months, joint contractors Murray & Roberts and WBHO completed the massive project at a cost of R4,4-billion – or approximately US$600-million. The project architects were an association between GMP Architects of Germany and two local firms, Louis Karol and Associates and Point Architects.The stadium itself has 750 rooms and 3 000 doors. About 2 500 construction workers were employed in the building of the stadium and 1 200 artisans received training from the contractors.
The stadium, which has an exterior that is covered with noise-reducing cladding has a capacity of 68,000 and was completed in December 2009. The Green Point Common, on which the stadium was built, was originally much larger than what now remains, and included most of the land between the sea and Signal Hill, stretching from the city centre towards Sea Point

Handing Over

Cape Town Stadium was officially handed over to the City of Cape Town on 14 December 2009. At a ceremony in front of over 200 invited guests and the media representatives from around the world, Cape Town Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato, received the keys to the stadium officially confirming the opening of Cape Town Stadium.

Possible use after the World Cup

A consortium consisting of South Africa's Sail Group and French-based Stade de France were awarded the service contract to operate the stadium and ensure that it remains a sustainable multi-purpose venue after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The consortium, called Business Venture Investments 1317, will be expected to be involved in the management of the stadium from January 2009 onwards. The city municipality will pay the consortium to manage the stadium up to and during the World Cup, after which the consortium will lease the stadium from the city for a period of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years.
Once the World Cup is over, the stadium capacity will be reduced to 55 000, enabling it to cater for all types of sports, including rugby, as well as music concerts and other major events. The stadium will feature corporate hospitality suites, medical, training, conferencing and banqueting facilities. The consortium will operate the stadium as well as manage and maintain the defined areas of the surrounding urban park and sport precinct on the 85-hectare Greenpoint Common from stadium revenue.

Inaugural Games

The first game to be hosted at the new Cape Town Stadium was a Cape Town derby between Ajax Cape Town and Santos on the 23 January 2010 as part of the official inauguration of the stadium. Only 20,000 tickets were made available for the event and were sold out by Friday 15 January 2010. The Soccer Festival had entertainment from local band Freshlyground and a Vuvuzela orchestra performance during half time.

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Attendance
2010-01-23	16:00	Ajax Cape Town	0(5) - 0(6)	Santos	20,000

Panoramic view of the opening match between Ajax Cape Town and Engen Santos

The second of three 'dry runs' at the new Cape Town Stadium was another Cape Town derby. Local Cape Town rugby teams, The Vodacom Stormers and the Boland Inv. XV battled it out at the Cape Town Rugby Festival that took place on the 6 February 2010. The Rugby Festival had entertainment from local band Flat Stanley. Only 40,000 tickets were made available for the event. This was double the amount that attended the Soccer Festival.

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Attendance
2010-02-06	16:15	Vodacom Stormers	47 - 13	Boland Inv. XV	40,000

Cape Town Stadium hosted its third test event on Monday 22 March, during which all 55 000 permanent seats were be available for the first time. A total of 52,000 tickets were sold.
‘Cape Town For Jesus’, a religious gathering addressed by South African evangelist Angus Buchan, was the first major non-sporting event hosted at the stadium, and gave the stadium operators another chance to test their readiness ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Event	Capacity	Attendance
2010-03-22	13:00	Cape Town For Jesus	55,000	52,000

Cape Town Stadium hosted its fourth and final test event on Saturday 10 April. This was the first time that the stadium was utilised at night, for the International Under-20 Soccer Challenge between South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria & Ghana. About 40,000 attended the event that tested the stadiums readiness before the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Attendance
2010-04-10	18:00	Ghana U/20	0 - 1	Brazil U/20	40,000
2010-04-10	20:30	South Africa U/20	1 - 3	Nigeria U/20	40,000

Source:wikipedia
Sponsor:Click2.info

Soccer City

Soccer City, formerly known as the FNB Stadium, is a stadium located in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located next to the South African Football Association headquarters (SAFA House) where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are housed.

A football-specific stadium, Soccer City is currently the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94,700. Most of the largest football events in South Africa are played at Soccer City[vague] and the venue is better suited to these events than the Ellis Park Stadium, where the final for the Rugby World Cup in 1995 was held. Soweto and the National Exhibition Centre in Nasrec are nearby.

It was the site of Nelson Mandela's first speech in Johannesburg after his release from prison. It was also the site of Chris Hani's funeral.

Construction

The Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg underwent a major upgrade for the 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by the shape of an African calabash or gourd.  The Dutch company BAM constructed the upgrade, which was designed by the Populous sports facilities group. The upgrade included: an extended upper tier around the stadium to increase the capacity to 91,141 , an additional 99 executive suites, an encircling roof, new changing room facilities and new floodlights. The number of suites in the stadium was increased to 195. Grinaker-LTA won the R1.5 billion  tender to upgrade the stadium. The construction was completed on Wednesday, 21 October 2009, and was marked by a huge celebration at the stadium.
Construction work in progress at Soccer City in May 2008.
Construction work in progress at Soccer City in December 2008.
Stadium design

The outside of the stadium is designed to have the appearance of an African pot, the cladding on the outside is a mosaic of fire and earthen colours with a ring of lights running around the bottom of the structure, simulating fire underneath the pot. No spectator will be more than 100 metres (330 ft) from the action and there are no restricted views in the stadium.

The stands in Soccer City are articulated by ten black vertical lines; nine are aligned geographically with the nine other stadia involved in the 2010 World Cup, and a tenth line is aimed at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which hosted the previous World Cup final in 2006. This represents the road to the final and it is hoped that after the World Cup, each goal scored at the stadium will be placed in pre-cast concrete panels on a podium so that the full history of the tournament’s scores can be seen for years to come.
Before the upgrade

The stadium from before the upgrade had a capacity of 80,000. The newly reconstructed stadium retains the original structure's west upper tier and entire lower tier (the lower tier was divided into two tiers).

1996 African Cup of Nations

Soccer City served as the main venue for the tournament. It hosted the opening game, 5 other group games, a quarter final, semi final, the 3rd place play-off and the final. The games were:

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
1996-01-13		South Africa	3–0	Cameroon	Group A (opening match)	80,000
1996-01-15		Egypt	2–1	Angola	Group A	6,000
1996-01-18		Cameroon	2–1	Egypt	Group A	4,000
1996-01-20		South Africa	1–0	Angola	Group A	30,000
1996-01-24		South Africa	0–1	Egypt	Group A	20,000
1996-01-25		Zaire	2–0	Liberia	Group C	3,000
1996-01-27		South Africa	2–1	Algeria	Quarter-finals	30,000
1996-01-31		South Africa	3–0	Ghana	Semi-finals	75,000
1996-02-03		Ghana	0–1	Zambia	Third place match	80,000
1996-02-03		South Africa	2–0	Tunisia	Final	80,000

2010 World Cup

The stadium will host the opening match South Africa Vs. Mexico, four more first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final, and the final.

2010 World Cup Schedule

Date	Time (UTC+2)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
2010-06-11	16.00	South Africa	vs	Mexico	Group A (opening match)	–
2010-06-14	13.30	Netherlands	vs	Denmark	Group E	–
2010-06-17	13.30	Argentina	vs	South Korea	Group B	–
2010-06-20	20.30	Brazil	vs	Côte d'Ivoire	Group G	–
2010-06-23	20.30	Ghana	vs	Germany	Group D	–
2010-06-27	20.30	Winners of Group B	vs	Runners-up of Group A	Round of 16	–
2010-07-02	20.30	Winners of Match 49	vs	Winners of Match 50	Quarter Finals	–
2010-07-11	20.30	Winners of Match 61	vs	Winners of Match 62	Final	–

Source:wikipedia
Sponsor:Click2.info