2008 in association football

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

News

January

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

February

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

March

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

May

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

June

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

July

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

August

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

September

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

International tournaments

Men

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

Women

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

National champions

AFC nations

UEFA nations

CAF nations

CONMEBOL nations

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

(A = Apertura, C= Clausura)

CONCACAF nations

(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

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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

References

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

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