Linfield FC

The Linfield Football Club is a Northern Irish football club was established in 1886 in the capital Belfast. Linfield in 1890 first overall champion of Ireland and have not stopped since taking part in the game mode the top division of the first all-Ireland since 1921/22, but purely Northern Ireland Irish League. With more than 200 titles Linfield FC is one of the most successful in proportion to the number of titles won football clubs.

History

The club was, as Linfield Athletic Club founded in March 1886 by workers of the Linfield Spinning Mill, a woolen mill. Right from the foundation of the club was dominated Protestant and remained there ever since.

In the early years the club played in a meadow behind the factory. This (as well as the subsequent alternative place), however, had to be abandoned as a venue so that Linfield around the turn of the century was homeless and all games played on foreign court and in 1905 his present homestead, Windsor Park, was able to move soon. Nevertheless, the club has been very successful in the first few years after its founding, the first three championships of Ireland could be won, with only two lost games in three years. The club was soon the most successful club of the island of Ireland.

In the first half of the 20th century, even before the independence of the Republic of Ireland in 1921, the rivalry between Linfield and Glentoran FC and also Protestant dominated the great Catholic club Belfast Celtic coined the championships. With the separation of the two Irish associations finally succeeded Linfield also, all seven staged in Northern Ireland competitions in which they could participate to win.

In particular, the duels with Belfast Celtic, whose home ground in the immediate vicinity of the Windsor Park, was, would mark the Northern Ireland Championship. After Celtic was usually superior in the 1940s, it came at Linfielder home game against Celtic in the season 1948/49, to a scandal that led to the dissolution of the Belfast Celtic FC. In an otherwise unremarkable draw (1:1), a defender of Celtic badly injured the Linfield player Bob Bryson. After the final whistle the followers of Linfield stormed the pitch and beat then the Celtic players.

The resulting withdrawal of Belfast Celtic from the Northern Irish league is blamed in part for the following quality loss in the league.

Following the resignation of Belfast Celtic Linfield dominated the Northern Ireland League at will, with this so-called "Team of the Century" is particularly noteworthy that could 1961/62 to repeat the success of 1921 with victories in all seven possible competitions.

In the 1980s, however Fanausschreitungen became such a major problem that UEFA Linfield in 1988 even condemned to stage all the European Cup home games for two years on neutral ground (Wales).

Although the dominance Linfields fell noticeably after 1990, the Blues remained on the leading team in Northern Ireland. In the season 2006/ 07 succeeded Linfield as the first team for more than 70 years to defend the league and cup double.

European Cup

So dominant Linfield in Northern Ireland it may be, so little success, the club proved so far in European competitions. With over 30 participations succeeded only once the entry into a European quarter-finals - in the European Cup of Champions 1966/67, -, on the other hand, there are numerous lost first-round matches. A total of 75 Linfield could win European matches only eleven; while the team scored 77 goals.

Achievements

  • Irish and Northern Irish Champion *: (51); 1890/91, 1891 /92 and 1892/93, 1894 /95 and 1897/98, 1901/ 02, 1903/ 04, 1906/ 07, 1907/ 08, 1908/ 09, 1910/11, 1913 /14, 1921 / 22, 1922/23, 1929/30, 1931 /32, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1948/49, 1953 /54, 1954/55, 1955 /56, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62, 1965/66 1968 /69 1970/71 1974 /75 1977/78 1978 /79 1979/80 1981 /82 1982/83 1983 /84 1984/85, 1985 / 86, 1986/87, 1988/89, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1999/ 00, 2000/ 01, 2003/ 04, 2005/ 06, 2006/ 07, 2007/ 08, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12
  • Irish and Northern Irish Cup Winners *: (42); 1890/91, 1891 /92 and 1892/93, 1894 /95 1897/98 1898 /99 1901/ 02, 1903/ 04, 1911/12, 1912/13, 1914 /15, 1915/16, 1918 / 19, 1921/22, 1922 /23, 1929/30, 1930 /31, 1933/34, 1935/36, 1938/39, 1941/42, 1944 /45, 1945/46, 1947/48, 1949/50, 1952/53, 1959/60, 1961/62 1962 /63 1969/70 1977 /78 1979/80 1981 /82 1993/94 1994/95 2001/02 2005/06 2006 / 07, 2007/ 08, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12
  • Northern Irish League Cup Winners: (9); 1986/87, 1991/ 92 1993/94 1997/98 1998 /99 1999/ 00 2001/02 2005/06 2007/ 08
  • Total Irish Cup Winners **: (3); 1960/61, 1980, 2005
  • City Cup: (20 )
  • Gold Cup: (31 )
  • Ulster Cup: (15 )
  • County Antrim Shield: (43 )
  • Budweiser Cup: (1)
  • Coca -Cola Cup ( 3)

* Title to the independence of the Republic of Ireland are all-Ireland. Competitions ** for independence of the Republic of Ireland.

NIFL Premiership Belfast Celtic F.C. Double (association football) 1966–67 European Cup 1979–80 Irish Cup 2012–13 IFA Premiership Ballymena United F.C. Cliftonville FC Donegal Celtic F.C. Dungannon Swifts F.C. Glenavon FC Lisburn Distillery F.C.
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