Datasoccer
This soccer database enables you to search for country and club results, for the composition of teams of countries and clubs, and for the careers of players, from different angles.
Datasoccer is a unique source of information for the true football enthousiast with an eye for history, as well as for the professional football writer.
Messages of the publisher
1. The basic principles of choosing or omitting content
The outlook of database is very much international. English is used as being a broadly understood language. Text is kept to a minimum, in short remarks, and in the menu of the database.
The database covers at present the years from 1945 to 2008 onward. It is intended to cover the era from the end of World War II, the beginning of the modern history of football. And of course every year last year's information is entered in the database.
Focusing on the best players in the world has made us set the limit at all international, capped players of the 'A' teams, (and in some cases the Olympic teams, in cases where it arguably is the strongest national selection). Apart from these players we feature the uncapped players of the top. Speaking of clubs we have drawn the limit at those playing at the highest national level. This means some clubs through the years fall out of or come (back) into consideration.
The guiding principle is to focus on the countries that have in the past and present shaped and continue to shape the history of international football. This is of course an ever changing picture that will need adjusting from time to time. As for now we have included the European countries with the exception of the small and very small football powers that mostly have never qualified for a major final international tournament. Of the American continent the foremost South American footballing countries have been included leaving out (as yet) Bolivia and Venezuela. From Northern and Central America only Mexico figures as yet. The rising footballing nations of Africa, Asia and Oceania are yet to be included.
2. Illustration
The imagery and pageantry of club colours and national colours, reflected in outfits and emblems, and their development through the years, are essential to any football enthousiast. It is therefore part of the intended layout of our database. In this respect shirt sponsoring is a hard nut to crack. The representation of shirt sponsoring in drawings of players in club outfits has been left out for esthetical and obvious legal reasons. With many commentators and writers we do abhor the ruining of traditional club shirts by depicting company and brand names. On the other hand the football shirt without sponsors' names nowadays looks in some way empty and outdated. Included are the club and national team outfit or outfits considered to be the most typical.
For obvious legal reasons we have not included club emblems.
DISCLAIMER
Although extensive care has been taken to present the true and correct facts the hereunder mentioned author of this database cannot be held responsible for mistakes.
USER'S RIGHTS AND WRONGS
As a subscriber you are granted the right to use the database and its content privately as an amateur researcher, student or enthousiast of football's fact and history. You are not allowed to use, reproduce or extract from the database and its content for any exploitation directed at third parties nor to any other use outside the private sphere.
I wish you great times using the database to expand your knowledge of football in the major footballing nations of the world.
Bart Dingemans
Wielseweg 66
4024 BL Eck en Wiel
bart.dingemans@planet.nl
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the added value of this database?
How do I find a player?
What to do when I am not sure of the spelling of the name?
How to look for a (foreign) club, when you are not sure of the name?
How do I find out if a certain club is considered a top club?
How do I find the results of a club I have selected?
How have you dealt with name changes of clubs?
How to cope with clubs having the same name?
How have you treated club mergers and termination of clubs?
How do I look for match results of countries?
What is shown of the careers of the players in the database?
What is the meaning of terms in the composition of the national team?
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TERMS IN THE INDIVIDUAL CLUB RESULTS?
Clubs: click on individual club results.
The results of all clubs featured in the database can be presented in the year or years requested.
For club results the 'year' is the year of the soccer season. In all countries of the Northern hemisphere that have an autumn to spring competition the soccer season in fact covers two calendar years. We have chosen to mark the second calendar year of the two as name- giving. This means in Spain the temporada 1986/1987 is year 1987 in the database, etc.
The records of clubs are featured for as long as they figure in the highest national league. Maintaining of this status is indicated by the word 'same'. 'Newly promoted' indicates the club to be in its first season after being promoted. 'Relegation' indicates the drop from the highest league on completion of the season. Most nations feature a National Cup competition besides the national league. If such a national club cup exists, the Cup final game is featured in the database. The winner and the losing finalist are to be found among the club results. These national cups very often are a focal point of ambition of clubs and players. Finally the database lists the results of all clubs in the foremost inter club Competitions of Europe and South America.
Games for the European Cup, later the Champions League are listed under EC I. Games for the defunct European Cup Winner's Cup are listed as EC II. Games for the European Fairs Cup, succeeded by the UEFA Cup, UEFA Champions Cup and Europa League, are listed as EC III.
For the South American Clubs EC I stands for the Copa Libertadores, and EC III for the subsequent Conmebol, Merconorte, Mercosur and Copa Sudamericana competitions.
Of each club the round reached in these competitions is recorded as well as the 'closest or last opponent'. This covers the next higher qualified club when group standings are decisive. Mostly this opponent is the club that proved to be too strong, mostly a vivid memory. Exception is made where the club is dubbed as 'winner'. In that case the opponent was on the losing side in the final game.
Under EC III you also find the results of the Inter Continental Cup match played between the winners of the European and South American, respectively other inter club competitions.
Restrictive mention of these competitions is made in this way. We have tried to be concise here, knowing that these competitions are extensively covered in many other publications.
What is the meaning of terms in the records under season's results of all clubs?
Why have you included the line ups of top clubs as part of the database?
How have you coped with clubs and players subsequently belonging to different states?
Why have you sometimes listed top 10, resp. top 5 or top 3 scorers?
What is the purpose of the special notation of international match results?