This great game has origins dating all the way to the Japanese and Chinese empires in the early ADs. These empires have records of some sort of ball being kicked around by people. While there were no set rules and it was very different from the soccer we know today, that is where it all started. Proper soccer, with rules and everything, has to be credited to England. That is where the first Football Association was created and where the first local and “club” teams were formed. That is why the English FA is simply called “The FA”. They were the first and they were the ones that brought this great game structure and showed the rest of the world how wonderful it can be.

1930′s marks the beginning of the World Cup. In this early stage, many Latin American countries have grouped together to form soccer teams and countries like Uruguay, Argentina and Chile are among the pioneers. Uruguay won the championship in 1930, followed by Italy and France in 1934 and 1938.

The following decade marks an abrupt decline in soccer because the World Cup was interrupted by World War. During this period of time, only American countries competed in the local cups.

1950′s marked the revival of World Cup. That was the period which saw Latin America’s popularity soaring and the era where soccer superstars like Pele and Garrincha were born. Brazil snagged the world championship in 1958 and established itself as a prominent soccer team.

1960′s was the media age where World Cup was shown live on televisions. Two new cups, the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Cup were established.

Brazil won most titles and championships in the 1970′s. Superstar Diego Armando Maradona was born in the 80′s and Italy won the World Cup in 1982.

From the year 2000 onwards, the World Cup became more aggressive. It is one of the largest event in the world with a huge fan base and followers all across the world.Take a look here to learn more: Leandro Damiao: Superstar Under the Radar

So, when purchasing your new soccer gear, you are going to want to shop for the top brand names. Going with companies like Nike, Puma, and Adidas, are probably the top of the line gear for uniforms and protective gear. You also want to look for dri fit mesh with the clothing you buy. This will give you the comfort, and the cool feeling, so that you can stay cool, and not have the sweat stick to your body. This will give you a better performance, keep you cooler longer, and allow you to compete at your best level of competition.

Manchester United – Perhaps the most famous team in the world, ManU, as fans affectionately call it has some of the biggest stars and is one heck of a money maker. If you want all the drama that comes with soccer, check out this team.
Barcelona – If you’re less interested in the spectacle and more excited about the sport, try Barcelona on for size. It may end up being your favorite team due to some great players, a healthy and loyal fan base and lots of great gear.
LA Galaxy – Okay, okay, this isn’t an amazing sports team in its own right but David Beckham is part of the package and what’s better than cheering for your own national team? At least give them a chance.

Marta Viera da Silva
Known as simply, Marta, at the young age of 21 she was the world’s best player as the midfielder for Sweden’s Umea IKIK and a forward the Brazilian National Team.

Mia Hamm
By far the most recognized female player. In 1999 she broke the international record for most goals by a man or woman with 108.

Michelle Akers
Most known for her domination of the 1991 World Cup en route to a Golden Boot.

Julie Foudy
Nine-year veteran of the U.S. National Team, two time Olympic Gold winner two time world cup winner.

Birgit Prinz
Three time FIFA World footballer of the Year award winner and the first woman to ever be offered a spot on a men’s professional team.

Kristine Lilly
The most capped men or women’s player in the history of the sport with a total of 352.

Faye White
Captain of Arsenal and the English Women’s national team and former National Premier League Player of the Year.

Sun Wen
The FIFA Woman Player of the Century along with Michelle Akers.

Homare Sawa
Has participated in three world cups and four olympic games, and is known as Japan’s finest footballer

Bente Nordby
A Norwegian keeper whoplayed from 1991 to 2007 and the second most capped international women’s keeper.

2006 Italian match-fixing
It’s more difficult to find teams who weren’t involved compared to those who were. A number of Serie A teams (Juventus, Milan, Lazio) and Serie B teams were all implicated. Never has a scandal that involved so many people in positions of power broken out.I found some more information here. The affect on the league and scope of the operation is what made this scandal such a big deal.

Sven-Goran Eriksson
The Swedish manager dealt with scandals for much of his career, but in 2004 he suffered his most humiliating and memorable. Widely known to be a ladies man, Eriksson was found to be having an affair with his secretary. Not so strange, but as it turned out, the woman was also sleeping with CEO Mark Palios at the same time.

Diego Maradona and Ephederine
He had his fair share during his career: the “Hand of God” goal, and a ban for cocaine, but this scandal occurred during the 1994 World Cup. Having been considered the best player in the world during the late 80′s, by the time the 1994 cup rolled around he was not in top form. Maradona showed up to play for Argentina and after two games it was found that he had been taking Ephedrine, a substance banned by FIFA. The scandal was the last straw for many fans and one that damaged him greatly.

10 Arjen Robben – Robben, with his agility and playmaking ability, could well rank higher than number ten if it weren’t for the health issues that have hurt his career.
9 Wayne Rooney – Going through a bit of an off year, Wayne Rooney is normally a vision of consistent, rounded production. He always seems to find a way to score just when his team needs it the most.
8 Iker Casillas – Currently, he is the best goal keeper in the world, bar none.
7 Nemanja Vidic – Simply put, Vidic is the most solid defender playing today. Additionally Vidic provides veteran leadership for any squad he plays for.
6 Carlos Tevez – Holding a spot higher on the list than some would agree with, Tevez is mired in off the field issues that do little to influence his on the field performance. There he continues to utilize his non-stop motor to produce goals for Manchester City.
5 Samuel Eto’o – Eto’o is a speedster that really only does one thing on the football field. That one thing is score goals. He does that one thing very, very well.
4 Kaka – A brilliant passer with incredible vision and a graceful style, Kaka is a unique player that forces the competition to account for him at all times.
3 Xavi Hernandez – The excellence of Xavi Hernandez is impossible to deny. Xavi is a threat passing, dribbling and shooting and he controls the pace of the game like no other player currently in the game.
2 Cristiano Ronaldo – As a single player threat, no other player can produce like Ronaldo. With his head or his feet Ronaldo is always a threat to score, and he has a nasty habit of making defenders look foolish in the process.
1 Lionel Messi – A unique athlete whose dexterity, strength, vision and ball control is unequalled.