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Quickies

Did you know …

that in his debut professional season, playing for Brazilian club Cruzeiro in 1993, future superstar Ronaldo scored 58 goals in 60 matches?

Who holds the record for longest professional playing career?

Sir Stanley Matthews, the only English player to have been knighted before retirement, was born in 1915 and started his soccer career in 1932, playing for Stoke City FC at the age of 17. He stayed with them until 1947, then moved to Blackpool FC until 1961, at which point he returned to Stoke City FC. He played his final game with Stoke on February 6, 1965, just after his 50th birthday, achieving the record of longest professional career at 33 years. Considered to have been one of the greatest players ever, Matthews died in February 2000.

Who were the Bubsy Babes?

Recruited and trained in the 1950s, the Busby Babes were a group of young Manchester United players who progressed from the club’s youth team into the first team under coach Matt Busby. The nickname for the group, said to have been coined by Manchester Evening News journalist Tom Jackson, refers to the players who won the league championship in seasons 1955–56 and 1956–57 with an average age of 21 and 22 respectively. In 1958, eight of the Busby Babes were killed while returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade. After making a refuelling stop, the airplane they were in crashed while trying to take off from a slushy Munich airfield.