Hire a Car Vigo

Car Rental Companies Selecting the most effective auto rental companies is not a hard job. If you intend your cars and truck lease method well in advance, there should not be any type of problem. You require to lease your vehicle in advance to obtain a budget friendly price. You can likewise rent out a cars and truck online at a price cut rate. Those who travel frequently can constantly rent out automobile online. Leading vehicle rental business provide charming service at a discount price. If you need to take regular excursions, it's advisable to stay with one certain auto rental solution. Nevertheless, occasional tourists have the liberty to compare different auto rental deals. Vehicle rental firms provide substantial vehicle fleets to their customers. They will also prepare certain vehicle models if you ask. You need to act well ahead of time to rent out any kind of elegant cars and truck designs. You need to provide the automobile rental firm enough time to set up the automobile for you. Additionally, you need to guarantee that the car rental company is capable of using impressive solution. You can ask your pals whether they have any type of automobile rental firm to describe you. You can additionally call auto rental companies that have actually formerly supplied you great service. You additionally have a look at whether the vehicle rental business use roadside help. The roadside aid will certainly put the vehicle back on course whenever it damages down. Along with all these facets, you likewise require to keep the insurance requires in mind. Car rental business normally provide rental cars and truck insurance coverage along with their solution. They persuade you to opt for those insurance coverage. But you need to beware while evaluating all those insurance policies. You can talk to vehicle rental agents to obtain more info on the insurance policy supplies. You have to remember that the insurance policy costs need to remain under within your control. You need to embrace a wise approach while choosing auto rental firms.

Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and the second film in the Ghostbusters franchise. Set five years after the events of the first film, the Ghostbusters have been sued and put out of business after the destruction caused during their battle with the demi-god Gozer. When a new paranormal threat emerges, the Ghostbusters re-form to combat it and save the world. After the phenomenal success of Ghostbusters, Columbia Pictures wanted a sequel but struggled to overcome objections from the cast and crew. As with the first film, Aykroyd and Ramis collaborated on the script, which went through many variations. The pair wanted to convey a message about the consequences of negative human emotions in large cities. They settled on the idea of negative feelings creating a mass of supernatural slime beneath New York City that empowers malevolent spirits. With a budget of $30–40 million, filming took place between November 1988 and March 1989 in New York City and Los Angeles. Production was rushed compared to the original film's 13-month cycle; large sections of the film were scrapped after poorly received test screenings. New scenes were written and filmed during re-shoots between March and April 1989, only two months before its release. Ghostbusters II was released on June 16, 1989, to generally negative reviews. Critics responded unfavorably to what they perceived as largely a copy of the original and a softening of its cynical, dark humor to be more family-friendly, although the performances of Peter MacNicol and Moranis were repeatedly singled out for praise. As the sequel to the then-highest-grossing comedy film of all time, Ghostbusters II was expected to dominate the box office. Instead, the film earned $215.4 million during its theatrical run compared with the original's $282.2 million, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of the year. Columbia Pictures deemed it a financial and critical failure, the effect of which dissuaded Murray from participating in a third Ghostbusters film. Its soundtrack single, "On Our Own" by Bobby Brown, was a success, spending 20 weeks on the United States music charts. The film failed to replicate the cultural impact and following of Ghostbusters. Although some retrospective audiences praised it, Ghostbusters II is generally seen as a poor follow-up to Ghostbusters and responsible for stalling the franchise for decades. The film spawned a series of merchandise including video games, board games, comic books, music, toys, and haunted houses. Despite the relative failure of Ghostbusters II, a second sequel was pursued through to the early 2010s. A financially unsuccessful and controversial 2016 series reboot led to renewed efforts on a direct sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which is scheduled for release in 2021. Five years after saving New York City from destruction by the demigod Gozer, the Ghostbusters have been sued for the property damage incurred and barred from investigating the supernatural, forcing them out of business. Raymond Stantz owns an occult bookstore and works a side job alongside Winston Zeddemore as unpopular children's entertainers. Egon Spengler works in a laboratory experimenting with human emotions, and Peter Venkman hosts a television show about psychics. Dana Barrett, Peter's ex-girlfriend, has an infant son named Oscar with her ex-husband and works at an art museum cleaning paintings. She turns to the Ghostbusters for help after Oscar's baby stroller rolls, seemingly by itself, into a busy road intersection. At the museum, a portrait of Vigo the Carpathian, a brutal, sixteenth-century tyrant and powerful magician, comes to life and enslaves Dana's boss Janosz Poha. Vigo orders Janosz to bring him a child to possess, allowing him to escape the confines of his painting and live again to conquer the world. Because of his infatuation with Dana, Janosz chooses Oscar. Meanwhile, the Ghostbusters excavate the intersection where Oscar's stroller stopped and discover a river of slime running through the abandoned Beach Pneumatic Transit system. Raymond obtains a sample but is attacked by the slime and accidentally breaks a pipe which falls onto a power line, causing a citywide blackout. The Ghostbusters are arrested and taken to court for the damage and for investigating the supernatural. In the courtroom, the slime sample is presented as evidence. It responds physically to judge Wexler's angry tirade against the Ghostbusters and then explodes, summoning the ghosts of two brothers he sentenced to death. The Ghostbusters capture the ghosts in exchange for a dismissal of the charges and the revocation of the order banning them from operating. One night, the slime invades Dana's apartment, attacking her and Oscar. She seeks refuge with Peter and they rekindle their relationship. The Ghostbusters discover the slime reacts to emotions and suspect it has amassed from the negative attitudes of New Yorkers. While Peter and Dana have dinner, Egon, Raymond, and Winston explore the underground river of slime and are pulled in. They begin fighting until Egon realizes they are being influenced by the slime. They determine that the river of slime flows to the museum. The Ghostbusters tell the mayor of their suspicions but are dismissed; his assistant Jack Hardemeyer has them committed to a psychiatric hospital to protect the mayor's political interests. A spirit in the form of Janosz kidnaps Oscar and Dana pursues them into the museum, which is then covered with impenetrable slime. On New Year's Eve, the slime rises to the streets, causing widespread chaos. Learning of Hardemeyer's actions, the mayor fires him and has the Ghostbusters released. Determining the need for a positive symbol to rally the citizens and weaken the slime, the Ghostbusters use positively charged slime to animate the Statue of Liberty and pilot it through the streets filled with cheering citizens. At the museum, the museum's slime covering partially recedes and they use the Statue's torch to break through the ceiling, stopping Vigo from completing his possession of Oscar. The ghostbusters rappel through the ceiling and neutralize Janosz with positive slime. Vigo takes on physical form, immobilizes Dana and the Ghostbusters, and recaptures Oscar. The gathered crowds outside begin singing a chorus of "Auld Lang Syne", and their positivity weakens Vigo. He is forced to return to the painting and the Ghostbusters are freed. Vigo possesses Raymond, but the Ghostbusters use their weapons to free him and destroy Vigo, his portrait being replaced by their likenesses surrounding Oscar. In the aftermath, the Ghostbusters are cheered by the city and the Statue of Liberty is returned to Liberty Island. As well as the main cast, Ghostbusters II features Wilhelm von Homburg as Vigo the Carpathian (voiced by Max von Sydow). Several relatives of the cast and crew appear in the film; Murray's brother Brian Doyle-Murray plays the Ghostbusters' psychiatric doctor, Aykroyd's niece Karen Humber portrays a schoolchild, and director Ivan Reitman's children Jason and Catherine portray, respectively, the rude child at the opening birthday party and a girl that is part of Egon's experiments.[1] Reitman cameos as a pedestrian.[2] Judy Ovitz, wife of talent agent Michael Ovitz who represented many of the principal cast, appears as a woman in a restaurant who is slimed.[1] Mary Ellen Trainor appears as the host of a children's party, Cheech Marin plays a dock supervisor, and Philip Baker Hall portrays the city police chief.[1] Bobby Brown (credited as Bobby Baresford Brown), who contributed to the film's soundtrack, cameos as a doorman.[3] Ben Stein plays a public works official for the mayor, and Louise Troy appears as a woman wearing a possessed fur coat.[1] After the massive success of Ghostbusters, a sequel was considered inevitable even though the film had been developed as a stand-alone project.[5][6] The development of Ghostbusters II was arduous, and the behind-the-scenes conflicts were given as much coverage in the press as the film.[7] When David Puttnam became chairman of Columbia Pictures in June 1986, he was not interested in developing an expensive sequel to Ghostbusters despite its success. He favored smaller films such as the critically acclaimed war film Hope and Glory (1987) and the comedy film Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989) over big-budget blockbusters. He also greenlit several foreign-language films by European directors because he preferred making films for the "world market".[8] Ghostbusters was part of former Columbia executive Frank Price's legacy, and Puttnam would have had no interest in furthering that legacy while building his own.[9] Reitman later said the delay in development was not Puttnam's fault and that executives above Puttnam at Columbia's New York branch had attempted to work around him because they thought he was holding up the project, but they discovered they could not get the production moving even after sidelining him. According to Reitman, the delay occurred because the main actors did not want to make a sequel for nearly three years; by the time they decided to go ahead, Murray was committed to his starring role in the Christmas comedy film Scrooged (1988). When Murray was finally ready, the script was not.[7] As co-creators, Reitman, Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis all had control over the franchise, and their unanimous approval was required to proceed.[4][10] In April 1987, Puttnam announced that Ghostbusters II would go into production in November that year without having informed Reitman, who had not yet reviewed the unfinished script.[11][12] Puttnam was removed from his job in September 1987. It was reported that this was in part because he had alienated Murray and his talent agent Michael Ovitz. Puttnam had publicly criticized Murray for making millions of dollars from Hollywood without giving "back to his art. He’s a taker."[7][13] He also attacked expensive talent agency packages that provided scripts, directors, and stars; Ovitz also represented Aykroyd, Ramis, and Reitman.[14] Puttnam was replaced as Columbia president by Dawn Steel.[15][8] When she took the job, her corporate bosses made it clear that getting the sequel into production was a priority.[13] Columbia had experienced a long series of box-office failures since Ghostbusters, and Ghostbusters II was seen as the best way of reversing their fortunes.[13] By November 1987, filming was scheduled to begin in summer the following year. At the time, Murray reportedly wanted $10 million to star in the sequel and his co-stars demanded an equal amount.[16][17] The main obstacle was the disputes between the principal cast and crew that had arisen since Ghostbusters. Ramis later said, "there was a little air to clear" before they could work together.[13] In March 1988,[9] Ovitz arranged a private lunch for himself, Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Reitman, and Ovitz's colleague, CAA head of business affairs Ray Kurtzman, at Jimmy's, a celebrity restaurant in Beverly Hills, California. Concerns were raised such as whether the principals could still carry the sequel because Murray had been away from films for so long and Aykroyd had experienced a series of film failures. During the meeting, the group had fun and decided they could work together.[13] Months of negotiations followed with Reitman, Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis to negotiate a minimal salary in exchange for a percentage of the box office profits.[13][9] The deal was reported to be 10% of the box office profits each; Reitman denied that the figure was that large but said, "it's a big one".[7][9] This was done to keep the budget low, aiming for approximately $30 million, whereas upfront salaries would have raised it closer to $50 million.[13] After this, the film was rushed into production, with shooting scheduled for summer 1988 in anticipation of a mid-1989 release.[9][17] Despite the five years it took to produce a sequel and its necessity for special effects, Ghostbusters II had a shorter schedule than its predecessor's one-year turnaround.[7][18] Michael C. Gross and producer Joe Medjuck returned for the sequel, each being promoted to producer. Michael Chapman replaced László Kovács as cinematographer, and Bo Welch replaced John DeCuir as production designer.[19] Aykroyd described his first draft as "really too far out... too inaccessible".[18][20] He wanted to avoid using New York City, set the film overseas, and provide a contrast to the first film's climax atop a skyscraper by including a subterranean threat.[20] This draft followed Dana Barrett, who is kidnapped and taken to Scotland, where she discovers a fairy ring—a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms sometimes linked in folklore to fairies or witches[21]—and an underground civilization.[18][20] The Ghostbusters would have had to travel through an underground pneumatic tube over 2,000 miles long that would have taken three days to traverse.[20] He eventually decided that retaining the New York setting would allow for continuity and would better fit the story he wanted to tell while still allowing them to explore underground.[20] As with Ghostbusters, Aykroyd partnered with Ramis to refine the script. Early on, they decided Ghostbusters II should reflect the five-year passage of time between the two films.[20] Ramis suggested the story focus on a baby because he had previously developed a horror film concept centered on an infant who possessed adult agility and focus. This inspired him to create the character Oscar.[18] Initially, the child was the son of Peter Venkman and Dana, who would have maintained their relationship in the intervening years. The child would have become possessed as a focal point of the film; Murray felt this created an imbalance in the story, placing too much emphasis on his and Dana's relationship with the child rather than the Ghostbusters and their character dynamics.[22] Instead, they chose to have Peter's and Dana's relationship fail, allowing her to marry, have a child and be divorced by the events of Ghostbusters II.[23] Ramis wanted to show that the Ghostbusters had not remained heroes after their victory in the previous film; he felt that would have been a less original approach.[24] The river of slime was conceived early in their collaboration.[18] Ramis wanted the slime beneath New York to present a moral issue caused by the build-up of negative human emotions in large cities;[18][24] he considered it a metaphor for urban decay and a call to deliver a human solution, though he said this was buried deeply in the script.[13] The pair wanted negative emotions to have consequences and found humor in New York City having to be nice or face destruction, though at this point they did not know what form that destruction would take.[24] Ramis said; "Comedically, it suggested, what if everyone in New York City had to be nice for forty-eight hours?".[13] Aykroyd said they wanted to show negativity has to go somewhere, potentially into the person the emotion is directed towards. He felt this made the film more grounded compared with dealings with gods.[19] He said; "cities everywhere are dangerous. Life has become cheap. You can go to ... see a movie and get machine-gunned on the street".[18] The story evolved far from Ramis' and Aykroyd's combined efforts but retained the core notion of emotions and their impact.[23] By May 1987, Aykroyd and Ramis had been working for over a year,[11] and had completed the screenplay by March 1988.[17] In the years since the release of the more adult-oriented Ghostbusters, its animated spin-off television series The Real Ghostbusters had become popular with its target child audience. The team were tasked with balancing the needs of Ghostbusters fans and those of the cartoon's audience.[9] According to Medjuck, the cartoon's success was influential in the return of Slimer for the sequel, and they aimed to avoid contradicting the cartoon where possible; he said although the Ghostbusters have been out of work for five years, they had to act as though the cartoon's events took place after the film.[25] According to early reports, Puttnam intended to replace the principal cast with lower-salaried actors, in part because of his disdain for Murray. Puttnam denied this in a 1987 interview and said recasting had never been an option.[13][11] Ghostbusters II was to be the first sequel Reitman had directed, and he was worried about being able to surprise the audience without relying on elaborate special effects. He wanted to focus on character interaction, believing that was the original film's main draw.[6] Ramis was apprehensive about returning to the franchise because of the overwhelming success of Ghostbusters.[6] Murray was also hesitant; he had left acting for four years following the release of the previous film. He described Ghostbusters' success as a phenomenon that would forever be his biggest accomplishment and felt "radioactive" after the failure of his personal project The Razor's Edge (1984). He chose to avoid making films until he returned for Scrooged.[26][13] Murray was also dismissive of sequels in general, believing they exist only for "greed" or "business" reasons, the latter of which he said should carry a death sentence. He said he returned for the sequel because "working on the first Ghostbusters was the most fun any of us had".[6] The character of Janosz Poha, portrayed by Peter MacNicol, was originally called Jason and serves as a straight man to the Ghostbusters [27] MacNicol said the role could be played by anyone so he opted to give Poha a backstory in which he is Carpathian. He developed the accent from his Czech friend and from observations at a Romanian tourist agency.[28][29] MacNicol wanted to wear a black Beatles wig but the idea was rejected because many of the cast had dark hair.[30] The character's accent was inspired by that of Meryl Streep in the film Sophie's Choice (1982). In the script, Poha is not described as having an accent but MacNicol impressed Reitman with it at his audition.[2] Max von Sydow provided the voice of Vigo; he completed his recordings in a single day.[2] Von Homburg reportedly only learned his voice had been dubbed with von Sydow's while watching the premiere and stormed out shortly afterward.[31] He later said his slurred voice, which was caused by a split lip, had been a hindrance in securing acting work.[32] Eugene Levy was cast as Louis' cousin Sherman, an employee at the psychiatric ward in which the Ghostbusters are imprisoned. The character was instrumental in their liberation but his scenes were cut.[33][9] Reitman began working on Ghostbusters II almost immediately after directing the 1988 comedy film Twins.[6] Principal photography began in November 1988, in New York City.[9][6] The budget was reported to be between $30 million and $40 million.[13][34] Filming in New York lasted approximately two weeks and consisted mostly of exterior shoots.[6][23] The city authorities were supportive of the project and even granted the crew permission to film on the Manhattan's Second Avenue during a period in which access for forty city blocks was restricted because of the visit of Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union.[23] Other locations include the Statue of Liberty[35] and Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8, the latter of which again served as the exterior of the Ghostbusters' headquarters. The updated Ghostbusters' business logo, which was gifted to the firehouse staff after filming, was hung on the outside of the building but eventually fell off.[36] The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House served as the exterior of the Manhattan Museum of Art, which housed the Vigo painting.[37] The scene of Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson's characters emerging from a manhole covered in slime was filmed in front of the building. When he wrote the scene, Ramis expected the production to use a manhole, but the only available underground location was a telephone conduit. Space in the hole was limited, and the actors had to squeeze into it while covered in slime. Freezing temperatures combined with the liquid slime made the actors uncomfortable. The following day, they learned the cameras had been recording at the wrong speed and they would have to film the scene again.[38] The scene of the Ghostbusters scanning the intersection where Oscar's possessed baby carriage is taken was filmed on First Avenue.[6] Filming had moved to Los Angeles by late December 1988.[6] Fire Station No. 23 again served as the interior of the Ghostbusters' headquarters.[39][40] Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills was used for the scene in which the Ghostbusters visit the mayor at Gracie Mansion.[41] The scene in which the Ghostbusters dig a hole to find the river of slime was filmed in downtown Los Angeles.[13] The scene in which a fur coat comes to life and runs away was filmed on a Los Angeles street; it was written for the original film but was not used and repurposed for Ghostbusters II.[2][38] Filming concluded on March 7, 1989.[9] Medjuck noted that characters are often seen smoking in Ghostbusters but a societal change in the intervening years meant this was no longer acceptable; Ghostbusters II does not depict any smoking.[25] Following test screenings, the principal crew realized there were numerous issues with the film.[42][43] Reitman said that upon watching the test version he realized the final 25 minutes of the film "just died a horrible death", so he spent four days filming a new 25-minute ending to replace it.[43] The test screenings identified that audiences liked the film but felt Vigo did not present a real challenge to the Ghostbusters and that their victory was too easy.[42] Test audiences also thought Vigo, the slime, and the associated ghosts were not sufficiently connected.[44] According to Gross, the audiences were not aware that the slime in the film could be charged by negative or positive emotions, so scenes were added to better explain this.[45] Extensive re-shoots were conducted throughout March and April 1989, only two months before the film's release; these included on-location filming in New York.[46][9][13] Ghostbusters II had been scheduled for release on the July 4th Independence Day holiday weekend but Reitman felt June 23 would work better. When they learned the superhero film Batman was also being released that day, they asked to move to the 16th. According to Gross, "Joe Medjuck and I were turning pale ... it did not look possible ... It was a real killer".[44] Several new scenes were added to increase the sense of urgency and threat to the Ghostbusters, including the underground ghost train sequence and the associated severed-heads scare. A scene showing the Ghostbusters' developed photographs of Vigo bursting into flames, threatening to immolate them, was also added. Reitman wanted these scenes added because he thought his previous cut of the film focused too much on the relationship between Murray's and Weaver's characters.[2] The ghost train scene was filmed at the Tunnel night club in New York. It was added to create a sense of an unseen force trying to keep the Ghostbusters away.[46][38] Medjuck noted that the added scenes did not require extensive special effects.[42] Cheech Marin's cameo as a dock supervisor was also added in this period.[9] The additional content replaced some scenes and subplots that were far into completion and contained finished special effects.[9] Further shooting was done in Washington Square Park, which was used for the monster moving under the Washington Square Arch. The popularity of the film was evident at that time when thousands of people arrived after hearing Ghostbusters II was being filmed there. They took part in filming, screaming on cue and running to escape the monster.[47] The film's final battle with Vigo was reshot, and the way that Vigo left the painting to confront the Ghostbusters changed completely.[48][9] One of the cut scenes included a subplot in which the Raymond Stantz character is possessed by Vigo following his inspection of the Vigo painting. Raymond erratically drives the Ectomobile until he is freed of Vigo's control by Winston. This explained Raymond's possession in the finale. Some of this footage was repurposed into a montage.[5][49] There were also scenes of Louis Tully attempting to capture Slimer, which test audiences found intrusive, and Slimer was reduced to two appearances.[49] Gross said they retained some Slimer scenes for children but that audiences generally had no reaction to the character, which was not what they had expected.[50] Because the sequence in which Tully's cousin frees the Ghostbusters from the psychiatric hospital was removed, a scene showing a paranormal eclipse from the Mayor's office was added to explain the Mayor securing their release. Other removed scenes showed Raymond and Egon experimenting with the slime, which explained how they learned to manipulate it to control the Statue of Liberty. A ghost was also removed from the sequence in which the slime causes ghosts to rise across New York because Reitman felt it was not creepy enough.[9] Ray Parker, Jr. helped develop an updated version of his hit song "Ghostbusters", which was co-written and performed by hip hop group Run-DMC.[5][51] Aiming to replicate the success of the original, soundtrack producer Peter Afterman wanted to hire Bobby Brown who had a recent succession of hit songs.[52][3] To secure Brown's involvement, Afterman offered Brown's music label, MCA Records, the rights to the soundtrack. Brown agreed in exchange for receiving a role in the film. Filming had nearly concluded at that time, but Reitman wrote Brown a cameo as the mayor's doorman.[3] The resulting song, "On Our Own," was written by L.A. Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons. The music video features appearances by Iman, Jane Curtin, Doug E. Fresh, Christopher Reeve, Malcolm Forbes, Rick Moranis, Donald Trump, and Marky and Joey Ramone.[52][53] Brown also worked alone to write and produce "We're Back".[3] Other songs on the soundtrack include "Flip City" by Glenn Frey, "Spirit" by Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, and "Love is a Cannibal" by Elton John.[54] Composer Danny Elfman wrote a song called "Flesh 'n Blood" for the film but was disappointed only four musical bars of it were used. He thought the small usage was an excuse to be able to release it on the soundtrack and said if he had known he would have pulled the song.[55] Randy Edelman was responsible for the film's original score.[56][57] As with his work on Ghostbusters, Reitman had little interest in the technical side of his film. For the sequel, he employed special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), giving them a rough outline of the plot and the freedom to do as they wanted.[58][59][60] Columbia had previously helped Richard Edlund found special effects company Boss Film Studios for Ghostbusters, but Reitman was reported to be unhappy with their work. Edlund's former ILM co-worker Dennis Muren served as the visual effects supervisor.[9] Despite the film's intentionally rushed schedule, Muren wanted to work on the film because it would let him design new creatures.[58] Muren admitted that his designs would not be as original as Ghostbusters', and instead wanted to make them more flexible and "ghostly".[60] The team were originally hired to provide 110 effects shots but this grew to 180.[49][9] ILM was also working on special effects for other 1989 releases; Back to the Future Part II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and The Abyss, but had the most difficulty with Ghostbusters II because designs and concepts were constantly changing and new scenes were being added. ILM eventually refused to accept any further alterations.[9] As the schedule tightened, ILM had nine teams working every day for four weeks to complete the expanded 180 shots,[44] and had to outsource some of the extra work to Visual Concept Engineering, Available Light, Character Shop, and the uncredited Tippett Studio.[9] Apogee Productions handled many of the effects for the reshoots.[9][38] Methocel, a vegetable-based gel, was used to create the slime.[13] Food coloring was added; the colors included green (to match Slimer) and blue. Physical effects supervisor Chuck Gaspar mocked up differently colored batches and Reitman settled on pink.[13][61] The film required approximately 100,000 U.S. gallons (380,000 liters) of slime.[13] Four cement mixers were kept on-site to mix fresh batches daily because it deteriorated quickly.[13][62] Mica dust and mineral oil were added for the river of slime; the dust added depth to the river while the oil created varying shapes on its surface.[13][62] The river of slime in the Van Horne Pneumatic Transit station was a miniature model with a plexiglass trough 1 ft (0.30 m) wide and 10 ft (3.0 m) long. It operated in a gravity pump and was fed from a large tank 15 ft (4.6 m) above it. After reaching the end of the river, the slime fell into another tank, from which it was fed back to the upper tank. Air injectors and puppeteered baffles were used to create bubbles and manipulate the slime to flow as though something was moving beneath the surface.[63] Small slime tentacles were created using vinyl-covered sticks operated from below. The large tentacle was plastic and was filmed against a blue screen as it fell away from a stand-in's boot. The footage was then played in reverse so the tentacle would appear to be grabbing at Aykroyd.[62] The Van Horne scene combined the miniature river, matte paintings of the station, and a practical set for stairs leading to a tunnel.[61] The scene in which Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson fall into the river was considered one of the most difficult effects to achieve; the actors were filmed falling from the Van Horne set, which was composited with the miniature river. Hudson's character being dragged away by the slime's current was filmed against a blue screen so he would appear in the river; his motion in the river had to be animated by hand against the river's natural movements.[38] The returning Slimer ghost was re-developed to be more child-friendly like his popular The Real Ghostbusters incarnation. His face, which was controlled with wires and cables in Ghostbusters, was now controlled by servo motors and had a pneumatic jaw. Bobby Porter was hired to wear the Slimer costume until the character was removed from the film entirely. A few weeks later, Slimer was reinserted but by this time, Porter was not available and was replaced by Robin Shelby.[58][64] The Scoleri Brother ghosts, Tony and Nunzio, were inspired by a pair of brothers who robbed Ramis' father's store. Creature designer Tim Lawrence was influenced by the musical comedy film The Blues Brothers (1980), which starred Aykroyd and featured two brothers, one of whom was tall and thin (Tony) and the other short and fat (Nunzio). The brothers were given a cartoonish design to counter the film's scary moments. Lawrence aimed to represent the characters' evil rather than their pre-death appearances.[65] Camilla Henneman created most of Nunzio using spandex pouches filled with gelatinous materials to make him appear impossibly fat. The costume was worn by Lawrence. The impossibly thin Tony was designed as a life-size puppet but Muren thought this approach would impact the filming schedule. Tony was reworked as a costume that was worn by actor Jim Fye; it was given elongated appendages to appear unnaturally thin.[65] The ghosts' faces were articulated with motors and pneumatics created by mechanical animator Al Coulter and his team. Lawrence also developed an animation system to allow the masks to lip-sync dialog. Alongside early concepts of the ghosts walking and creating explosive ruptures with each step, most of these features were abandoned in the final film. Lawrence later said without those features the same effect could have been created with a one-third-scale puppet.[66] The brothers' electric chairs were miniatures composited into footage of the seated, costumed actors.[66] Distortion effects such as the ghosts being squeezed were created using completed effect shots that were rephotographed through mylar material that could be warped to affect the underlying image.[67] For the scene in which Nunzio carries the prosecutor upside-down from the courtroom, a stuntwoman was hung upside down on a rail. Reitman wanted her to pass through the doorway while seeing above it. Gaspar's team created a passage made of foam above a door that resembled the iron grill. The foam was spring-loaded so that when the wire passed through, the set sprang back into place quickly; the effect was hidden behind a composite of Nunzio.[68] Full-scale cutouts of the ghosts were used during filming to aid the actors.[69] Ghostbusters storyboard artist Thom Enriquez storyboarded the scene; he found the process difficult because the limited schedule meant the courtroom was being built as he worked. He was also restricted by the budget, saying he "could use only fourteen chairs. I could also blow up four pillars and one wall of glass".[69] The animated Statue of Liberty was conceived by Aykroyd, who liked the idea of taking a static image and making it move about, comparing it with seeing the Eiffel Tower moving or Victoria Falls flowing in reverse.[49] The statue's role was originally written as a weapon for Vigo but this idea did not progress the narrative.[70] The effect was a combination of a costume worn by Fye, miniatures, and larger-than-life-size elements like the statue's crown— which in reality was too small to let the Ghostbusters peer out. The crown was mounted on a gimbal, allowing it to be pivoted as though its wearer was walking. Reitman ordered the crown be tilted down further than the actors were expecting to elicit from them a genuine reaction of surprise. The upper body was modeled and filmed at night in a makeshift pool to show it emerging from the ocean.[71][72] Fye also portrayed the ghost of a Central Park jogger.[73] To portray the possessed Janosz illuminating a hallway with his eyes, MacNicol was filmed walking down a hallway, which was filmed again without lights off Michael Chapman holding a light at the height of MacNicol's head while panning it from side-to-side. Several takes were done to cover MacNicol's gaze. Animators added the beams emanating from Janosz, including particulate matter to enhance the realism.[62] The "ghost nanny" version of Janosz that snatches Oscar from Venkman's apartment went through many variations. During development, it was conceived of as a two-headed dragon—an idea that was dismissed as unoriginal—billboard figures, animated gargoyles, a phantom taxi, and Santa Claus.[38] A possessed item in the apartment was also considered; this idea inspired the possessed bathtub.[38] MacNicol wore drag as the nanny for closeups and a puppet was used for wide shots. The ghost's extending arm was made from stretchable plastic tubing covered in fabric.[74] Welch built the exterior walls and ledge of Venkman's apartment to scale; it was positioned 10 ft (3.0 m) in the air. The ledge was superimposed over a matte painting of the full building. The infant actor was secured in a rig that helped him to stand up before his abduction.[38] The possessed bathtub started as a bubble-bath monster that would appear to have thousands of eyes in each bubble; it is destroyed when Dana drops her hairdryer into the bath. Reitman preferred the slime to be the monster. A silicone bath that could be easily bent was used; from below, Tom Floutz puppeteered a tentacle made of dielectric gel and reinforced with spandex and china silk, which was covered in slime. A fiberglass maw was inserted in front of a vacuum tube that sucked the material backward when activated, revealing a mouth. An animated tongue was added later.[46] The RMS Titanic was one of the first shots ILM completed; they wanted a powerful image for the scene and considered using the Hindenburg airship complete with flaming passengers and luggage, a subway train carrying rotting passengers, and a graveyard with exploding headstones. A miniature model of the Titanic with slightly modified aspects; the position of the ship's name was altered to make it clearly identifiable. Extras were filmed wearing period costume, seaweed, and dripping water but many of the minor details were lost in the wide shot.[75] A scale model of the museum was created because Reitman wanted to be able to show the slime oozing from cracks and seams.[75] Several last-minute effect shots were added due to the hectic schedule. The ghost train was intended to be a subway car but there was no time to find a suitable model and an antique train was used. The severed heads were sourced from multiple places; poorer quality heads were placed further away from the camera.[38] The theater ghost took three weeks to build and required four puppeteers. The Washington Square monster was animated in stop motion by Phil Tippett, who accepted the job on the condition that the effect was no longer than 160 frames, was built on an existing model, and could be done in one take. Tippett was seriously injured in a car accident during development but continued to work and finished his effect in time.[47] The slime-possessed fur coat was achieved using four coats with parts controlled with servo motors. ILM considered using live animals for the segment but abandoned the idea.[47] The concept for the physical form of the central villain Vigo went through many changes,[9] including a plan to transform him into a large monstrosity.[76] There was difficulty determining how Vigo would interact outside his painting.[61] Vigo was intended to have heavier creature makeup, but after Von Homburg was cast, his distinctive look meant the extra makeup was largely unnecessary.[77] In early 1989, ILM contacted Glen Eytchison to develop a painting that could come to life. Eytchison specialized in Tableau vivants—the use of static sets and stationary actors to create the illusion of a flat painting. Muren said while they could have figured out the concept, they did not have enough time and needed an expert. The aim was to portray what appeared to be a painting of Vigo that would come to life to shock the audience. ILM spent months producing concepts of the painting's look but Reitman rejected them for being too similar to "Conan [the Barbarian]".[48][61][78] Eytchison and his team researched the look of a 16th-century warlord and references the period's painters to match the contemporaneous art styles.[48] Eytchison's team painted a background and individual items including skies, skulls, and trees on acetate. This allowed Reitman to view combinations quickly; he chose his favored design in 15 minutes. Local painter Lou Police produced a painting from this concept; Reitman approved it but Eytchison realized a painting would not be realistic enough to allow them to switch between it and the actor.[48] Eytchison's team decided to create a small set resembling the painting; it had structural elements, including styrofoam skulls, in which Von Homburg could stand. Von Homburg's costume and the set were painted by the same team to ensure they had the same texture and blended together.[48] Once the set arrived at ILM, Von Homburg was positioned in it wearing full costume, makeup, and prosthetics. Lighting was used to eliminate shadows, creating a flat image. A photograph was then taken and enlarged to be used as the painting. Welch's department treated the photograph to make it closely resemble an oil painting.[48][79] Scenes of Von Homburg on the set delivering his dialog and stepping out of the set as if leaving the painting were filmed; according to Eytchison, the actor struggled with the action and Reitman did not like the effect. The ending was changed completely, eliminating the living picture concept.[48] When Vigo interacts from the painting in the finished film, the image is replaced by Von Homburg's disembodied head floating over a miniature river-of-slime set built from foam by ILM.[61] When leaving the painting, Vigo disappears and materializes into the scene.[48] Another concept had him "peel" from the canvas,[9] and another had the slime bring other paintings to life to aid him.[80] A molded mask was created to represent his inner evil; it was worn by Harold Weed as the possessed version of Aykroyd's character.[80] Ghostbusters' hardware consultant Stephen Dane was responsible for much of the Ghostbusters' equipment and their vehicle, the Ectomobile; he designed new equipment for Ghostbusters II in an uncredited role. Dane revised the designs of the proton pack weapons, the ghost trap, and also revised the Ectomobile, which became the Ectomobile 1A. Dane designed new equipment including the giga-meter, the slime scooper, and the slime blower—a large tank connected to a slime-spewing nozzle. He re-purposed leftover prop warning labels and symbols from his work on Blade Runner (1982) to make the equipment look more authentic.[81] The slime blower weapons were three times heavier than the proton packs; the tanks did not contain slime, which was pumped through the guns from off-camera.[71] The bulky proton packs, which were considered heavy and uncomfortable during the filming of Ghostbusters, were redesigned to weigh 28 lb (13 kg) in comparison with the 30 lb (14 kg) and 50 lb (23 kg) versions used on the previous film. The new design offered more comfort while removing some of the powered effects.[78] Muren's team redesigned the proton pack neutrino wand beams to be multi-functional, allowing them to be used as lassos or fishing lines to capture ghosts instead of being straight beams.[58] Five remotely controlled baby strollers were used to create the possessed stroller in the film's opening; motors and driveshafts were concealed with the stroller's chrome body, and brakes that could stop it immediately or slow it gradually were used.[23] Gaspar employed two-time national miniature-car champion Jay Halsey to drive the stroller; he had to weave it between traffic from up to 75 ft (23 m) away.[23] In the late 1980s, film sequels were still quite rare, but the concept of the media franchise had quickly developed following the success of the original Star Wars trilogy.[82] In 1989, more sequels were released than in any previous year, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Karate Kid Part III, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and Lethal Weapon 2.[83] Also released that year were original hits that would become popular classics like Uncle Buck, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, When Harry Met Sally..., and Dead Poets Society.[84] That year's most anticipated film was Batman, which was scheduled for release a week after Ghostbusters II, and whose logo had become ubiquitous through a significant marketing campaign aided by its mega-congomlerate owner Time-Warner.[82][85][86] Shortly before its release, a "major theater chain" executive said they expected Ghostbusters II to make approximately $150 million during its run, behind Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($225 million) and Batman ($175 million), and ahead of Lethal Weapon 2 ($100 million).[87] Ghostbusters II was originally scheduled for release in July 1989 but less than three months before release, it was brought forward to June to avoid direct competition with Batman.[49] The premiere of Ghostbusters II took place on June 15, 1989, at Grauman's Chinese Theater, with an after-party that required payment to attend at the Hollywood Palladium; the entrance fees collected were donated to Saint John's Health Center.[88] Ghostbusters II received a wide release on June 16, 1989, in 2,410 theaters, compared with the original film's opening on 1,339.[89][90] Compared to Ghostbusters' $13 million opening weekend, Ghostbusters II film earned $29.5 million—an average of $12,229 per theater—as the number one film of the weekend, ahead of the action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($11.7 million) which was in its fourth week of release and drama film Dead Poets Society ($9.1 million), which was in its third.[89][91] Based on its gross and an average increase in ticket price of 22% since Ghostbusters' release, an estimated 2 million more people went to see the film's opening. It broke the all-time record for a one-day opening with approximately $10 million on its opening Friday; it was also the biggest non-holiday opening weekend with $29.5 million, narrowly beating Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade's opening three-day gross of $29.4 million.[90] Ghostbusters II's revenue was exceeded the following weekend by Batman's $15.6 million opening day takings, and $43.6 million opening weekend earnings earned from 2,194 theaters.[92][93][94] Ghostbusters II earned another $13.8 million—a 53% drop from the previous weekend—bringing its 10-day total to $58.8 million, putting it in third place behind Batman and another new release, the Moranis-starring comedy film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ($14.3 million), which was bolstered by a heavily marketed seven-minute Roger Rabbit short film playing before it.[93][95] This weekend gross saw Ghostbusters II contribute to the highest-grossing weekend ever at the time, with total box office takings of $92 million across all theaters.[93] Compared to the original Ghostbusters' seven-week run at number one, Ghostbusters II never regained the top slot,[96][97] falling to number four in its third week behind the debuting drama The Karate Kid Part III,[98] and to number 5 in its fourth week behind the action film Lethal Weapon 2 and black comedy Weekend at Bernie's, both of which were new releases.[99] Ghostbusters II left the top-ten-grossing films by its seventh week and was removed from cinemas entirely by late-September after fifteen weeks.[97] In total, Ghostbusters II earned $112.5 million in North America, less than half that of the original's revenue,[89][100] making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year, behind Back to the Future Part II ($118.4 million), Lethal Weapon 2 ($147.3 million), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ($130.7 million), Look Who's Talking ($140.1 million), and the highest domestic grossing film of that year, Batman ($251.2 million).[101] Outside North America, Ghostbusters II is estimated to have earned approximately $102.9 million, nearly doubling the original's overseas takings and raising its worldwide total to $215.4 million. This figure makes it the eighth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1989, falling approximately $67 million short of Ghostbusters' original theatrical revenue.[102][103] Ghostbusters II received generally negative reviews from critics.[2][104][105] Audiences responded more positively; CinemaScore polls reported that moviegoers gave an average rating of "A-" on a scale of A+ to F.[106] Dave Kehr and USA Today's Mike Clark were critical of attempts at making the Ghostbusters more mature which made the film feel "tired" and lacking in surprises. They said that Ghostbusters had succeeded by projecting childlike fantasies onto adult characters who snubbed authority and bonded in a clubhouse, but by taking a surreal comedic fantasy and adding humanity to the central characters, the sequel had become "Four Ghostbusters and a Baby", a reference to the 1987 comedy film Three Men and a Baby.[107][108] Roger Ebert called it a disappointment, saying he reviewed Ghostbusters II in a public screening and heard no laughter during the entire film.[104] Several reviewers criticized the film for too closely emulating the structure and story elements of its predecessor.[109][110] Gene Siskel called it a poor copy that offered nothing new, as though they "were filming the first draft of a script".[111][104] Richard Schickel was critical of the glut of sequels in 1989 in his review. He said that Ghostbusters II offered only slight variations over the original without further developing the characters, and had a "shamelessly" similar ending.[110] Time Out echoed sentiments that the film largely retraced the events of its predecessor, and the addition of an infant came across as a convenience.[112] Desson Thomson said Ghostbusters II felt like an extended version of its predecessor without as many impressive special effects.[113] Writing for Empire, William Thomas said the script was sharp but certainly aimed towards entertaining younger audience members.[109] Sheila Benson praised the film and said its denouement was superior to that of the original. She appreciated that despite being a sequel, it did not rely on inside jokes that might alienate audiences and that the interplay between the actors felt inclusive.[114] Hal Hinson said that while "big and dumb and clunky" like the first film, Ghostbusters II offered more personality. Hinson considered sequels to be generally lazy and reliant on the success of the previous film, but felt that Ghostbusters II looked better and was confident enough to experiment with the source material. He was criticized what he saw as a lack of tension and plot development.[115] Vincent Canby said the film was funnier and not as "oppressively extravagant" as Ghostbusters; he believed the plot lacked depth but that the overall tone of the film was "remarkably cheerful".[116] Some reviewers found the film to be poorly paced, leaving scenes feeling overlong, and that its best moments felt both few and infrequent.[117][113] Others echoed this sentiment, saying that it lacked the energy of Ghostbusters, and was too laid back.[118][111][104] Writing for The Globe and Mail, Rick Groen considered the film self-important and mediocre,[119] and criticized Reitman's direction for lacking visual imagination.[119] The film's special effects generally received praise. Benson called them "impressive", and Caroll highlighted moments like the ghostly, resurrected Titanic, but she felt that the creatures lacked any real menace.[117][114] According to Variety, the film's slime and visuals would appeal to children, while adults could appreciate the witty dialogue.[120] Unlike Ghostbusters, reviewers were more conflicted over Murray's performance in the sequel.[117][119] Kehr said that his performance retained "bright" moments, but he seemed less energetic than in his previous film Scrooged.[108] Rosenbaum concurred, stating that the actor's trademark comedic indifference seemed to be lacking commitment, and Caroll said that his well-received performance in Ghostbusters had been replaced by a "smug swagger and constant smirking" that she found irritating.[118][117] Variety considered his character is central to the film because of his ad-libbed dialog, and Groen argued that Murray essentially carried the film alone.[120][119] Hinson said that Murray's comedic performance was vital to tempering the film from becoming over-sentimental when discussing battling negativity with positivity.[115] Thomas claimed that the previous film had allowed Murray's character to be aloof, selfish, and immature, while Ghostbusters II pushed him towards being in a mature relationship and demonstrating genuine human warmth, which he felt did not work.[109] Benson commented that Murray's and Weaver's characters felt unconnected and more like rivals than lovers.[114] Thomas and Siskel said that the film's emphasis on this romantic subplot was to its detriment, both occupying too much of its runtime and largely removing Murray from the action scenes.[109][111][104] Clark lamented that Weaver was underutilized in a stereotypical working mother role.[107] MacNicol's performance was consistently praised.[108][109][117][119][114] Groen, who was critical of much of the cast for lackluster performances, said that his "wickedly funny" performance was the film's sole surprising feature.[119] Canby and Kehr concurred on MacNicol being a highlight of the film, Thomas saying that his character would be impersonated by children everywhere.[116][108][109] Carroll called it a "deliriously over-the-top performance".[117] Moranis was also singled out for his comedic performance. Kehr and Clark appreciated the "rewarding" romantic subplot between his character and Potts'.[108][107][117] Thomson said that the film's best moments, provided by Murray, Moranis, and Aykroyd, were too few, which left him wanting more.[113] Financially, Ghostbusters II was a relative success but it failed to meet studio expectations as a sequel to the highest-grossing comedy of all time. Despite being predicted to outperform its rival films before its release it failed to do so.[121][122] As a part of the most successful summer for film to that date, Ghostbusters II was seen as a critical and commercial failure; it also failed to garner the same passionate response from critics and fans as its predecessor.[7][123] While Columbia did not comment, industry experts believed the film was undone, at least partly, by the combination of Batman attracting teenage audiences and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids taking family audiences.[122] Another issue was the quantity of films being released close together and unexpected successes that meant films were staying in theaters longer than anticipated. By only mid-July, one theater was alternating Ghostbusters II and The Karate Kid III on the same screen because of their diminishing returns to play Batman and Lethal Weapon 2 on other screens.[124] Reitman blamed changes in what audiences wanted from films. He said he felt contemporaneous society was more negative and cynical, and noted the popularity of Batman, which had a darker tone whereas Ghostbusters II is more positive, particularly its upbeat, optimistic ending that shows New Yorkers coming together to help defeat Vigo.[2][4][100] Reitman also felt the novelty of Ghostbusters could not be repeated because big surprises like ghosts and epic finales were now expected.[7] In 2014, he said, "It didn't all come together ... we just sort of got off on the wrong foot story-wise on that film".[123] Reviewers often noted that the film largely resembles its predecessor down to the story structure, a giant figure stomping through New York, and a mid-film montage set to a theme song.[100] Some noted that releasing a film set at Christmas in June may also have worked against it.[5] It has also been suggested the five-year gap between films worked against it, both losing the momentum generated by the original and setting expectations too high. This period also allowed a potential cultural saturation of the brand through the cartoon series and merchandise.[100][33] Reitman was disappointed with Ghostbusters II's performance and said making the film had not been as much fun an experience as working on Ghostbusters. He told Columbia he would not be part of a third film, and intended to break from comedies altogether.[7] In a 2008 interview, Murray said, "We did a sequel and it was sort of rather unsatisfying for me, because the first one to me was ... the real thing ... They'd written a whole different movie than the one [initially discussed]. And the special-effects guys got it ... There were a few great scenes in it, but it wasn't the same movie."[125][126] Moranis said, "To have something as offbeat, unusual, and unpredictable [as] the first Ghostbusters, it's next to impossible to create something better. [And] with sequels ... they want better."[123] Much as with the first film, Hudson was disappointed his role was relatively small. In Ghostbusters, many of his major scenes had been given to Murray who was better-known, and Hudson felt the sequel continued to marginalize his character. He affirmed that despite this, he appreciated the role because of the positive way in which fans have reacted to it.[127][128] Ghostbusters II was released on VHS on November 22, 1989, only shortly after the end of its theatrical run. Since the early 1980s, home media was normally released at least six months after films launched in theaters, and in the case of blockbusters like Ghostbusters II and Batman, anywhere from nine to twelve months later. To take advantage of the Christmas season, Ghostbusters II, Batman, and When Harry Met Sally... were all released before the end of the year. The Ghostbusters II VHS was priced at $90 and aimed towards rentals rather than individual purchases.[129][130][131] The film entered the rental chart at number 10 and by late December it peaked as the second top VHS rental behind Batman.[132][133] The release was controversial for the use of letterboxing—the process of transferring a film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio—which cropped much of the video shown on screen.[134] A DVD version was released in 1999.[135] Blu-ray disc editions were released to celebrate the film's 25th and 30th anniversaries in 2014 and 2019 respectively; the film was remastered and the releases feature 4K resolution video, deleted scenes, alternate takes, and an interview with Aykroyd and Reitman. The 30th-anniversary version was packaged in a limited-edition steel book cover, and also included Ghostbusters and commentary by Reitman, Aykroyd, and producer Joe Medjuck.[136][137] The original soundtrack of Ghostbusters II was first released on compact disc in 1989.[138] Brown's song "On Our Own" was a number-one song on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs music chart for one week in early August before being replaced by Batman's own hit song "Batdance" by Prince.[139] "On Our Own" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, again behind Batdance, and later behind "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx. "On Our Own" spent 20 weeks on the chart.[140][141][142] The Run-DMC version of "Ghostbusters" failed to develop the same level of enduring fandom as Parker, Jr.'s original.[5] In 2014, the Run-DMC version was released on a special-edition, white vinyl record that was presented in a marshmallow-scented jacket. The record also contains the Parker, Jr. version of the song and was released to celebrate the 30th and 25th anniversaries of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II respectively.[51] The same year, the soundtrack was first released in digital format.[138] Several elements of Ghostbusters II deal with the consequences of actions. Instead of being lauded as heroes after defeating Gozer, the Ghostbusters are driven out of business because of the associated destruction they caused. The slime amasses beneath the city as a consequence of negative emotions projected by New Yorkers.[143] When writing the script, Aykroyd and Ramis wanted to show that negativity had a lasting impact on the person inflicting it or the one receiving it. Aykroyd noted that, at the time, he considered major cities to be places where danger was rife and life held little value.[19][23] Writing for Mashable in 2019, Pravit Chatterjee argues that this theme is more relevant in the contemporary age of social media and hate speech.[143] Similarly, positivity is presented as a uniquely powerful force. Their previous combined efforts defeated Gozer, a demi-god, but the Ghostbusters are completely powerless against Vigo and the accumulated negativity fuelling him. It is only when the citizens gathered outside the museum unite to sing a chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" that their positivity overwhelms Vigo, allowing the Ghostbusters to defeat him.[144][145][143] In 2016, A. Bowdoin van Riper wrote that while destruction-heavy films set in New York made before the September 11 terrorist attack had taken on darker, unintended meanings, Ghostbusters II was now more relevant. Its ending, which can be seen as "hokey" or false, now seemed "touchingly real".[144] Murray described it as a "story about innocence restored, and good values, and the power of faith in ordinary people."[146] Unlike Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II lauds the values of community and family over their Ghostbusters' personal successes.[145] Indeed, the Ghostbusters' involvement in the sequel comes from the threat to their personal acquaintance Dana Barrett and her son. They are drawn out of retirement and break the rules of their legal settlement with the city to help, despite the lack of financial rewards and the personal risk to themselves.[147] Ghostbusters II is among many films released during the 1980s and 1990s that dealt with issues of fatherhood; these included Three Men and a Baby (1987), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Uncle Buck (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Parenthood (1989), Hook (1991), and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). These film types appeared among their respective release years' highest-grossing films, and focus on redeeming or celebrating the concept of fatherhood in different forms from warm and friendly to authoritarian.[148] These father figures are initially unprepared for their responsibility. Nicole Matthews argues that the need to present a film targeted at both adults and children leads to the central characters being infantilized and immature.[149] These films each share a similar concept, that female characters are either absent or not important to the overall story.[150] Ghostbusters II's driving plot is ostensibly about a mother (Dana Barrett) trying to protect her son who is the target of a malevolent force. Instead, it becomes about Peter Venkman and his relationship to the child, both representing a surrogate paternal figure and lamenting that he is not the child's biological father. The film focuses on moments of paternal tenderness such as Venkman using his treasured football shirt to clothe Oscar.[151] This focus is evident during the film's finale where Vigo's portrait is replaced by an image of the Ghostbusters as four paternal figures surrounding Oscar, with no female present. Instead a sword is depicted penetrating a stone; a symbol of fertility.[151][152] As with the previous film, Ghostbusters II criticizes political institutions. The team actively questions authority in a deteriorating city filled with unhappy people. Government representatives are shown to be more concerned with proper processes than the imminent threat of the ghosts.[153][143] They are shown to be incompetent or pursuing an agenda of self-interest that means they cannot be trusted to protect the people they represent.[153] The Ghostbusters' outspokenness results in them being sent to a psychiatric institution to silence them.[143] The Ghostbusters are freed from the governmental bonds—the legal requirements barring them from operating as paranormal exterminators—but only while they are solving more problems than they create.[154] Christine Alice Corcos describes the courtroom scene, in which the executed Scoleri brothers' return to wreak havoc, as a demonstration of the failure of the legal system. The government must again empower the Ghostbusters to deal with the problem, reaffirming the team's personal liberty over government influence.[153] Corcos also analyzed the slime as a symbol of pollution. The human soul is polluted by negativity, which is given a physical form as slime beneath the city until there is too much for the Earth to handle.[155] Zoila Clark considered the ghosts to represent immigrants to America.[156] Several antagonists and ghostly forces are foreign—the Scoleri brothers, the passengers of the Titanic, Janosz, and Vigo.[157] Vigo is compared to Count Dracula, a threatening foreign entity that hypnotizes subjects with his eyes, and aims to take an American woman for his own.[158] The Statue of Liberty is of French origin and although it is described as a symbol of purity, Murray's character sexualizes it, defining it outside the American stereotype of purity.[159] Since its release, Ghostbusters II has been labeled as the film that "killed" the franchise because it made less money from a larger budget than Ghostbusters and because the filming experience and resulting reception dissuaded Murray from involvement in a third film.[160][161] While some modern critics continue to criticize it as a bad film or inferior to its predecessor, it may only seem that way in comparison with Ghostbusters and is otherwise above average.[161][104][33] In a 2014 interview, Reitman defended the film, saying while it was unfairly compared with Batman at the time, he felt Ghostbusters II still holds up well against the superhero film.[100] Digital Spy defended the film as being as good as or better than Ghostbusters. It said the plot of Ghostbusters II is arguably better executed than that of the first film, with multiple threads coming together in a "seamless" third act with a positive ending that works better with modern audiences.[100] Den of Geek compared it to sequels to other genre-specific classics like Back to the Future Part II and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), which were considered not as good as the original but as good films in their own right, while Ghostbusters II is perceived as being a bad film despite a close similarity to the original.[33] Deadspin said that like those aforementioned films, Ghostbusters II's darker setpieces and comedy made it more suited for adults than children, but that it is better than most people remember.[161] Uproxx called it the ideal film to watch during the New Year period because it offers an unsubtle, but simple morality tale about treating others well.[162] Contemporary review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes offers a 53% approval rating from 38 critics—an average rating of 5.32/10. The site's consensus reads, "Thanks to the cast, Ghostbusters 2 is reasonably amusing, but it lacks the charm, wit, and energy of its predecessor".[163] The film has a score of 56 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 critical reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[164] In 2009, Den of Geek listed it as the eighteenth best blockbuster sequel of all time.[165] Film merchandising was a relatively new concept created mainly by the success of the Star Wars series. Merchandising for Ghostbusters was unsuccessful; toys in particular sold poorly until the release of the cartoon spin-off The Real Ghostbusters. Sequels were seen as a brighter prospect because they are based on established characters. Over 24 tie-in toys were released alongside the film including water guns, colored slimes,[166] coloring books, comics, and children's meals.[5] Ghostbusters action figures were the fifth-most in-demand toy for the 1989 Christmas season according to a survey of 15,000 retailers.[167] Approximately 2.8 million units of a promotional noisemaker toy called the "Ghostblaster", which was released across 3,100 outlets of the fast-food restaurant Hardee's, were recalled in June 1989 because of reports children were ingesting its small batteries.[168][169] Now Comics released a three-part comic book miniseries adaptation of the film set in The Real Ghostbusters cartoon universe. The story included subplots from the film including Ray's possession while driving the Ectomobile and Tully trying to capture Slimer.[170][171][172] Several video games were released around the release of the film; Ghostbusters II in 1989 for personal computers, Ghostbusters II (published by Activision) in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and New Ghostbusters II (as Ghostbusters II), also in 1990 for the Nintendo Game Boy. New Ghostbusters II was also released for the NES in Europe and Japan but could not be released in America because Activision held the rights to the game there.[173][174] Since its release, Ghostbusters II merchandise has included Playmobil sets with action figures and a model of the Ectomobile 1A.[175] A board game, Ghostbusters: The Board Game II, was released in 2017 by Cryptozoic Entertainment. Based on the film, it casts the players as the Ghostbusters and tasks them with defeating Vigo and his ghostly minions. The game's creation was crowdfunded, raising over $760,000.[176][177][178] The 2019 Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida held a 'Ghostbusters-themed haunted maze that featured locations, characters, and ghosts from Ghostbusters, and the Scoleri Brothers.[179] Discussion about a sequel took place during filming of Ghostbusters II, but Ramis was dismissive because of both the actors' ages and the difficulty in getting all of the cast together.[6] Despite Ghostbusters II's relative failure, the name recognition and popularity of the actors and their characters meant a third film was still pursued. The concept failed to progress for many years because Murray was reluctant to participate.[180][126] The Real Ghostbusters series continued to air until 1991 and ended after seven seasons; according to Medjuck, the cartoon series technically took place after the events of Ghostbusters II.[25][5] The Real Ghostbusters was followed in 1997 by a sequel series called Extreme Ghostbusters, which aimed to reinvigorate the franchise but lasted for only one season.[5] In the years that followed the release of Ghostbusters II, Aykroyd continued his attempts to develop a film sequel throughout the 1990s to the early 2010s. By 1999, he had completed a 122-page concept for a sequel called Ghostbusters III: Hellbent, which would add several new characters and take them to ManHellton—a demonic version of Manhattan—where they would encounter the demon Lucifer.[180] In 2009, Ghostbusters: The Video Game featuring story consulting by Ramis and Aykroyd, and the likenesses and voice acting of Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Hudson, Potts, and Atherton, was released. Set two years after Ghostbusters II, the story follows the Ghostbusters training a new recruit (the player) to combat a ghostly threat related to Gozer. The game was well-received, earning award nominations for its storytelling. Aykroyd said the game is "essentially the third movie".[181][180] The game establishes that following the events of Ghostbusters II the still-possessed portrait of Vigo became a decoration at the Ghostbusters' firehouse.[182] Ghostbusters: The Return (2004) was the first in a planned series of sequel novels before the publisher, iBooks, went out of business.[183] Several Ghostbusters comic books have also continued the original characters' adventures across the globe and in other dimensions.[183][184] Following Ramis's death in 2014, Reitman chose to no longer serve as director for a potential third film.[185][186] He decided the creative control shared by himself, Ramis, Aykroyd, and Murray was holding the franchise back and negotiated a deal with the studio to sell the rights. Reitman spent two weeks persuading Murray. Reitman refused to release details about the deal but said, "the creators would be enriched for the rest of our lives, and for the rest of our children’s lives". He and Aykroyd set up a production company called Ghost Corps to continue and expand the franchise, starting with the 2016 female-led reboot, Ghostbusters, which was directed by Paul Feig[10] and starred Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon as the Ghostbusters.[185][187] Before its release, the film was beset by controversies and on release it attracted mixed reviews and was later considered a box office bomb.[188][189][190][191] A second, direct sequel to the original two films, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, was announced in January 2019, with Reitman's son Jason serving as director. This sequel was written by him and Gil Kenan, and is scheduled for a March 2021 release.[192] Several members of the original cast are set to appear in the film alongside new cast members Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd.[193]

List of Ghostbusters characters

The Ghostbusters franchise spans numerous films, animated series, novelizations, comic books, and video games. Beginning with the 1984 live-action film Ghostbusters written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the premise and storyline have inspired sequels, spinoffs, and reboots. These entries into the franchise include an ever expanding list of both recurring and original characters. Peter Venkman is a focal member of the Ghostbusters. He is portrayed by Bill Murray in both live action films, and is voiced in the animated series first by Lorenzo Music, followed by Dave Coulier. Peter is one of three doctors of parapsychology on the team; he also holds a PhD in psychology. In the movies, he is characterized by his blunt persona, his laid-back approach to his profession, and his womanizing demeanor; of the three doctors in the Ghostbusters, he is the least committed to the academic and scientific side of their profession, and tends to regard his field, in the words of his employer in the first film, as "a dodge or hustle". In the first movie, he is shown to develop genuine concern and romantic feelings for the Ghostbusters' first client, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver). Raymond "Ray" Stantz, another member of the Ghostbusters, is played by Dan Aykroyd in the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, and is voiced by Frank Welker in the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. He is one of the three doctors of parapsychology on the team and Peter’s closest friends. Ray is considered the "heart" of the Ghostbusters by the other members of the team and the second in command. He is an expert on paranormal history and metallurgy. He is characterized by his almost childlike enthusiasm towards his work, and his outspoken acceptance of paranormal activity. Egon Spengler is the brains of the Ghostbusters – described in the original script as a "New Wave Mr. Spock" – and the creator of the Ghostbusters' equipment along with Raymond Stantz. Lacking much of a personality other than his focus on all things scientific, he is often shown as lacking social skills when dealing with people. Egon was portrayed by Harold Ramis in the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, and voiced by Maurice LaMarche in the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters and later Extreme Ghostbusters. LaMarche was the only voice actor to remain for the entirety of both series. Before the movie was released, American Cinematographer described Egon as "maniacal" based on reading the script.[1] Ramis credited the part as launching his acting career, as up to that point he had been a director and writer, with a smaller acting role alongside Bill Murray in Stripes.[2] Winston Zeddemore is played by Ernie Hudson in both movies and the 2009 video game, and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first season of The Real Ghostbusters. Buster Jones provided Winston's voice in the remaining seasons, and he reprised the role in a cameo on Extreme Ghostbusters. Hudson reportedly auditioned to reprise the role of Winston for the animated series, but he was rejected in favor of Hall. Unlike the other members of the team, Winston is not a scientist with a background in the paranormal; the novelization says that he was in the Marines. He is hired when the Ghostbusters' business begins to pick up. Despite not sharing the educational credentials of his coworkers, Winston often serves as the everyman of the team, acting as a voice of reason and displaying more common sense than the others. In the 2009 video game, Winston claims to have spent time in the Egypt exhibit of the museum while in college, suggesting experience in anthropology or a related science. Portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the first and second movie, Dana Barrett was a single cellist living at 550 Central Park West (55 Central Park West), a sinister apartment building which would become the gateway for the apocalyptic deity, Gozer the Gozerian. Dana is singled out early for unwelcome paranormal attention by Gozer's minions, and seeks the help of the Ghostbusters after seeing their advertisement on television. She is possessed by the demon Zuul, Gatekeeper of Gozer; who along with Keymaster Vinz Clortho opens the interdimensional gate to summon Gozer to Earth in the first film. She promptly attracts the romantic attention of Venkman, whose flippant behavior causes her to doubt her decision to seek aid from the Ghostbusters. In the sequel five years later, Dana is a divorced mother of an eight-month-old boy named Oscar; Venkman is neither her former husband nor Oscar's father. Dana was then working as a restorationist for the fictitious Manhattan Museum of Art. It is here that she (and later Baby Oscar) comes to the attention of the evil Prince Vigo the Carpathian, whose malign spirit inhabits his massive self portrait. When Dana and Baby Oscar becomes the target of Vigo's plot, the Ghostbusters re-enter her life to save her, Baby Oscar, and the world once more. She was also a neighbor of Louis Tully at 550 Central Park West in the first movie. The two remained acquainted, then became friends. Louis and Janine Melnitz baby-sat Oscar (and became a romantic item) during the second film. Weaver confirmed in June 2019 that she will reprise her role as Barrett in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).[3] Dana is the only character that didn't appear in The Real Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Janine Melnitz, the Ghostbusters's secretary, is played by Annie Potts in both movies, and is voiced by Laura Summer and Kath Soucie in The Real Ghostbusters and Pat Musick in Extreme Ghostbusters. Janine has occasionally worn the Ghostbusters uniform and used ghost-catching equipment in the animated series. During the first film, Janine often flirted with Egon but none of her advances were returned in kind. She later dated Louis Tully in the sequel. Louis Tully is a nerdy accountant and a neighbor of Dana Barrett, played by Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II and voiced by Rodger Bumpass in the Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters animated series. He is possessed by the demon Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster who, along with Zuul, opens the interdimensional gate to bring Gozer to Earth in the first film. In Ghostbusters II, he is revealed to have earned a law degree at night school, representing the Ghostbusters at their trial and taking up permanent employment with them when they reestablish their business. In addition, he seeks to become the fifth Ghostbuster. He later borrows a Ghostbuster jumpsuit and proton pack to attempt to help defeat Vigo The Carpathian. After the release of Ghostbusters II, Louis became a semi-regular character on Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters as the Ghostbusters' legal and financial adviser. Ghostbusters, like many films on which Moranis has worked, had him improvising some of his lines.[4] He appears as a non-playable character in Lego Dimensions voiced by Mick Wingert. In his sidequest on the Ghostbusters Adventure World, he requires the player's help to get more guests for his party. Slimer is a translucent green blob creature, with two skinny arms, no feet, and several chins. In the first movie, Slimer was voiced by director Reitman, while Welker voiced the green ghost in The Real Ghostbusters. Slimer originally was a priest that led the circumcisions in the Anglican Methodist church when killed by one of his patients he vowed to haunt New York forever. In the 1989 sequel Ghostbusters II, Robin Shelby performed Slimer and Reitman again voiced Slimer but most of the footage shot was not used. In the late 1990s cartoon Extreme Ghostbusters, Slimer's voice was provided by Billy West. Troy Baker voices Slimer in the 2009 video game, though with the sound effects used in the first movie. Aykroyd reportedly referred to Slimer as "The Ghost of John Belushi".[citation needed] In the script for Ghostbusters, Slimer is never called by any name. He is described by Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) as an "Ugly Little Spud," just before he slimes Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray). In Ghostbusters terminology, Slimer is designated as a "Focused, Non-Terminal Repeating Phantasm or a Class 5 Full-Roaming Vapor! (Real nasty one, too!)" The creature's original title was "The Onionhead Ghost", which the film crew dubbed him for the horrible odor he used to scare a couple in a scene cut from the original movie. Slimer's personality is one of tremendous gluttony, and he is referred to as a "disgusting blob". In the movies, he is not named and makes short appearances. In the cartoon, he is known as Slimer, is able to speak, and demonstrates a child's intelligence and intense loyalty to Peter and the Ghostbusters with the personality of a dog. His role in the series is explained in the episode "Citizen Ghost", which primarily consists of a flashback to the immediate aftermath of the movie, where Slimer returned to the firehouse as the Ghostbusters were the first people to show any interest in him, the team 'adopting' him as a means of testing ghosts and an ally after he helped them defeat ectoplasmic manifestations of themselves that had manifested from their old uniforms after the uniforms were exposed to ghostly energies from the containment unit. In the Marvel UK comics of the Real Ghostbusters, Slimer had his own half-page sketch, in which Slimer's past life was covered; he was originally called King Remils ("Slimer" spelled backwards), a greedy, obese monarch who had died of heart failure. Slimer's popularity soared from the subsequent spin-off animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. Slimer later starred in his own Slimer! cartoons when The Real Ghostbusters was extended to a one-hour format. SLIMER! was briefly published by NOW Comics, a defunct Chicago firm. Artists included Mitch O'Connell and Mark Braun. Writers included Larry Parr who also wrote for the animated series. Slimer also appeared as a representative of The Real Ghostbusters in the animated anti-drug television special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. Slimer was also the mascot for the Hi-C flavor "Ecto Cooler", which came out shortly after The Real Ghostbusters, and was colored green. Slimer remained on the box well after the Real Ghostbusters was cancelled; but in 1997 the drink was renamed "Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen", and Slimer was removed. Slimer also had a toothpaste named after him. A more monstrous and "evil-looking" incarnation of Slimer appears in the 2016 reboot, as voiced by Adam Ray: it appears in the ghost havoc scenes, as it ravages a hot dog cart, but, as the Ghostbusters near to investigate, he steals the Ecto-1 and starts joyriding with other ghosts (including a Lady Slimer) around Manhattan, but the Ghostbusters decide not to shoot him, as the car contains a nuclear reactor. Later, they actually do shoot at the car to use the reactor to reverse the effects of the ghost portal, with Slimer and Lady Slimer sharing a kiss before falling inside it. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, mascot for the fictional company Stay-Puft Marshmallows, becomes the chosen Destructor form of Gozer after Dr. Ray Stantz "tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never, ever possibly destroy us... Mr. Stay-Puft..." Stay-Puft also makes appearances in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters (most times friendly due to not being possessed by Gozer any longer, other times a bit cranky), and returns as a boss – the resurrected Destructor avatar sans Gozer – in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Stay-Puft was inspired by Peter O'Boyle, a security guard at Columbia Pictures whom director Reitman met filming his previous movie, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. According to Sam Delaney of The Guardian, "Stay-Puft's familiar mascot combined elements of real life brand ambassadors Bibendum (aka the Michelin tire man) and the Pillsbury Dough Boy."[5] The costume was created by Bill Bryan using miniatures, optical compositing and Bryan himself in a latex suit.[6] Gozer The Gozerian, also known as "The Destructor", "The Destroyer," "Volguus Zildrohar," "Lord of The Sebouillia," "Scourge of the Glethestements" and "The Traveler;" a sadistic, shapeshifting, apocalyptic entity (worshipped as a god by the Hittite, Mesopotamian and Sumerian cultures) who appears as the first film's main antagonist. Gozer is reputed – with few exceptions – to be the most powerful being the Ghostbusters have ever faced. It displayed an extraordinary array of abilities including dimensional travel, shape-changing, telepathy, great agility and stamina, lightning blasts, invisibility, intangibility, pyrokinesis, teleportation and weather control. In fact, its mere entering Earth's dimension caused increases in paranormal activity and the disruption of natural forces (the storm clouds and earthquake before the battle). As briefly mentioned in the film and fully covered by the game sequel, cults worshipping Gozer and its minions arose around 6000 BC before being banished from this dimension by the Babylonian goddess Tiamat following a protracted conflict between their followers. Entering into any given dimension, Gozer uses the thoughts of those who witness its arrival to assume a fixed form within that plane of existence. Gozer's arrival is set in motion in the 1920s by the actions of Ivo Shandor and comes to fruition in 1984, when his/her minions Zuul and Vinz Clortho open the portal for their master to enter on top of 550 Central Park West (55 Central Park West) that Shandor designed. Though initially appearing in the form of an androgynous humanoid woman, Gozer uses Ray's accidental thought to assume its Destructor form of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man before later being banished back to its hellish realm. Gozer is best known for its phrases and quotes such as "Are you a god? [Ray: "No"]. Then... DIE!!! [blasts the Ghostbusters with lightning]" or its disembodied voice saying "THE TRAVELER HAS COME!" and "CHOOSE AND PERISH!". Gozer was played by Yugoslav actress / model Slavitza Jovan and its demonic voice was provided by Paddi Edwards. Gozer reappears in the 2009 game via a revived form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Without an actual portal to Gozer's hellish realm, this Stay-Puft was a hollow avatar; comparatively weak and requiring far more power to become the true Destructor form it was supposed to be. Because of that, the Ghostbusters managed to defeat it a second time. Later in the story, a disillusioned Ivo Shandor ( possessing the mayor of New York ) confronted the Ghostbusters. He produced an facsimile of the skull of Gozer's humanoid form and angrily renounced his faith in The Traveler, contemptuously discarding it. Zuul and Vinz Clortho are the primary servants and harbingers of Gozer The Gozerian. Worshipped as demigods, they are known respectively as The Gatekeeper and The Keymaster. Their goal: possess a mortal male and female, perform a sexual rite combining their powers and open a gateway to allow The Destructor entry into a given world. After opening the portal, they take their places as guardians of Gozer's cosmic pyramid. The Terror Dogs are similar in appearance: horned (the male Vinz Clortho has longer horns) dog-like quadrupeds with powerful, dark-colored bodies, blazing demonic, red eyes and vicious fangs and claws. In addition to their ability to dematerialize and possess mortals, The Terror Dogs exhibit other supernatural powers such as summoning lesser entities, levitating and telekinesis. Atop 550 Central Park West (55 Central Park West), The Gozerian Temple featured twin gargoyles of The Gatekeeper and Keymaster, within which they manifested and emerged from during a colossal thunderstorm. Soon afterwards, they tracked down and possessed their chosen mortal "fleshbags," specifically Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). Eventually, Vinz Clortho reunited with Zuul after waiting 8,000 years. The two kissed passionately, then proceeded to the rooftop shrine to worship Gozer, perform the rite and summon their dark master. When Gozer appeared, it proceeded to lovingly pet them, when it was interrupted by the Ghostbusters' arrival. When the Ghostbusters finally resorted to crossing the streams, The Terror Dogs where hurled back along with Gozer to their hellish realm. Dr. Eleanor Twitty a.k.a. the Grey Lady or "the Library Ghost" is the first ghost encountered by the original three Ghostbusters (Ray, Egon, and Peter) while they are investigating paranormal activity at the New York Public Library. When they attempt to touch her, she transforms into a much larger and more frightening skeletal form, and causes the trio to flee the library in terror. Though they do not catch her, they get a scan of her and use the information to construct their containment grid and ghost catching equipment, allowing the creation of their ghost-catching business. She returns in the 2009 video game, where much of her history is revealed, and the Ghostbusters uncover the tragic story of her death. She was once Dr. Eleanor Twitty, the head librarian of the New York Public Library in the 1920s, and overseer of its collection of ancient artifacts, stone tablets, long-forgotten tomes, and rare books. In March 1924, she goes missing, and the police are unable to find her. They discover that she has been murdered by philologist Edmund Hoover, The Collector, who seduces her to get to the rare books in her care, specifically the Gozerian Codex. In the video game, the Ghostbusters discover her reading the Codex before capturing her. Due to the ease of the capture, they state that she must have wanted them to recover the Codex to aid them in defeating the Collector. Ivo Shandor, an insane physician and an architect of some renown during the early 20th century with a penchant for performing macabre and unnecessary surgeries, is mentioned in the first film and features in the 2009 video game. The aftermath of the first World War convinced Shandor that humanity is beyond saving. He set up a cult of Gozer worshippers with over a thousand followers, in the 1920s with his ancestral island home on the Hudson River as the center of it. Using his connections to International Steel's chairman and other corrupt company owners, Shandor designed 550 Central Park West (55 Central Park West) as a means to summon Gozer to bring about the end of the world. Shandor also developed a mandala across the city, with the New York Public Library, the Museum of Natural History, the Sedgewick Hotel, and Shandor Island (before it sank) as key nodes protected by his most loyal followers: Azetlor the Collector, the Museum chairman, the Spider Witch, and a captured, otherworldly sloar that generates a steady stream of black slime used to power the Mandala system and Shandor's island lab. Shandor's original scheme comes to fruition during the events of the first film in the 1980s, when the sufficient energy collected causes Gozer's minions to physically manifest in preparation for their master's coming. The Ghostbusters foil Gozer's entry and neutralize it. As revealed in the video game, Shandor is also responsible for the events of Ghostbusters II, as the slime produced on his island finds its way into an abandoned city subway line, causing a wave of ghosts to surface and strengthening the spirit of Vigo The Carpathian. Shandor finally makes an appearance in Ghostbusters: The Video Game as a main antagonist of the game. By 1991, Shandor possesses the body of Mayor Jack Mulligan and makes Peck head of PCOC to hinder the Ghostbusters while he uses his only living descendant, Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, to invoke the nodes of his mandala and revive Gozer. After once again being defeated by the Ghostbusters and failing to capture Ilyssa, Shandor becomes further disillusioned of Gozer, and decides to use the mandala to merge the ghost world with the real world in order to become a god himself, taking on a form similar to a massive demon covered in molten rock. The Ghostbusters defeat Shandor once and for all by crossing the streams after following him into the ghost world. The Ghostbusters script lists the spelling of the surname as Sandor, which is pronounced "shandor" and in fact is spelled Šandor as a moderately common Croatian surname. Oscar Barrett (played by William T. Deutschendorf and Hank J. Deutschendorf II) is Dana Barrett's baby boy. He is almost sacrificed to serve as the new incarnation of Vigo the Carpathian but this is stopped by the Ghostbusters. Dr. Janosz Poha (played by Peter MacNicol) is Dana Barrett's boss at the fictional Manhattan Museum of Art. He is somewhat nerdy and harbours a hopeless love interest in her. Dr. Poha is later enslaved by Vigo the Carpathian to bring Dana's baby Oscar to serve as a new vessel for Vigo's evil spirit. However, Vigo's plan for reanimation is stopped by the Ghostbusters, who also manage to free Dr. Poha from Vigo's spell. Vigo The Carpathian (full name: "Prince Vigo von Homburg Deutschendorf") (Wilhelm von Homburg) appears in the second film as the main antagonist. Vigo was a sadistic, cruel, sinister and power-hungry tyrant of Carpathia, self-described as the "Scourge of Carpathia" and "the Sorrow of Moldavia". Born in 1505, Vigo was an expert in sorcery and black magic. He enjoyed an unnaturally long life (fueled by black magic to give him immortality) which comes to an equally unnatural end when in the year 1610 he is "poisoned, stabbed, shot, hanged, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered" by his own people before being beheaded. Even this does not kill him instantly – as Stantz notes that "just before his head died" he vowed to return saying "death is but a door, time is but a window, I'll be back". Vigo was based on Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Dracula by Bram Stoker), and in part on Grigori Rasputin, who also survived several attempts on his life. Vigo's spirit is eventually transferred into a life-size portrait which makes its way to the restoration department of the Manhattan Museum of Art in 1989, the setting for the Ghostbusters II movie. Using the psychomagnetheric mood slime to become active, Vigo manipulates the art gallery's curator, Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), into finding him a child (Dana's son Oscar) whose body he can inhabit. His plan is ultimately foiled by the Ghostbusters' use of the positive mood slime. In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the portrait of Vigo is stored in the Ghostbusters' firehouse. Though no longer a threat, Vigo enjoys insulting and taunting anybody who approaches him. He also makes cryptic predictions based on real-world history, as the game's release post-dates the time period of the game by nearly two decades. Vigo's full name is a combination of the stage name of Norbert Grupe (aka Wilhelm von Homburg), who played Vigo, and William and Henry Deutschendorf, the twins that played the baby Oscar. The menacing voice of Vigo was provided by Max von Sydow. Nunzio and Tony Scoleri were convicted murderers sentenced to death by electric chair by Judge Stephen "The Hammer" Wexler. They later return as electrified ghosts when Judge Wexler was trying the Ghostbusters in court. Eduardo Rivera (voiced by Rino Romano) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in Extreme Ghostbusters. He seemingly a lazy, sarcastic and somewhat clueless character, Eduardo nevertheless makes himself an integral part of the team by being determined and reliable. Eduardo, along with Garrett, resembles original Ghostbuster Peter Venkman in that, like Venkman, Eduardo is sarcastic, has a penchant for pursuing attractive women, and is generally unscientific and constantly spouts pop culture references. He also reads "J.N. Kline" young-adult horror novels. Eduardo has a long-running subplot dealing with a love/hate relationship between him and Kylie, although it is very much revealed "In Your Dreams" that he has intimate feelings and dreams about her. These feelings are further enforced in that he is usually the one to rescue Kylie from dangerous situations, and vice versa, in several episodes. He once said to Kylie herself that nothing was going to happen to her "while [he's] around". In fact, in the episode "Darkness at Noon" he outright admitted to Kylie, who was possessed by a ghost at the time, that he felt an attraction of sorts when he saw her for the first time and even showed the intention of kissing her when Kylie asked him to. In "The Unseen" he takes the rap for Kylie's mistake, not wanting "the worst day of her life to get any worse". In "Rage", Eduardo reveals to have an older brother, Carlos "Carl" Rivera, an NYPD officer who is angry with Eduardo for not being a police officer like the rest of their family, and thinks the Ghostbuster are a scam, which is why Eduardo kept his job a secret. In the same episode it is also implied that his father is dead (or at least retired) as he and Carlos refer to him in the past tense during a heated argument. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Eduardo has a fear of death (specifically his own). He has a vicious rivalry with Slimer, but has ended up working with the ghost, and volunteered to save him in "Slimer's Sacrifice". He also has an on the surface rivalry with Garrett with the two often mocking each other and attempting to one up the other. In spite of this as the series goes on the two seem to have the closest thing to a friendship even though Garrett's enthusiastic personality completely contrasts Eduardo's cynical attitude. (The official website claimed he slacks off due to fear of failure.[7]) Despite all his cynicism and slacking he demonstrates a reasonably high level of intelligence as in the episode "Eyes of a Dragon" he states how the proton aspect of light works to Kylie and later on how to defeat the ghost of that episode. Eduardo was also the one to smash a cursed orb, causing the eye-stealing ghost to disintegrate in the episode "The Unseen" and also continued the incantation that destroyed the demon of an alternate dimension in which he, Roland and Kylie were imprisoned in the episode "Casting the Runes". Eduardo has also exhibited bouts of jealousy whenever Kylie seemingly flirts with other men and in "Till Death Do Us Start" he showed signs of sheepish nervousness when asked if he and Kylie were together. Kylie Griffin (voiced by Tara Charendoff) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in Extreme Ghostbusters. She is appointed by the group to carry the ghost trap on her back. She becomes involved with the Ghostbusters after enrolling in Egon Spengler's course at City College of New York. Kylie shares certain traits with Egon, such as knowledge of the supernatural. Both are eccentric and socially awkward and they both had encounters with supernatural beings from their childhood (Egon met the Boogeyman and Kylie's friend was taken by the Grundel). As part of Extreme Ghostbusters, Kylie is featured in the video games Extreme Ghostbusters for the Game Boy Color, Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1 for Game Boy Advance and Extreme Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Invasion for the PlayStation. She was also the basis of several action figures from Trendmasters. Kylie is widely regarded as the fan favorite of Extreme Ghostbusters.[8][9] Kylie reappears as a supporting character in IDW Publishing's Ghostbusters comic. She first appears in issue 5 in 2012 as the manager of Ray Stantz's occult book shop. In November 2012, it was announced that Kylie would be made an official Ghostbuster in issues beginning in February 2013.[10][11] Roland Jackson (voiced by Alfonso Ribeiro) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in Extreme Ghostbusters. He the mechanic of the group. Roland is the most level-headed and mechanically-gifted of the new Ghostbusters, helping Egon repair and improve the Proton Packs and Ecto-1; his reason for joining Egon's class was seeing the Ecto-1 at an auto show. Roland approaches the paranormal from a practical point-of-view, and in the episode "Fear Itself" reveals that his only fear is the dangerous breakdown of his equipment. In "The Infernal Machine", he became disgruntled that his technological efforts were being taken for granted. Roland's strongest wish is to get into the Ivy League and become a doctor. He's a very staid, square personality, slow to anger, though he came close to striking one of the racists in "The True Face of the Monster"; it's implied he's had to deal with racist attitudes before. Roland has twice come under the mental control of villains, the Siren in "Sonic Youth" and Luko in "The Infernal Machine". "Grease" reveals Roland is the oldest in a lower-middle-class family and volunteers for the Little League and helps the homeless; in "Grundelesque" we meet his very mischievous younger brother whom Roland (at first) refuses to believe is a troublemaker. Like Winston, Roland is the only African American member of the team, yet he has a talent with machines like Ray. Garrett Miller (voiced by Jason Marsden) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in Extreme Ghostbusters. Garrett is a lifelong wheelchair user, has a very 'jock'-like attitude and is a huge fan of extreme sports and attempting mad stunts. In the episode "Grease", it's revealed that Garrett was born with the inability to walk and studying to be a physical therapist, and throughout the series he only refers to his condition to mock it (and in "Be Careful What You Wish For", uses it as an excuse to dump some work on Eduardo). He is the most headstrong and enthusiastic of the new Ghostbusters, often claiming that he's in it only for the adrenaline rush; he was left bitterly disappointed in "Ghost Apocalyptic Future" to learn he was the only Ghostbuster not remembered in the future dystopia. While he studies to be a physical therapist to help other disabled people, his secret dream is to be an NBA star. In "Fear Itself", it's revealed that Garrett is claustrophobic (though he never admits it to anyone), and has a deep disdain towards the FBI ever since the incident where two agents arrested them under the belief they were causing the sabotages and released a gremlin they recently captured while they were on a plane. He has a rivalry with Eduardo, the two of them constantly bantering and trying to one-up each other. In "Deadliners", we find out Garrett wrote a (bad) horror story starring himself (the other Ghostbusters died on the first page, to their annoyance). Like Ray, Garrett is the most enthusiastic. Garrett is the only Ghostbuster in the history of the franchise never to be made as a toy (all other Ghostbusters received at least two toys, including Louis and Janine), presumably due to the implausibility of having the wheelchair as a separate assembling piece. Though a prototype figure was made. Bob Higgins has said that during a focus group of young children, the creators found Garrett was the most popular character: "when we asked... which of these characters would you want to be and they all wanted to be Garrett, they all wanted to be the guy that does the crazy things. They all wanted to be the guy that was the leader and they all kind of saw him as the leader of this group [even though he wasn't]".[12] Dr. Erin Gilbert in the 2016 film, played by Kristen Wiig, is Abby Yates' second-in-command. She is introduced as an assistant physics professor at Columbia University, but her bid for tenure fails after her previous research into the paranormal with Abby comes to light. She has long since dismissed her belief in ghosts, but regains it after being slimed by Gertrude Aldridge during a face-to-face encounter. In the novelization, she is depicted as having grown up near Battle Creek, Michigan; she met Abby in her senior year of high school, and spent much of her time at the University of Michigan researching ghosts with Abby. She did postgraduate work at Princeton University, and got her doctorate at MIT. She shares traits with Peter Venkman as both kept getting slimed, they are also team leaders with a sense of humor and attraction to the opposite gender. Dr. Abigail L. "Abby" Yates is portrayed by Melissa McCarthy in the 2016 film, and is the Ghostbusters' de facto leader. In the novelization, she transferred to Erin's high school after moving from Indiana in her senior year. The two became fast friends, and spent their college years at the University of Michigan researching ghosts. They collaborated on a book about their findings, but Erin backed out of a planned interview after her graduate advisor at Princeton panned the project. Undaunted, she moved to New York City to continue her research. In the film, she rereleases her book without Erin's consent, threatening her bid for tenure. When Erin demands to have the book taken down, Abby complies, in exchange for her participation at a ghost investigation with Holtzmann at the Aldridge Mansion Museum. She shares traits to Ray Stantz for both are sometimes get possessed, and they both have the same enthusiasm and talent for invention. Dr. Jillian "Holtz" Holtzmann is portrayed by Kate McKinnon in the 2016 film. A nuclear engineer by training, she is introduced as Abby's research partner and becomes the team's equipment designer, constructing their proton packs as well as a range of auxiliary weapons. She is hinted to have a romantic interest in Erin, as seen in an alternate ending scene where she claims that they are dating, as well as several other instances of flirting throughout the film. Her mentor is Dr. Rebecca Gorin (Sigourney Weaver). In the novelization, it is revealed that she narrowly missed being admitted to CERN. Several of her peers in school started calling her by her last name because "Jillian" sounded too feminine, and by the time of the film she almost never answers to her first name. She shares traits with Egon Spengler for both are intelligent and tend to do strange things. Director Paul Feig confirmed in an interview with The Daily Beast that Holtzmann was supposed to be a lesbian, or somewhere on the LGBT+ spectrum, but the studio refused to allow that detail into the movie and instead left the audience with the freedom of more personal interpretation of her character.[13] She was also observed by some viewers to depict autistic traits, or more specifically, someone with Asperger syndrome.[14] Patricia "Patty" Tolan is portrayed by Leslie Jones in the 2016 film. She works for the New York MTA as a subway booth attendant, and is the only member of Abby's team who does not have an advanced degree. She is however, a big fan of non-fiction and is a municipal historian with intense knowledge of New York's history. After contacting them to report a ghost sighting in one of the tunnels, she joins the team and borrows a hearse from her uncle's funeral home that is eventually converted into Ecto-1, a vehicle for personnel and equipment transport. She shares traits with Winston Zeddemore as both believe in the supernatural without being scientists, and also both are African American. Kevin Beckman is a receptionist in the office building of the Ghostbusters team in 2016 film, played by Chris Hemsworth. He serves as the male counterpart to Janine Melnitz from the first two films. In the film, he applies for job in office building where the Erin and her mates are establishing ghost and supernatural business headquarters. They are skeptical to hire him for being silly and bit dumb, but he gets the job as he is seen as a nice, calm guy. Kevin sometimes provides jokes and statements to the team throughout the film. Later he becomes possessed by the spirit of Rowan North who uses him as a host and goes to Mercado Hotel to activate the device to unleash the ghost army in New York City. The Ghostbusters arrive in the building to save him and Rowan discards him but the girls catch him when Kevin falls down to the floor. After repelling Rowan's invasion, Kevin is back in his job as the girls see him as a valuable worker in their business. Rowan North is an occultist and a former employee of the Mercado Hotel in the 2016 film as the main antagonist, portrayed by Neil Casey. In the film, he left his former job and became an occultist because he felt his life became miserable when he was mistreated in own life. Obsessed with the supernatural, Rowan attempted to unleash the ghost army in New York City by putting devices across the city connected to main machine in the Mercado Hotel in Times Square, as a former site of paranormal history, along with Ley lines within the New York area to activate the portal and create the vortex between the two worlds. Rowan also used the book called "Ghost From Our Past", written by Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates as inspiration for his plans. When the Ghostbusters discovered his plans, he planned to turned it on, but as the police arrived, he committed suicide. However, as the Ghostbusters later discovered, he had planned all along to commit suicide, so he could become a ghost. Rowan possessed Abby briefly, then Kevin Beckman as host to get to the Mercado hotel and activate the portal machine, resulting in the unleashing of the ghosts in New York. When the Ghostbusters arrived, Rowan discarded the host and transformed into the Ghostbusters logo, a demonic gigantic version of the cartoon ghost. When the girls destroyed the vortex, he was pulled into the ghost dimension, but caught Abby, trying to kill her. Erin entered the dimension and saved her, while Rowan was disintegrated in that dimension, ending his invasion. Gertrude Aldridge was the first ghost seen by Erin, Abby and Holtzmann in the 2016 film. She was portrayed by Bess Rous. Gertrude Aldridge was the horribly disturbed daughter of a wealthy New York aristocrat who was responsible for the murder of the family's servants. As a result, she spent the rest of her life locked away in her family manor's basement instead of being turned over to the police, being occasionally fed food through a small slot in the door. In the present day, she haunts the Aldridge Mansion Museum when Tour Guide Garrett (Zach Woods) was about to head home. As soon as Garrett heard her banging on the basement door, he attempted to run out, but the doorknob was red hot. He later attempts to throw a chair to the window, but the chair floats and hit him instead. After going through the basement door and down the stairs, he discovers some green slime on the basement floor, then noticed he got some on his hands. He runs up the stairs to the door, but they collapsed, leaving him clinging on for dear life. Gertrude later reveals herself from the slime on the floor, with Garrett screaming in terror. While Abby and the group were inspecting the mansion, her ghost appears from the basement door, moving towards the group. When Erin tries to communicate with her, Gertrude suddenly transmogrifies and projects ectoplasmic vomit on Erin, then escapes out of a wall and into the streets. During Rowan's invasion of New York City, the team, calling themselves "Ghostbusters" encounter her again, alongside the Electrocuted Ghost found in the subway and Mayhem. She participates in the battle by picking Erin up off the ground and throwing her to a nearby pilgrim ghost. She later attempts to attack Erin again with "Sparky", but they end up getting knocked back by a proton shotgun blast. The Electrocuted Ghost (not to be confused with the Scoleri brothers of the 1989 film), also known as "Sparky", is the second ghost Erin, Abby and Holtzmann spotted. It is implied that he is the ghost of a criminal executed by the electric chair. He is portrayed by Dave Allen. Shortly after Rowan North (Neil Casey) gave his train ticket to Patty Tolan, he disappeared onto the tracks, causing Patty to go tell him to get out. Instead of finding him, she finds a device on the tracks. The device then opens, revealing the Electrocuted Ghost, causing Patty to flee. Later, the team arrive with Patty and after inspecting the tracks for a bit, Sparky appears. The team decides to test their new proton lasers on him, but the first attempt did not have enough power to even reach the ghost. After being caught in the second attempt, a train later hits Sparky, nearly killing the group as well. Patty then states he will be the third scariest thing on the train. The Ghostbusters encounter "Sparky" again, alongside Gertrude Aldridge and Mayhem during the Battle for New York. He joins Gertrude Aldridge in trying to attack Erin, but they get knocked back by a proton shotgun blast, which caused him to disintegrate. Phoebe Spengler is portrayed by Mckenna Grace in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Trevor Spengler is portrayed by Finn Wolfhard in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Callie Spengler is portrayed by Carrie Coon in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Mr. Grooberson is portrayed by Paul Rudd in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The sheriff Domingo is portrayed by Bokeem Woodbine in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Elton is portrayed by Oliver Cooper in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Groupe PSA

Groupe PSA (French pronunciation: ​[ɡʁup pe ɛs a]; also known as the PSA Group in English; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) is a French multinational manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands.[8][9] Peugeot is the largest PSA brand. PSA is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index.[10][11][12] Beginning in 2016, PSA began to outline a strategy which entailed the rapid expansion of the company, through both geographic expansion and acquisitions of other car companies. PSA has announced plans to enter the Indian, American, Canadian, ASEAN, and other markets in the coming years. Headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, PSA, with sales of 3.88 million units in 2018,[13] was the third-largest Europe-based automaker, just a fraction behind Renault.[14] On 31 October 2019, Groupe PSA announced intent to merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The merger would be on a 50-50 all stock basis.[15] On 18 December 2019, FCA and PSA announced that they had agreed to the terms of a binding $50 billion merger,[16][17] which as of mid-2020 was pending approval by European competition regulators.[18][19] As of 16th July 2020, both companies decided to name the merged company "Stellantis". [20] The name Stellantis is derived from the Latin verb "stello" which means "to brighten with stars". In December 1974 Peugeot S.A. acquired a 38.2% share of Citroën. On 9 April 1976[21] they increased their stake of the then bankrupt company to 89.95%, thus creating the PSA Group (where PSA is short for Peugeot Société Anonyme), becoming PSA Peugeot Citroën.[22] Since Citroën had two successful new designs in the market at this time (the GS and CX) and Peugeot was typically prudent in its own finances, the PSA venture was a financial success from 1976 to 1979. In late 1978, PSA purchased the failing Chrysler Europe (which had been Rootes and Simca) from the troubled US parent firm for a nominal US$1.00, plus assumption of outstanding debt, leading to losses for the consortium from 1980 to 1985.[23] Further investment was required because PSA decided to create a new brand for the entity for the disparate French and British models, based on the Talbot sports car last seen in the 1950s. From then on, the whole Chrysler/Simca range was sold under the Talbot badge until production of Talbot-branded passenger cars was shelved in 1987 and on commercial vehicles in 1992.[24] All of this investment caused serious financial problems for the entire PSA group; PSA lost money from 1980 to 1985. There were some bright spots, however: mainly thanks to the success of the Peugeot 205 and in spite of Talbot sales withering away, PSA surpassed Renault in sales in the domestic French market for the first time in 1983.[25] In 1987, the company dropped the Talbot brand for passenger cars when it ceased production of the Simca-developed Horizon; the Samba and Alpine/Solara had been discontinued a year earlier. What was to have been the Talbot Arizona became the Peugeot 309, with the former Rootes plant in Ryton and Simca plant in Poissy being turned over for Peugeot assembly from October 1985. Producing Peugeots in Ryton was significant, as it signaled the first time that PSA would build cars in the UK (car assembly at Ryton stopped in 2006 and the plant was closed). The Talbot name survived for a little longer on commercial vehicles until 1992 before being shelved completely. From 1987 to 1995, the Ryton plant also produced the Peugeot 405 saloon. On 29 February 2012, PSA announced the creation of a major alliance with General Motors (GM), as part of which GM became PSA's second-largest shareholder, after the Peugeot family, with a holding of 7%. The alliance was intended to enable $2 billion per year of cost savings through platform sharing, common purchasing and other economies of scale.[26] In July 2012, a union official said that PSA Peugeot Citroën would cut as much as 10 percent (8,000-10,000) of its French workforce of 100,356 employees on permanent and temporary contract. The jobs cut was more than previously announced.[27][28] On 24 October, PSA said it was close to an agreement with creditor banks on €11.5 billion ($14.9 billion) of refinancing and had won state guarantees on €7 billion in further borrowing by its Banque PSA Finance.[29] On 12 December 2013, General Motors announced it was selling its 7% stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën to Padmapriya Automobile Investment Group. In 2014, Dongfeng Motor Group, the Chinese partner that builds PSA cars in China, and the French government each took a 13% stake in PSA, in a financial rescue operation, reducing the Peugeot family share from 25% to 14%.[30] Following Dongfeng and the French government each acquiring stakes in Groupe PSA, various cost-cutting measures at the company turned its fortune around and gradually reduced PSA's debt, until the company began to turn a profit beginning in 2015. A new CEO, Carlos Tavares, was engaged and began to implement various cost-cutting measures and expanded the model range of all three core brands, alongside the creation of a new brand, DS Automobiles. In early 2016, PSA unveiled a roadmap detailing its plan to re-enter the North American car market for the first time since 1991.[31] Although many only expected the DS to enter the North American market, PSA announced that all of its brands would be sold across the continent. The plan to re-enter the market has three-stages, be a partner in a vehicle for hire, then begin renting and sharing PSA's own vehicles to the public several years after, followed by a full launch, and establishing a dealer network in 2020.[citation needed] On 10 February 2017, PSA announced a 50:50 joint venture with the CK Birla Group, the owner of the Hindustan Motors to sell Peugeot, Citröen, and DS vehicles in India and purchase of the Ambassador brand from Hindustan Motors at the cost of INR 80 Crore.[32] This marks the first time in over twenty years that PSA will be selling cars in India.[citation needed] On 14 February 2017 PSA announced that it was in talks to acquire Opel and Vauxhall Motors from General Motors. The talks were in an advanced stage, but were a surprise to the press and to much of Opel's leadership as they had plans to transform the company into an electric-car-only brand using the platform of the Opel Ampera-e for a wide range of models. GM agreed to continue to supply PSA with Ampera-e and other electric vehicle technology.[33][34][35] GM reported a loss of US$257 million from its European operations on 2016, sixteenth consecutive loss-making year for GM in Europe, bringing its amount of losses on the continent since 2000 to more than US$15 billion.[36] Some expressed concerns about what this major acquisition might do to PSA's bottom line. However, due to this amount of debt, it is likely that GM may give the brands to PSA, or sell Opel and Vauxhall at a highly reduced price. Tavares expects synergies a decade after the takeover.[37][35] PSA CEO Carlos Tavares met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May at separate meetings where he toured some of Opel and Vauxhall's operations in Germany and the UK, respectively.[35] He assured the leaders that jobs would be safeguarded and that Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant was to be used by PSA at least until 2021.[35] Tavares announced that he wants Opel to keep its German brand identity and to embrace it, and that he would leverage Opel's pedigree of German engineering and Motorsport and use the company's heritage to reach markets and customers that may not consider a French car due to perceived reliability issues.[35] He also announced that the Opel and Vauxhall brands would be elevated to new heights within Groupe PSA, including the sale of Opel and Vauxhall-branded vehicles outside Europe for the first time in many decades.[35] He also acknowledged the possibility of the Opel and Vauxhall brands being instrumental in the launch of Groupe PSA in North America.[citation needed] Opel and Vauxhall vehicles will also likely be sold in South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.[citation needed] PSA plans to continue using some of Opel's existing platforms and models, many of which are shared with GM, at least for a few years until the entire model range is updated and will only feature PSA platforms.[citation needed] GM has discussed the possibility of handing over various patents, technologies, and platforms to PSA in exchange for PSA's taking responsibility for a portion of Opel employees' pensions, which it seems PSA has agreed to.[citation needed] On 17 February 2017, PSA announced its bid to acquire PROTON Holdings, which owns the Proton and Lotus brands, but lost out to Geely a few months later.[38] In May 2019 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced its intention to seek a merger with Groupe Renault. However, in early June merger talks were suspended, and never resumed.[39] On October 31, 2019 Groupe PSA announced intent to merge with FCA. The merger would be on a 50-50 all stock basis. On 18 December 2019, FCA and PSA announced that they had agreed to the terms of a binding $50 billion merger,[17] expected to be implemented in the next 12 months. The new group will be incorporated in the Netherlands and have John Elkann as Chairman of the Board and Carlos Tavares as CEO.[40] On July 15, 2020, the two companies announced that the merged entity will be named Stellantis, from the "Latin verb 'stello' meaning 'to brighten with stars.'"[41] The Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles brands retain separate sales and marketing structures, but share common technology, development and assembling assets. Jean-Martin Folz was PSA's CEO between 1996 and early 2007, when he was replaced by former Airbus head Christian Streiff. Streiff was sacked on 29 March 2009, a day after the company posted a full year loss for 2008.[42] Streiff was replaced by Corus Group chief executive Philippe Varin.[42] Carlos Tavares became CEO in 2014.[43] PSA is actively committed to developing its market presence and sales in many fast growing developing countries and regions of the world. This led to huge investments and partnerships in South America, Iran (Iran Khodro)[44] and China (Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile).[45] It announced plans to invest €650 million in a manufacturing plant in Sanand, India. With a capacity of 170,000 vehicles, the Sanand plant is expected to be operational by 2020.[46][47] In Kazakhstan, assembly of the Peugeot passenger cars will start in June 2013 with a production capacity of 4,000 units per year at the beginning and more than 10,000 units in the near future.[48] A PSA plant opens in 2018 in Tunisia and in 2019 in Kenitra in Morocco.[49] The manufacturer of Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles-branded cars and vans, 100% owned by PSA Group and formed from the combination of Automobiles Citroën and Automobiles Peugeot. Automobiles Citroën, Automobiles Peugeot, and DS Automobiles remain in operation in relation to specific retail operations in various countries but not in the development or manufacture of vehicles. PSA PowerTrain is a manufacturer of petrol and diesel engines for a range of companies including Ford, Jaguar, BMW, and Land Rover. It was founded by Peugeot in 1898 in Lille and later named Compagnie Lilloise de moteurs (CLM). In 1992 SCM-CLM as it was then known became Peugeot Citroën Moteurs.[50] The company has had a partnership with Ford Motor Company since 1998,[51] supplying diesel engines to Ford and its subsidiaries, such as Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover. PSA and BMW have an agreement to develop the 1.6 Prince engine. PSA also sell their engines, gearboxes and other parts to small independent manufacturers such as DeLaChapelle and PGO.[52] This PSA Peugeot Citroën 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine has received the International Engine of the Year awards a total of eight times, from 2007 to 2014.[53] Process Conception Ingénierie (PCI) is a French-based manufacturer of machine-tools for the automotive and aircraft industry.[54] Peugeot Motocycles is 51.05% owned by India's Mahindra Group and the rest by Peugeot and manufactures a range of mopeds and scooters. The subsidiary owned 50% of the Chinese Jinan Qingqi Peugeot Motocycles joint venture in 2006 which became wholly owned subsidiary of China South Industries Group in 2013.[55] PSA owns 57.43% of automotive supplier Faurecia,[56] a company created by a 1997 merger between Bertrand Faure and PSA-owned ECIA. It provides various components to Peugeot, Citroën, DS and significant interior and exterior parts to companies such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.[57] Gefco is a large international logistics company,[58] established by Peugeot in 1949 and named Les Groupages Express de Franche-Comté. In November 2012, PSA sold a 75% share to Russian Railways (RZD) for €800m,[59] but retains Gefco as the main logistics provider.[60] Motaquip is an all-makes aftermarket parts company and was established in the UK by PSA Peugeot Citroën in 1981. In December 2014 Motaquip was sold to an outside company to become independent of PSA as "Motaquip Limited". The head office is now based in Nuneaton, UK, with all parts distributed from a warehouse in Luton, UK. PSA wholly owns Banque PSA Finance which provides financial services, and 98.67% of GIE PSA Tresorerie which was founded in 1990 as a treasury and cash management services division. A number of marques were inherited following the acquisition of Chrysler Europe in 1978, and some were merged to re-establish Talbot, a previously dormant marque. Chrysler Europe marques included the British Sunbeam (1901–1976), Humber (1868-1976), Singer (1905–1970), Commer (1905–1979), Hillman (1907–1976), Karrier (1908–1977), the French Simca (1934–1977) and the Spanish Barreiros (1959–1978) Cycles Peugeot produced bicycles from 1882 until 2005. In 1987 ProCycle of Canada acquired rights to distribute French-made Peugeots in North America and in 1990, Cycles Peugeot sold the North American rights to market bicycles under the Peugeot name to ProCycle. In 2001, ProCycle discontinued the Peugeot bicycle brand. In Europe, the licence to produce Peugeot-branded bicycles was sold to Cycleurope, a company making bicycles under different names, on condition that it would be reconsidered in 2004. That license was later withdrawn for Europe, though production of bicycles for export continued for another year. Citer SA is a French-based car rental company established by Citroën in 1968 was sold to Enterprise Holdings in 2011.[61] Sevel (Société Européenne de Véhicules Légers SA and Società Europea Veicoli Leggeri-Sevel S.p.A.) was established in 1978 and is equally owned by PSA Group (Peugeot Citroën DS) and Fiat. As a result of this, two factories have been built assembling three ranges of vehicles, Sevel Nord and Sevel Sud. Peugeot and Fiat's Argentinian operations were also joined under the name of Sevel Argentina S.A. (Sociedad Europea de Vehículos para Latinoamérica), although Fiat withdrew in 1995. Currently Sevel builds the Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, and Citroën Jumper. The joint venture with the Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Corporation (later Dongfeng Motor Group) was established in 1992 and produces the Citroën C-Triomphe, 207, 307 and 408 models at factories in Wuhan and Xiangyang.[62] In 2002, the joint venture with Toyota Motor Corporation for the development and manufacturing of a series of city cars in a new factory in the Czech Republic was signed. The resulting company is called TPCA (Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile). It manufactures the Citroën C1, Peugeot 108 and Toyota Aygo.[63] The Kaluga factory was built by the Russian-based joint venture between PSA Peugeot Citroën (70%) and Mitsubishi Motors (30%) established in 2011. The site builds the Mitsubishi Outlander, Pajero Sport, and the Peugeot 308 and Citroën C4.[64] From 2018, Peugeot Expert and Citroën Jumpy are built on site. Changan PSA is a 50–50 joint venture with the Chinese Chang'an Automobile Group, based in Shenzhen with an initial annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles & engines.[65] It produces cars of the DS Automobiles brand. The joint venture with Iran Khodro was established in 2016 and produces some Peugeot models and imports other models in CBU for Iran market.[66] IKAP is a 50–50 joint venture with the Iran Khodro, based in Tehran. In 2008, the company investigated the option to buy Mitsubishi Motors but a deal could not be concluded and was called off in 2010.[67] One outcome of the talks resulted in the Mitsubishi Outlander and Mitsubishi i-MiEV to be sold as Peugeot and Citroën in Europe.[68] The head office of PSA Group is located in Rueil-Malmaison.[71] The group has been renting the building since 2017, right after its construction.[72] It is 16,250-square-metre (174,900 sq ft) and was housing around 700 employees in 2017.[73] In the United Kingdom, Peugeot Motor Company PLC is a wholly owned United Kingdom subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroën that operates the Peugeot UK, Citroën UK, and DS Automobile brands. Peugeot UK's retail arm is Robins & Day which was part of Rootes Group before becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Peugeot Motor Company PLC in 1970. PSA has a number of manufacturing and development sites around the world. Vigo, in Galicia has PSA's biggest factory in the world. The PSA Mangualde Plant in Portugal produced its millionth vehicle in 2012.[74] PSA invested ₹4 billion establishing new plant in Chennai, India[75] The group announced on 29 November 2016 at the Tunisia's investment conference 2020 it will open a factory plant in the country in mid-2018. The factory will have a planned annual production of 1,200 units.[76] Groupe PSA (Paris:UG) has chosen to establish its new North American headquarters in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. The headquarters will be operational by February 2018. A core team has already been set up to build the strategy and steer its execution. The decision to locate in Atlanta came after a yearlong, nationwide search to find the optimal balance of business environment, standard of living and workforce.[77] PSA Group exhibited the "Hybrid Air" engine, an experimental petro-hydraulic hybrid, at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The engine is the result of a secret development project involving about 100 people. The basic technology is not new—it has been used in heavy vehicles such as garbage trucks or buses which frequently start and stop—but its application to passenger cars is.[78] The vehicle uses nitrogen gas compressed by energy harvested from braking or deceleration to power a hydraulic drive which supplements power from its conventional gasoline engine. The hydraulic and electronic components were supplied by Robert Bosch GmbH. Production versions were scheduled for 2015 or 2016 to sell at about US$25,000 or £17,000. Mileage was estimated to be about 3.5 L/100 km or 80 miles per gallon for city driving if installed in a Citroën C3.[79] Peugeot, Citroën, Chrysler Europe and DS vehicles have won many awards for their vehicles including: ten times the European Car of the Year award, 12 times the "Car of the year" Auto Europa award in Italy, 18 times the "car of the year" in Spain, and five times the "Irish Car of the Year" award. European Car of the Year award winners:[80]

The Witcher (TV series)

The Witcher is a Polish-American fantasy drama web television series produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. It is based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as "the Continent", The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia and princess Ciri, who are linked to each other by destiny.[8] It stars Henry Cavill, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra. The show initially follows the three main protagonists at different points of time, exploring formative events that shaped their characters, before eventually merging into a single timeline. The first season consisted of eight episodes and was released on Netflix in its entirety on December 20, 2019. It is based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, which are collections of short stories that precede the main Witcher saga. Before the first season had been released, Netflix announced a second eight-episode season, to be released in 2021.[9] The first season is based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny. Following Geralt of Rivia's battle with a kikimora in 1231, he enters the town of Blaviken and meets Renfri, a cursed princess-turned-bandit hunted by the wizard Stregobor, who thinks her evil for her birth during an eclipse. Stregobor lures Geralt to his hideout seeking to hire him to kill Renfri, but Geralt refuses. Renfri later offers Geralt a counter-proposal, but he refuses with an ultimatum: leave or die. She feigns agreement, but upon waking up the next morning, Geralt realizes Renfri will not stop until Stregobor is dead, and he rushes to stop her. After killing her men, he fights and fatally wounds Renfri, and her dying words told him of a girl in the forest who is his destiny forever. Stregobor arrives to take Renfri's body for autopsy. When Geralt opposes, the townsfolk force him to leave, urged on by Stregobor. In 1263, The kingdom of Cintra is conquered by southern neighbor Nilfgaard, and Princess Cirilla, also known as Ciri, is sent away by her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, to escape and find Geralt. Cirilla is captured by Nilfgaardian officer Cahir, but the sight of the burning city and castle trigger her powers, allowing her to escape. In 1206, hunchback Yennefer from Vengerberg of Aedirn is sold to Tissaia de Vries by her father. She is taken to Aretuza for training in magic, but finds difficulty in the practice. She makes a friendship with Istredd, even revealing her quarter-elf heritage, a cause of her deformity. Unbeknownst to either, Tissaia and Stregobor were using Yennefer and Istredd respectively to spy on each other. Later, Yennefer witnesses Tissaia turning three students into eels to act as conduits powering Aretuza with magic. In 1240, Geralt is hired to investigate grain thefts in Posada and is followed by Jaskier the bard. They encounter a Sylvan named Torque, who knocks them unconscious and takes them to his mountain cave. There, Geralt meets Filavandrel, the elven king and urges he lead his people to better lands after being banished by the humans. Instead of killing them, Filavandrel frees Geralt and Jaskier, taking the former's words to heart. In 1263, Cirilla encounters Dara, a boy in the woods, who guides her to a refugee camp. Dara returns to save her as the camp is attacked by Cahir's forces, and she later realizes Dara is an elf. In 1210, Yennefer and Istredd become lovers while finishing their training. While Yennefer has the chance to transform her body into her ideal image during graduation, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers discuss the allocation of their newly initiated to their respective kingdoms. But through Stregobor's scheme, Yennefer is assigned to Nilfgaard instead of her preferred Aedirn due to her elven blood. Realizing what happened, Yennefer angrily breaks up with Istredd, knowing only he could have told Stregobor about her blood. Having missed graduation, Yennefer undergoes the painful transformation to be beautiful at the cost of her fertility. Wearing her new body, Yennefer charms Aedirn's King Virfuril into taking her as advisor, sending Fringilla to Nilfgaard instead. In 1243, Geralt enters the kingdom of Temeria to investigate a monster, assisted by Triss Merigold, King Foltest's sorceress advisor. He identifies the monster as a Shtriga, a creature born from a curse he later discovers was placed by the courtier Ostrit who learned about the affair between Foltest and his sister, Princess Adda. Using Ostrit as bait, Geralt battles to contain the shtriga until dawn, which lifts the curse. In 1263, Cirilla enters a dense forest in a trance as Dara follows to help. In 1240, having served Aedirn for thirty years, Yennefer escorts Queen Kalis of Lyria when they are ambushed by an assassin. The assassin follows them through multiple portals, killing Kalis. Although Yennefer escapes with Kalis's newborn daughter, the baby dies from a thrown dagger. In 1249, Geralt accompanies Jaskier to the betrothal feast of Princess Pavetta, Queen Calanthe's daughter. Urcheon of Erlenwald (also named Duny) interrupts to demand Pavetta's hand through the Law of Surprise, having saved her father years earlier. Urcheon suffers from a curse that transformed him into a hedgehog/man creature. Despite Pavetta's acceptance, Calanthe refuses and a brawl ensues. When Calanthe tries killing Urcheon, Pavetta activates her power, unleashing a maelstrom until Geralt and Mousesack intervene. Wanting her daughter happy, Calanthe marries Duny and Pavetta, which lifts Duny's curse. Duny, thankful for Geralt's aid, insists he take a reward, so Geralt jokingly invokes the Law of Surprise for something Duny has but doesn't yet know. The crowd then immediately learns Pavetta is pregnant with Duny's child. In 1263, Nilfgaard's forces resume their pursuit of Cirilla with Mousesack as their prisoner. Meanwhile, Cirilla and Dara encounter Queen Eithne and her Dryads in Brokilon Forest, while Cahir and Fringilla track Ciri's location. In 1256, seven years after Pavetta's betrothal, Geralt and Jaskier discover a Djinn and accidentally release it. Initially, it seems that Jaskier is the Djinn's 'master' but then he falls seriously ill. Geralt seeks help from the nearest healer, the elf Chireadan, but as they need a mage to heal Jaskier, Chireadan reluctantly refers them to Yennefer. Although Yennefer cures Jaskier, her plan is to use him to capture the Djinn to grant her wish of regaining her fertility. As Jaskier uses his last wish, nothing happens and it's revealed that it is Geralt, not Jaskier, who actually has the wishes. Geralt realises the Djinn will kill Yennefer, so he uses his third and final wish to save her (but the wish itself is not revealed). The Djinn leaves. Now free and safe, Geralt and Yennefer act on their attraction and have sex. Yennefer asks what his third wish was, but Geralt does not answer as he has finally fallen asleep. In 1263, Cahir hires a doppler to assume the identity of Mousesack by copying his form and memories, then kills him. Later, Eithne allows Ciri to stay in Brokilon, but "Mousesack" arrives requesting Ciri and Dara leave with him. In 1262, Geralt, Jaskier, and Yennefer are invited to join a dragon hunt by adventurer Borch and his two bodyguards Téa and Véa. Yennefer's knight joins the party along with a band of dwarves and Reavers, professional monster hunters. After camping overnight, the party finds the knight dead and the Reavers have departed. The dwarves take their party to a mountain shortcut, but the bridge gives way. Borch's group sacrifices themselves rather than endanger the party. Geralt and Yennefer reconcile before reaching the dragon's den, but find it dead with Téa and Véa alive guarding the dragon's egg. Borch reveals himself as Vilentretenmerth, a golden dragon. The five of them defend the egg from the Reavers. Borch later pays off the dwarves with dragon teeth, and Geralt reveals to Yennefer his third wish bound their fates together. Believing her feelings for Geralt to be artificial, Yennefer declares that she can't be with him and leaves. Hurt, Geralt snaps at Jaskier, blaming him for all of his misfortunes and hopes that they never meet again. Dara grows suspicious over "Mousesack", so Ciri questions him and the doppler reveals himself. In the scuffle, Dara is knocked out as Ciri escapes, but is captured by Cahir. "Ciri" reveals itself as the Doppler and fights Cahir before escaping. Dara frees the real Ciri, but leaves her. Cahir and Fringilla plan their next move. In 1263, with Nilfgaard poised to invade Cintra, Geralt decides to invoke his Law of Surprise and claim Ciri to protect her. Seeing through the impostor offered up by Calanthe, he is imprisoned by Eist. After visiting Istredd, Yennefer returns to Aretuza with the sorcerer Vilgefortz. When he announces his intention to rally mages to oppose Nilfgaard, she declines. The Brotherhood votes to remain neutral, but Tissaia, Vilgefortz, Triss and other mages resolve to fight. Tissaia convinces Yennefer to join. Nilfgaard invades, sacking the city and breaching the castle. Calanthe wants to send Ciri away with Geralt, but he has escaped his cell and is nowhere to be found. Ciri fends for herself after escaping Cintra. Later, she is discovered by her old friends who suddenly turn on her, and her powers activate. Yennefer and the mages reinforce the strategic keep of Sodden Hill, aiming to prevent Nilfgaardian forces from invading the rest of the Northern Kingdoms. Having escaped from Cintra and searching for Ciri, the girl who is his destiny, Geralt encounters a merchant burying the bodies of dead refugees. He defends the man from undead monsters, but is wounded and loses consciousness. Ciri is awakened by the woman she met earlier and discovers the dead bodies of her harassers around her, killed in gruesome ways. The woman takes her to her farm. The Nilfgaardians launch their attack, with both sides utilizing magic and inflicting heavy casualties on each other. Tissaia attempts to talk down Fringilla, but Fringilla disables her. Vilgefortz fights Cahir, but loses and is thrown down a hill. Geralt wakes to find himself on the merchant's cart en route to the man's farm. When Vilgefortz wakes up, he kills a Northern sorcerer, revealing himself to be a turncoat. When Nilfgaardian soldiers begin to overrun the fort, Yennefer channels a massive stream of fire, then seemingly disappears. In his delirious state, Geralt dreams about his mother Visenna, who abandoned him as a child in order for him to be made into a witcher. He later arrives at the same farm, and upon hearing the woman talk to the man about Ciri, heads into the forest. Seeing a vision of Geralt, Ciri wakes up and wanders into the forest, where she and Geralt finally meet and hug each other. A website with timelines for the show, along with in-depth summaries of events, was later created by Netflix.[11] Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher book series was almost adapted into a standalone Netflix film, but Kelly Luegenbiehl, Vice President of International Originals at Netflix, dissuaded the producers. She recalled asking them, "How can you take eight novels and just turn it into a film? There's so much material here. Through a number of conversations, the producers got really excited about the idea of using the source material for a longer-running series."[12] In May 2017, Netflix announced the start of production on an English-language drama TV series based on the books.[13][14] In December 2017, it was reported that Lauren Schmidt Hissrich would serve as showrunner on the show.[15] In April 2018, Schmidt Hissrich revealed that the script for the pilot episode was finished, and the first season would be eight episodes long.[16] In 2017, it was reported that Andrzej Sapkowski would serve as a creative consultant on the show, but in January 2018, Sapkowski denied any direct involvement.[17] However, he met with Schmidt Hissrich in April 2018[18][19] and in May 2018 she stated that Sapkowski was on the creative team of the project.[20] In August, Andrew Laws was revealed as production designer.[21] In December, Radio Times reported directors Alik Sakharov and Charlotte Brändström had joined the project.[22] Netflix announced a second season on November 13, 2019,[23] subtitled "Mysterious Monsters",[24] with production set to begin in London in early 2020, for a planned release in 2021.[25] The first season was told in a non-linear manner, spanning different time periods. Hissrich said this was inspired by Christopher Nolan's 2017 film Dunkirk.[26] She pointed out that Yennefer's story covers around 70 years and Ciri's only about 2 weeks.[27] Hissrich also said that Yennefer and Cirilla were given more prominence to allow the viewers to understand them better. By showing their backstories, along with Geralt's, "we get down to the soul of the story. It's the story of a broken family. It's a story of three people who are on their own in the world, really orphans all living in the margins of society who are determined to not need anyone, and yet of course they do."[28] Hissrich said the story for the second season will build on the foundations of the first season, becoming more focused; the characters will interact with each other more frequently.[29] "When I talk about The Witcher, I always talk about how these three characters coming together — Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer — they come together as a family. It’s the most important part of the series for me," Hissrich said. "And when you start to imagine someone’s family, you also need to understand their family of origin. For Geralt, it’s his brothers, it’s the brotherhood of the witchers. So I’m really excited to get back in and meet Vesemir, his father figure, for the first time and all of these men that he was raised with since he was seven years old."[30] In September 2018, Netflix announced that Henry Cavill would play Geralt of Rivia.[31][32] He was selected from more than 200 actors.[33] In October 2018, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra were cast as Princess Cirilla and Yennefer of Vengerberg respectively, while Jodhi May, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, and Therica Wilson-Read also joined.[34] More casting was announced later that month, including Eamon Farren, Joey Batey, Lars Mikkelsen, Royce Pierreson, Maciej Musiał, Wilson Radjou-Pujalte, and Anna Shaffer.[35] In February 2020, Netflix announced Kim Bodnia had been cast as Vesemir, an experienced witcher and a mentor to Geralt.[36] Other additions included Kristofer Hivju, Yasen Atour, Agnes Born, Paul Bullion, Thue Ersted Rasmussen, Aisha Fabienne Ross, and Mecia Simson.[36] In April 2018, Schmidt Hissrich revealed that the show would be filmed in Central and Eastern Europe.[37] Principal photography for the first season began on October 31, 2018, in Hungary.[35] Much of the series was filmed at Mafilm Studios near Budapest; the outdoor set included the exterior of wizard Stregobor's household. The hall in Cintra was constructed at Origo Studios on the outskirts of Budapest. Fort Monostor (Monostori Erod), and the nearby forest was used for some exterior scenes in Cintra. The Battle of Marnadal was filmed in the hills of a village in Hungary, Csákberény. The village that was Yennefer's original home was filmed at the Skanzen Village Museum, an open-air site near Szentendre some 30 kilometres (20 mi) north of Budapest; this location was also used in scenes with Ciri in an area with a windmill. The production used the exteriors of Burg Kreuzenstein, a castle near Leobendorf, Austria, for the abandoned fictional castle Vizima, but the interiors were filmed at Origo Studios.[38] In March 2019, production commenced on Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, Spain. Some scenes were to be shot on the islands of La Palma and La Gomera, as well.[39] Scenes of the Sorcerers' Aretuza Academy (Tower of the Gull) were shot on Roque de Santo Domingo in Garafía, an islet, and enhanced with CGI. However, the interiors used for the graduation ball were at the Kiscelli Museum in Óbuda. The museum was a monastery in the 18th century. This location was also used for the conclave of the Northern Mages. The Barranco de Fataga area on Gran Canaria island was used for some scenes of arid landscapes. When Ciri was traveling in the desert, the actress was actually in the Natural Dune Reserve of Maspalomas on Gran Canaria. Most of episode six was filmed on La Palma island.[40] Filming of the first season concluded in Ogrodzieniec Castle in Poland. The ruins of this medieval castle, dating from the 1300s, were the backdrop for scenes including the fictional Vilgefortz of Roggeveen and Triss Merigold. The ruins were also included when shooting the Battle of Sodden Hill in the final episode of Season 1.[40][41] Filming for the first season wrapped in May 2019.[42] Filming for the second season took place in London in early 2020, but was halted for two weeks in March due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic,[43] and actor Kristofer Hivju confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19.[44] Then, in May 2020, film and television productions that were filming in the U.K. were given permission to resume filming, including season two of The Witcher.[45] The show resumed pre-production in July and officially resumed filming on August 12, 2020.[46][47] The original song "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher", composed by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli and sung by Jaskier (Batey) in the second episode, became a viral hit shortly after the series' release.[48] Users have created mods to patch the song into the video game adaptions of The Witcher.[49] In April 2019, Netflix's Ted Sarandos told investors in an earnings call that the series would be released in late 2019.[50] The series premiered on December 20, 2019.[51] Netflix released the first teaser for the series at San Diego Comic-Con on July 19, 2019.[52][53] The first full trailer was revealed at Lucca Comics & Games on October 31, 2019.[54][51] Netflix released a final trailer on December 12, 2019.[55] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating for the first season, with an average rating of 6.21/10, based on 88 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though the world of The Witcher at times feels only half-formed, Henry Cavill brings brawny charisma to a series teeming with subversive fantasy elements and dark humor."[56] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 53 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[57] It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the production values, action sequences, soundtrack, and Cavill's performance; criticism was mainly focused on the pacing and the lack of world-building.[58][59][60] In a positive review of the first season, Erik Kain of Forbes wrote, "If you're looking for an original dark fantasy with some horror elements, some bare skin and plenty of blood and gore (and monsters) look no further.",[61] while James Whitbrook of io9 said, "if you are willing to sit through those trudging opening episodes, punctuated by a cool fight here or an intriguing character scene there, The Witcher slowly but surely finds itself a fantastical slice of bloody, schlocky fun."[62] Conversely, Entertainment Weekly critic Darren Franich said, "my destiny is to never watch this borefest ever again", awarding the first season an F rating.[63] Franich drew criticism when he confessed to watching only the first, second, and fifth episodes.[64] Author Andrzej Sapkowski, commenting favorably on the show, stated, "I was more than happy with Henry Cavill's appearance as The Witcher. He's a real professional. Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn (in The Lord of the Rings), so Henry gave his to Geralt — and it shall be forever so." Sapkowski added, "I shall be happy if the viewers — and readers — take anything away, anything that shall enrich them in some way. Also, I sincerely hope to leave the viewers — and readers — hot. In every sense. Not tepid, not lukewarm."[65] According to Parrot Analytics, The Witcher, in its US debut, was the third most "in demand" original streaming series, behind Stranger Things and The Mandalorian.[66] Parrot's process measures "demand expressions", which is "its globally standardized TV-demand measurement unit that reflects the desire, engagement, and viewership of a series weighted by importance."[67] On December 31, 2019, Parrot Analytics reported that The Witcher became the most-in-demand TV series in the world, across all platforms.[68] On December 30, 2019, Netflix issued a number of official lists, including the Most Popular TV Shows of 2019. The series was among the most viewed in the U.S. market, where The Witcher was ranked second among series.[69] On January 21, 2020, Netflix announced that the first season had been viewed by over 76 million viewers on its service within its first month of release.[70] Netflix had recently changed its viewership metric, from 70% of an episode under the previous metric, down to two minutes under the new metric. The new metric gives viewing figures 35% higher on average than the previous one.[71] The 76 million views in its first month based on the new metric (at least two minutes or more) is the largest for a Netflix series launch since the introduction of the new viewership metric.[72][73] Sales of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in December 2019 were 554% greater than those from December 2018, attributed to renewed interest in the series due to the show.[74] In January 2020, Netflix announced an animated spin-off film titled The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, focusing on the origin story of Geralt's mentor and fellow witcher Vesemir. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and Beau DeMayo are working on the film, with production by Studio Mir.[75] A live-action prequel limited series, The Witcher: Blood Origin was announced by Netflix in July 2020, set 1200 years before Geralt's time to show the origin of the Witchers. The prequel is also being developed by Hissrich. She will executive produce and Declan de Barra will showrun.[76]

Sevilla FC

Sevilla Fútbol Club (Spanish pronunciation: [seˈβiʎa ˈfuðβol ˈkluβ]), is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla is one of the most successful clubs at the European level, winning the UEFA Europa League six times, more than any other European club. It is Spain's oldest sporting club solely devoted to football.[6][7][8][9] The club was formed on 25 January 1890,[6][7][8][9] with the Scottish born Edward Farquharson Johnston as their first president. On 14 October 1905, the club's articles of association were registered in the Civil Government of Seville under the presidency of the Jerez-born José Luis Gallegos Arnosa. Sevilla FC is also the most successful club in Andalusia, winning a national league title in 1945–46, five Spanish Cups (1935, 1939, 1948, 2007 and 2010), one Spanish Super Cup (2007), a record six UEFA Cups/UEFA Europa Leagues (2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020) and the 2006 UEFA Super Cup. They were also designated by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as the World's best club in 2006 and 2007, thus being the first club to achieve this distinction in two consecutive years. Its youth team Sevilla Atlético, founded in 1958, currently play in Segunda División B. The club are affiliated to a side in Puerto Rico of the same name. Other clubs related to Sevilla FC include their women's team, futsal team and former Superleague Formula team. The club's home ground is the 43,883-seat Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. It is located in the neighborhood of Nervión, Seville, and owes its name to Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan, who was Sevilla FC's president for 17 years. Sevilla FC has contributed many players to the Spain national team throughout their history. The practice of football was introduced in Seville at the end of the 19th century by the large British expatriate population in the city, composed by owners or managers of manufacturing companies based in the capital of Andalusia. Sevilla Fútbol Club was founded on 25 January 1890 as Sevilla Foot-ball Club (in English).[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Sevilla was duly formed on 25 January 1890 while a group of young British, mainly Scots, along with other young men of Spanish origin, celebrated Burns Night in Seville.[14] The club's founding document, published on the Dundee Courier's edition of 17 March 1890 describes in full detail the formation of the club and how those young founding members decided first to play under Association Rules, secondly to bear the word "football" within its name and thirdly, to elect their "office bearers". The following paragraph is an extract of that article: Some six weeks ago a few enthusiastic young residents of British origin met in one of the cafés for the purpose of considering a proposal that we should start an Athletic Association, the want of exercise being greatly felt by the majority of us, who are chiefly engaged in mercantile pursuits. After a deal of talk and a limited consumption of small beer, the "Club de Football de Sevilla" was duly formed and office-bearers elected. It was decided we should play Association rules (...) We were about half and half Spanish and BritishThe club's first president was the Scot Mr. Edward Farquharson Johnston (Elgin, 14 October 1854), who was the British vice-consul in Seville and co-proprietor of the firm MacAndrews & Co., ship-owners with commercial lines between Spain and the UK, one of them being the transport of Seville oranges. Hugh Maccoll, another Scottish young man (Glasgow, 9 June 1861), a marine engineer who at that time had moved to Seville to work as the technical manager of Portilla White foundry, was their first captain. One of Maccoll's partners in the Portilla White foundry in Seville, Isaias White junior, was the club's first secretary. He was the son of an English entrepreneur who founded the aforesaid company, one of the major foundries in Spain at the end of the 19th century. In order to celebrate the foundation of the club, Isaias White sent a letter to Recreativo de Huelva, to invite them to play a football match in Seville. That letter was published by the Spanish newspaper La Provincia. Huelva Recreation accepted the invitation and the match took place on 8 March 1890, being thus the first official match ever played in Spain. Sevilla FC won that historical match 2–0, with the first goal in an official match in Spanish football history scored by the Seville team player Ritson. Isaias lived at Calle Bailen 41[15] in Seville (the house still exists but has since been renumbered) making this the first home of Sevilla FC. In 1907, Sevilla Balompíe was founded, followed by Betis Football club in 1909, Recreativo de Sevilla and Español de Sevilla. More clubs were formed as the years passed and more competitive matches were organized between the teams, although Sevilla FC, the oldest club of the city, imposed its supremacy over the other clubs in this early period. In 1912, the first Copa de Sevilla was played and won by Sevilla FC. From 1915 to 1932, the Copa Andalucia was organized by the "Federación Sur" and these championships included Sevilla FC, Real Betis Balompié, Recreativo de Huelva, Español de Cádiz and the sporadic participation of Nacional de Sevilla and Córdoba. The domination of Sevilla was so evident that of the 19 Championships of Andalusia played, 16 were won by the team, with the three remaining being won by Español de de Cádiz, Recreativo de Huelva and Real Betis Balompié, respectively. In 1918, Sevilla FC participated in the "Copa de España" for the first time and became the first Andalusian team to reach the final round of the competition. In 1928, when the "Campeonato Nacional" (National League Championships) was organized, Sevilla FC was not part of the first division due to their defeat to Racing de Santander in an elimination game that was set-up to decide which of the two teams would compete in the newly formed league. At the end of the 1933–34 season, Sevilla FC was promoted to the First Division of the "Campeonato Nacional." In 1935, they were proclaimed "Campeón de Copa" (Cup Champions) for the first time by defeating Sabadell, repeated in 1939 against Racing de Ferrol and again in 1948 against Celta de Vigo. The club participated in two other finals, but conceded defeat to Athletic Bilbao in 1955 and to Real Madrid in 1962. Sevilla remained in the First Division from the 1933–34 season until 1967, when they were relegated to the Second Division, a tier from which they have never further been relegated from.The 1945–46 season was one of high importance in the history of Sevilla, as it marked the first, and to date only, time in which the team was league champions. On four other occasions, the club was proclaimed "subcampeón de Liga" (League Runner-up: 1939–40, 1942–43, 1950–51 and 1956–57). Including the present season, Sevilla has participated in the 74 seasons in the First Division and 13 in the Second Division, never dropping below the Second Division. Sevilla has also participated in four European tournaments, the "Copa de Europa" (European League Winners Cup) (1957–58); Recopa (Winners Cup) (1962–63) and UEFA Cup on nine occasions (1966–67, 1970–71, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1995–96, 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07). Sevilla also participated in the UEFA Champions League in 2007–08. There are more than 400 individuals who currently play for the Sevilla FC organization, which includes two semi-professional teams (in Second Division A – second national category) and 12 youth teams.Sevilla has always counted on having international players within its ranks to aid in the pursuit of trophies. The first of these players were Spencer and Herminio in the 1920s. Juan Arza, an international player form the 1940s, was proclaimed top scorer of the Spanish League in the 1954–55 season, with 29 goals. About 30 Sevilla players have been chosen to play on the selección española (Spanish National Team) over the years. Foreign players have always played an integral part in the success of Sevilla FC with Diego Maradona representing the most well known among them during his spell with the club during the 1992–93 season. During the same season Sevilla FC was managed by Carlos Salvador Bilardo, a world champion manager. Historically, Sevilla FC has fielded teams in a variety of other sports including basketball, rugby, rowing, athletics, and weightlifting or petanca. Presently, Sevilla FC counts twenty-five professional teams on its ledgers (on of these being in the second national category) and a women's football team in the Honor Division. Sevilla FC's stadium, the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, was inaugurated in 1958 and is one of the largest stadiums in Spain, and has the honour of hosting a World Cup semi-final match in 1982. After its final completion the stadium had a maximum capacity of 75,000 spectators, but since its latest remodelling, the stadium has been converted to an all-seat with a covering added to the main seating area, reducing the capacity to its current count of 45,000 spectators. Sevilla had their first spell of national success in the decade following the end of the Civil War, winning the 1945–46 La Liga title and two Copa del Rey titles. In the first season of this (1939–40), Sevilla won the cup on 25 June, beating Racing de Ferrol 6–2 in Barcelona.[16] That same season, the side lost the Liga title on the last day to Atlético Madrid after drawing 3–3 against Hércules.[17] The Sevilla forward line was known as los stukas after the German bomber plane, and scored 216 goals over four seasons. It comprised López, Torrontegui, Campanal, Raimundo, Berrocal and Pepillo.[12] [18] In 1941, President Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán left the club to manage the Spanish Football Federation. After his departure, Antonio Sánchez Ramos occupied temporarily occupied the position until the permanent appointment of Jerónimo Domínguez y Pérez de Vargas, Marquess of Contadero, who was president of the club for six years until the return of Sánchez Pizjuán.[19] Sevilla was runner-up to Athletic Bilbao in the 1942–43 season and came third a season later. Sevilla won its only Liga title in 1945–46, edging FC Barcelona by one point.[20] Two years later, Sevilla won the 1948 Copa del Rey after beating Celta de Vigo 4–1 in Madrid on 4 July.[16] The most significant signing of those years was the Spanish international striker Juan Arza. There was also the debut of the Campanal's nephew, defender Campanal II, with his uncle as trainer. During the 1950–51 season, with Campanal acting as the coach, the team finished runner-up in La Liga, two points behind Atlético Madrid.[21] Before the 1953–54 season, Argentinean coach Helenio Herrera was hired. During his time in charge, the club came fifth in the 1953–54 season, fourth in both 1954–55 and 1955–56 and second to Real Madrid in 1956–57.[21] In 1954, the club put the construction of the new stadium out to tender because Nervión Stadium was becoming too small for the club's fanbase. In the 1954–55 season, Arza won the Pichichi Trophy as La Liga's top scorer, with 28 goals,[22] and the team was runner-up in the Copa del Rey. In 1955, for the club's 50th anniversary, a triangular tournament was organised against the French club Stade de Reims and the Swedish club IFK Norrköping; Sevilla won. On 28 October 1956, President Sánchez Pizjuán died suddenly. As an appreciation to the deceased leader under whose chairmanship Sevilla had won three Copas del Rey, the fans decided that the club's planned new stadium was to be named in his honour.[23] In the 1956–57 season, the team were Liga runners-up behind Real Madrid, ensuring qualification for the first time to the European Cup. Herrera left the club at the end of the season.[24] The club needed a victory on the final day of the next season to avoid relegation, but reached the quarterfinals of the European Cup before being knocked out by holders and eventual champions Real Madrid. After the death of the President, Ramón de Carranza assumed the position for four years. It is said that he spoke these words at Sánchez Pizjuán's tomb: "Dear Ramón, now your friends, among who I am honoured to be one, are going to give you Christian burial, and on the following day, giving your body to the ground, we will start working and your dream that the Sevilla FC has a grand stadium will become a reality. Ramón, go in peace to heaven because your wishes will be fulfilled." Being true to his words, Carranza made obligation bonds amounting to 50 million pesetas, and a month-and-a-half after Sánchez Pizjuán's death, the first stone in the stadium's construction was placed. The architect was Manuel Muñoz Monasterio, co-designer of the recently built Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium was ultimately opened on 7 September 1958 as Sevilla played an inaugural friendly against fellow Andalusian club Real Jaén. The stadium's first official match was on the opening day of the 1958–59 season, where Sevilla beat cross-city Real Betis 4–2.[25] In the 1970s, Sevilla was forced into selling its top players in order to pay off debts incurred from the construction of its new stadium; Manuel Ruiz Sosa transferred to Atlético Madrid, Gallego to Barcelona and Juan Batista Agüero to Real Madrid. Moreover, part of the adjacent land to the stadium was also sold to a bank. In the 1967–68 season, Sevilla returned to the Second Division for the first time in 31 years, but were promoted back after one season. The next season, Austrian coach Max Merkel, nicknamed "Mr. Whip" for his usage of severe and harsh discipline techniques and training, was hired.[26] That season, the club finished third in the league. However, the club were relegated again at the end of the 1972–73 season. In 1973, Sevilla signed their first-ever black player, Gambian winger Biri Biri, from Danish club Boldklubben 1901. He remained at the club until 1978 and became a cult figure, with an ultra group named after him surviving to this day. In the 1974–75 season, with the Argentine Roque Olsen in charge, the club returned to the First Division. In the late 1970s, Sevilla signed Argentinians such as Héctor Scotta and Daniel Bertoni.[27][28] On 16 May 1976, Sevilla played its 1,000th game in La Liga. Directed first by Miguel Muñoz and later by Manolo Cardo, the team participated in two consecutive seasons of the UEFA Cup from 1981 to 1983. The 75th anniversary of the club was celebrated with a variety of social events and a match against Brazilian side Santos. In 1982, the World Cup was held in Spain and Sevilla's Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán was the venue for the semi-final match between West Germany and France.[29] In 1984, Eugenio Montes Cabeza finished his 11-year presidency and was replaced by the cattle businessman Gabriel Rojas, who as the vice-president had made several advancements to the club's stadium. In the 1985–86 season, Manolo Cardo left his management position after five years in charge, while Francisco played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup for Spain. Vicente Cantatore led the club to UEFA Cup qualification at the end of the 1989–90 season, with Austrian forward Toni Polster scoring a club-record 33 Liga goals.[12][30] In the 1992–93 season, after several months of negotiations, world-renowned Argentine Diego Maradona signed from Napoli for a fee of $7.5 million. His time at the club, however, was unsuccessful, and he was released in large part due to his periodic injuries and clashes with coach Bilardo.[31] In the following seasons, Luis Aragonés became manager and finished the 1994–95 season with qualification to next season's UEFA Cup. At the end of the 1994–95 season, despite the pleas of the club's directors, Sevilla, along with Celta de Vigo, were one of two clubs relegated from the top flight on reasons of administration, provoking action from fans. The action resulted in both Sevilla and Celta being reinstated to La Liga.[32] These events led to an institutional instability, with the season seeing four presidents and three managers take charge. Sevilla were relegated at the end of the 1996–97 season but returned in 1999.[33] At the beginning of the 21st century, the presidency of the club was assumed by the popular Roberto Alés.[34] The situation of the club was very delicate at the time; the team had dropped back to the Second Division in 2000 and the squad was weakened by player retirements and the sales of key players. The club opted for a relatively unknown trainer, Joaquín Caparrós, who helped the team win the Second Division with three matches to spare in just his first season at the helm.[35] In May 2002, Roberto Alés resigned as president and the Sevillian lawyer José María del Nido assumed the presidency. One of his first decisions was to confirm Caparrós as coach and Monchi as sporting director. On 6 October 2002, before a Seville derby against Betis at the Sánchez Pizjuán, four Sevilla fans, including a minor, assaulted a security guard. The attack was punished by Sevilla being forced to play their next four home matches behind closed doors, the longest term ever given to a La Liga side. The club finished in UEFA Europa Cup positions in both the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons before marking their centennial in late 2005. This set up Sevilla's first-ever European triumph, the 2006 UEFA Cup Final at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven on 10 May 2006. The club defeated English club Middlesbrough 4–0 under new manager Juande Ramos, with the scoring opened by Brazilian striker Luís Fabiano. In the second-half, Italian substitute Enzo Maresca scored twice to be named Man of the Match, where Malian striker Frédéric Kanouté finished the scoring.[36] Sevilla opened their 2006–07 season by winning the 2006 UEFA Super Cup on 25 August 2006 with a 3–0 victory over Champions League winners and compatriots Barcelona at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. The goals were scored by Renato, Kanouté and a late penalty by Maresca.[37] The season ended with a second consecutive UEFA Cup win, this time against fellow Spanish club Espanyol at Hampden Park, Glasgow.[38] The match went to penalties after finishing 2–2 after extra-time, with Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop saving three of Espanyol's penalties. On 12 November 2006, Sevilla played its 2,000th game in La Liga. In addition, Sevilla defeated Getafe in the 2007 Copa del Rey Final, with Kanouté scoring the only goal in the game's 11th minute. Sevilla finished third in that season's La Liga to qualify for the 2007–08 Champions League. As a result of these successes, Sevilla was voted as the IFFHS Team of the Year for the second consecutive season, becoming the first club to achieve this.[39] Sevilla won the 2007 Supercopa de España against La Liga champions Real Madrid.[40] The season started to derail, however, after defender Antonio Puerta suffered a heart attack in the first game of the season and died three days later on 28 August. Three days after his death, Sevilla then lost 3–1 to Milan in the 2007 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco.[41] Juande Ramos, the individual largely responsible for Sevilla's recent successes, resigned as manager on 27 October to take the post with Tottenham Hotspur; he was replaced by Sevilla Atlético manager Manolo Jiménez.[42] In spite of the personnel issues, Sevilla nonetheless advanced in first place in its Champions League group ahead of Arsenal before later being eliminated in the round of 16 via penalties to Fenerbahçe of Turkey. In the summer of 2008, before Jiménez's debut season as first-team manager, Dani Alves and Seydou Keita were both sold to Barcelona, while Christian Poulsen left for Juventus. Sevilla finished third in La Liga with a club record-equalling 21 victories and a club record number of away victories. The 2009–10 season saw a third-consecutive qualification to the Champions League. On 19 May 2010, Sevilla defeated Atlético Madrid 2–0 in the 2010 Copa del Rey Final at the Camp Nou, with goals from Diego Capel and Jesús Navas.[43][44] Navas was later a World Cup winner with the Spain national team in July of that year. Before the 2010–11 season started, Sevilla lost to Barcelona 5–3 on aggregate in the Supercopa and were eliminated in the Champions League playoffs by Braga of Portugal. On 14 January of the following year, after a 0–2 away loss to Valencia CF that left the Andalusians in 12th place, he was relieved of his duties, who was replaced by Spanish manager Unai Emery. The club was going through an organizational financial crisis and the club was forced to sell team stars Álvaro Negredo and Jesús Navas, transactions that gave the club a combined €40 million; the duo was replaced by a contingent of younger players including strikers Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro. On 14 May 2014, Sevilla defeated Benfica on penalties in the 2014 UEFA Europa League Final to claim their third triumph in the competition.[45] After this season the key midfielder Ivan Rakitić was sold to Barcelona for around €16 million (the deal was closed on 16 June 2014[46]). In the summer 2015 top scorer Carlos Bacca, who had only joined two years previous, moved to Milan for €30 million.[47] Despite this, the club acquired players Grzegorz Krychowiak and Éver Banega to reinforce the squad. On 27 May 2015, Sevilla repeated as Europa League champions after defeating Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3–2 in the 2015 Final.[48] The goals for Sevilla were scored by Grzegorz Krychowiak and a brace from Carlos Bacca.[49] In defeating Dnipro, they became the only club to have won the Europa League four times.[50] The club returned to the Europa League final for a third consecutive time, facing Liverpool in the 2016 Final. After being down 1–0 at half-time, Sevilla bounced back in the second half to eventual win 1–3, with one goal scored from Kevin Gameiro and two from club captain Coke. With the third consecutive Europa League title, Sevilla improved their record of most Europa League titles won, now having lifted the trophy five times in the span of only ten years.[51] Despite Sevilla's continued success in the Europa League, the 2015–16 season proved to be another finish outside the top four, the side finishing in seventh. In response, Castro decided to engineer a resurrection of the club. Jorge Sampaoli was hired as manager – replacing Paris Saint-Germain-bound Unai Emery[52] – and the club began to invest heavily that summer. Additions to the side included goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu on loan,[53] playmaker Ganso, forwards Luciano Vietto and Wissam Ben Yedder, attacker Franco Vázquez, wide midfielders Hiroshi Kiyotake and Pablo Sarabia, as well as former Arsenal and Manchester City player Samir Nasri on loan.[54] In December of the 2017–18 La Liga, Vincenzo Montella was named as the third manager since Emery's departure in 2016 replacing Eduardo Berizzo[55] and in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League season Sevilla progressed into the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in 10 years defeating Manchester United to do so.[56] On 4 June 2019, Sevilla FC announced the signing of Julen Lopetegui as manager for the next three seasons.[57] On 16 August 2020, Sevilla won 2–1 over Manchester United in the semi-finals of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League,[58] en route to lifting the trophy for a record sixth time, beating Inter Milan 3–2 in the final.[59] Sevilla is governed by a presidential management system, but with a board of directors that discusses and approves those important decisions that must be carried out. The president is supported by a general director and a sport director.[10] Throughout its history, Sevilla have had 29 presidents, the first being Edward Farquharson Johnston, a Scotsman. Those who have occupied the presidency for the longest periods have been Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Eugenio Montes Cabezas, Luis Cuervas Vilches and José María del Nido Benavente. In 1992, Sevilla became a Sporting Limited Association, following the entry into force of the law that regulated them and therefore the system of election of the president was amended from being elected by the members to be elected by the shareholders of the club. Sevilla has two official anthems: From its foundation, the team used a double-circled crest. On the exterior circle, the name of the club and the date of its foundation were written, while in the interior circle on a white background the letters "SFC" were interlaced as they are on the current crest. This first crest was designed by Juan Lafita, who was a close associate of the club and was the son of the Sevillian painter José Lafita y Blanco. The second crest was designed in 1922 by Pablo Rodríguez Blanco, a draftsman of the Water Company. He divided the shield in three parts and together they formed the silhouette of a heart. The three figures that appear are the Christian saints portrayed on the coat of arms of the city—Isidore of Seville, Ferdinand III of Castile and Leander of Seville. On the right side appear the initials "SFC," which were on the official shield from 1905 to 1922.[61] Where the three parts meet, a football of the era appears. Regarding the red and white stripes there are various theories, but it seems that the most coherent is that from the first time, the club wished that the official kit would be red and white. Another version indicates that the lower part is inspired on the flag which King Ferdinand III of Castile carried in the reconquest of Seville in 1248.[10] The definition of Sevilla's flag is in the articles of association of 1982, which is a modification of the old ones which were formed and deposited in the Record of Associations and Sports Federations of the Higher Council of Sports. Its title 1, article 6 states that this is a distinctive emblem of the club: Sevilla wore shirts with a sponsor logo for the first time in the 1986–87 season, to promote the Seville Expo '92. Previously, before the 1980–81 season, the club signed its first kit-manufacturer deal with the German firm Adidas. Since 2018 the kit is manufactured by Nike. Sevilla have several media outlets. Its radio station, SFC Radio, launched in September 2004, broadcasts all day on FM and online, while its television channel SFC TV aired for the first time in the 2005–06 season with a UEFA Cup match against Zenit Saint Petersburg. Since 8 June 2009, the television coverage has been shown on the club website. Sevilla issue a physical and digital newspaper the day after every match and on the same day as an important one, as well as a magazine before home games. The official magazine of the club is released every two months, the first issue being free and issued at a friendly against the Brazil national team to mark the club's centennial in September 2005. Sevilla FC will have Playtika as their main 2017–2018 sponsor. Playtika will advertise the World Series of Poker's free to play poker room on Sevilla's shirt. Moreover, the brand will also appear around Sevilla's 42,500 "Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán" Stadium, on the players' entrance and on the clubs bus.[62] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. see also Category:Sevilla FC managers In their first fifty years Sevilla played their home matches in various locations around Seville:[65] la Trinidad Field, the Mercantile Field, 'La Victoria' Stadium and the Estadio de Nervión. The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium was first planned in 1937 when land was bought near to the then-home of Sevilla, in Nervión, and construction began in 1954. A contest was held for its design, won by the architect Manuel Muñoz Monasterio, who had also designed the home of Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The construction of the stadium was completed in the summer of 1958 and was inaugurated on 7 September of the same year with a friendly match against Real Jaén. The east and west grandstands to the stadium were finished in 1974 under the presidency of Eugenio Montes Cabezas and increased the stadium's capacity to 70,000. The visor, the mosaic on the main façade (by Santiago del Campo) and the new lighting were added for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, in which it held a group game between the Soviet Union and Brazil, as well as a semi-final between France and West Germany.[66] The 1986 European Cup Final was held in the stadium, and won by Steaua București against Barcelona.[67] In addition, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to approximately 60,000. The last modification was made during the mid-1990s, when according to FIFA rules, all standing areas were redeveloped into seating, reducing the capacity to the present 42,714. The Spain national team have played 26 matches in the stadium since 1961, unbeaten with 21 wins and 5 draws.[68] To mark the club's centenary in 2005, an allegorical mosaic designed by Ben Yessef was built above the southern gate, depicting the history of the city of Seville. Above it, the club's badge floated in the wind.[10][69] The stadium currently houses the headquarters of the club's media, as well as an official store, club museum and trophy cabinet. The sporting facilities known as La Ciudad Deportiva (The Sporting City) are used by the first team for training and by the reserve teams and women for matches. These facilities were inaugurated in 1974 and are located in the outskirts of the city on the road to Utrera. It has four natural grass pitches and three artificial pitches, as well as an artificial pitch for the Antonio Puerta Football School, changing rooms, gymnasium, press room, cafeteria, medical centre and a recovering room.[70] Since the club was first promoted to La Liga in the 1934–35 season, Sevilla has played all but seven seasons in the first division. Sevilla won La Liga in the 1945–46 season and was runner-up four times (1939–40, 1942–43, 1950–51 and 1956–57). While the club has only suffered four short-lived descents to the Segunda División, it has won the second division title on two separate occasions (1968–1969 and 2000–2001).[71] Throughout its history, Sevilla has won trophies at the regional, national and European level – including a record six UEFA Cups/UEFA Europa Leagues — and is the most successful club in Andalusia.[73] In 2010 Sevilla was given permanent possession of the Copa del Rey after their victory in the competition to celebrate Spain winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[74] Winners (3): 1967, 1991, 1997 Gallery First Ramón de Carranza trophies (6) Colombino Trophy (4) Costa del Sol Trophy (2) Seville City Trophy (7) The debut of Sevilla in European competitions took place in the 1957–58 season as a participant in that season's European Cup. Despite finishing runner-up in the league to Real Madrid, Sevilla represented Spain in the competition as Real had already qualified by winning the European Cup the season before.[80] M = Matches; W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; GS = Goals scored; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference Top scorers in the history of the club Top scorers in the history of the club up to May 2019 Most official appearances[citation needed] Sevilla's B team, Sevilla Atlético, was founded in 1958 and currently plays in Segunda, the second tier of Spanish football. Graduates from it to Sevilla's first team include Sergio Ramos and Jesús Navas, members of the Spain squad which won the 2010 World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. Sevilla FC C, founded in 2003, compete in the fourth tier of Spanish football, the Tercera División, having risen with four consecutive promotions from provincial and regional leagues. Sevilla's women's team play in the top-flight of Spanish women's football, the Super Liga, and currently play their home games at the club's training ground, Ciudad Deportiva José Ramón Cisneros Palacios. Sevilla acquired the women's club from CD Hispalis in 2004, and the club had its greatest success in the 2005–06 season, when it came runner-up in the Super Liga and the national cup. Since its foundation for the 2007–08 season, the Spanish indoor football league has included a Sevilla veterans' team. Sevilla FC Puerto Rico, of Juncos, is a Puerto Rican football club of the Puerto Rico Soccer League. The side affiliated to Sevilla in 2008, and share a similar badge and kit. Since 2008, Sevilla has been one of two Spanish clubs (the other being Atlético Madrid, to compete in Superleague Formula, in which cars endorsed by professional football clubs compete in races across the world. The Sevilla-Betis regatta is an annual rowing competition in Seville's Guadalquivir river, held since 1960. Different categories of boats represent Sevilla and its cross-city rival Real Betis. Sevilla have won on 30 of the 47 regattas. According to research from the Centre of Sociological Investigations (CIS) in May 2007, Sevilla is the eighth-most supported club in Spain with 2.3% of the nation's football fans (compared to 32.8% for the most popular, Real Madrid). Their city rivals Real Betis possess 3.3% of the nation's support. Since Sevilla became Sporting Limited Association, the concept of membership disappeared. Only the shareholders can take part in the decisions of the club according to the percentage of the capital that they hold. The minority shareholders of the club are organised in a federation that represents them in the General Meeting of Shareholders that the club celebrates every year. People who are traditionally referred to as members are currently fans who purchase a yearly season ticket which allows them to attend all home matches that season. Sometimes these members enjoy some specific advantages over the rest of the fans. Sevilla's fan clubs are mainly concentrated in the city of Seville, its province and the rest of Andalusia. The presence of fan clubs in other autonomous communities is greatest in Catalonia and Extremadura. Most of them are integrated into the "San Fernando Fan Clubs Federation" (Federation de Peñas Sevillistas "San Fernando"), which, according to its statutes, is totally independent from the directive board of the club, having its own board and not being intervened. The Biris Norte is an organised group of ultra supporters located in the North grandstand of the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. The group's name comes from the Gambian player Alhaji Momodo Njle, nicknamed Biri Biri, who became very popular amongst the Sevilla fans in the 1970s. The "Biris Norte" was created in the 1974–75, and is one of the oldest groups of Ultra fans in Spain. Sevilla compete in the Seville derby against their cross-city rivals Real Betis. The two played each other for the first time on 8 October 1915 in a match won 4–3 by Sevilla. The game is considered as one of the most important derbies in Spanish football. Sevilla also has a significant rivalry with Atlético Madrid.[81]

Christopher Lambert

Christophe Guy Denis Lambert (/ˈlæmbərt/; French: [lɑ̃bɛʁ]; born 29 March 1957),[1] known professionally as Christopher Lambert, is an American actor, novelist, and producer. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous with the role of Tarzan in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes in 1984. For his performance in the 1985 film Subway, Lambert received the César Award for Best Actor. His best-known role is Connor MacLeod in the 1986 cult adventure-fantasy film Highlander and the subsequent film franchise series of the same name. He also played the thunder god Raiden in the first film adaptation of the video game Mortal Kombat (1995). Other films he is known for are I Love You (1986), The Sicilian (1987), Knight Moves (1992), Fortress (1992) and its sequel Fortress 2: Re-Entry (2000), Druids (2001), Absolon (2003), White Material (2009), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), Kickboxer: Retaliation (2016), and for producing N'oublie pas que tu vas mourir, (1995), the French comedy film Neuf Mois (1994) and its American remake Nine Months (1995). Lambert was born March 29, 1957, in Great Neck, New York, the son of Yolande Agnès Henriette (née de Caritat de Peruzzis; * 1928)[2] and Georges Lambert-Lamond (1910–2003),[3] a French diplomat then at the United Nations.[1][4][5] His father was a French Jew.[6] Lambert was raised in Geneva from infancy and moved to Paris in his teens.[7] Christopher Lambert started his career playing supporting parts in several French films: Ciao, les mecs (1979), Le bar du téléphone (1980), Asphalte (1981), Une sale affaire (1981), Putain d'histoire d'amour (1981), Douchka (1981), Légitime violence (1982) and one episode of Cinéma 16 (1982). Around that time director Hugh Hudson had just finished his Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire (1981), and Warner Brothers was desperate to hire him to direct another film. After looking at all their available scripts he chose to do a film adaptation of novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs' iconic character Tarzan, a man who was raised by an unknown species of great apes in the jungle. Hudson wanted an unknown to play the part and tested many young actors. Lambert got the role partly due to his myopia, because when he took off his glasses it seemed he was always looking into the distance.[8] Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes was released in 1984 and met with great critical acclaim for both Lambert and its director. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and won a BAFTA Award, as well as a César Award amongst other nominations.[9] That same year, he also played a lead role in a French film called Paroles et musique, opposite Catherine Deneuve, Richard Anconina and Jacques Perrin.[10] In 1985, Lambert played the lead in Luc Besson's stylistic film Subway, about a man being hunted in the underground subways of Paris.[11][12] The film was a success at the French box office as well as critically acclaimed.[13] Lambert was awarded a César Award for Best Actor the next year.[14] On the 7th of March 1986, premiered Russell Mulcahy's Highlander.[15] In the film, Lambert starred as Connor MacLeod from the Scottish Highlands, known as the Highlander, one of a number of immortal warriors who can be killed only by decapitation. After initial training by another highly skilled immortal swordsman, Ramirez played by Sean Connery, MacLeod lives on for several centuries, eventually settling in New York City, running an antiques shop. MacLeod falls in love with a police forensic scientist named Brenda. He also finds out that he must face his greatest enemy, the Kurgan, played by Clancy Brown, who wishes to kill MacLeod and to obtain "the Prize" – which gives special abilities to the last living immortal warrior, vast knowledge and power which could enslave the human race. The film became a cult hit and was an international box-office success, as well as his most famous role. The rock group Queen composed and performed the soundtrack, and Lambert also appeared as MacLeod in the music video for Queen's "Princes of the Universe".[16] Also that year, Lambert took the leading role in Marco Ferreri's I Love You.[17] The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Silver Ribbon at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.[18] Lambert played the leading role in the troubled production of The Sicilian, directed by Michael Cimino, based on the Mario Puzo book by the same name and started its American theatrical run on the 23rd of October 1987.[19] He stars as Salvatore Giuliano an egocentric bandit who fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence. The studios trimmed down the director's cut of the film. It was released in 1987, and was less successful than his previous pictures, receiving a lukewarm reception by critics and being only marginally profitable. However the director's cut received better reviews upon its release in France. In 1988, he starred in Agnieszka Holland's To Kill a Priest, in which he played a character based on Jerzy Popiełuszko and his murder under the Polish communist regime. It was well received by critics.[20] That year, he also played the lead in the romantic film Priceless Beauty with actress Diane Lane. They got married that year, their union lasted until 1994. In 1990, he did the comedy Why Me?, co-starring Christopher Lloyd. They play burglars who get into trouble after stealing a sacred ruby from Turkey. On November 1st 1991, the Highlander sequel, Highlander II: The Quickening premiered. In it Lambert reunited with director Russell Mulcahy and fellow actor Sean Connery.[21] Mulcahy didn't like the screenplay right from the start, and the production team was lured to shoot it in Argentina to reduce production costs; the country however was going through a financial crisis. Much of the script wasn't filmed and the final result is a patchwork.[22] Its poor performance was possibly a result of the bonding company's interference with the director; Mulcahy reportedly hated the final product so much he walked out of the film's world premiere after viewing its first 15 minutes. For similar reasons, Christopher Lambert threatened to walk out of the project when it was nearing fruition. However, due to contract obligations, he did not. That year he got his first producer credit in the French film Génial, mes parents divorcent by Patrick Braoudé.[23] In 1992, he appeared in three projects. He appeared in the first episode of the television show Highlander: The Series, passing on the lead role to actor Adrian Paul. He also appeared in the French crime thriller Max et Jérémie, co-starring Philippe Noiret and Jean-Pierre Marielle. On the 22nd of January 1993, Carl Schenkel's suspense thriller Knight Moves premiered, in which Lambert was both an executive producer and the lead. Lambert plays a chess grandmaster suspected of murder.[24] On the 3rd of September, the science fiction Stuart Gordon's Fortress premiered, where Lambert was the lead.[25] The story takes place in a dystopian future where a man and his wife are sent to a maximum-security prison because they are expecting a second child, which is against the strict one-child policy. The film was a success at the box-office. That year he also made an uncredited cameo in the comedy Loaded Weapon 1.[26] In 1994, saw the release of two collaborations with actor Mario Van Peebles. They played the side by side leads in the action film Gunmen, and Van Peebles was the main villain in Highlander III: The Sorcerer. In this third installment of franchise, Connor MacLeod is forced to face a new, dangerous enemy, a powerful sorcerer known as Kane who wants to gain world domination. Lambert also starred in the action film Roadflower. In France, he produced his second Patrick Braoudé film called Neuf mois, which was nominated for two Césars.[27][28] In the US, he produced the film Dead Beat starring Bruce Ramsay.[29] In 1995, he played the role of the thunder god Raiden in the Paul W. S. Anderson's movie adaptation of the popular video game series Mortal Kombat.[30] The plot of the film follows the warrior monk Liu Kang, the actor Johnny Cage, and the soldier Sonya Blade, all three guided by the god Raiden, on their journey to combat the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung and his forces in a tournament to save Earth. Mortal Kombat spent three weeks as the number-one film at the U.S. box office, earning over $122 million worldwide. That year also saw the release of the martial-arts thriller film The Hunted, in which he was the lead.[31] Also in 1995, he produced Xavier Beauvois's N'oublie pas que tu vas mourir, which won the Special Jury Award at the Gijón International Film Festival, won the Prix Jean Vigo, won the Jury Prize and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.[32][33] He was also an executive producer on Chris Colombus' Nine Months an American remake of Neuf mois, it went on to gross $138 million.[34] In 1996, he was an executive producer and the lead in Nils Gaup's western film North Star, co-starring James Caan.[35] He played the lead in the action film Adrenalin: Fear the Rush. Finally he was one of the leads in the French film Hercule et Sherlock. That year he also produced When Saturday Comes, a football sport drama starring Sean Bean. In 1997, he starred in Gabriele Salvatores' cyberpunk science fiction film Nirvana. The film tells the story of a virtual reality game designer, played by Lambert, who discovers that the main character of his game has achieved sentience due to an attack by a computer virus. The film was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival.[36] It went on to win one and was nominated for eight David di Donatello Awards, nominated for best film at Fantasporto, won best director at Flaiano International Prizes, won three and was nominated for two Golden Ciak Awards, nominated for one Italian Golden Globe, and nominated for five awards of the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.[37] That year, he also co-lead with Ice-T in the action film Mean Guns.[38] He starred in the French film Arlette by Claude Zidi.[39] He produced the French film J'irai au paradis car l'enfer est ici.[40] In 1998, he produced and starred in two films. Operation Splitsville was a remake of Génial, mes parents divorcent, which he produced several years earlier. The second was called Gideon, where he plays a man with a mental disability who moves into a nursing home known as Lakeview, with many elderly inhabitants. In 1999, he produced and starred in Russell Mulcahy's Resurrection, where he plays a detective who is assigned to investigate the savage murder of a man who has bled to death from a severed arm. He also starred in Beowulf, a science fantasy-action film loosely based on the Old English epic poem Beowulf. In 2000, he played in the fourth installment of the Highlander franchise, Highlander: Endgame. The film reunited Adrian Paul, the actor of the series, with him. This would be last sequel Lambert appeared in. The final movie of the series came seven years later, when Paul made Highlander: The Source in 2007. That year he also starred in Fortress 2: Re-Entry, where his character from the first film is still on the run from authorities. In 2001, he played the lead role of Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix in the France-Canada production Druids. He also starred in John Glen's The Point Men, about a team of Israeli agents being killed off one-by-one after a botched anti-terrorist operation. He also provided his voice for the English dub of the animated series Mazinkaiser. In 2002, he was an executive producer and a co-lead in the thriller The Piano Player, with Dennis Hopper.[41] He also provided his voice for the English dub of the animated series Jing: King of Bandits.[42] In 2003, he played in Absolon, a post-apocalyptic science fiction thriller film.[43] He also played a supporting role in the French film Janis and John. He also acted in the short film Qui veut la peau de Roberto Santini?. In 2004, he acted opposite Nastassja Kinski in the French film À ton image.[44] He also played in one episode of Cirque du Soleil: Solstrom.[45] He was an executive producer on the film The Confessor starring Christian Slater, Molly Parker, and Stephen Rea.[46] The film follows a straying Catholic priest's, played by Slater, investigation of a troubled teen's mysterious death. It was nominated for two awards at the Directors Guild of Canada. In 2005, he acted in the television film biopic Dalida.[47] In 2006, he was an executive producer and star on the film Day of Wrath.[48] He starred in the French film Le Lièvre de Vatanen.[49] He also played a supporting role in Richard Kelly's Southland Tales.[50] In 2007, he starred in the vampire film Metamorphosis.[51] He starred in the French film Trivial, directed by Sophie Marceau. It's about a police inspector, struggling with depression following his wife's death, who investigates a suspicious missing person's case at the request of a mysterious woman. During that time, he started a relationship with Marceau. In 2008, he played in the French crime thriller Limousine.[52] In 2009, Lambert was a lead in Claire Denis' White Material; both the film and Lambert's performance received critical acclaim.[53][54][55] The film stars Isabelle Huppert as a struggling French coffee producer in an unnamed French speaking African country, who decides to stay at her coffee plantation in spite of an erupting civil war. The film has appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2010.[56] It was nominated at the Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film, for a Golden Lion, a Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film, at the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, etc.[57] That year he also acted in Cartagena with Sophie Marceau. The film is about a beautiful, free-spirited woman who becomes bedridden following a terrible accident. Against her better judgement, she hires a drunk middle-aged former boxer to cook and care for her. Although unqualified for the position, he is desperate to work, and slowly he wins the trust of the woman, who teaches him how to read. The film also won several awards in France. Finally he acted in the French television film Les Associés. In 2010, he played in Philipp Kadelbach's Das Geheimnis der Wale.[58] The film is about the widow of a whale researcher who joins force with an environmentalist played by Lambert to fight an oil company. That year he also played the lead in The Gardener of God, a biopic about Gregor Mendel. In 2011, Lambert had the villainous role of the head monk Methodius in the Ghost Rider (2007 Film) sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, starring Nicolas Cage, in 2011.[59] He underwent sword training for three months[60] and shaved his head.[61] Other co-stars included Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Johnny Whitworth and Idris Elba.[62] The film made $132.6 million worldwide.[63]In 2012, he played a role in the Bulgarian film The Foreigner, and the Italian film L'una e l'altra.[64][65] In France, he also played a lead role in the film called Ma bonne étoile opposite Claude Brasseur, and Fleur Lise Heuet, and one episode of the TV show Very Bad Blagues.[66][67] Shortly afterwards, he got the role of Marcel Janvier (alias "The Chameleon"), a recurring villain in award-winning hit police crime TV drama NCIS: Los Angeles.[68][69] His character was in 6 episodes from 2012 to 2013 – the two highest-rated seasons of the show.[70] In 2013, he was one of the cast members in the horror film Blood Shot.[71] He also acted in the French TV series La source.[72] In 2014, he played in the film Electric Slide, starring Jim Sturgess, an American biographical crime drama about the Los Angeles-based bank robber Eddie Dodson. His co-stars included Isabel Lucas, Patricia Arquette and Chloe Sevigny. In 2015 he co-starred in Claude Lelouch's Un plus une, a French romantic comedy film starring Jean Dujardin, Elsa Zylberstein and Alice Pol. He also co-starred in the film 10 Days in a Madhouse, a 2015 American biographical film about the experiences of undercover journalist Nellie Bly. In 2016 he co-starred in Hail, Caesar!, a comedy film written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film had an ensemble cast consisting of Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum. It is a fictional story that follows the real-life "fixer" Eddie Mannix (Brolin) working in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, trying to discover what happened to a cast member who vanished during the filming of a biblical epic. That year he had a cameo as a French Army Captain in La folle histoire de Max et Léon, a French World War II comedy film. He also had a recurring role in the Russian-Portuguese biographical television show Mata Hari. In 2017 he re-collaborated with Claude Lelouch in the star studded comedy Chacun sa vie et son intime conviction. He also acted in the thriller The Broken Key with Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen, Geraldine Chaplin, Franco Nero and William Baldwin. He also played himself in one episode of the French TV show Call My Agent!.[73] That year, he also played the lead villain in the martial arts film Kickboxer: Retaliation. A sequel to Kickboxer: Vengeance, the film stars Alain Moussi and Jean-Claude Van Damme and co-stars Ronaldinho, Mike Tyson and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Lambert plays the role of SS officer Karl Frenzel in the Russian film Sobibor by director Konstantin Khabensky, which was released in 2018. The film is a World War II drama about the only successful uprising in a Nazi death camp.[74] It was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.[75] Lambert received high praise for "an outstanding and nuanced performance; he is unrecognisable as Frenzel, a demonic, fractured character.[76] Lambert was part of the ensemble cast of Bel Canto from director Paul Weitz, an adaptation of the 2002 novel of the same name, by Ann Patchett. Lambert played the role of a French ambassador who was part of the Japanese embassy hostage crisis (also called the Lima Crisis) of 1996–1997 in Lima, Peru. Lambert received praise, along with the rest of the cast, for "performances [that] are uniformly excellent" "[77] Lambert married Diane Lane in October 1988;[78] they divorced in 1994. They have a daughter, Eleanor Jasmine.[1] Lambert married Jaiymse Haft on 6 February 1999.[1] From 2007 he was in a relationship with Sophie Marceau, with whom he appeared in La disparue de Deauville.[79] They announced their separation on 11 July 2014.[80] Lambert has profound myopia and cannot see without his glasses. He cannot wear contact lenses and often has to act virtually blind which has led to injuries while performing his own stunts.[81] Lambert wrote two novels: La fille porte-bonheur, in 2011, and Le juge, in 2015.[82][83] Along with owning a mineral water business and food processing plant, Lambert produces Côtes du Rhône wines with partner Eric Beaumard at a vineyard located in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, France. The label, Les Garrigues de Beaumard-Lambert, tops out at 4,000 cases and is sold mostly in Europe. Beaumard has primary creative control of the winery, but Lambert conducts barrel tests and monitors the various stages of evolution.[84] A character intended to be Lambert whose face is never seen appears in episode 7 of season 6 of the Adult Swim animated TV series The Venture Bros., "A Party for Tarzan", in which Dr. Venture throws a lunar eclipse party in order to cultivate Lambert and, through him, make connections with the idle rich. Lambert appears late to attend the party, but the doors are locked and he can't get in.

Peugeot 504

The Peugeot 504 is a mid-size, front-engine, rear wheel drive automobile manufactured and marketed by Peugeot from 1968-1983 over a single generation, primarily in four-door sedan and wagon configurations – but also with two-door coupé, convertible and pickup truck variants. The 504 was noted for its robust body structure, long suspension travel, and torque tube drive shaft – enclosed in a rigid tube attached at each end to the gearbox housing and differential casing, relieving drive train torque reactions. The 504 ultimately achieved widespread popularity in far-flung rough-terrain countries – including Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, Kenya and Nigeria.[6] More than three million 504s were manufactured in its European production, with production continuing globally under various licensing arrangements – including 27,000 assembled in Kenya[7] and 425,000 assembled in Nigeria, using knock-down kits – with production extending into 2006.[8][6] Having debuted as Peugeot's flagship at the 1968 Paris Salon, the 504 received the 1969 European Car of the Year. In 2013, the Los Angeles Times called it "Africa's workhorse."[9] Marketed as Peugeot's flagship saloon car, the 504 made its public debut on 12 September 1968 at the Paris Salon. The press launch which had been scheduled for June 1968 was at the last minute deferred by three months, and production got off to a similarly delayed start because of the political and industrial disruption which exploded across France in May 1968.[10] The 504 was a sunroof-equipped four-door saloon, introduced with a carbureted 1,796 cc four-cylinder petrol engine 79 bhp (59 kW; 80 PS) with optional fuel injection. A column-mounted four-speed manual transmission was standard; a three-speed ZF 3HP12 automatic available as an upgrade. The 504 was European Car of the Year in 1969, praised for its styling, quality, chassis, ride, visibility, strong engine and refinement. 1969 was also when the 504 reached the Australian market.[1] The 504 Injection two-door coupé and two-door cabriolet were introduced at the Salon de Geneva in March 1969.[11] The engine produced the same 79 bhp (59 kW; 80 PS) of output as in the fuel-injected saloon, but the final drive ratio was slightly revised to give a slightly higher road speed of 20.6 mph (33.2 km/h) at 1,000 rpm.[11] Available models: The 504 received a new four-cylinder 1971 cc engine, rated at 96 bhp (72 kW; 97 PS) (carburated) and 104 bhp (78 kW; 105 PS) (fuel-injected), and a four-cylinder 2112 cc diesel engine rated at 65 bhp (48 kW; 66 PS). The 1796 cc engine remained available. In September 1970 an estate ("Break") was added, featuring a higher rear roof, lengthened wheel base, and solid rear axle with four coil springs. It was joined by the 7-seat "Familiale", which had all its occupants facing forward in three rows of seats. In April 1973, because of the oil crisis Peugeot presented the 504 L. It featured a coil sprung live rear axle and a smaller 1796 cc engine rated at 79 bhp (59 kW; 80 PS) (81 bhp (60 kW; 82 PS) for Automatic). The different rear axle required somewhat more space; this required some alterations to the floor pan which meant marginally less boot space and rear headroom.[12] At the 1974 October Motor Show Peugeot presented a more powerful engine for the 504 coupé and cabriolet, now fitted with a 2664 cc V6 unit developed in collaboration with Volvo and Renault.[13] This was the same engine that would be used for the 604 berline, to be introduced at Geneva five months later, in March 1975.[13] The engine incorporated various innovative features such as an aluminium cylinder block, and a fuel-feed system that employed carburetors of differing type, one (type 34 TBIA) featuring a single chamber controlled directly according to the movement of the accelerator pedal, and the second being a twin chamber carburetor (type 35 CEEI) designed to operate simultaneously with the first, using a pneumatic linkage.[13] Maximum output for the 504 coupé and cabriolet fitted with this new V6 engine was given as 136 bhp (101 kW; 138 PS), supporting a top speed of 186 km/h (116 mph).[13] During 1975, the first full year of production, 2643 of these six-cylinder 504 coupés and cabriolet were produced, which was considered a respectable number, although dwarfed by the 236,733 four-cylinder 504 "berlines" (saloons/sedans) and "breaks" (estates/station wagons) produced by Peugeot in France in the same year.[13] Following the launch of the six-cylinder cars, the four-cylinder versions of the coupé and cabriolet 504s were delisted: they returned to the showrooms in 1978 in response, it was reported, to customer demand.[13] At the Paris Motor Show of October 1976 the option of an enlarged diesel engine was introduced. The stroke of 83 mm (3.3 in) remained the same as that of the existing 2112 cc diesel motor, but for the larger engine the bore was increased to 94 mm (3.7 in), giving an overall 2304 cc along with an increase in claimed power output from 65 to 70 bhp (48 to 52 kW; 66 to 71 PS).[14] The 2112 cc diesel engine would also find its way into the Ford Granada since Ford did not at the time produce a sufficient volume of diesel sedans in this class to justify the development of their own diesel engine. Peugeot 504 production in Europe was pruned back in 1979 with the launch of the Peugeot 505, although the 504 Pickup was introduced as a replacement for the 404 Pickup for the 1980 model year. The last European-made example rolled off the production line in 1983, although the pick up version continued in production, and was available in Europe until 1993. More than three million 504 passenger cars were produced in Europe. The 505 shared most of the Peugeot 504 mechanical parts, similarly to the Peugeot 604 and Talbot Tagora.[citation needed] As of December 2015, 197 examples of the Peugeot 504 are still in use in Britain.[15] Saloon US-market Saloon with bigger bumpers, sealed-beam headlamps, and side marker lights Break Cabriolet Coupé Coupé Pickup Manufacturing continued in Kenya until 2004, and Nigeria until 2006, using the Peugeot knock down kits, which meant that versions of the 504 had been in production in various parts of the world for a total of 38 years. Kenyan production was 27,000 units and the car remained on sale to 2007, being described as "King of the African road".[16] Egypt also had its own production facilities. In South Africa it was built by PACSA (Peugeot and Citroën South Africa) alongside the 404 until late 1978. Sigma Motor Corporation took over from PACSA in early 1979 and moved 504 production to their "Sigma Park" plant east of Pretoria.[2] South Africa received the two-liter and TI versions until mid-1976 when the lower priced 1800 L version was added. The L has a matt black grille and window surrounds, and did not receive bumper overriders. A similarly equipped L Wagon had arrived earlier in the year, to replace the discontinued 404 Wagon.[12] The Peugeot 504 is also one of the most common vehicles employed as a bush taxi in Africa. The car was assembled in various countries, under license of Peugeot. In Australia it was first released in 1969 and was assembled by Peugeot's rival Renault, and sold through Renault Australia's dealer network. In 1981 the 504 GL retailed for AUD $11,000.[1] Only the saloon was assembled in Australia, while the Break and Familiale models were imported fully built-up from France.[17] In China, the 504 was produced in pickup form, with a four-door crew cab, a live rear axle, on an extended estate platform. These were built by Guangzhou Peugeot Automobile Company. Chinese production of the 504 pickup ceased in 1997, when the joint venture folded. The Peugeot 504 was also produced in Argentina until 1999 by Sevel in El Palomar near Buenos Aires, in sedan, estate[18] and pickup forms. The pickup was manufactured in single and double cab with payload of over 1 tonne (1300 kg ) from 1983-1997, and exported mainly to bordering countries.[18] In 1991 the later models were slightly restyled at the front and rear, with the lamps and bumpers changing design.[19] These cars were also given a new interior. Argentinian 504s offered the 1971 cc petrol four-cylinder, or the 2304 cc diesel.[19] The French company Dangel also produced Peugeot approved four-wheel drive Break (estate/station wagon) and pickup models. Its engines and suspension were used in later models of the Paykan, the Iranian version of the Hillman Hunter. In September 1979, for the 1980 model year, the 504 Pickup was introduced. The considerable work involved in converting the 504's monocoque body into a load-carrying version had taken a full decade.[20] The pickup used the longer wheelbase and live rear axle of the 504 Break. On introduction, it was available with very basic spec and single round headlights, fitted in plastic frames shaped like the 504's "cat's eyes." The engine options were the 404's 1618 cc petrol (U01) and 1948 cc diesel (U20); outputs are 62 and 49 PS (46 and 36 kW) respectively. This was the only 504 sold with the 1.6-litre XC5 engine. As with most of Peugeot's commercial vehicles, the 504 Pickup was assembled by Chausson.[20] Cargo capacity was 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) for both versions; models exported to Africa were rated at 1,250 kg (2,760 lb) (V01/V20).[20] A chassis cab model was also offered, and manufacturers such as Heuliez offered a number of different applications for the 504 chassis. Germany's Bimobil even offered a demountable camper for the 504, weighing about 450 kg (990 lb). Around 300 of these were built, following an initial order of twenty made by Peugeot themselves.[21] As with the regular 504, the pickup has rear-wheel-drive and a floor-shifted four-speed manual transmission.[22] A locking differential was also standard. Late-model pickups were also available with a five-speed transmission. In July 1981, Dangel added a four-wheel-drive version of the Pickup. These were mainly purchased by French governmental agencies, as their procurement rules required them to purchase French when possible. About 5500 Dangel 4x4 Pickups were built until the model's discontinuation in 1994. For 1982 the better equipped 504 Pickup GR was added, these received some chrome touches and luxuries such as a clock and door-mounted armrests. Externally, the GR was set apart by black rubber bumper overriders, different hubcaps and a modicum of chrome ornamentation (the standard version received a grille and bumpers painted light gray).[23] By 1984, the chrome parts were dropped in favor of a cleaner, more modern appearance. The GR was renamed "Confort" in 1987, at least in the French domestic market. This is also when the 1.6 petrol option was discontinued. The GR received an 80 PS (59 kW) version of the 504's 1.8-liter petrol engine, while the GRD had the 70 PS (51 kW) 2.3-liter diesel.[23] The French models were then renamed "Entrepreneur" in 1988 (by now with a 2.1 Diesel) and was upgraded to the 2.3-liter diesel for 1990. Trim levels received differing names in various markets; in Britain, most later 504 Pickups received "GL" badging. For 1995 and 1996, subsequent to the end of pickup production in France, Argentinian 504 Pickups were exported to France. These can be recognized by the large modernized front bumper and redesigned dashboard. The 504 Pickup Commerciale front, with single round headlights Dangel Peugeot 504 4x4 Pickup belonging to the French forest fire service A 504 Pickup used as popemobile Argentinian-built 504 Double-Cab Pickup The 504 Ambulance used the same heavy-duty rear suspension as the pickup versions A Peugeot 504 Pickup-based RV The car was rear-wheel drive, with longitudinally mounted engines, canted over to bring a lower bonnet line to the styling. Manual and automatic transmissions were offered. The suspension system consisted of MacPherson struts and coil springs at the front, and with either semi-trailing arms with coil springs (sedans, coupes, convertibles) or coil springs and live axle (wagons, pickups) at the rear. Most 504 models used a torque tube driveline. With huge suspension travel and great strength, the 504 was suited to rough road conditions, and the car proved extremely reliable in conditions found in Africa, Asia, Australia and the like. The car used disc brakes at the front, and either disc brakes or drum brakes at the rear, depending on the model. Brake pad wear warning via an instrument panel indicator light was a notable innovation. The steering was a rack and pinion system. The Peugeot 504 was widely available with diesel engines and an automatic transmission option, which was a rare combination at the time. Engines were of the Indenor [fr] design and included 1948 cc, 2112 cc, and a 2304 cc. The Indenor engine was also used in dozens of other automobiles and light commercials as well as for marine applications. There were three petrol engines available in Europe, 1796 cc and 1971 cc four cylinder and a 2664 cc V6. The two-litre engine was also available with Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection, first available on the earlier Peugeot 404. Gearboxes were either the BA7, four-speed manual or ZF three-speed automatic. Later pickup trucks in Europe gained a fifth gear. Export market vehicles had different variations available. In 1976, the Government of Sri Lanka purchased a large number of Peugeot 504s for use of dignitaries attending the Fifth Non-Aligned Movement summit in Colombo.[24] In November 2010. Iranian state television announced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was to auction off his 1977 Peugeot 504 to raise money for charity. The car is white with a sky-blue interior, and has covered only 37,000 km since new.[25] The political significance of the car being a 504 is that it was used as a working-class status symbol to draw electoral support from the less well-off during the 2005 presidential campaign.[26][27] The money earned from the sale at international auction is to be donated to the Mehr housing project, a network of cooperatives that provides affordable housing for low-income families.[28][29] Soon after being put on auction in January 2011, a bid of $1 million was received from "an Arab country". When the auction closed in March 2011, the final bid was $2.5 million.[30] Peugeot 504s won the following World Rally Championship events:

Breathless (1960 film)

Breathless (French: À bout de souffle; "out of breath") is a 1960 French crime and drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard about a wandering criminal (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his American girlfriend (Jean Seberg). It was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough as an actor. Breathless was one of the early, more influential examples of French New Wave (nouvelle vague) cinema.[4] Along with François Truffaut's The 400 Blows and Alain Resnais's Hiroshima, Mon Amour, both released a year earlier, it brought international attention to new styles of French filmmaking. At the time, the film attracted much attention for its bold visual style, which included unconventional use of jump cuts. A fully restored version of the film was released in the U.S. for its 50th anniversary in May 2010. When originally released in France, the film attracted over 2 million viewers. Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a youthful, dangerous criminal who models himself on the film persona of Humphrey Bogart. After stealing a car in Marseille, Michel shoots and kills a policeman who has followed him onto a country road. Penniless and on the run from the police, he turns to an American love interest, Patricia (Jean Seberg), a student and aspiring journalist, who sells the New York Herald Tribune on the boulevards of Paris. The ambivalent Patricia unwittingly hides him in her apartment as he simultaneously tries to seduce her and call in a loan to fund their escape to Italy. Patricia says she is pregnant, probably with Michel's child. She learns that Michel is on the run when questioned by the police. Eventually she betrays him, but before the police arrive, she tells Michel what she has done. He is somewhat resigned to a life in prison, and does not try to escape at first. The police shoot him in the street, and after a prolonged death run, he dies "à bout de souffle" ("out of breath"). Michel's death scene is an iconic scene in the film, but the film's final lines of dialogue are the source of some confusion for English-speaking audiences. The original French plays with ambiguity; it is unclear whether Michel is condemning Patricia or condemning the world in general, and it is unclear whether Patricia is questioning his scorn, questioning the meaning of a French word as elsewhere in the film, or unable to understand the concept of shame.[citation needed] As Patricia and Detective Vital catch up with the dying Michel, they have the following dialogue: MICHEL: C'est vraiment dégueulasse. PATRICIA: Qu'est-ce qu'il a dit? VITAL: Il a dit que vous êtes vraiment "une dégueulasse". PATRICIA: Qu'est-ce que c'est "dégueulasse"?[5][6] This translates literally as: MICHEL: It's really disgusting. PATRICIA: What did he say? VITAL: He said you are really disgusting. PATRICIA: What is "disgusting"? In French, "dégueulasse" also has the connotation of "nauseating", or making one want to throw up; in reference to a person, it can be loosely translated as a "disgusting person", i.e. a "louse", "scumbag", or "bitch". In the English captioning of the 2001 Fox-Lorber Region One DVD, "dégueulasse" is translated as "scumbag", producing the following dialogue: MICHEL: It's disgusting, really. PATRICIA: What did he say? VITAL: He said "You're a real scumbag". PATRICIA: What's a scumbag? The 2007 Criterion Collection Region One DVD uses a less literal translation: MICHEL: Makes me want to puke PATRICIA: What did he say? VITAL: He said you make him want to puke. PATRICIA: What's that mean, "puke"? This translation was used in the 2010 restoration. Breathless was based loosely on a newspaper article that François Truffaut read in The News in Brief. The character of Michel Poiccard is based on real-life Michel Portail and his American girlfriend and journalist Beverly Lynette. In November 1952, Portail stole a car to visit his sick mother in Le Havre and ended up killing a motorcycle cop named Grimberg.[8] Truffaut worked on a treatment for the story with Claude Chabrol, but they dropped the idea when they could not agree on the story structure. Godard had read and liked the treatment and wanted to make the film. While working as a press agent at 20th Century Fox, Godard met producer Georges de Beauregard and told him that his latest film was not any good. De Beauregard hired Godard to work on the script for Pêcheur d'Islande. After six weeks, Godard became bored with the script and instead suggested making Breathless. Chabrol and Truffaut agreed to give Godard their treatment and wrote de Beauregard a letter from the Cannes Film Festival in May 1959 agreeing to work on the film if Godard directed it. Truffaut and Chabrol recently became star directors, and their names secured financing for the film. Truffaut was credited as the original writer and Chabrol as the technical adviser. Chabrol later claimed that he only visited the set twice and Truffaut's biggest contribution was persuading Godard to cast Liliane David in a minor role.[8] Fellow New Wave director Jacques Rivette appears in a cameo as the dead body of a man hit by a car in the street.[9] Godard wrote the script as he went along. He told Truffaut "Roughly speaking, the subject will be the story of a boy who thinks of death and of a girl who doesn't."[10] As well as the real-life Michel Portail, Godard based the main character on screenwriter Paul Gégauff, who was known as a swaggering seducer of women. Godard also named several characters after people he had known earlier in his life when he lived in Geneva.[8] The film includes a couple of in-jokes as well: the young woman selling Cahiers du Cinéma on the street (Godard had written for the magazine), and Michel's occasional alias of Laszlo Kovacs, the name of Belmondo's character in Chabrol's 1959 film Web of Passion. Truffaut believed Godard's change to the ending was a personal one. "In my script, the film ends with the boy walking along the street as more and more people turn and stare after him, because his photo's on the front of all the newspapers.[11]...Jean-Luc chose a violent end because he was by nature sadder than I.... he had need of [his] particular ending. At the end, when the police are shooting at him one of them said to his companion, 'Quick, in the spine!' I told him, 'You can't leave that in.'"[10] Jean-Paul Belmondo had appeared in a few feature films before Breathless, but he had no name recognition outside France at the time Godard was planning the film. In order to broaden the film's commercial appeal, Godard sought a prominent leading lady who would be willing to work in his low-budget film. He came to Jean Seberg through her then-husband Francois Moreuil, with whom he had been acquainted.[12] Seberg agreed to appear in the film on June 8, 1959 for $15,000, which was one-sixth of the film's budget. Godard ended up giving Seberg's husband a small part in the film.[8] During the production, Seberg privately questioned Godard's style and wondered if the film would be commercially viable. After the film's success, she collaborated with Godard again on the short Le Grand Escroc, which revived her Breathless character.[12] Godard initially wanted cinematographer Michel Latouche to shoot the film after having worked with him on his first short films. De Beauregard instead hired Raoul Coutard, who was under contract to him.[13] The 1958 ethno-fiction Moi, un noir has been credited as a key influence for Godard. This can be seen in the adoption of jump-cuts, use of real locations rather than constructed sets and the documentary, newsreel format of filming.[14][15] Godard envisaged Breathless as a reportage (documentary), and tasked cinematographer Raoul Coutard to shoot the entire film on a hand-held camera, with next to no lighting.[16] In order to shoot under low-light levels, Coutard had to use Ilford HP5 film, which was not available as motion picture film stock at the time. He therefore took 18-metre lengths of HP5 film sold for 35mm still cameras and spliced them together to 120-metre rolls. During development he pushed the negative one stop from 400 ASA to 800 ASA.[17] The size of the sprocket holes in the photographic film was different from the sprocket holes for motion picture film, and the Cameflex camera was the only camera that worked for the film used.[18] The production was filmed on location in Paris during the months of August and September in 1959,[16] during the September 1959 visit to Paris of President Eisenhower using an Eclair Cameflex. Almost the whole film had to be dubbed in post-production because of the noisiness of the Cameflex camera[19] and because the Cameflex was incapable of synchronized sound.[13] Filming began on August 17, 1959. Godard met his crew at the Café Notre Dame near the Hôtel de Suède and shot for two hours until he ran out of ideas.[8] Coutard has stated that the film virtually was improvised on the spot, with Godard's writing lines of dialogue in an exercise book that no one else was allowed to see.[8] Godard gave the lines to Belmondo and Seberg while having a few brief rehearsals on scenes involved, then filming them. No permission was received to shoot the film in its various locations (mainly the side streets and boulevards of Paris) either, adding to the spontaneous feel for which Godard was aiming.[20] However, all locations were selected before shooting began, and assistant director Pierre Rissient has described the shoot as very organized. Actor Richard Balducci has stated that shooting days ranged from 15 minutes to 12 hours, depending on how many ideas Godard had that day. Producer Georges de Beauregard wrote a letter to the entire crew complaining about the erratic shooting schedule. Coutard said that de Beauregard bumped into the director at a cafe and the two got into a fist fight on a day that Godard had called in sick.[13] Godard shot most of the film chronologically, with the exception of the first sequence, which was shot toward the end of the shoot.[8] Filming at the Hôtel de Suède for the lengthy bedroom scene between Michel and Patricia included a minimal crew and no lights. This location was difficult to secure, but Godard was determined to shoot there after having lived at the hotel after returning from South America in the early 1950s. Instead of renting a dolly with complicated and time-consuming tracks to lay, Godard and Coutard rented a wheelchair for the film that Godard often pushed himself.[13] For certain street scenes Coutard hid in a postal cart with a hole in it for the lens and stamped packages piled on top of him.[8] Shooting lasted for 23 days and ended on September 12, 1959. The final scene where Michel is shot in the street was filmed on the rue Campagne-Première in Paris.[8] Writing for Combat magazine in 1960, Pierre Marcabru observed: "It seems that, if we had footage of Godard shooting his film, we would discover a sort of accord between the dramatized world in front of the camera (Belmondo and Seberg playing a scene) and the working world behind it (Godard and Raoul Coutard shooting the scene), as if the wall between the real and projected worlds had been torn down."[citation needed] Breathless was processed and edited at GTC Labs in Joinville with lead editor Cécile Decugis and assistant editor Lila Herman. Decugis has said that the film had a bad reputation before its premiere as the worst film of the year.[8] Coutard said that "there was a panache in the way it was edited that didn't match at all the way it was shot. The editing gave it a very different tone than the films we were used to seeing."[13] The film's use of jump cuts has been called innovative. Andrew Sarris analyzed it as existentially representing "the meaninglessness of the time interval between moral decisions."[21] Rissient said that the jump cut style was not intended during the film's shooting or the initial stages of editing.[13] In his biography of Godard, Richard Brody wrote in 2008: "The seminal importance of the film was recognized immediately. In January 1960 — prior to the film's release — Godard won the Jean Vigo Prize, awarded 'to encourage an auteur of the future'...Breathless opened in Paris...not in an art house but at a chain of four commercial theaters, selling 259,046 tickets in four weeks. The eventual profit was substantial, rumored to be fifty times the investment. The film's success with the public corresponded to its generally ardent and astonished critical reception...Breathless, as a result of its extraordinary and calculated congruence with the moment, and of the fusion of its attributes with the story of its production and with the public persona of its director, was singularly identified with the media responses it generated."[22] New York Times critic A.O. Scott wrote in 2010, 50 years after the release of Breathless, that it is both "a pop artifact and a daring work of art" and even at 50, "still cool, still new, still – after all this time! – a bulletin from the future of movies".[23] Roger Ebert included it on his "Great Movies" list in 2003, writing that "No debut film since Citizen Kane in 1942 has been as influential", dismissing its jump cuts as the biggest breakthrough, and instead calling revolutionary its "headlong pacing, its cool detachment, its dismissal of authority, and the way its narcissistic young heroes are obsessed with themselves and oblivious to the larger society."[24] As of 6 December 2019[update], the film holds a 97% "Certified fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 8.71/10. The site's critical consensus says, "Breathless rewrote the rules of cinema – and more than 50 years after its arrival, Jean-Luc Godard's paradigm shifting classic remains every bit as vital."[25] Godard said the success of Breathless was a mistake. He added "there used to be just one way. There was one way you could do things. There were people who protected it like a copyright, a secret cult only for the initiated. That's why I don't regret making Breathless and blowing that all apart."[27] In 1964, Godard described his and his colleagues' impact: "We barged into the cinema like cavemen into the Versailles of Louis XV."[28] Breathless ranked as the No. 22 best film of all time in the decennial British Film Institute's 1992 Sight and Sound Critics' Poll. In the 2002 poll, it ranked 15th.[29] Ten years later, in 2012, Breathless was the No. 13 best film of all time in the overall Sight and Sound poll,[30] and the 11th best film in the concurrent Directors' Poll.[31]

Retro Puppet Master

Retro Puppet Master (also known as Retro Puppetmaster) is a 1999 American direct-to-video horror film written by Charles Band, Benjamin Carr and David Schmoeller, and directed by David DeCoteau. It is the seventh film in the Puppet Master franchise, a prequel to 1991's Toulon's Revenge, and stars Greg Sestero as a young André Toulon, Jack Donner as an Egyptian responsible for teaching Toulon how to animate his puppets, and Stephen Blackehart, Robert Radoveanu and Vitalie Bantas as demons who pursue Toulon for his magic. While Retro serves to explain how Toulon began practicing the spell which animates his puppets, it ignores what was originally established in the second film as exactly how he learned the spell of animation. The film was also Guy Rolfe's final appearance as Toulon, save for flashback footage in The Legacy. The film begins in 1944, Switzerland, taking place after the events of Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge. Toulon and his little friends are still on the run, and decide to hide in the Kolewige, an inn 4 miles from the Swiss border. Blade finds the wooden head of an old puppet named Cyclops in their trunk, and when Toulon sees it, he then tells his puppets the adventures with the woman he loves, and his retro puppets, starting in Cairo, Egypt, in 1902. A 3,000-year-old Egyptian sorcerer, named Afzel, has stolen the secret of life, and is fleeing the servants of an evil Egyptian god, named Sutekh. Two servants, imbued with magical power from Sutekh, attack him, but are killed easily by Afzel and his own magical power. After dispatching the two servants he begins his journey to Paris. Meanwhile, Sutekh has given life to three of his oldest servants—Egyptian mummies. After they rise from their chamber they too begin to pursue Afzel. Cut to Paris, where a young André Toulon is putting on a puppet show of Dante's Divine Comedy. Watching from the crowd is Elsa, who has left her cold-hearted abusive ambassador father and harmless mother to view the wonders of the country and has decided to see the play. In the sewers nearby the three mummies have hired two thugs to kill Afzel. The thugs are necessary since Afzel has the power to sense the coming of the mummies. Afzel is beaten brutally until Elsa, leaving the theater, sees them and cries for help. The thugs then scatter, leaving Toulon and Elsa to pick Afzel up and bring him inside. Later, when he stirs from his sleep, he talks with Toulon and reveals that he knows the secret of life, and it's the only thing that can protect humankind when the elder gods rise up in 100-1,000 years, and needs to pass it on to Toulon. Toulon is skeptical until Afzel begins to make the puppets move. Now Toulon realizes he is genuine and begins to learn his powers. Then Afzel starts to make the puppets draw a barrier that's supposed to protect him if the servants come back. While stepping outside for a brief moment, Toulon begins to talk to a beggar who has sat on the steps since the beginning of the movie. However, he is dead, and when Andre becomes aware of this he begins to mourn. Afzel tells him to bring him inside to teach him the true secret of life. After bringing him inside they use a ring to transfer the soul of the beggar to the puppet, "Pinhead". The puppet starts to move but, after a few questions the puppet runs away into the theater. Later on, Elsa returns to talk to Toulon, until her father's rude servants come by, and they take Elsa and Toulon back to her house, and after Toulon talks to the father, he gets knocked out, and is then thrown into the woods. The next day, back at the theater, Valentin storms in as the barrier written on paper falls off the wall. The three mummies see their chance to attack and begin their rampage through the theater. Valentin finishes repairing the door as two of the mummies break in and kill him. Vigo runs backstage to Duval and Latour and falls dead. Duval stabs the lead mummy in his hand as the mummy kills him with his other hand. Latuor gets out a gun and shoots the lead mummy three times as the other mummy comes in through the back door and all three of them use their magic to kill him. Afzel appears and says Sutekh shall not claim his life, and kills himself with his own magic. Satisfied with victory, the mummies begin to leave. Once Toulon returns from the woods, he sees what has happened and acts quickly by putting their souls inside his puppets. The men return, having sensed someone with the knowledge of the secret of life, and try to kill Toulon. Six-Shooter, however, kills one of the mummies by shooting the chandelier chains, causing it to crush the servant. The two henchmen retreat in order to plot the capture of Elsa to lure Toulon into a trap. Feeling that he had won the battle, André and his puppets go to a train station to leave Paris to Kara, Togo before things start to get bad, not realizing they had already begun. The servants killed her parents, the guards and capture Elsa, and then send a dream to Toulon that shows Elsa tied up, and a train. Knowing the meaning, he quickly changes trains to Merca, Somalia and gets his puppets ready for the showdown. When the train leaves, André looks around, having released his puppets and letting them follow him throughout the train, until finally coming to the last car and finding Elsa tied up like in his dream. The two men appear and ask for the secret of life. André displays the scroll where the secret is written and asks, "How do you know I haven't copied it?" to which the leader states he did not have enough time to do so, but still is doubtful he hadn't. André, noticing he is distracted, attacks the leader while his puppets attack the other. A large struggle breaks out, and the other henchman is killed with the final leader of the three being thrown from the car. Freeing Elsa, the group rides away in the train, beginning their adventure. After telling the story, the puppets wonder what happened to the other puppets. Andre tells them that's another story, which he will tell them in the future. Retro Puppet Master was released on Blu-ray on May 16, 2017.[2]

SEAT

SEAT, S.A. (English: /ˈseɪɑːt/, Spanish: [ˈSEAT]; Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo) is a Spanish automobile manufacturer with its head office in Martorell, Spain.[5] It was founded on May 9, 1950, by the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI), a Spanish state-owned industrial holding company. It quickly became the largest supplier of cars in Spain. In 1986, after 36 years being publicly listed as an independent automaker, the Spanish government sold SEAT to the German Volkswagen Group of which it remains a wholly owned subsidiary.[6] The headquarters of SEAT, S.A. are located at SEAT's industrial complex in Martorell near Barcelona. By 2000, annual production peaked at over 500,000 units; in total up to 2006, over 16 million cars have been produced[7] including more than 6 million from the Martorell plant,[8] with three-quarters of the annual production being exported to over 70 countries worldwide.[9] SEAT today is the only major Spanish car manufacturer with the ability and infrastructure to develop its own cars in-house.[10] Its headquarters and main manufacturing facilities are located in Martorell, an industrial town located some 30 km northwest of Barcelona,[11] with a production capacity of around 500,000 units per annum.[12] The plant was opened by King Juan Carlos of Spain on February 22, 1993, becoming the main plant and accompanying SEAT's assembly plant by the coast in Barcelona's freeport zone (Zona Franca). A rail connection between SEAT's Martorell and Zona Franca complexes facilitates vehicle and parts transportation between the two sites.[13][14] The industrial complex in Martorell also hosts the facilities of SEAT Sport,[15] SEAT's Technical Center, Research and Development Center (R&D),[16] Design Center,[17] Prototypes Centre of Development,[18] SEAT Service Center (also incorporating the After-Sales Service division, the Customer Services division and the Catalunya Motor dealership),[19] as well as the Genuine Parts Centre for SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi, and Škoda brands.[20] The plant can sometimes aid the former SEAT plant in Pamplona, now owned by Volkswagen-Audi-Espana, S.A.[21] From 2011 onwards, this plant also produces the Audi Q3 small SUV.[22] The development and assembly facilities are some of the newest within the Volkswagen Group, with the ability to produce cars[23] not only for its own brand, but also for other Volkswagen Group brands, such as Volkswagen and Audi.[24] For example, the development and design of several Audi models (e.g. the Audi A1,[25] the Audi A3 Sportback,[26] the Audi Q5 etc.) and also several Audi development projects took place there.[27] The Barcelona Zona Franca site includes the SEAT Training Centre,[28] the Zona Franca Press Shop factory, producing stamped body parts, and the Barcelona Gearbox del Prat plant, producing gearboxes not only for SEAT but also for other Volkswagen Group marques (VW, Audi, and Škoda);[29] the latter plant was awarded the Volkswagen Excellence Award in 2009 by the Volkswagen Group for high-quality production process and product.[29] Another plant owned directly by SEAT from 1975[30] was the Landaben plant in Pamplona, but in December 1993 its ownership was transferred to the Volkswagen Group subsidiary "Volkswagen-Audi-Espana, S.A.",[21] and the site today is producing Volkswagen cars in Spain.[31] However, SEAT's Martorell site still provides support to Volkswagen's operations in the Pamplona plant when necessary, as it did after a serious fire in the paint shop in the Landaben VW plant in April 2007.[32] Factories of the Volkswagen Group currently producing SEAT models also include the Bratislava site in Slovakia, the Palmela AutoEuropa factory in Portugal,[8] and the Sidi Khettab factory in Algeria,[33] while in the past other plants were involved too in producing SEAT models, such as the factories in Germany (Wolfsburg) and Belgium.[34] Future plans include a new research and development centre in the city of Barcelona in the field of environmental and energy efficiency for the entire Volkswagen Group and also the launch of a project on the city's urban mobility,[35] as well as a SEAT museum in the Zona Franca's 'Nave A122' site hosting all production and prototype models ever presented by SEAT together with some special or limited edition vehicles with historical value for the brand and the automotive history of Spain.[36][37] Among SEAT's subsidiaries, the SEAT Deutschland GmbH subsidiary company is based in Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany, and apart from its commercial activities, has the further responsibility of operating SEAT's electronic platform, the SEAT IT Services Network.[38] In Wolfsburg, Germany, in the middle of a lake inside the Autostadt, the Volkswagen Group's corporate theme park,[39] is SEAT's thematic pavilion, one of the largest pavilions in the park.[40] In its 60 years, only a short period occurred from 1953 to 1965 when the firm produced its cars exclusively for the domestic Spanish market. In 1965 and in a rather symbolic move, the company exported some 150 units of its SEAT 600 model destined for Colombia by air freight for the first time, until 2 years later in 1967, SEAT reached a deal over the renegotiation of its licence contract with Fiat that allowed the Spanish firm to form an international distribution network for its cars and thereafter start its export operations to more than 12 different countries, entering the export market in 1969. Until the early 1980s, however, most SEAT exports were sold with Fiat badging.[41] As a response to SEAT's bid for independence, Fiat committed themselves to selling 200,000 SEAT-built cars a year from 1981, compared to 120,000 the year before. At the end of 1983, just after SEAT had won its legal battle with Fiat, a quarter of the production went to Egypt and Latin America.[42] In Europe, they were represented in West Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, and Greece. The UK, Ireland, and various Scandinavian markets were planned to be added in 1984. This was in spite of the company only being able to export the Ronda, with the Fura to follow.[41] The exponential growth in exports in the '70s happened under the leadership of Juan Sánchez Cortés and the export director José María García-Courel. To date, the company has launched its own models in more than 70 countries worldwide in accordance with the development policies of the Volkswagen Group, with almost three-quarters of its annual production representing exports for the markets out of Spain. Its core market remains Europe, while the most successful market outside of Europe in terms of sales for SEAT is currently Mexico, where the company has dealer presence in 27 Mexican states.[43] In Europe, the brand has been launched in almost 40 countries across Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. SEAT today also sells its cars in 11 countries in Asia, mostly in the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula, in 16 countries in Americas including North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, and finally Africa, mainly in North Africa. Some of its cars have been sold outside Europe, branded as Volkswagens, such as the SEAT Ibiza hatchback, known in South Africa as the Volkswagen Polo Playa, the SEAT Inca panel van as the Volkswagen Caddy, or the SEAT Córdoba, also known as the Volkswagen Polo Classic. In the years to come, SEAT plans on expanding in even more markets, the most crucial of them all being China.[44] While in the past, SEAT held talks with the Chinese car maker FAW to form an alliance for the local production of SEAT models in China-located plants, the present project to enter the Chinese market comprises in 2012 first to start selling its range with cars produced in SEAT's Spain-located Martorell plant, followed later in a second phase by the local assembly of SEAT models in China.SEAT came to New Zealand.[45] SEAT's further expansion plans in more markets outside of Europe have yet to be realised. In the past, the company was considering a possible launch in the United States, although this move has never been carried out.[46] Rumours also of a SEAT model being sold as a Volkswagen in Canada and the United States to supplement the Volkswagen's brand lineup there have occasionally circulated, but have always been unsubstantiated, and ultimately proven to be false. In the past, other market areas where the brand was also present for a short time were Australia and New Zealand (from 1995 to 1999), and South Africa (from June 2006 to the end of 2008), but the brand was withdrawn from those markets due to Volkswagen's decision citing that current and expected circumstances made the ongoing importation of a niche brand not viable.[47][48] SEAT has been present in the Russian Federation since 2007, and in India, all Volkswagen Group brands are assembled or imported except SEAT. SEAT was reintroduced to the New Zealand market in 2017.[49] Spain is the world's eighth-largest manufacturer of automobiles. Its car market stands among the largest in Europe.[50][51] However, this has not always been the case; in the first half of the 20th century, Spain's economy was relatively underdeveloped compared to most other Western European countries and had a limited automobile market. In this period, car production was limited and only a few low-volume local manufacturers catered mainly to the luxury end of the market, of which Hispano-Suiza was the most successful. Spain's limited market for mass-produced vehicles was taken over by foreign companies operating through subsidiaries that either imported cars or assembled cars from imported parts, depriving the country of the technological know-how and large investments needed for mass production. The situation greatly deteriorated with the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. Car demand collapsed, not only due to the greatly reduced purchasing power of Spaniards caused by war devastation, but also because the multinational subsidiaries either ceased operations or were severely stricken by the war and its aftermath.[52] The lack of interest shown by the foreign firms in the weakened post-civil war Spanish market opened an opportunity for local interests.[53] SEAT dates its origins back to June 22, 1940 when the Spanish bank 'Banco Urquijo', with the support of a group of industrial companies, (Hispano-Suiza, Basconia, Duro-Felguera, S.E. de Construcción Naval, Euskalduna, S.E. de Construcciones Metálicas, Fundiciones Bolueta, Echevarría etc.) founded the 'Sociedad Ibérica de Automóviles de Turismo' (S.I.A.T.) with the goal of establishing Spain's own mass production car maker. The initial Banco Urquijo's project aimed at running the S.I.A.T. motor company as a fully private enterprise, but soon after 1941, the interventionist state holding company Instituto Nacional de Industria followed a decision taken by the Franco government on January 3, 1942.[54] The goal for the new national car brand was not to be only another licensee car maker assembling foreign designs and parts in Spain, but of developing the whole manufacturing process from design to assembly within Spain. Because of the country's lack of expertise in automotive mass-production development, finding a foreign partner that would contribute technically and with its own models in the early years in exchange for cash, shares, bonds and royalties became the course of action. With the rest of Europe having entered World War II, and Spain itself in ruins from its civil war, the project was delayed, but not abandoned due to its strategic importance. SEAT under its current name was founded on May 9, 1950, under the denomination 'Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, S.A.' (S.E.A.T.) by the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI) with a starting capital of 600 million pesetas — equivalent today of almost 3.6 million euros — in the form of 600,000 shares of 1000 pesetas each, and in a time when the country was in need of remodelling the fundamental structures in its national economy, just after the end of World War II. The birth of SEAT came almost a year and a half after the Spanish government and six Spanish banks ('Banco Urquijo', 'Banco Español de Crédito (Banesto)', 'Banco de Bilbao', 'Banco de Vizcaya', 'Banco Hispano-Americano', and 'Banco Central') had signed on October 26, 1948, an alliance contract with the Italian car manufacturer Fiat so as to form a partnership with a foreign ally to bring to life Spain's major car manufacturer.[55] The favoured bidders were Germany's Volkswagen and Italy's Fiat. Fiat's bid won for several reasons, including Fiat's prominence in Spain and the fact that the company established the short-lived 'Fiat Hispania' plant in Guadalajara, which was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. Fiat's collaboration with the French company Simca proved Fiat's ability to manage complex international projects. Fiat's experience in the semiprotected car market in Italy was seen as the most easily transferable to the one in Spain, both of which had, at the time, customers of low incomes and limited markets for cars, as well as similar road conditions. In Italy, Fiat dominated the market for vehicles under 12 horsepower, which would initially be the main market segment in Spain. The relative economic isolation of World War II damaged Italy and made Fiat interested in opportunities outside Italy, meaning that the negotiations with the Italian manufacturer could prosper more easily in favour of Spanish interests than with those from other countries. In 1947, the Banco Urquijo group had revived the S.I.A.T. project, and in the next year, the talks ended successfully with the signing of a three-part contract, with the understanding that the INI would hold a 51% controlling interest, as well as a ruling act in the new company preserving a focused approach of the enterprise in the 'national interest'. The Banco Urquijo group, although a minority share holder, looked forward to assuming a leading role in the future as soon as the company was privatised. Partner carmaker Fiat was offered a 7% share in exchange of its technical assistance. This way, SEAT not only would be able to reinitiate the country's economic recovery and as the largest employer in the 1960s and '70s, but would also contribute to the industrialisation of what was still a largely rural economy. Though initial thoughts were of locating in less-developed inland cities such as Valladolid and Burgos, company decided the plant would be constructed in the duty-free zone area of the Port of Barcelona (Barcelona Zona Franca), which would offer better access to the Mediterranean shipping and the rest of Europe through rail and road connections across the nearby French border. Barcelona was, after all, a city with an industrial history that had built up expertise in complex industrial enterprises since the latter part of the 19th century; it was also the host location of many early historical Spanish carmakers, such as Hispano-Suiza and Elizalde, and subsidiaries of foreign carmakers, such as Ford Motor Ibérica and General Motors Peninsular. Being an enterprise of vital interest for the national economy, as well as an investment opportunity for Fiat's expansion plans through the Iberian peninsula, SEAT benefitted from state tariff and tax exemptions and technical assistance from its foreign partner Fiat. The company's first president was the industrial and aeronautical engineer, pilot, and photographer José Ortiz-Echagüe Puertas, who came from the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA, where he had held the position of CEO, and who in 1976 was named the Honorary lifetime president of SEAT.[56][57][58] The construction works for SEAT's Zona Franca plant began on 1950, and the opening day came 3 years later on June 5, 1953, while in the meantime since 1951, the Spanish marque was starting preparations for setting up almost from scratch an entire supplier industry background. The first car in the marque's history to be produced was a SEAT 1400 model that came off the production line on November 13, 1953, with licence plate B-87.223. In the following few months, the plant's production output and workforce significantly increased together with the implementation of locally made components in the production process, to limit imports from one part and from another part to push to the development of the almost nonexistent Spanish supplier industry and meet SEAT's assigned key role as the national carmaker in restoring the Spanish economy of post–World War II Spain. By 1954, the use of Spanish-made parts had risen to 93% of the total, and next year on May 5, 1955, the factory was officially opened. Nevertheless, the impact to the Spanish society could not be seen clear immediately, since the first model launched by SEAT was considered a luxury car, so was highly priced and still not affordable to the average Spanish consumer. Consequently, SEAT needed a second, more economical model to compete against simpler, inexpensive designs that appeared in the local market, like the Biscúter, which seemed to suit better to the unwealthy customers looking for a personal mean of transport in a suffering economy.[59] Until the time SEAT had the technical maturity and expertise to present its first self-developed model, the SEAT 1200 Sport in 1975, in its beginnings, the company had to manufacture either rebadged or restyled models borrowed from the range of its Italian partner Fiat Automobiles, or even redeveloped them according to the needs of its own range. However, the first example of a SEAT-exclusive derivative would arrive in September 1963 with the launch of the SEAT 800, a car developed in-house by SEAT with no equivalent model in Fiat's range on the basis of the SEAT 600 as a stretched version with four doors. In 1957 SEAT founded the SEAT Training Centre in the greater Zona Franca plant area, an institution covering the training of qualified personnel and serving the needs of the automobile industry in specialized technical human resources.[62] In that same year, the historical SEAT 600 was launched, which proved to be the crucial car that literally motorized Spain, being the first car for many Spanish families and becoming a symbol of the Spanish miracle. As the growth of the annual production was hitting one record after another due to the heavy demand, the economies of scale achieved permitted cutting costs and prices, subsequently renewing demand and boosting sales together with profits for SEAT. On June 29, 1964, the brand opened its new headquarters in Madrid, which hosted the firm's sole — up to 1972 — general administration offices. SEAT's plant manager was only in Barcelona until 1973, when SEAT settled another general director in Catalonia. In 1967, 14 years after producing cars for the domestic market, SEAT's success was signaled by its dominant position in Spain, ahead of its major competitors, i.e. 'FASA-Renault', 'Citroën-Hispania', Authi, and Barreiros, making SEAT the Spain's largest automaker in sales numbers and a wholly localized production. In that year, an agreement between Fiat and the Spanish Ministry of Industry was reached so as to put an end in the restrictions over exporting SEAT cars from Spain, a term of the original licensee contract agreed with Fiat in 1948. In exchange for that, Fiat would increase its holding in the company from 7% to 36%, and at the same time the share held by the government holding agency would be reduced from a controlling 51% to 32%. The remaining 32% was taken by the six major Spanish banks, decreased from their previous 42% share split equally in 7% parts owned by every single one of them. Although not a majority owner, Fiat now was seen to control the business: the deal also included various undertakings by Fiat to help in the growth of SEAT, and with the development of a new model (possibly the SEAT 133).[63] On December 6, 1967, SEAT also founded its own customer financing company 'Financiera SEAT, S.A.' (FiSEAT). To be able to produce its own research projects independently, on November 16, 1970, SEAT came in accordance with Fiat so as to start building separate infrastructures aimed at developing new technologies. In 1972, the brand arranged some provisional facilities for the site of the future technical center in Martorell, and in 1973, began construction work; this goal would only till 1975 to be reached with the completion of the first phase in the construction of a facility designed by the Catalan architect Josep Antoni Coderch.[64] During the same period, the manufacturer continued to dominate the Spanish auto market, producing 282,698 cars — more than 58% of the Spanish production total — in 1971, despite disruption that year caused by strikes and a serious flood at the coastally sited Barcelona plant.[65] However, with just 81 cars per 1000 people, Spanish car sales were seen as ripe for further growth, and SEAT faced the prospect of increased competition with other major manufacturers contemplating establishment or expansion of local production facilities in the still heavily protected Spanish car market.[65] In 1973, SEAT and Citroën-Hispania jointly contributed equal shares in founding the Vigo-located factory of Industrias Mecánicas de Galicia, SA (Indugasa) producing constant-velocity joints, essential components used in front-wheel drive cars, i.e. in a transmission layout the use of which was becoming more and more common at the time. This plant, which in the next years would supply parts not only to SEAT and Citroën-Hispania, but also to Ford España, was meant to be transferred later in 1986 to the multinational company GKN.[66] In May 1975, after a request from the Spanish state authorities to ensure the rescue of the jobs for the workers in the Authi-owned factories, SEAT moved on talks with the parent company British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) of the bankrupt Authi to take over the brand's operations in Spain, leaving aside GM's interest in it, which would otherwise open the path for the American automaker to enter the Spanish market, thus jeopardizing the relationship with Fiat. The talks ended soon in July 1975, when an agreement was announced between the two parties under which SEAT would acquire from BLMC the Authi brand along with its assets for 1,250 million pesetas. The imposed acquisition of the Landaben plant would also result in giving up SEAT's plans to build a new facility in Saragossa. Although the Authi supplier factory in Manresa was transferred to a company called Cometsa for 150 million pesetas, the Landaben plant in Pamplona remained under SEAT's ownership to continue production in February 1976 only of SEAT cars this time.[67][68] The 1970s were a decade of rising prosperity in Spain, which is reflected in the announcement in August 1976 that SEAT would commence local production of the Lancia Beta.[69] Three years later, Beta production by SEAT indeed commenced at the company's recently acquired Pamplona plant, though only the coupe and HPE lift-back versions were included. The Spanish cars were fitted with a simplified suspension system and smaller engines than their Italian counterparts to qualify for a lower car tax rate. In 1977, SEAT's leasing company LiSEAT was founded, and in 1979, the Gearbox del Prat facility was set up as a specialised plant for the production of gearboxes, gear mechanisms, and differentials in El Prat del Llobregat near Barcelona. In the early 1980s, extensive discussions concerning funding and control took place between SEAT's major shareholder, the Spanish government, and Fiat Automobiles; SEAT needed major capital investment, which Fiat was not prepared to contribute, partially due to the oil crisis of the 1970s and also due to the uncertainty for Fiat's interests following the end of a protectionist policy against GM in Spain. The outcome, in 1982, was an end to the relationship with Fiat after nearly 30 years, a rather surprising decision in spite of the favourable perspectives for the Spanish economy, with Spain being in the anteroom of the European Economic Community since 1977. The end of the co-operation with the Italian firm was marked by a change in SEAT's logo in 1982, and the first car under the new SEAT logo without Fiat involvement appeared in the same year, the SEAT Ronda, styled by Rayton Fissore in collaboration with the technical centre in Martorell. The launch of this model, though, sparked a lawsuit from Fiat against SEAT, as the former claimed the car was too similar to a car in Fiat's range, the Ritmo. In defence of SEAT, the then-president of SEAT, Juan Miguel Antoñanzas, showed a Ronda to the press with all the parts different from the Fiat Ritmo painted in bright yellow, to highlight the differences. The case was eventually taken to the Arbitration Chamber of Paris, which in 1983 declared that differences between both cars were important enough so as not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo, ending the dispute in favour of SEAT. Rumour at the time had it that Fiat was angry because the Ronda restyling was in fact too close to their own planned restyling for the Fiat Ritmo, which they had to scrap. In 1982, Dr. Carl Horst Hahn, who had just assumed responsibility as the chairman of the Volkswagenwerk AG (Volkswagen Group), examined the opportunity of approaching SEAT after Fiat's withdrawal, in his plan to expand the Volkswagen Group's operations out of Germany and turning the German group into a global force. It also followed the precedent set by other global manufacturers (such as Ford in Valencia and General Motors in Zaragoza) in setting up manufacturing operations in Spain. However, the Spanish authorities had already started talks with other foreign firms, such as Toyota,[70] Nissan and Mitsubishi[71] to choose a strong partner for SEAT. Hahn's interest soon resulted in an industrial and commercial cooperation, as well as a license agreement with SEAT on September 30, 1982, for the production in Spain of the Volkswagen Passat-Santana and Polo-Derby models in SEAT's Zona Franca and Landaben factories, respectively[72] — having thus as an effect on April 29, 1983, the ending of the SEAT Panda's production at the Landaben assembly lines due to need of adapting this plant to the production of the VW Polo — and eventually a partnership agreement was signed on June 16, 1983 between the two parties being represented by the president of SEAT Juan Miguel Antoñanzas and Carl Hahn on behalf of the Volkswagenwerk AG.[73] SEAT also gained the rights to distribute Volkswagens in Spain.[41] SEAT launched its new Ibiza, a Giugiaro-styled hatchback, which made use of System Porsche engines and also featured underpinnings from the Fiat Ritmo/Strada, in 1984. It also formed the basis of the Malaga, a four-door family saloon. SEAT then began to expand into markets beyond Spain's borders, including the United Kingdom, where it began selling cars in the autumn of 1985. On June 18, 1986, after a purchase of the 51% majority non stake of SEAT followed by the increase of its share up to 75% on December 23, the Volkswagen Group became the major shareholder of SEAT. On December 18, 1990, the Volkswagen Group acquired 99.99% ownership of the company, thus making SEAT the first non-German wholly owned subsidiary of the group. Fulfilling Hahn's expectations, SEAT not only made a profit 2 years after Volkswagen bought a majority of its stock, but also provided a low-cost manufacturing outlet for other VW models, contributing up to 15.2% of the VW group's total output in 1989, as well as an opportunity to enter the relatively unexploited (at that time) Spanish market under the SEAT, VW, and Audi names. The gathering of the brand's main infrastructures in the greater Martorell plant area has taken place in a long process beginning back in 1975 with the opening of the SEAT technical centre,[74] but only in 1989 was a decision made to start building a new main assembly facility next to the technical centre in Martorell, replacing the old one in Zona Franca. In that same year, the translocation of SEAT's Madrid administration offices to Barcelona began with the sale of two of the brand's assets in La Castellana to be completed in 1991 with the definitive installation of SEAT's headquarters in the Catalonia region. The centralisation of the management, design, research, and production facilities localized around the plant site was meant to serve the aim of optimising the development in of new models. On February 22, 1993, King Juan Carlos of Spain and the newly elected since January 1, 1993 chairman of the Volkswagen Group Dr. Ferdinand Piëch inaugurated the Martorell plant, one of the most modern and efficient car plants in Europe using the just-in-time process with its suppliers' site located only 2.5 km away. The first cars that rolled out of the Martorell plant lines were the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 and its saloon version, the SEAT Córdoba Mk1. The new Ibiza was a huge success for SEAT, greatly expanding its market share, particularly on export markets. The original planning in October 1993 to close the emblematic Zona Franca assembly plant as soon as the production of vehicles could be transferred to the more efficient Martorell plant was overturned after an arrangement between the Spanish authorities and the Volkswagen Group, according to which, the Zona Franca site would continue its operations, but would be gradually turned into a site with an auxiliary role in the production process (foundry, press shop, etc.). Meanwhile, on December 23, 1993, the 'Fábrica Navarra de Automóviles, S.A. was founded as a new company to hold the management of the Landaben factory, separating any ties to SEAT in production matters, with its shares being transferred to Volkswagen in June 1994 over which, however, SEAT would regain ownership four years later in 1998. In 1994, the design center in Sitges[75] — the Spanish coastal town south of Barcelona — and the suppliers' park in Zona Franca were also inaugurated, and in winter of the same year, SEAT's financing and leasing companies — FiSEAT and LiSEAT — were sold to Volkswagen Financial Services AG. During 1994, SEAT, in collaboration with Suzuki, manufactured a five-door prototype model of a city car, internally named as Rosé, aiming to replace with it the Marbella in its range, but this model never made it through to production.[76][77] The first time a SEAT model was manufactured out of Spain was in 1996, with the production of the SEAT Alhambra Mk1 in the Palmela AutoEuropa plant in Portugal. Also in January 1997, a non-Spanish descendant, the Belgian Pierre-Alain de Smedt, was appointed SEAT's chairman for the first time. The SEAT Arosa, a three-door city hatchback, was launched in 1997, effectively replacing the Marbella, SEAT's version of the Fiat Panda, which had been in production since the early 1980s. On April 7, 1998, the Zona Franca plant marked the end in the production lifecycle of the Marbella model, signaling an historical moment for SEAT with the end of vehicle production in SEAT's oldest factory, opened in 1953; ever since, the Zona Franca plant has produced components and parts to be assembled in other locations. It also signaled the demise of SEAT's last Fiat-based model. In March 1999 at the Geneva Motor Show, SEAT presented a modern, stylised logo, more rounded compared to the last one and with the use of the silver colour on a red background, instead of the previous blue, symbolising respectively the rational and the emotional. This came shortly after the launch of the second-generation Toledo, and shortly before the launch of the Toledo-based Leon hatchback. The "auto emoción" slogan was presented in September 2000, reflecting the brand's new youthful and sporty corporate identity, while SEAT Sport, apart from its motorsport activities, would undertake the responsibility of developing SEAT's high-performance vehicles. On July 1, 2000, Dr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder, the former CEO of BMW, was appointed to head SEAT. In the spring of 2002, as Pischetsrieder was commissioned to chair the entire Volkswagen Group, he gave way to his German compatriot Andreas Schleef on March 7, 2002. From 2002 to 2007, SEAT formed part of the Audi Brand Group, the Volkswagen Group's automotive subdivision, consisted of Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini, that was focused on more sporty values, with the marque's product vehicles and performance being under the responsibility of the Audi brand.[78][79] In 2006, the new SEAT corporate head office was opened in Martorell and the Martorell SEAT Design Centre superseded the Volkswagen Group Design Centre Europe at Sitges,[80] which previously hosted the design facility jointly owned by SEAT, Volkswagen, and Audi,[81] as on February 23 of the same year, an agreement over the transfer of the installations of the latter to the City of Sitges was closed, with the Martorell's Design Centre official opening eventually taking place on December 30, 2007. On January 12, 2007, the inauguration of the building of the SEAT Service Centre next to the southern entrance of the Martorell factory was held, the department focusing on technical support, after-sales and marketing purposes, and covering the feedback and the relationship of the brand with the customers and its worldwide network. In January 2007, operation of the SEAT Prototypes Centre of Development located in the heart of the Martorell industrial complex began, a facility inaugurated on July 16 of the same year, bringing together activities related to the virtual and physical preproduction processes of new models (prototyping, modeling, pilot product development, and series analysis), thus shortening development times for prototypes and preproduction vehicles, as well as saving costs with the use of modern technologies such as virtual simulation.[82] SEAT's involvement in motorsports began in the 1970s with the brand's contribution to the national formula races in Spain, and by the end of the same decade, the start of its involvement in rallies.[83] In 1971, the Special Vehicles department was formed with the mission to enforce the brand's participation in rally championships, resulting in 11 titles between 1979 and 1983.[83] The year 1985 was when SEAT Sport was founded as a separate motorsport division and especially since the Volkswagen Group takeover in 1986, SEAT has been increasing even more its presence in the motorsport world, mainly down to VW's plan on focusing the SEAT brand as sporty to appeal particularly to the younger generation of drivers.[84] The results of this effort have been SEAT's most prestigious titles in FIA championships, three conquests with the SEAT Ibiza Kit-Car in the FIA 2L World Rally Championship (WRC) (1996, 1997, 1998), and two times with the SEAT León in the FIA World Touring Car Championship) (2008, 2009).[84] SEAT's first serious attempt at a World Rally Championship (WRC) was in the 1977 season, when SEAT took part with its SEAT 1430/124D Especial 1800 race car, and in its debut rallying event at the Montecarlo Rally, the SEAT team finished in the third and fourth places with the official 1430-1800 cars being driven by Antonio Zanini and Salvador Cañellas. In recent years, the consignment was placed on the small SEAT Ibiza, a 1.6-L, normally aspirated, front wheel-drive car with its roots in the Volkswagen Polo. The Ibiza allowed the company to further evolve its rallying experience, and was officially engaged in some European national championships. The years went by until a 2-L version of the Ibiza was homologated as a kit car, and extra wide tracks, larger wheels, brakes, etc., were fitted to it as the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) kit-car regulations allow. With these attributes, the car succeeded three times the 2-L World Champion ('96, '97, '98), proving its maker had accumulated enough experience, and budget, to take a chance at the reign category, the World Rally Car class of rallying cars. SEATs three conquests of the FIA 2L WRC title, and the sport's popularity in Spain, probably convinced Volkswagen Group management to go further and allow the SEAT Sport department a chance to reach its goal in the top class WRC category. This situation came to an end in September 2000, when the company's German upper management revoked its decision forcing SEAT Sport to retire from the World Rally Championship. SEATs project to build a WRC-spec car was officially announced during the 1997 San Remo rally. It was in 1998 that the first evolution of the 'SEAT Córdoba WRC' car was presented at the Porto Motor Show and then first enrolled by the company to compete at the highest level of WRC racing. The Córdoba was based on the family saloon of the same name but was, naturally, a WRC class car equipped with an inline-four turbocharged petrol engine, permanent four-wheel drive, and active differentials involved in its transmission. The 'Córdoba WRC' made its debut at the 1998 Rally of Finland, while a further development on the race car was incarnated on the 'SEAT Córdoba WRC E2' car which was presented at the Barcelona Motor Show in 1999. However, the short wheelbase and high-mounted engine (compared to its rivals) worked against the Córdoba, and results weren't top competing. Despite hiring ex-WRC champion Didier Auriol, and a new evolution of the car i.e. the 'SEAT Córdoba WRC E3', SEAT pulled out of international rallying at the end of 2000. In 2002, SEAT announced a one-make championship for the new SEAT León Cupra R, the SEAT León Supercopa. In 2004, SEAT with Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML) entered the British Touring Car Championship, running two SEAT Toledo Cupra for former-BTCC Champion Jason Plato, and 2003 León UK Champion, Rob Huff. In 2005, Huff left to join Chevrolet (run by RML in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)), and he was replaced by 2004 Leon Champion James Pickford, and Luke Hines as SEAT expanded to three cars, now run by Northern South. 2006 saw the Toledo replaced by the new León, and Darren Turner joined the team with James Thompson when his WTCC commitments allowed. 2007 was SEAT's best year in BTCC, as Plato was locked in a season-long battle with Fabrizio Giovanardi, which came down to the final race of the season, but just missed out on the title. Since 2005, SEAT has also competed in the World Touring Car Championship, with its first best season being 2007, where a failed water pump robbed Yvan Muller of certain victory at the final meeting in Macau. SEAT became the first team to run a TDI in the WTCC and this gave them a dominant 2008 World Touring Car Championship season, with Yvan Muller winning the drivers championship. French racing team Oreca cooperates with the WTCC team. SEAT's UK team followed suit in the 2008 BTCC. The BTCC team was sponsored by Holiday Inn. In 2007, SEAT – with the León Mk2 TDI at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany – became the first manufacturer to win a round of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) series in a diesel car, only a month after announcing it will enter the FIA World Touring Car Championship with the León TDI. SEAT's success with the León TDI was continued, and resulted in winning consecutively 2008 World Touring Car Championship and 2009 World Touring Car Championship both titles (for drivers' as well as for manufacturers'). In September 2008, SEAT UK announced that it was to withdraw from all motor sport activity in the UK at the end of the season. The SEAT Cupra Championship and the SEAT BTCC campaign are to end at Brands Hatch on 21 September. BTCC drivers Jason Plato and Darren Turner have been left without drives for 2009. But Plato will drive for Silverline Chevrolet. At the opening of the 2009 WTCC, SEAT placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in both races in Brazil.[85] At the second meeting of the WTCC (in Mexico), the SEAT team placed 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th and 11th in the first race. The second race they placed 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th.[86] While SEAT may have withdrawn from the BTCC, they are showing impressive results in the WTCC. In 2003 the SEAT Sport division presented at the Barcelona Motor Show first as a concept car and later the final version of the SEAT Cupra GT race car, which was produced in limited series on customer demand addressed to expertised individuals and racing teams willing to take part in race events. The Cupra GT was chosen as a GT race car from racing teams, like the Sunred Engineering (SunRED) team, making its debut in 2004 in the Spanish GT Championship,[87] and took part in several Grand tourer circuits not only in Spain but also run in tracks abroad like those of Monza and Magny-Cours.[88] In 1970 SEAT set up the 'Fórmula Nacional' series in Spain,[89][90] a year later to be known as Formula 1430. The single SEATer formula cars, which took part driven by young Spanish drivers, were equipped under support from SEAT with engines of the 1430 model and 6700 gearboxes. The first race of the 'Fórmula Nacional' series took place at the Jarama circuit in Madrid.[91][92] SEAT's corporate tradition, as a Volkswagen Group subsidiary, dictates that the nomenclature of its model range be inspired by Spanish culture. Thus, a large number of SEAT's production models have been named after places in Spain (e.g. Arosa, Ibiza, Córdoba, León, Toledo, Altea, Alhambra, Málaga, Marbella, Ronda etc.).[93] However, there have been several exceptions: for example, the name for the SEAT Exeo — added to the brand's range in 2008 — was influenced from the Latin word exire which means "to go beyond".[94] Following the marque's naming trend with production models, many of SEAT's concept cars adopted names inspired by either Hispanic dances (e.g. tango, bolero, salsa), abbreviations related to existing production models (e.g. IBZ for Ibiza, IBE for Ibiza Eléctrico,[95] TL for Toledo etc.), or names reminiscent of SEAT's historic sporting roots (e.g. Fórmula, Cupra GT). Moreover, in recent years, special versions of the production models' specific ranges have been added, such as the SC (for SportCoupé edition,[96]) or ST (for SportTourer[97]) differentiating the three-door and the estate versions from the standard four- and five-door ones, while the Cupra (for Cup Racing edition[98]) and FR (for Fórmula Racing[99]) has been used for the high-performance models in the range, signalising SEAT's positioning as a sport-oriented brand[91] involved in racing. Historic references can be found with the iconic Bocanegra name, meaning "black mouth" in Spanish, which accompanies the Ibiza model and has its origins in the SEAT 1200 Sport, the original SEAT Bocanegra due to its black-painted fascia in the front.[100] Almost every model in SEAT's range has an 'Ecomotive' derivative version, which in comparison to the standard version has a more eco-friendly tuning.[101] Reduction of weight, low-resistance tyres, new aerodynamics, tweaks in the suspension,[102] as well as changes made to the engine's electronic management software with an additional implementation of a maintenance-free[103] Diesel Particle Filter (DPF) for the diesel engines, also updates in the gearbox and the gear ratios with a gearshift indicator in the dash panel reminding when it is the proper time to change gears, combined with an engine 'Start/Stop system' and an 'Energy Recuperation system' are some of the modifications adopted in the Ecomotive range in order to cut down both fuel consumption and emissions.[104] The result is a range with some of the cleanest models[105] featuring an improvement not only in gas and particles emissions but also in fuel economy, without big compromise in the vehicle's dynamic performance or practicality; for example the SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive 1.4 TDI has CO2 emissions coming up at 98 g/km[106] and still it comes even faster from 0 to 100 km/h than the standard version[107] featuring a 5-door body and air-conditioning, while the SEAT León Ecomotive's CO2 emissions are among the lowest in its segment too and raise up to 99 g/km.[108] Up to the present, the Ecomotive range has been renowned in many occasions. In 2008, the Ibiza Ecomotive has been declared on top of the Verkehrs-Club Deutschland's 2008/2009 list in the "environmentally beneficial vehicle" category[109] and in the 10th Eco Tour not only it has won in the small diesel class but also proved to be the overall winner of all categories.[110] In that specific year the SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive was also awarded with the 'Ecobest 2008' award[111] by the Autobest organisation and the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag named it the 'most economic car of its class in the world'.[112] The year 2009 has been the one when once more the Ibiza Ecomotive was nominated for the 'Green Steering wheel' award in Switzerland,[113] and has set two consecutive times a new world record on fuel saving with a single tank, certified by the IPMC (International Police Motor Corporation) : the first when the Austrian Gerhard Plattner drove from Martorell (Spain) to Göttingen (Germany) with an average fuel consumption of 2.9 l/100 km[114] and the second time in his route from Cieszyn (Poland) to Frankfurt (Germany) having achieved the world record in fuel consumption of 2.34 l/100 km (or 100 mpg U.S.[115]) covering a distance of 1,910 km on a single tank.[116] The MultiFuel range consists in the introduction of the flexible-fuel vehicle bio-ethanol technology in selected SEAT models — i.e., the SEAT León MultiFuel,[117] the SEAT Altea MultiFuel[118] and the SEAT Altea XL MultiFuel[119] — with the implementation of the 1.6 MPI MultiFuel E85 motor, capable of producing exactly the same horsepower (102 bhp) just like the relevant pure petrol version of the engine. Since its beginnings in 1953, more than 16 million SEAT cars have been produced with the most successful product in the range being the SEAT Ibiza, a model which has sold over 4 million units in its four generations up to the present.[120] In the year 2009, the total annual retail sales number of SEAT cars was 336,683 vehicles,[121] while the annual production of vehicles under the SEAT brand came up to 307,502 units (301,287 made in SEAT's Martorell plant and 6,215 in other Volkswagen group's factories). The total production per year of SEAT cars, manufactured in SEAT and other Volkswagen group's plants, is shown in the following table (not comprising cars of other Volkswagen group's brands, produced in SEAT-owned facilities) : Under Volkswagen Group's ownership, numerous SEAT models have been rebadged under other brands, either inside the Volkswagen Group's portfolio or out of it. In particular some examples, concerning the rebadges deriving from SEAT models and being carried out under other Volkswagen Group's brands, are the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 which has been rebadged under the VW brand as the VW Polo Playa, the SEAT Córdoba Mk1 rebadged as the VW Polo Classic — FAW-VW City-Golf — VW Derby, the SEAT Arosa as the VW Lupo, and the SEAT Inca as the VW Caddy. Further rebadges have come under non Volkswagen Group brand ranges and some notable examples are the SEAT Ibiza Mk1 which has been rebadged as the Nanjing Yuejin Eagle NJ6400-Unique NJ6400-Soyat NJ7150-Soyat Unique NJ1020, and the SEAT Toledo Mk1 as the Chery A11-Fulwin-Fengyun-Windcloud — Chery A15-A168-Amulet-Cowin-Qiyun-Flagcloud — Vortex Corda . On the other hand, several SEAT models have derived as rebadges coming from other Volkswagen Group's brands such as the SEAT Alhambra Mk1 and Mk2 respectively from the VW Sharan Mk1 and Mk2 (the first generation resulting after a joint venture of the Volkswagen Group together with Ford) and the SEAT Exeo from the Audi A4 B7. Several tuning companies have produced modified or high-performance versions of various SEAT models, some significant examples among those being Abt Sportsline, Je Design, MTM, Abarth, Emelba, Podadera Design, etc. According to the president of SEAT, James Muir, in an interview with the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo in October 2010,[157][158] SEAT scheduling comprises the following future models in the near future:[159] There is still thinking of a compact MPV car successor to the Altea, and a SUV model on the basis of the SEAT IBX concept car.[160] There will be a new SUV model, in addition to the Ateca, released during 2018, with SEAT giving the public the opportunity to come up with a suitable name for it on social media by using the hashtag #SEATSeekingName.[161] Today as a Volkswagen Group subsidiary, SEAT's leading people are appointed after approval from the group's supervisory board. Since the early 1990s, SEAT has developed and presented several prototypes with either full electric or hybrid powertrain, including the SEAT Toledo Mk1 electric model (1992), the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 electric car (1993), the SEAT Inca electric van (1995), the SEAT León Mk2 Twin drive (2009), the SEAT IBE concept (2010) and the SEAT IBX concept SUV (2011) hybrid cars.[175] The 'SEAT al Sol' project consists in the integration of use of solar power through a system of photovoltaic panels generating electricity in SEAT's factory in Martorell. The project is going to be carried through in collaboration with GA-Solar from the beginnings of 2010, covering a factory area of 320,000 m2 with a system of more than 10 MW of photovoltaic panels. This installation is expected to produce more than 13 million kwh of electricity annually, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 6,200 tonnes of CO2 per year.[176][177] The Cenit VERDE initiative is a research project backed by the CENIT (the National Strategic Consortia for Technical Research) programme and supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, in which SEAT plays a key role. Aiming at developing technologies, components and infrastructure for hybrid and electrically powered cars in Spain, this programme brings together 16 technology companies (including Siemens, Endesa, Iberdrola, REE, Cegasa, Ficosa, Circuitor, Cobra or Lear) and 16 universities and research establishments under the CTM coordination (Centre Tecnològic in Manresa)[178] and the support of the CDTI (Centre for Industrial Technological Development, an organization pertaining to the Ministry of Science and Innovation). In January 2010, the Cenit Verde association made its opening meeting at SEAT's Technical Centre in Martorell.[179] As part of its contribution SEAT comes in with its own 'Verde' pre-project, including the technology implemented in the plug-in hybrid SEAT León Twin drive[180] as well as in the SEAT IBE concept zero emissions electric vehicle presented in the 2010 Geneva motor show.[181] The 'SEAT Autometro' project comprises the construction and management of a rail link service between SEAT's Martorell complex and the Port of Barcelona, in the aim of transport of vehicles and components. Autometro is the joint-venture company which operates the rail, having Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) local rail company, COMSA Rail Transport and Pecovasa as its shareholders. The company was founded in November 2005 almost five months after an initial agreement was signed between the Catalan government (Generalitat), the Barcelona Port Authority and SEAT.[183] Due to this project, a branch connecting the Martorell plant with the FGC 'Llobregat-Anoia' main rail line had to be constructed, as well as further adaptations to the transport network and the host infrastructures in the Port of Barcelona had to be made. The budget for the project comes up to 6.8 million euro, while SEAT on its part also assumes the operational transport costs.[184] The use of this rail link since January 18, 2008, instead of road transport, has helped not only in terms of cost effectiveness and road safety but also in the reduction of both road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.Over the whole 'Autometro' project awards have been given for the best logistics idea at the 2007 International Logistics Fair (SIL) and specifically to SEAT as the 2008 Distinguished loader by the Loaders' Association of the Port of Barcelona.[185] SEAT has been a sponsor in major sports events, such as: The company was one of the prime sponsors of Tunisia's national basketball team at the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship where the company's logo was regularly displayed (e.g. on the team's shorts).[191] Further, SEAT is a strong supporter of artists, like Shakira,[192] Armin van Buuren,[193] David Guetta[194][195] and fictional characters as Lara Croft. Over the years the SEAT marque has been honoured with several awards, such as

Valencia CF

Valencia Club de Fútbol (Spanish: [baˈlenθja ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol], Valencian: València Club de Futbol [vaˈlensia ˈklub de fubˈbɔl]),[4] commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional football club in Valencia. They play in La Liga. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, eight Copa del Rey titles, one Supercopa de España and one Copa Eva Duarte. In European competitions, they have won two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. They also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and German club Bayern Munich on penalties after a 1–1 draw in 2001. Valencia were also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs and since its end has been part of the original members of the European Club Association. In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them. Valencia were founded in 1919 and have played their home games at the 55,000-seater Mestalla since 1923. They were due to move into the new 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the northwest of the city in 2013, but the final move date has been postponed while the stadium remains under construction. Valencia is the third-most supported football club in Spain, behind heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona.[5] It is also one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of number of associates (registered paying supporters), with more than 50,000 season ticket holders and another 20,000+ season ticket holders on the waiting list, who can be accommodated in the new 75,000-seater stadium. Over the years, the club has achieved a global reputation for their prolific youth academy, or "Acàdemia." Products of their academy include world-class talents such as Raúl Albiol, Andrés Palop, Miguel Ángel Angulo, Javier Farinos, David Albelda, Gaizka Mendieta and David Silva. Current stars of the game to have graduated in recent years include Isco, Jordi Alba, Juan Bernat, José Gayà, Carlos Soler, Ferran Torres and Paco Alcácer. The club was established on 5 March 1919 and officially approved on 18 March 1919, with Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz as its first president; incidentally the presidency was decided by a coin toss. The club played its first competitive match away from home on 21 May 1919 against Valencia Gimnástico, and lost the match 1–0. Valencia CF moved into the Mestalla stadium in 1923, having played its home matches at the Algirós ground since 7 December 1919. The first match at Mestalla pitted the home side against Castellón Castalia and ended a 0–0 draw. In another match the day after, Valencia won against the same opposition 1–0. Valencia CF won the Regional Championship in 1923, and was eligible to play in the domestic Copa del Rey cup competition for the first time in its history. The Spanish Civil War halted the progress of the Valencia team until 1941, when it won the Copa del Rey, beating RCD Espanyol in the final. In the 1941–42 season, the club won its first Spanish La Liga championship title, although winning the Copa del Rey was more reputable than the championship at that time. The club maintained its consistency to capture the league title again in the 1943–44 season, as well as the 1946–47 league edition. In the 1950s, the club failed to emulate the success of the 1940s, even though it grew as a club. A restructuring of Mestalla resulted in an increase in spectator capacity to 45,000, while the club had a number of Spanish and foreign stars. Players such as Spanish international Antonio Puchades and Dutch forward Faas Wilkes graced the pitch at Mestalla. In the 1952–53 season, the club finished as runners-up in the La Liga, and in the following season, the club won the Copa del Rey, then known as the Copa del Generalísimo. While managing indifferent league form in the early 1960s, the club had its first European success in the form of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup). In the 1961–62 season, Valencia beat FC Barcelona in the final. The 1962–63 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final pitted Valencia against Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb, which the Valencians also won. Valencia was again present in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in the 1963–64 season, but was defeated 2–1 by Real Zaragoza from Spain. Former two-time European Footballer of the Year award winner Alfredo Di Stéfano was hired as coach in 1970, and immediately inspired his new club to their fourth La Liga championship and first since 1947. This secured Valencia its first qualification for the prestigious European Cup, contested by the various European domestic champions. Valencia reached the third round of the 1971–72 competition before losing both legs to Hungarian champions Újpesti Dózsa. In 1972 The club also finished runners up both in La Liga and the domestic cup, losing to Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, respectively. The most notable players of the 1970s era include Austrian midfielder Kurt Jara, forward Johnny Rep of the Netherlands and Argentinian forward Mario Kempes, who became the La Liga topscorer for two consecutive seasons in 1976–77 and 1977–78. Valencia would go on to win the Copa del Rey again in the 1978–79 season, and also capture the European Cup Winners' Cup the next season, after beating English club Arsenal in the final, with Kempes spearheading Valencia's success in Europe. In 1982, the club appointed Miljan Miljanić as coach. After a disappointing season, Valencia was in 17th place and faced relegation with seven games left to play. Koldo Aguirre replaced Miljanić as coach, and Valencia barely avoided relegation that year, relying on favorable results from other teams to ensure their own survival. In the 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons, the club was heavily in debt under the presidency of Vicente Tormo. The club finally hit rock bottom when it was relegated at the end of the 1985–86 season, and riven with internal problems such as unpaid player and staff wages, as well as poor morale. The club was relegated for the first time after 55 years in Spanish top-flight football. Arturo Tuzón was named the new club president, and he helped steer Valencia back to La Liga. Alfredo Di Stéfano returned as coach in 1986 and Valencia won promotion again following the 1986–87 season. Di Stéfano stayed on as coach until the 1987–88 season, when the team finished in 14th position in La Liga. Bulgarian forward Luboslav Penev joined the club in 1989, as Valencia aimed to consolidate their place in La Liga. Guus Hiddink was appointed as head coach in the 1991–92 season, and the club finished fourth in the League and reached the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. In 1992, Valencia CF officially became a Sporting Limited Company, and retained Hiddink as their coach until 1993. Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, fresh from winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup with the Brazilian national team, became manager at Mestalla in 1994. Parreira immediately signed the Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta and the Russian forward Oleg Salenko, as well as Predrag Mijatović, but failed to produce results expected of him. He was replaced by new coach José Manuel Rielo. The club's earlier successes continued to elude it, although it was not short of top coaching staff like Luis Aragonés and Jorge Valdano, as well as foreign star forwards like Brazilian Romário, Claudio López, Ariel Ortega from Argentina and Adrian Ilie from Romania. Valencia started the 1999–00 season by winning another title, the Spanish Super Cup, beating FC Barcelona. Valencia finished third in the league, four points behind the champions Deportivo de La Coruña and level on points with second placed Barça. But the biggest success was in the UEFA Champions League; for the first time in its history, Valencia reached the European Cup final. However, in the final played in Paris on 24 May 2000, Real Madrid beat Valencia 3–0. It was also Claudio López's farewell, as he had agreed to sign for the Italian side Lazio, also leaving was Farinós for Internazionale and Gerard for Barcelona. The notable signings of that summer were John Carew, Rubén Baraja, Roberto Ayala, Vicente Rodríguez, and the Brazilian left back Fábio Aurélio. Also bought that season was Pablo Aimar in January. Baraja, Aimar, Vicente, and Ayala would soon become a staple of Valencia's dominance of the early 2000s in La Liga. Valencia started the championship on the right foot and were top of the league after 10 games. After the Christmas break, however, Valencia started to pay for the top demand that such an absorbing competition like the Champions League requires. After passing the two mini-league phases, Héctor Cúper's team eliminated Arsenal in quarter-finals and Leeds United in the semi-finals, and got ready to face Bayern Munich in the big final; Valencia had reached two European Cup finals in a row. This time, the final was to be played in Milan at the San Siro on 23 May. Gaizka Mendieta gave Valencia the lead by scoring from the penalty spot right at the start of the match. Goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares then stopped a penalty from Mehmet Scholl, but Stefan Effenberg drew level after the break thanks to another penalty. After extra time, it went to penalties, where a Mauricio Pellegrino miss gave Bayern Champions League glory and dealt Valencia a second-straight exit in the finals. Valencia went on to slip to fifth place in La Liga and out of Champions League contestation for the 2001–02 season. The final game of the season meant Valencia only needed a draw at the Camp Nou against Barcelona to seal Champions League qualification. Los Che lost to Barcelona 3–2 at the Nou Camp, with a last minute goal from Rivaldo resulting in Barcelona qualifying for the Champions League while Valencia missed out. The president, D. Pedro Cortés, resigned due to personal reasons and left the club in July, with the satisfaction of having won one Copa del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, and having been runners-up in two successive Champions League finals. D. Jaime Ortí replaced him as president and expressed his intention on maintaining the good form that had made the club so admired on the European circuit. There were also some changes in the team and staff. Rafael Benítez, after helping CD Tenerife to promotion, replaced Héctor Cúper after the latter became the new coach at Internazionale in Italy. Among the playing squad, Gaizka Mendieta, Didier Deschamps, Luis Milla, and Zlatko Zahovič left, while Carlos Marchena, Mista, Curro Torres, Francisco Rufete, Gonzalo de los Santos, and Salva Ballesta all arrived. From 1999 up until the end of the 2004 season, Valencia had one of their most successful periods in the club's history. With a total of two La Liga titles, one UEFA Cup, one Copa del Rey, and one UEFA Super Cup in those six years, no less than five first class titles and two Champions League finals had been achieved.That first game against fellow title rivals Real Madrid produced a significant and important victory. This was followed by a record of 11 games won consecutively, breaking the existing one set in the 1970–71 season, the season they had last won the La Liga title under Alfredo Di Stéfano. After a defeat in A Coruña against Deportivo on 9 December 2001, the team had to win against RCD Espanyol in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to prevent falling further behind the league leaders. Valencia were 2–0 down at half time, but a comeback in the second half saw Valencia win 3–2. In the second part of the season, Benítez's team suffered a small setback after losing 1–0 in the Santiago Bernabéu to Real Madrid, but they recovered from this setback and achieved four victories and two draws in the following six games against UD Las Palmas, Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo Alavés, Real Zaragoza, and Barça. In one of those crucial games that they would come up against Espanyol, Valencia were trailing 1–0 half-time and a man down too with the dismissal of Carboni, but after two goals from Rubén Baraja, Valencia achieved a 2–1 victory. Furthermore, Real Madrid's defeat in Anoeta to Real Sociedad left Valencia with a three-point lead at the top of the table. The final game of the season was at La Rosaleda to face Málaga CF, on 5 May 2002, a date that has gone down in Valencia’s history. The team shut itself away in Benalmádena, close to the scene of the game, in order to gain focus. An early goal from Roberto Ayala and another close to half-time from Fábio Aurélio assured them their fifth La Liga title, 31 years after their last title win. The 2002–03 season was a disappointing one for Valencia, as they failed in their attempt to retain the La Liga title and ended up outside of the Champions League spots in fifth, behind Celta de Vigo. They were also knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Internazionale on away goals. The 2003–04 season saw Valencia trailing the longtime leaders Real Madrid. In February, after 26 games played, Real Madrid were eight points clear.[6] However, their form declined in the late season and they lost their last five games of the campaign, allowing Valencia to overtake them and win the title. The club added the UEFA Cup to this success. Valencia had now been La Liga champions twice in three seasons. In the summer of 2004, coach Rafael Benítez decided to leave the club, stating he had had problems with the club president; he would soon become manager of Liverpool. He was replaced by former Valencia coach Claudio Ranieri, who had recently been sacked by Chelsea. His second reign at the club was a disappointment, however, as Valencia harboured realistic hopes of retaining their La Liga crown but, by February, found themselves in seventh place. Valencia had also been knocked out of the Champions League group phase, with Ranieri being sacked promptly in February. The 2004–05 season ended with Valencia outside of the UEFA Cup spots. In the summer of 2005, Getafe CF coach Quique Flores was appointed as the new manager of Valencia and ended the season in third place, which in turn gained Valencia a place in the Champions League after a season away from the competition. The 2006–07 season was a season with many difficulties, a season which started with realistic hopes of challenging for La Liga was disrupted with a huge list of injuries to key players and internal arguments between Flores and new Sporting Director Amedeo Carboni. Valencia ended the season in fourth place and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage by Chelsea 3–2 on aggregate, after knocking out Italian champions Inter in the second round. In the summer of 2007, the internal fight between Flores and Carboni was settled with Carboni being replaced by Ángel Ruiz as the new Sporting Director of Valencia. On 29 October 2007, the Valencia board of directors fired Flores after a string of disappointing performances and caretaker manager Óscar Rubén Fernández took over on a temporary basis until a full-time manager was found, rumoured to be either Marcello Lippi or José Mourinho. A day later, Dutch manager Ronald Koeman announced he would be leaving PSV to sign for Valencia. But there was still no improvement; in fact, Valencia even went on to drop to the 15th position in the league, just two points above the relegation zone. Although on 16 April 2008, Valencia lifted the Copa del Rey with a 3–1 victory over Getafe at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. This was the club's seventh Copa title. Five days later, one day after a devastating 5–1 league defeat in Bilbao, Valencia fired Ronald Koeman and replaced him with Voro, who would guide Valencia as Caretaker Manager for the rest of the season. He went on to win the first game since the sacking of Koeman, beating CA Osasuna 3–0 in his first game in charge. Voro would eventually drag Valencia from the relegation battle to a safe mid-table finish of 10th place, finally ending a disastrous league campaign for Los Che. Highly-rated Unai Emery was announced as the new manager of Valencia on 22 May 2008. The start of the young manager's career looked to be promising, with the club winning four out of its first five games, a surge that saw the team rise to the top position of the La Liga table. Despite looking impressive in Europe, Los Che then hit a poor run of form in the league that saw them dip as low as seventh in the standings. Amid the slump emerged reports of a massive internal debt at the club exceeding 400 million Euros, as well as that the players had been unpaid in weeks. The team's problems were compounded when they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Dynamo Kyiv on away goals. After a run where Valencia took only five points from ten games in La Liga, an announcement was made that the club had secured a loan that would cover the players' expenses until the end of the year. This announcement coincided with an upturn in form, and the club won six of its next eight games to surge back into the critical fourth place Champions' League spot. However, Los Che were then defeated by 4th place rivals Atlético Madrid and Villarreal in two of the last three games of the campaign, and finished sixth in the table, which meant they failed to qualify for a second successive year for the Champions League. No solution had yet been found to address the massive debt Valencia were faced with, and rumours persisted that top talents such as David Villa, Juan Mata, and David Silva could leave the club to help balance the books. In the first season of the new decade, Valencia returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2007–08 season, as they finished comfortably in third in the 2009–10 La Liga season. However, in the summer of 2010, due to financial reasons, David Villa and David Silva were sold to Barcelona and Manchester City, respectively, to reduce the club's massive debt. But, despite the loss of two of the club's most important players, the team was able to finish comfortably in third again 2010–11 La Liga for the second season running, although they were eliminated from the Champions League by German side Schalke 04 in the Round of 16. In the summer of 2011, then current captain Juan Mata was sold to Chelsea to further help Valencia's precarious financial situation. It was announced by President Manuel Llorente that the club's debt had been decreased and that the work on the new stadium will restart as soon as possible, sometime in 2012. During the 2012–13 season, Ernesto Valverde was announced as the new manager but after failing to qualify for the Champions League, he stepped down and was replaced by Miroslav Đukić. On 5 July 2013, Amadeo Salvo was named as the new president of the club. Almost a month after Salvo was named president, on 1 August 2013, Valencia sold star striker Roberto Soldado to English club Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of €30 million. Miroslav Đukić was sacked six months into the 2013–14 season after just 6 wins in his first 16 matches, Valencia's worst start in 15 years.[7] He was replaced by Juan Antonio Pizzi on 26 December 2013.[8] Under Pizzi, Valencia reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, where they lost to eventual winners Sevilla on away goals and finished 8th in La Liga despite a disastrous start to the season.[9][10] In May 2014, Singaporean businessman Peter Lim was designated by the Fundación Valencia CF as the buyer of 70.4% of the shares owned by the club's foundation.[2][3] After months of negotiations between Lim and Bankia (the main creditor of the club), an agreement was reached in August 2014.[11] Juan Antonio Pizzi was unexpectedly sacked as head coach and replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo on 2 July 2014.[10][12] Later, Salvo revealed in an interview that hiring Nuno was one of the conditions Lim had insisted on when buying the club. This raised eyebrows in the media because of Nuno's close relationship with the football agent Jorge Mendes, whose first-ever client was Nuno.[13][14] Lim and Mendes are also close friends and business partners.[15] Regardless, Nuno's first season was a successful one. Notable signings included Álvaro Negredo, André Gomes and Enzo Pérez, who had just won the LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.[16][17][18] Valencia finished the 2014–15 season in fourth place for Champions League qualification with 77 points, just one point ahead of Sevilla after a dramatic final week, defeating Granada 4–0.[10][19] On 2 July 2015, Amadeo Salvo resigned from his post as the executive president of Valencia, citing personal reasons. He was a popular figure amongst the fans.[20] On 10 August 2015, Nicolás Otamendi was sold to Manchester City for £32 million and Aymen Abdennour was signed from Monaco for £22 million as his replacement.[21][22] Valencia defeated Monaco in the Champions League playoff round with a 4–3 aggregate victory.[23] However, Valencia had a poor start to the 2015–16 season, winning 5 out of 13 matches and failing to progress from the Champions League group stages. The fans were also increasingly concerned about the growing influence of Jorge Mendes in the club's activities.[24] On 29 November, Nuno resigned as manager and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was hired as his replacement on 2 December.[25][26] Valencia went winless for nine matches before earning their first win under Neville in a 2–1 victory at home against Espanyol.[27] On 30 March 2016, Neville was sacked after recording the lowest win percentage in La Liga history for a Valencia manager with minimum of five matches, winning just 3 out of 16 matches. He was replaced by Pako Ayestarán, who was brought in by Neville as the assistant coach just one month prior.[28][29] Valencia finished the season in 12th position. In the summer of 2016, André Gomes and Paco Alcácer were both sold to Barcelona and Shkodran Mustafi was sold to Arsenal, while Ezequiel Garay and former Manchester United player Nani were brought in.[30][31][32][33][34] Pako Ayestarán was sacked on 21 September 2016 after four-straight defeats at the beginning of the 2016–17 season.[35] Former Italy national team head coach Cesare Prandelli was hired as his replacement on 28 September.[36] However, he resigned after just three months on 30 December, claiming the club had made him false transfer promises.[37] Days later, on 7 January 2017, Valencia sporting director Jesús García Pitarch also resigned, saying he felt like he was being used as a shield for criticism by the club and that he could not defend something he no longer believed in.[38][39] Voro was named caretaker manager for the fifth time until the end of season, with Valencia in 17th position and in danger of relegation.[40] However, results improved under Voro and he steered Valencia clear off relegation, ultimately finishing the season in 12th place.[41] On 27 March, Mateu Alemany was named the new director general of Valencia.[42] The club also announced club president Lay Hoon Chan had submitted her resignation and that she would be replaced by Anil Murthy.[43] After rumors arose of Lim's attempts at selling the club, Murthy assured the fans and local media that Valencia was a long term project for both him and Lim, and they would not consider selling the club.[44][45] For the following season, former Villarreal coach Marcelino was named the new manager on 12 May.[46] After a successful first season under Marcelino, the club secured 4th position and a return to the Champions League. Valencia also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. On 25 May 2019, Valencia won the Copa del Rey for the first time since 2008, upsetting FC Barcelona in the final.[47] Valencia played its first years at the Algirós stadium, but moved to the Mestalla in 1923. In the 1950s, the Mestalla was restructured, which resulted in a capacity increase to 45,000 spectators. Today it holds 49,500 seats, making it the fifth largest stadium in Spain. It is also renowned for its steep terracing and for being one of the most intimidating atmospheres in Europe.[48] On 20 May 1923, the Mestalla pitch was inaugurated with a friendly match between Valencia and Levante UD. A long history has taken place on the Mestalla field since its very beginning, when the Valencia team was not yet in the Primera División. Back then, this stadium could hold 17,000 spectators, and in that time, the club started to show its potential in regional championships, which led the managers of that time to carry out the first alterations of Mestalla in 1927. The stadium's total capacity increased to 25,000 before it became severely damaged during the Civil War; the Mestalla was used as a concentration camp and a junk warehouse. It would only keep its structure, since the rest was a lonely plot of land with no terraces and a stand broken during the war. Once the Valencian pitch was renovated, the Mestalla saw how the team managed to bring home their first title in 1941. During the 1950s, the Valencia ground experienced the deepest change in its whole history. That project resulted in a stadium with a capacity of 45,500 spectators, that eventually saw destruction by a flood in October 1957 that arose from the overflowing of the Turia River. Nevertheless, the Mestalla not only returned to normality, but also some more improvements were added, like artificial light, which was inaugurated during the 1959 Fallas festivities. During the 1960s, the stadium kept the same appearance, whilst the urban view around it was quickly being transformed. Moreover, the ground held its first European matches, with Nottingham Forest being the first foreign team to play at the Mestalla, on 15 September 1961. From 1969, the expression "Anem a Mestalla" ("Let's go to the Mestalla"), so common among the supporters, began to fall into oblivion. The reason of this was due to a proposed name change of the stadium to honor Luis Casanova Giner, the club's most successful president. Giner admitted he was completely overwhelmed by such honour, but requested in 1994 that the original name of Mestalla remained. In 1972, the head office of the club, located in the back of the numbered terraces, was inaugurated. It consisted of an office of avant-garde style with a trophy hall, which held the founding flag of the club. In the summer of 1973, more goal seats, which meant the elimination of fourteen rows of standing terraces, were added to provide comfort. Club management also considered the possibility of moving the Mestalla from its present location, to land On the outskirts of the town, before deciding against it. Mestalla also hosted the Spain national football team for the first time in 1925. It was chosen as the national team's group venue when Spain staged the 1982 FIFA World Cup,[49] and at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. All of Spain's matches up to the final were held at Mestalla, as they won Gold.[50] Mestalla has been the setting for important international matches, has held several Cup finals, and has also been the home of Levante. The ground also provided a temporary home for Castellón and Real Madrid for European games due to stadium development. The 2008–09 season was to have been the last season at the Mestalla, with the club moving to their new 75,000-seater stadium Nou Mestalla in time for the 2009–10 season. However, due to the club being in financial crisis, work on the new stadium has since stopped.[51] Originally, Valencia's kit was composed of white shirts, black shorts and socks of the same colour. Through the years, however, these colours have alternated between white and black. The away kit has been shades of orange in recent years while third alternate kits have featured colors from the club crest—yellow, blood orange and blue. The team have also attracted smaller, local sponsors over the years. One example is Lamiplast, a Valencia-based furniture company. The club assigned D. Pablo Sánchez Torella who composed the music of Valencia's anthem, named the "Pasodoble". The hymn was written by Ramon Gimeno Gil in the Valencian language. The anthem was premiered and had its official presentation at the 75th anniversary of the club on 21 September 1993. Valencia and the Balearic Islands were conquered by King James I of Aragon during the first half of the 13th century. After the conquest, the King gave them the status of independent kingdoms of whom he was also the king (but they were independent of Aragonese laws and institutions). The arms of Valencia show those of James I. The unique crowned letters "L" besides the shield were granted by King Peter the Ceremonious. The reason for the letters was that the city had been loyal twice to the King, hence twice a letter "L" and a crown for the king. There are several possible explanations for the bat; one is that bats are simply quite common in the area. The second theory is that on 9 October 1238, when James I was about to enter the city, re-conquering it from the Moors, a bat landed on the top of his flag, and he interpreted it as a good sign. As he conquered the city, the bat was added to the arms. In May 2013, it was reported that DC Comics had started a legal case against the club, claiming that the new bat image design was too similar to Batman.[52] The club issued a statement clarifying that it had intended to use a revised version of its bat logo for a line of casual clothing and applied for permission from the Office of Harmonisation of the Internal Market but the application was dropped after DC Comics filed an objection, not a lawsuit.[53] DC Comics again filed a complaint with the EU’s office of IP opposing the trademark application made by Valencia for its centennial logo, claiming there is likely to be confusion with its Batman’s symbol.[54] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Source: Valencia CF official website LL. = La Liga; CdR = Copa del Rey; SC = Supercopa de España; UCL = UEFA Champions League; UCWC = UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; UEL = UEFA Europa League; UIC = UEFA Intertoto Cup; USC = UEFA Super Cup Alejandro Scopelli, the first foreigner to win a trophy with Valencia, the 1962 Fairs Cup. Alfredo Di Stéfano had three successful spells as coach of the club. Claudio Ranieri coached Valencia on two occasions with mixed success. Héctor Cúper tenure saw the club rise back to prominence in European football. Rafael Benítez, Valencia's most successful coach, with two league titles and one UEFA Cup over the period of three years. Since May 2009, Valencia CF has had a training centre, this is the first multidisciplinary training center for a football club in Spain.[57] The Training Centre Foundation Valencia CF "The Academy" offers university education,[58] classroom training, and online training related to sport and football soccer.[59] Valencia CF is one of the few clubs in Spain that organises a Sport Management MBA, the MBA in International Sport Management, currently performs with Valencia Catholic University Saint Vincent Martyr.[60] On the 90th anniversary of Valencia CF, The Academy opened with the University of Valencia the first university course that studied the history of a football club, Valencia CF is the first football club in Spain, object of study on college.[61] Valencia CF were also involved in motorsports such as Formula One, Super GT, MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, 250cc and Formula Nippon. Valencia CF was an official partner of Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2003 until 2008 to commemorate Toyota as their shirt sponsor. Valencia CF also sponsored all Toyota-engined Formula Nippon teams and also Toyota Super GT teams in GT500 and GT300 cars. In 2009, Valencia CF became an official partner of former 250cc team Stop And Go Racing Team and later in 2014 Valencia CF also became official partner of Aspar Racing Team in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes, respectively. In June 2016, Valencia opened an E-Sports division with presences in Hearthstone, Rocket League and League of Legends – in the last case, they joined Beşiktaş, Santos, Schalke and PSG in acquiring League teams. They announced their League roster on 13 July, composed mostly of Spanish players, including some with European League of Legends Championship Series (EU LCS) experience.[62]

Janine Melnitz

Janine Melnitz is a fictional character in the Ghostbusters series. She is the Ghostbusters' secretary, confidante, and occasionally, a ghostbuster herself. She was played by Annie Potts in both movies, and in The Real Ghostbusters she was voiced initially by Laura Summer, and later on the series by Kath Soucie. In Extreme Ghostbusters, she was voiced by Pat Musick. Potts returned to provide her appearance and voice to Janine in the 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Throughout most Ghostbusters media, Janine is often displayed as having a romantic attraction to Egon Spengler. This is shown in the first movie and more prominently in The Real Ghostbusters cartoons. In Ghostbusters II, however, she becomes involved with Louis Tully, who has become the team's financial advisor and lawyer. Despite this, Janine retains her attraction to Egon throughout the entire Real Ghostbusters series and into the Extreme Ghostbusters series. In "Janine's Genie", in which Janine encounters an evil genie after receiving a possessed lamp (unaware that the genie is evil), one of her wishes was for Egon to fall in love with her, and in one instance when she is driving Ecto-1, Egon comments "Janine, you're beautiful when you drive." Egon and Janine share a handful of tender moments throughout the series, but Egon's somewhat stilted emotions often create a barrier between them. In Ghostbusters, Janine is hired as the secretary of the Ghostbusters, where she keeps tabs on the clients. She also interviews Winston Zeddemore for the job as the fourth member of the team. Later, she helps Egon interviewing Louis Tully who was possessed by Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster of Gozer. After the battle with Gozer, she is seen outside of 55 Central Park West, hugging Egon, happy to see him alive and well, joining the rest of the Ghostbusters as they drive off in the Ecto-1. In Ghostbusters II, she is rehired as secretary by the Ghostbusters, working side-by-side with Louis Tully, who became the team's financial advisor, accountant and lawyer. Later, Peter Venkman assigns her to baby-sit Dana Barrett's baby Oscar. She asks Louis Tully to babysit with her, where she, along with Dana and Louis see Oscar being kidnapped by Dana's boss, Janosz Poha. In order to help the guys fight Vigo the Carpathian, she lends Louis one of Egon's spare suits and a spare Proton pack, so he can join them in the battle. After the battle, she attends a ceremony to restore the Statue Of Liberty, where she and the Ghostbusters are awarded the Key to the City from the mayor. Potts confirmed that she will reprise her role as Janine in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).[1] Janine is the youngest daughter of a working-class family. Though her parents, sister, nephew and grandmother all live in Canarsie (as seen in "Janine's Day Off"), she has remained in Brooklyn Heights, where she grew up. She tends to wear loud, blocky jewelry and (in early seasons) wears a mini-skirt at work. In 1987, Janine owns a red Volkswagen Beetle convertible, which is severely damaged after being loaned to the Ghostbusters in "Beneath These Streets". In "Baby Spookums" she has a yellow Renault 5 Le Car, although it is not known if this is a loaner/rental or her own car; in later instances she owns a pink Beetle convertible. On numerous occasions, Janine has been forced to take up a Ghostbusters uniform and proton pack to bail the guys out of trouble in episodes "Mr. Sandman, Dream Me A Dream", "Janine’s Day Off", "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster" and "Jailbusters". In the episode "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster" from Season 2, she borrows one of Peter Venkman's uniforms, and in the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "A Temporary Insanity" she borrowed one of Egon Spengler's. She has a sharp, sarcastic sense of humor and has been known to make jokes about the Ghostbusters, either to their faces or under her breath, but most of the time she usually gets along with Ray and Winston, while usually having a kind of sibling rivalry with Peter. Season 3 of Real Ghostbusters saw significant changes to the character. In the first two seasons, her portrayal was almost identical to the rude secretary Potts portrayed in the film. However, Season 3 saw Janine get a new voice actor, a new character design, and a softened personality. Notably, her thick Brooklyn accent disappeared. In the Season 6 episode "Janine, You've Changed", it is revealed that her changes were the result of her wishes to a "makeoveris lotsabucks", a demon posing as a fairy godmother (and even referred to as such by Janine herself). This was one of a handful of episodes writer J. Michael Straczynski wrote as a favor to the show's producers, as he could not return as a full-time writer due to other working commitments he had at the time. As such, the demon fed off of Janine's insecurity regarding her looks, and frustration in failing to win Egon's heart. The demon used her magic to blind Egon (and the other Ghostbusters) to Janine's changes, thus making Janine more dependent on the demon for "improvements" on her appearance in hopes she would become "perfect," making Egon notice her. Unknown to Janine, the demon was feeding on desire to be "perfect" for Egon to slowly strip away her humanity, and turn her into a "makeoveris lotsabucks" herself. None of the Ghostbusters noticed until Slimer showed them pictures of Janine in their photo album. They demonstrated her startling changes over the years with a hologram projector. The demon had used ectoplasmic energy to alter Janine's cellular and bone structure. When Janine leaves the firehouse to meet the demon alone, the Ghostbusters send Slimer go after her. In the car Egon tells the others, just as he's realizing how much Janine means to him, now he could lose her forever. In the climax of the episode, Janine turns into a "makeoverus lotsabucks" with powers similar to those of her "fairy godmother" (allowing her to change her own appearance at will). She lashes out at Egon when he comes to her rescue, blaming him for hardly ever acknowledging her affection for him. Egon defeats the demon's hold over Janine by confessing his love for her (the NOW and Marvel UK comics ignore these changes). Egon's confession proves sincere (and is not just a way of defeating the demon), as he and Janine are later seen sitting on a bench together, watching the sun rise. It is here Egon puts his arm round Janine and asks her out on a date. Janine's character was changed at the suggestion of consultants, who said that they wanted to change the shape of Janine's glasses (which they thought would frighten children), and change her from a feisty character to the "mother" of the Ghostbusters group as they felt she was "too abrasive".[2] Additionally, the Brooklyn accent was discarded with a change in voice actresses. This, among other reasons, was why writer J. Michael Straczynski left The Real Ghostbusters.[3] Set six years after the series finale of The Real Ghostbusters, Janine had bounced from various jobs since the Ghostbusters closed down in 1991. Having been recently downsized from her last job she returned to school at the New York City College and amongst the various (and unmentioned) courses she was taking was a paranormal one, where she was reunited with Egon, going on to help him form the new team. Janine has had brief appearances in the Extreme Ghostbusters Game Boy Color game (only released in Europe) and in the Extreme Ghostbusters game, Code Ecto-1 for the Game Boy Advance. Annie Potts reprised her role as Janine in the Ghostbusters: The Video Game, once again being the team's secretary, warning them about what's going on, either by calling them or by radio, and making sarcastic comments about the situation. Her physical appearance is quite similar to the way she appeared in the second movie.[4] Janine appears as a non-playable character in the Ghostbusters Adventure World of Lego Dimensions voiced by Courtenay Taylor. She has two missions for the player: The first one has the player busts some ghosts for the mayor, while the second one requires the player to assist her in recovering the books for Ray's bookstore after they're scattered by ghosts. In the film series and Ghostbusters: The Video Game, she was portrayed by Annie Potts. In the cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters, she was originally voiced by Laura Summer and later by Kath Soucie. In the cartoon series Extreme Ghostbusters, she is voiced by Pat Musick.

Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard (UK: /ˈɡɒdɑːr/ GOD-ar, US: /ɡoʊˈdɑːr/ goh-DAR; French: [ʒɑ̃ lyk ɡɔdaʁ]; born 3 December 1930) is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the 1960s French New Wave film movement,[1] and is arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era.[2] According to AllMovie, his work "revolutionized the motion picture form" through its experimentation with narrative, continuity, sound, and camerawork.[2] He is often considered the most radical French filmmaker of the 1960s and 1970s.[3] During his early career as a film critic for the influential magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, Godard criticized mainstream French cinema's "Tradition of Quality",[1] which emphasized established convention over innovation and experimentation.[4] In response, he and like-minded critics began to make their own films,[1] challenging the conventions of traditional Hollywood in addition to French cinema.[5] Godard first received global acclaim for his 1960 feature Breathless, helping to establish the New Wave movement.[2] His work makes use of frequent homages and references to film history, and often expressed his political views; he was an avid reader of existential and Marxist philosophy.[3][6] Since the New Wave, his politics have been much less radical and his recent films are about representation and human conflict from a humanist, and a Marxist perspective.[3] In a 2002 Sight & Sound poll, Godard ranked third in the critics' top ten directors of all time (which was put together by assembling the directors of the individual films for which the critics voted).[7] He is said to have "created one of the largest bodies of critical analysis of any filmmaker since the mid-twentieth century."[8] He and his work have been central to narrative theory and have "challenged both commercial narrative cinema norms and film criticism's vocabulary."[9] In 2010, Godard was awarded an Academy Honorary Award, but did not attend the award ceremony.[10] Godard's films have inspired many directors including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Brian De Palma, Steven Soderbergh, D. A. Pennebaker,[11] Robert Altman, Jim Jarmusch, Wong Kar-wai, Wim Wenders,[12] Bernardo Bertolucci,[13] and Pier Paolo Pasolini.[13] Through his father, he is the cousin of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, former President of Peru.[14] He has been married twice, to actresses Anna Karina and Anne Wiazemsky, both of whom starred in several of his films. His collaborations with Karina—which included such critically acclaimed films as Vivre sa vie (1962), Bande à part (1964) and Pierrot le Fou (1965)—were called "arguably the most influential body of work in the history of cinema" by Filmmaker magazine.[15] Jean-Luc Godard was born on 3 December 1930[16] in the 7th arrondissement of Paris,[17] the son of Odile (née Monod) and Paul Godard, a Swiss physician.[18] His wealthy parents came from Protestant families of Franco–Swiss descent, and his mother was the daughter of Julien Monod, a founder of the Banque Paribas. She was the great-granddaughter of theologian Adolphe Monod. Other relatives on his mother's side include composer Jacques-Louis Monod, naturalist Théodore Monod and pastor Frédéric Monod.[19][20] Four years after Jean-Luc's birth, his father moved the family to Switzerland. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Godard was in France, and returned to Switzerland with difficulty. He spent most of the war in Switzerland, although his family made clandestine trips to his grandfather's estate on the French side of Lake Geneva. Godard attended school in Nyon, Switzerland.[21] Not a frequent cinema-goer, he attributed his introduction to cinema to a reading of Malraux's essay Outline of a Psychology of Cinema, and his reading of La Revue du cinéma, which was relaunched in 1946.[22] In 1946, he went to study at the Lycée Buffon in Paris and, through family connections, mixed with members of its cultural elite. He lodged with the writer Jean Schlumberger. Having failed his baccalaureate exam in 1948 he returned to Switzerland. He studied in Lausanne and lived with his parents, whose marriage was breaking up. He spent time in Geneva also with a group that included another film fanatic, Roland Tolmatchoff, and the extreme rightist philosopher Jean Parvulesco. His elder sister Rachel encouraged him to paint, which he did, in an abstract style. After time spent at a boarding school in Thonon to prepare for the retest, which he passed, he returned to Paris in 1949.[23] He registered for a certificate in anthropology at the University of Paris (Sorbonne), but did not attend class.[24] He got involved with the young group of film critics at the ciné-clubs that started the New Wave. Godard originally held only French citizenship, then in 1953, he became a citizen of Gland, canton of Vaud, Switzerland, possibly through simplified naturalisation through his Swiss father. In Paris, in the Latin Quarter just prior to 1950, ciné-clubs (film societies) were gaining prominence. Godard began attending these clubs—the Cinémathèque Française, Ciné-Club du Quartier Latin (CCQL), Work and Culture ciné club, and others—which became his regular haunts. The Cinémathèque had been founded by Henri Langlois and Georges Franju in 1936; Work and Culture was a workers' education group for which André Bazin had organized wartime film screenings and discussions and which had become a model for the film clubs that had risen throughout France after the Liberation; CCQL, founded in about 1947 or 1948, was animated and intellectually led by Maurice Schérer.[25] At these clubs he met fellow film enthusiasts including Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, and François Truffaut.[26] Godard was part of a generation for whom cinema took on a special importance. He has said: "In the 1950s cinema was as important as bread—but it isn't the case any more. We thought cinema would assert itself as an instrument of knowledge, a microscope... a telescope.... At the Cinémathèque I discovered a world which nobody had spoken to me about. They'd told us about Goethe, but not Dreyer. ... We watched silent films in the era of talkies. We dreamed about film. We were like Christians in the catacombs."[27][28] His foray into films began in the field of criticism. Along with Maurice Schérer (writing under the to-be-famous pseudonym Éric Rohmer) and Jacques Rivette, he founded the short-lived film journal Gazette du cinéma, which saw publication of five issues in 1950.[29] When Bazin co-founded the influential critical magazine Cahiers du cinéma in 1951, Godard was the first of the younger critics from the CCQL/Cinémathèque group to be published. The January 1952 issue featured his review of an American melodrama directed by Rudolph Maté, No Sad Songs for Me. His "Defence and Illustration of Classical Découpage" published in September 1952, in which he attacks an earlier article by Bazin and defends the use of the shot-reverse shot technique, is one of his earliest important contributions to cinema criticism.[30] Praising Otto Preminger and "the greatest American artist—Howard Hawks", Godard raises their harsh melodramas above the more "formalistic and overtly artful films of Welles, De Sica and Wyler which Bazin endorsed".[31] At this point Godard's activities did not include making films. Rather, he watched films, and wrote about them, and helped others make films, notably Rohmer, with whom he worked on Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak.[32] Having left Paris in the autumn of 1952, Godard returned to Switzerland and went to live with his mother in Lausanne. He became friendly with his mother's lover, Jean-Pierre Laubscher, who was a labourer on the Grande Dixence Dam. Through Laubscher he secured work himself as a construction worker at the Plaz Fleuri work site at the dam. He saw the possibility of making a documentary film about the dam; when his initial contract ended, in order to prolong his time at the dam, he moved to the post of telephone switchboard operator. Whilst on duty, in April 1954, he put through a call to Laubscher which relayed the fact that Odile Monod, Godard's mother, had died in a scooter accident. Thanks to Swiss friends who lent him a 35mm movie camera, he was able to shoot on 35mm film. He rewrote the commentary that Laubscher had written, and gave his film a rhyming title Opération béton (Operation concrete). The company that administered the dam bought the film and used it for publicity purposes.[33] As he continued to work for Cahiers, he made Une femme coquette (1955), a 10-minute short, in Geneva; and in January 1956 he returned to Paris. A plan for a feature film of Goethe's Elective Affinities proved too ambitious and came to nothing. Truffaut enlisted his help to work on an idea he had for a film based on the true-crime story of a petty criminal, Michel Portail, who had shot a motorcycle policeman and whose girlfriend had turned him in to the police, but Truffaut failed to interest any producers. Another project with Truffaut, a comedy about a country girl arriving in Paris, was also abandoned.[34] He worked with Rohmer on a planned series of short films centering on the lives of two young women, Charlotte and Véronique; and in the autumn of 1957, Pierre Braunberger produced the first film in the series, All the Boys Are Named Patrick, directed by Godard from Rohmer's script. Une histoire d'eau (1958) was created largely out of unused footage shot by Truffaut. In 1958, Godard, with a cast that included Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anne Colette, made his last short before gaining international prominence as a filmmaker, Charlotte et son Jules, an homage to Jean Cocteau. The film was shot in Godard's hotel room on the rue de Rennes and apparently reflected something of the 'romantic austerity' of Godard's own life at this time. His Swiss friend Roland Tolmatchoff noted; "In Paris he had a big Bogart poster on the wall and nothing else."[35] In December 1958, Godard reported from the Festival of Short Films in Tours and praised the work of, and became friends with, Jacques Demy, Jacques Rozier, and Agnès Varda—he already knew Alain Resnais whose entry he also praised—but Godard now wanted to make a feature film. He travelled to the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and asked Truffaut to let him use the story on which they had collaborated in 1956, about car thief Michel Portail. He sought money from producer Georges de Beauregard, whom he had met previously whilst working briefly in the publicity department of Twentieth Century Fox's Paris office, and who was also at the Festival. Beauregard could offer his expertise, but was in debt from two productions based on Pierre Loti stories; hence, financing came instead from a film distributor, René Pignières.[36] Godard's most celebrated period as a director spans roughly from his first feature, Breathless (1960), through to Week End (1967). His work during this period focused on relatively conventional films that often refer to different aspects of film history. Although Godard's work during this time is considered groundbreaking in its own right, the period stands in contrast to that which immediately followed it, during which Godard ideologically denounced much of cinema's history as "bourgeois" and therefore without merit. Godard's Breathless (À bout de souffle, 1960), starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg distinctly expressed the French New Wave's style, and incorporated quotations from several elements of popular culture—specifically American film noir.[37] The film employed various techniques such as the innovative use of jump cuts (which were traditionally considered amateurish),[38] character asides, and breaking the eyeline match in continuity editing. From the beginning of his career, Godard included more film references in his movies than did any of his New Wave colleagues. In Breathless, his citations include a movie poster showing Humphrey Bogart—from The Harder They Fall, his last film[39] (whose expression the lead actor Jean-Paul Belmondo tries reverently to imitate)—visual quotations from films of Ingmar Bergman, Samuel Fuller, Fritz Lang, and others; and an onscreen dedication to Monogram Pictures,[40] an American B-movie studio. Quotations from, and references to literature, include William Faulkner, Dylan Thomas, Louis Aragon, Rilke, Françoise Sagan, Maurice Sachs. The film also contains citations in images or on the soundtrack—Mozart, Picasso, J. S. Bach, Paul Klee, and Auguste Renoir. "This first-person cinema invoked not the director's experience but his presence".[41] Godard wanted to hire the American actress Jean Seberg, who was living in Paris with her husband François Moreuil, a lawyer, to play the American woman. Seberg had become famous in 1956 when Otto Preminger had chosen her to play Joan of Arc in his Saint Joan, and had then cast her in his acidulous 1958 adaptation of Bonjour Tristesse.[42] Her performance in this film had not been generally regarded as a success—The New York Times's critic called her a "misplaced amateur"—but Truffaut and Godard disagreed. In the role of Michel Poiccard, Godard cast Belmondo, an actor he had already called, writing in Arts in 1958, "the Michel Simon and the Jules Berry of tomorrow."[43] The cameraman was Raoul Coutard, choice of the producer Beauregard. Godard wanted Breathless to be shot like a documentary, with a lightweight handheld camera and a minimum of added lighting; Coutard had had experience as a documentary cameraman whilst working for the French army's information service in Indochina during the French-Indochina War. Tracking shots were filmed by Coutard from a wheelchair pushed by Godard. Though Godard had prepared a traditional screenplay, he dispensed with it, and wrote the dialogue day by day as the production went ahead.[44] The film's importance was recognized immediately, and in January 1960 Godard won the Jean Vigo Prize, awarded "to encourage an auteur of the future". One reviewer mentioned Alexandre Astruc's prophecy of the age of the caméra-stylo, the camera that a new generation would use with the efficacy with which a writer uses his pen—"here is in fact the first work authentically written with a caméra-stylo".[45] The following year Godard made Le Petit Soldat (The Little Soldier), filmed on location in Geneva,[46] and dealing with the Algerian War of Independence. The film begins on 13 May 1958, the date of the attempted putsch in Algeria, and ends later the same month. In the film, Bruno Forestier, a photojournalist who has links with a right-wing paramilitary group working for the French government, is ordered to murder a professor accused of aiding the Algerian resistance. He is in love with Veronica Dreyer, a young woman who has worked with the Algerian fighters. He is captured by Algerian militants and tortured. His organisation captures and tortures her. The 'little soldier' was played by Michel Subor, and Veronica Dreyer by Anna Karina—his first collaboration with her. Unlike Seberg, Karina had virtually no experience as an actress and Godard used her awkwardness as an element of her performance. He wrote the dialogue every day and, since it was filmed without direct sound and was dubbed, called dialogue to the actors. Forestier was a character close to Godard himself, an image-maker and intellectual, 'more or less my spokesman, but not totally' Godard told an interviewer.[47] The film, due to its political nature, implied that France was involved in a dirty war, engaging in torture, and was banned by the French government until January 1963. Godard and Karina were a couple by the end of the shoot. She appeared again, along with Belmondo, in Godard's first color film, A Woman Is a Woman (1961), which was intended as a homage to the American musical. Adjustments that Godard made to the original version of the story gave it autobiographical resonances, "specifically in regard to his relationship with Anna Karina". The film revealed "the confinement within the four walls of domestic life" and "the emotional and artistic fault lines that threatened their relationship".[48] Godard's next film, Vivre sa vie (My Life to Live) (1962), was one of his most popular among critics. Karina starred as Nana, an errant mother and aspiring actress whose financially strained circumstances lead her to the life of a streetwalker. It is an episodic account of her rationalizations to prove she is free, even though she is tethered at the end of her pimp's short leash. In one scene, within a cafe, she spreads her arms out and announces she is free to raise or lower them as she wishes. The film was a popular success and led to Columbia giving him a deal where he would be provided with $100,000 to make a movie, with complete artistic control.[49] Les Carabiniers (1963) was about the horror of war and its inherent injustice. It was the influence and suggestion of Roberto Rossellini that led Godard to make this film which follows two peasants who join the army of a king, only to find futility in the whole thing as the king reveals the deception of war-administrating leaders. His most commercially successful film was Le Mépris (Contempt) (1963), starring Michel Piccoli and one of France's biggest female stars, Brigitte Bardot. A coproduction between Italy and France, Contempt became known as a pinnacle in cinematic modernism with its profound reflexivity. The film follows Paul (Piccoli), a screenwriter who is commissioned by Prokosch (Jack Palance), an arrogant American movie producer, to rewrite the script for an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, which the Austrian director Fritz Lang has been filming. Lang's 'high culture' interpretation of the story is lost on Prokosch, whose character is a firm indictment of the commercial motion picture hierarchy. Another prominent theme is the inability to reconcile love and labor, which is illustrated by the crumbling of Paul's marriage to Camille (Bardot) during the course of shooting. In 1964, Godard and Karina formed a production company, Anouchka Films. He directed Bande à part (Band of Outsiders), another collaboration between the two and described by Godard as "Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka." It follows two young men, looking to score on a heist, who both fall in love with Karina, and quotes from several gangster film conventions. Une femme mariée (A Married Woman) (1964) followed Band of Outsiders. It was a slow, deliberate, toned-down black-and-white picture without a real story. The film was shot in four weeks[50] and was "an explicitly and stringently modernist film". It showed Godard's "engagement with the most advanced thinking of the day, as expressed in the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Roland Barthes" and its fragmentation and abstraction reflected also "his loss of faith in the familiar Hollywood styles."[51] Godard made the film while he acquired funding for Pierrot le Fou (1965). In 1965, Godard directed Alphaville, a futuristic blend of science fiction, film noir, and satire. Eddie Constantine starred as Lemmy Caution, a detective who is sent into a city controlled by a giant computer named Alpha 60. His mission is to make contact with Professor von Braun (Howard Vernon), a famous scientist who has fallen mysteriously silent, and is believed to be suppressed by the computer. Pierrot le Fou (1965) featured a complex storyline, distinctive personalities, and a violent ending. Gilles Jacob, an author, critic, and president of the Cannes Film Festival, called it both a "retrospective" and recapitulation in the way it played on so many of Godard's earlier characters and themes. With an extensive cast and variety of locations, the film was expensive enough to warrant significant problems with funding. Shot in color, it departed from Godard's minimalist works (typified by Breathless, Vivre sa vie, and Une femme mariée). He solicited the participation of Jean-Paul Belmondo, by then a famous actor, in order to guarantee the necessary amount of capital. Masculin Féminin (1966), based on two Guy de Maupassant stories, La Femme de Paul and Le Signe, was a study of contemporary French youth and their involvement with cultural politics. An intertitle refers to the characters as "The children of Marx and Coca-Cola." Although Godard's cinema is sometimes thought to depict a wholly masculine point of view, Phillip John Usher has demonstrated how the film, by the way it connects images and disparate events, seems to blur gender lines.[52] Godard followed with Made in U.S.A (1966), whose source material was Richard Stark's The Jugger; and Two or Three Things I Know About Her (1967), in which Marina Vlady portrays a woman leading a double life as housewife and prostitute. A Classic New Wave crime thriller, "Made in the U.S.A" is inspired by American Noir films. Anna Karina stars as the anti-hero searching for her murdered lover; the film includes a cameo by Marianne Faithfull. La Chinoise (1967) saw Godard at his most politically forthright so far. The film focused on a group of students and engaged with the ideas coming out of the student activist groups in contemporary France. Released just before the May 1968 events, the film is thought by some to foreshadow the student rebellions that took place. That same year, Godard made a more colorful and political film, Week-end. It follows a Parisian couple as they leave on a weekend trip across the French countryside to collect an inheritance. What ensues is a confrontation with the tragic flaws of the over-consuming bourgeoisie. The film contains some of the most written-about scenes in cinema's history. One of them, an eight-minute tracking shot of the couple stuck in an unremitting traffic jam as they leave the city, is cited as a new technique Godard used to deconstruct bourgeois trends.[53] Startlingly, a few shots contain extra footage from, as it were, before the beginning of the take (while the actors are preparing) and after the end of the take (while the actors are coming out of character). Week End's enigmatic and audacious end title sequence, which reads "End of Cinema", appropriately marked an end to the narrative and cinematic period in Godard's filmmaking career. Politics are never far from the surface in Godard's films. One of his earliest features, Le Petit Soldat, which dealt with the Algerian War of Independence, was notable for its attempt to present the complexity of the dispute rather than pursue any specific ideological agenda. Along these lines, Les Carabiniers presents a fictional war that is initially romanticized in the way its characters approach their service, but becomes a stiff anti-war metonym. In addition to the international conflicts to which Godard sought an artistic response, he was also very concerned with the social problems in France. The earliest and best example of this is Karina's potent portrayal of a prostitute in Vivre sa vie. In 1960s Paris, the political milieu was not overwhelmed by one specific movement. There was, however, a distinct post-war climate shaped by various international conflicts such as the colonialism in North Africa and Southeast Asia. Godard's Marxist disposition did not become abundantly explicit until La Chinoise and Week End, but is evident in several films—namely Pierrot and Une femme mariée. Godard has been accused by some of harboring anti-Semitic views: in 2010, in the lead-up to the presentation of Godard's honorary Oscar, a prominent article in The New York Times by Michael Cieply drew attention to the idea, which had been circulating through press in previous weeks, that Godard might be an anti-Semite, and thus undeserving of the accolade. Cieply makes reference to Richard Brody's book Everything is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard, and alluded to a previous, longer article published by the Jewish Journal as lying near the origin of the debate.[54] The article also draws upon Brody's book, for example in the following quotation, which Godard made on television in 1981: "Moses is my principal enemy...Moses, when he received the commandments, he saw images and translated them. Then he brought the texts, he didn't show what he had seen. That's why the Jewish people are accursed."[55] Immediately after Cieply's article was published, Brody made a clear point of criticizing the "extremely selective and narrow use" of passages in his book, and noted that Godard's work has approached the Holocaust with "the greatest moral seriousness".[56] Indeed, his documentaries feature images from the Holocaust in a context suggesting he considers Nazism and the Holocaust as the nadir of human history. Godard's views become more complex regarding the State of Israel. In 1970, Godard traveled to the Middle East to make a pro-Palestinian film he didn't complete and whose footage eventually became part of the 1976 film Ici et ailleurs. In this film, Godard seems to view the Palestinian cause as one of many worldwide Leftist revolutionary movements. Elsewhere, Godard has explicitly identified himself as an anti-Zionist but has denied the accusations of anti-Semitism.[57] Godard produced several pieces that directly address the Vietnam War. Furthermore, there are two scenes in Pierrot le fou that tackle the issue. The first is a scene that takes place in the initial car ride between Ferdinand (Belmondo) and Marianne (Karina). Over the car radio, the two hear the message "garrison massacred by the Viet Cong who lost 115 men". Marianne responds with an extended musing on the way the radio dehumanizes the Northern Vietnamese combatants. In the same film, the lovers accost a group of American sailors along the course of their liberating crime spree. Their immediate reaction, expressed by Marianne, is "Damn Americans!", an obvious outlet of the frustration so many French communists felt towards American hegemony. Ferdinand then reconsiders, "That's OK, we’ll change our politics. We can put on a play. Maybe they'll give us some dollars." Marianne is puzzled, but Ferdinand suggests that something the Americans would like would be the Vietnam War. The ensuing sequence is a makeshift play where Marianne dresses up as a stereotypical Vietnamese woman and Ferdinand as an American sailor. The scene ends on a brief shot revealing a chalk message left on the floor by the pair, "Long live Mao!" (Vive Mao!). Notably, he also participated in Loin du Vietnam (1967). An anti-war project, it consists of seven sketches directed by Godard (who used stock footage from La Chinoise), Claude Lelouch, Joris Ivens, William Klein, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais and Agnès Varda. Godard's engagement with German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht stems primarily from his attempt to transpose Brecht's theory of epic theatre and its prospect of alienating the viewer (Verfremdungseffekt) through a radical separation of the elements of the medium (theatre in Brecht's case, but in Godard's, film). Brecht's influence is keenly felt through much of Godard's work, particularly before 1980, when Godard used filmic expression for specific political ends. For example, Breathless' elliptical editing, which denies the viewer a fluid narrative typical of mainstream cinema, forces the viewers to take on more critical roles, connecting the pieces themselves and coming away with more investment in the work's content.[58] Godard also employs other devices, including asynchronous sound and alarming title frames, with perhaps his favorite being the character aside. In many of his most political pieces, specifically Week-end, Pierrot le Fou, and La Chinoise, characters address the audience with thoughts, feelings, and instructions. A Marxist reading is possible with most if not all of Godard's early work. Godard's direct interaction with Marxism does not become explicitly apparent, however, until Week End, where the name Karl Marx is cited in conjunction with figures such as Jesus Christ. A constant refrain throughout Godard's cinematic period is that of the bourgeoisie's consumerism, the commodification of daily life and activity, and man's alienation—all central features of Marx's critique of capitalism. In an essay on Godard, philosopher and aesthetics scholar Jacques Rancière states, "When in Pierrot le fou, 1965, a film without a clear political message, Belmondo played on the word 'scandal' and the 'freedom' that the Scandal girdle supposedly offered women, the context of a Marxist critique of commodification, of pop art derision at consumerism, and of a feminist denunciation of women's false 'liberation', was enough to foster a dialectical reading of the joke and the whole story." The way Godard treated politics in his cinematic period was in the context of a joke, a piece of art, or a relationship, presented to be used as tools of reference, romanticizing the Marxist rhetoric, rather than being solely tools of education. Une femme mariée is also structured around Marx's concept of commodity fetishism. Godard once said that it is "a film in which individuals are considered as things, in which chases in a taxi alternate with ethological interviews, in which the spectacle of life is intermingled with its analysis". He was very conscious of the way he wished to portray the human being. His efforts are overtly characteristic of Marx, who in his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 gives one of his most nuanced elaborations, analyzing how the worker is alienated from his product, the object of his productive activity. Georges Sadoul, in his short rumination on the film, describes it as a "sociological study of the alienation of the modern woman". The period that spans from May 1968 indistinctly into the 1970s has been subject to an even larger volume of varying labeling. They include everything from his "militant" period, to his "radical" period, along with terms as specific as "Maoist" and vague as "political". The period saw Godard align himself with a specific revolution and employ a consistent revolutionary rhetoric. Amid the upheavals of the late 1960s, Godard became passionate about "making political films politically." Though many of his films from 1968 to 1972 are feature-length films, they are low-budget and challenge the notion of what a film can be. In addition to abandoning mainstream filmmaking, Godard also tried to escape the cult of personality that had formed around him. He worked anonymously in collaboration with other filmmakers, most notably Jean-Pierre Gorin, with whom he formed the Dziga-Vertov cinema collective. During this period Godard made films in England, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Palestine and America, as well as France. He and Gorin toured with their work, attempting to create discussion, mainly on college campuses. This period came to a climax with the big-budget production Tout Va Bien, which starred Yves Montand and Jane Fonda. Owing to a motorcycle accident that severely incapacitated Godard, Gorin ended up directing this most celebrated of their work together almost single-handedly. As a companion piece to Tout va bien, the pair made Letter to Jane, a 50-minute "examination of a still" showing Jane Fonda visiting with the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The film is a deconstruction of Western imperialist ideology. This was the last film that Godard and Gorin made together. In 1978 Godard was commissioned by the Mozambican government to make a short film. During this time his experience with Kodak film led him to criticize the film stock as "inherently racist" since it did not reflect the variety, nuance or complexity in dark brown or dark skin. This was because Kodak Shirley cards were only made for Caucasian subjects, a problem that was not rectified until 1995.[59] Following this important collaboration, Godard met his life partner Anne-Marie Miéville. The two set up a production company, SonImage, in Switzerland and together they made two feature films, Number Two and Comment ca va. They also produced two series for French television, Six fois deux and France/tour/détour/deux enfants. Since Godard returned to mainstream filmmaking in 1980, Anne-Marie Miéville has remained an important collaborator. After the events of May 1968, when the city of Paris saw total upheaval in response to the "authoritarian de Gaulle", and Godard's professional objective was reconsidered, he began to collaborate with like-minded individuals in the filmmaking arena. The most notable collaborator was Jean-Pierre Gorin, a Maoist student of Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Lacan (who later became professor of Film Studies at the University of California at San Diego), with a passion for cinema that attracted Godard's attention. Between 1968 and 1973, Godard and Gorin collaborated to make a total of five films with strong Maoist messages. The most prominent film from the collaboration was Tout Va Bien (1972). The film starred Jane Fonda, who was, at the time, the wife of French filmmaker Roger Vadim. Fonda was at the height of her acting career, having won an Academy Award for her performance in Klute (1971) and, had gained notoriety as left-wing anti-war activist. The male lead was the legendary French singer and actor Yves Montand, who had appeared in prestigious films by Georges Clouzot, Alain Résnais, Sascha Guitry, Vincent Minelli, George Cukor and Costa-Gavras. The small group of Maoists that Godard had brought together, which included Gorin, adopted the name Dziga Vertov Group. Godard had a specific interest in Dziga Vertov, a Soviet filmmaker—whose adopted name is derived from the verb to spin or rotate[60] and is best remembered for Man with the Movie Camera (1929) and a contemporary of both the great Soviet montage theorists, most notably Sergei Eisenstein, and Russian constructivist and avant-garde artists such as Alexander Rodchenko and Vladimir Tatlin. Part of Godard's political shift after May 1968 was toward a proactive participation in the class struggle. In 1972, Godard and Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville started the alternative video production and distribution company Sonimage, based in Grenoble.[61] Under Sonimage, Godard produced both Numéro Deux (1975) and Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1980). In 1976, Godard and Miéville, his wife,[62] collaborated on a series of innovative video works for European broadcast television, titled Six fois deux/Sur et sous la communication (1976)[63] and France/tour/détour/deux/enfants (1978). Godard returned to somewhat more traditional fiction with Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1980), the first of a series of more mainstream films marked by autobiographical currents: it was followed by Passion, Lettre à Freddy Buache (both 1982), Prénom Carmen (1984), and Grandeur et décadence d'un petit commerce de cinéma (1986). There was, though, another flurry of controversy with Je vous salue, Marie (1985), which was condemned by the Catholic Church for alleged heresy, and also with King Lear (1987), an essay on William Shakespeare and language. Also completed in 1987 was a segment in the film ARIA which was based loosely from the plot of Armide; it is set in a gym and uses several arias by Jean-Baptiste Lully from his famous Armide. His later films have been marked by great formal beauty and frequently a sense of requiem—Nouvelle Vague (New Wave, 1990), the autobiographical JLG/JLG, autoportrait de décembre (JLG/JLG: Self-Portrait in December, 1995), and For Ever Mozart (1996). Allemagne année 90 neuf zéro (Germany Year 90 Nine Zero, 1991) is a quasi-sequel to Alphaville, but done with an elegiac tone and focus on the inevitable decay of age. Between 1988 and 1998, he produced the multi-part series Histoire(s) du cinéma, a monumental project which combined all the innovations of his video work with a passionate engagement in the issues of twentieth-century history and the history of film itself. In 2001, Éloge de l'amour (In Praise of Love) was released. The film is notable for its use of both film and video—the first half captured in 35 mm black and white, the latter half shot in color on DV—and subsequently transferred to film for editing. The blending of film and video recalls the statement from Sauve Qui Peut, in which the tension between film and video evokes the struggle between Cain and Abel. The film is also noted for containing themes of aging, love, separation, and rediscovery as it follows the young artist Edgar in his contemplation of a new work on the four stages of love. In Notre musique (2004), Godard turned his focus to war, specifically, the war in Sarajevo, but with attention to all war, including the American Civil War, the war between the US and Native Americans, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The film is structured into three Dantean kingdoms: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Godard's fascination with paradox is a constant in the film. It opens with a long, ponderous montage of war images that occasionally lapses into the comic; Paradise is shown as a lush wooded beach patrolled by US Marines. Godard's film Film Socialisme (2010) premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.[64][65] It was released theatrically in France in May 2010. Godard was rumored to be considering directing a film adaptation of Daniel Mendelsohn's The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, an award-winning book about the Holocaust.[66] In 2013, Godard released the short Les trois désastres (The Three Disasters) as part of the omnibus film 3X3D with filmmakers Peter Greenaway and Edgar Pera.[67] 3X3D premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[68] His 2014 film Goodbye to Language, shot in 3-D,[69][70] revolves around a couple who cannot communicate with each other until their pet dog acts as an interpreter for them. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize.[71] In 2015 J. Hoberman reported that Godard is working on a new film.[72] Initially titled Tentative de bleu,[73] in December 2016 Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval stated that Godard had been shooting Le livre d’image (The Image Book) for almost two years "in various Arab countries, including Tunisia" and that it is an examination of the modern Arab World.[74] Le livre d’image was first shown in November 2018. On 4 December 2019, an art installation piece created by Godard opened at the Fondazione Prada in Milan. Titled Le Studio d’Orphée, the installation is a recreated workspace and includes editing equipment, furniture and other materials used by Godard in post-production.[75] Godard has been married twice, to two of his leading women: Anna Karina (1961–1965)[76] and Anne Wiazemsky (1967–1979).[77] Beginning in 1970, he collaborated personally and professionally with Anne-Marie Miéville. Godard has lived with Miéville in the municipality of Rolle since 1978,[78] being described by his ex-wife Karina as a "recluse".[79] His relationship with Karina in particular produced some of his most critically acclaimed films,[80] and their relationship was widely publicized; The Independent described them as "one of the most celebrated pairings of the 1960s".[80] A writer for Filmmaker magazine called their collaborations "arguably the most influential body of work in the history of cinema."[15] Late in life, Karina said they no longer spoke to each other.[81] In 2017, Michel Hazanavicius directed a film about Godard, Redoubtable, based on the memoir One Year After (2015) by Wiazemsky.[77] It centers on his life in the late 1960s, when he and Wiazemsky made films together. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017.[82] Godard said of the film that it was a "stupid, stupid idea".[83] Feature films Godard has had a lasting friendship with Manfred Eicher, founder and head of the innovative German music label ECM Records.[84] The label has released the soundtracks of Godard's Nouvelle Vague (ECM NewSeries 1600-01) and Histoire(s) du cinéma (ECM NewSeries 1706). This collaboration has expanded over the years, leading to Godard's granting ECM permission to use stills from his films for album covers,[85] while Eicher took over the musical direction of Godard films such as Allemagne 90 neuf zéro, Hélas Pour Moi, JLG, and For Ever Mozart. Tracks from ECM records have been used in his films; for example, the soundtrack for In Praise of Love uses Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling's album Epigraphs extensively. Godard also released on the label a collection of shorts he made with Anne-Marie Miéville called Four Short Films (ECM 5001).[86] Among the ECM album covers with Godard's film stills are these:[87]

RCD Mallorca

Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (Spanish: [reˈal ˈkluβ ðepoɾˈtiβo maˈʎoɾka], Catalan: Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca [rəˈjal ˈklub dəpuɾˈtiw məˈʎɔɾkə], Royal Sporting Club Mallorca), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish football club based in Palma on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916 they currently play in the Segunda División, holding home games at the Visit Mallorca Stadium with a 23,142-seat capacity. The club had its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reaching a best-ever 3rd place in La Liga in 1999 and 2001 and winning the Copa del Rey in 2003 following final defeats in 1991 and 1998. Mallorca also won the 1998 Supercopa de España and reached the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final. Mallorca traditionally play in red shirts with black shorts and socks. Founded on the 5 March 1916, what would later become RCD Mallorca was registered at the Spanish Football Federation under the name of Alfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club. Weeks after its establishment, the club wasted little time forming the directors of Alfonso XIII FBC, headed by engineer Adolfo Vázquez Humasqué and eight other football fans. Their first stadium, the Buenos Aires field, was ignagurated with a competitive fixture against FC Barcelona just 20 days after registering further fast-tracked development. Despite the fixture ending in a disappointing 8-0 defeat, it was not long before King Alfonso XIII himself requested the royal adoption of ‘Real’ in the team's title, therefore becoming Real Sociedad Alfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club.In 1917, the Catalan Federation granted Real Sociedad Alfonso XIII admission into the second tier league championship as an unofficial champion of the Balearic Islands. Booking a place in the final, Los Bermellones went on to record their first title with a resounding 3-1 victory over Futbol Club Palafrugell, in Barcelona. Until the 1930s, the board of directors managed to organise fixtures against peninsular clubs such as RCD Espanyol and Real Murcia, while also hosting rare exhibitions against foreign sides including: Ajax in 1923, Uruguay’s national team in 1925, Chilean outfit Colo-Colo in 1927 and one of the Czech Republic’s oldest teams, Prague Meteor, in 1930. In 1931, following the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic which prohibited any form of reference to monarchy, the club was renamed to Club Deportivo Mallorca. Although major fixtures and competitions across Spain were soon interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936, the squad enjoyed a highly successful spell by winning every possible championship they entered into, as football on the island remained resistant to the deferral experienced throughout the country. When the war finally ended, matches with teams from the Peninsula were quick to resume and the Second Division was inaugurated, based on five groups of eight teams each. It was during a period in the Second Division that, on 22 September 1945, the time had come to wave goodbye to Buenos Aires Field and up sticks to Es Fortí, a 16,000-maximum capacity stadium which would be called home for over half a century and undergo several expansions. A line-up featuring forward Sebastián Pocoví, defender Saturnino Grech and goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets beat Jerez 3-0 on the opening game of the new campaign the following day, with Carlos Sanz scoring Es Fortí’s first goal in front of packed-out terraces. The title Es Fortí was short-lived however, with the board later changing the name of the stadium to Lluís Sitjar, in honour of the man who had driven the construction of the field. During the 1949-1950 season, the Balearic club recovered their “Real” title, becoming Real Club Deportivo Mallorca In 1990–91, Mallorca reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time, losing by one goal to Atlético Madrid.[1] Argentine Héctor Cúper was hired as manager in 1997. In his first season, the club reached the 1998 Copa del Rey Final, and lost on penalties to FC Barcelona after a 1–1 draw in Mestalla. However, as Barcelona also won the league, Mallorca were their opponents in the 1998 Supercopa de España and won 3–1 on aggregate for their first major honour.[2] Barcelona's double also meant Mallorca entered the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the final staging of the tournament – they lost the final 2–1 to Italy's S.S. Lazio at Villa Park.[3] In 1999, Mallorca also finished a best-ever 3rd and qualified for the first time to the UEFA Champions League, but were eliminated on the away goals rule by Molde FK of Norway before the group stage. Luis Aragonés matched 3rd place in 2001, before leaving for an Atlético Madrid still in the second tier.[4] On 28 June 2003, Mallorca won the Copa del Rey with a 3–0 win over Recreativo de Huelva in the final in Elche; the goals were scored by Walter Pandiani and Samuel Eto'o (two).[5] Mallorca was relegated from La Liga on the last day of the 2012–13 season.[6] In January 2016, with the team at risk from relegation to the third tier, American investor Robert Sarver and former NBA player Steve Nash bought the club for just over €20 million.[7] On 4 June 2017, Mallorca fell into the third tier for the first time since 1981, with one game of the season still to play.[8] A year later, they bounced back in the 2017–18 season after winning the play-off final against CF Rayo Majadahonda, under new manager Vicente Moreno.[9] In June 2019, Mallorca secured a second consecutive promotion to the 2019–20 La Liga, following a 3–2 win on aggregate over Deportivo de La Coruña in the 2019 Segunda División play-offs – having lost the first game 2–0.[10] However, they were relegated a year later.[11] As per the club's official website: [1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Head coach: Luís García President: Andy Kohlberg Chief Executive Officer: Maheta Molango Board of Directors Member: Robert Sarver Board of Directors Member: Steve Nash Board of Directors Member: Graeme Le Saux Board of Directors Member: Utz Claassen Honorary Secretary: Rosemary Mafuz Luís García Real Sociedad Alfonso XIII Football Club Club Deportivo Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca The following players have been selected by their country in the World Cup Finals, while playing for Mallorca.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing sponsorship liveries

Grand Prix motorcycle racing sponsorship liveries have been used since the late 1960s, replacing the previously used national colours. With sponsors becoming more important with the rising costs in the motorcycle CC classes, many teams wanted to be able to display the logos of their sponsors as clearly as possible. The liveries are usually changed for every season in the sport, marking the marketing ideas of the sponsors. Some teams keep some consistency over the years however, like the red colour of Ducati, which has its origin in a shade of red known as rosso corsa being the national racing colour of Italy. Tobacco and alcohol advertising was common in motorsport, however as bans spread throughout the world teams used an alternate livery which alluded to the tobacco or alcohol sponsor, or entirely eliminated their name when in nations with a ban – this is now only seen on Ducati's Marlboro sponsored vehicles – where the sponsor is technically banned from advertising in all host nations. At historical events, bikes are allowed to use the livery which was used when the bike was actively competing. Ángel Nieto Team (formerly Aspar Racing Team) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing team from Spain, currently competing in the MotoGP and Moto3 World Championships. In the 2010 season the Aspar team entered the MotoGP class with Héctor Barberá, who finished in twelfth place aboard a Ducati Desmosedici GP10. Simón finished in second place in the inaugural Moto2 campaign, with teammate Mike Di Meglio finishing in twentieth place. Both riders started the season on Honda-powered RSV Motors frames, switching to a Suter chassis after two races. Nicolás Terol finished in second place in the 125cc class while his teammate Bradley Smith finished fourth, both riding Aprilia RSA 125 motorcycles. Barberá remained with the team for 2011, recording a best result of 6th at the Spanish Grand Prix. The team expanded to two bikes in 2012, switching from Ducati to ART. Aleix Espargaró and Randy de Puniet dominated the recently created CRT (Claiming Rule Teams) class for two straight years. In 2014, Aspar entered two Honda bikes, after hiring former World Champion Nicky Hayden to partner Hiroshi Aoyama. The duo scored points regularly, but Espargaró claimed a 3rd straight title in the CRT class with Forward Racing. Irishman Eugene Laverty joined the team in 2015, the last year for Hayden in the World Championship before switching to the Superbike World Championship. Before the 2018 season began, the team changed their name from Aspar Racing Team to Ángel Nieto Team, as a tribute by former team principal Jorge Fernandez to his former compatriot Ángel Nieto. The team also announced Ángel's son Gelete as the new team principal. Héctor Barberá riding the Aspar Ducati GP10 at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix. Héctor Barberá riding the Aspar Ducati GP11 at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. Despite being a relatively small company by global motorcycling standards, Aprilia is very active in motorcycle sports. It contested many Road Racing formulae, including the now-defunct 125, 250 and 500cc Grand Prix classes of the FIM World Championship. From 2002 to 2004 they participated in the FIM MotoGP World Championship, and from 1999 to 2002 they participated in the FIM Superbike World Championship. Aprilia has returned to World Superbike since the 2009 season and in MotoGP since the 2012 season. Aprilia made their international racing debut in the Motocross World Championship competing in the 125cc class from 1976 until 1981 with a best result being a fifth place in the 1979 season with rider Corrado Maddi. The firm then focused on the Grand Prix road racing world championships in 1985 and since then it has seen varying successes. Aprilia won their first world championship race at the 1991 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix with rider Alessandro Gramigni winning the 125cc race. In 1992 they won their first road racing world championship with Gramigni winning the 125cc class. They continued to be successful in the smaller displacement categories, winning numerous races and championships in the 125 and 250cc Grand Prix classes. However, their 500 cc Grand Prix bikes failed to attain the same success. They began campaigning in the 500cc class in 1994 with a 250 V twin motor enlarged to 380cc in hopes of using its lighter weight and nimble handling as an advantage against the heavier, V4 engine bikes used by the competition. The bike eventually displaced 430cc and had its best result with a third place by rider Doriano Romboni at the 1997 Dutch TT but, could never overcome power disadvantage during the starting line sprint and was withdrawn at the end of the 1997 season for further development. Their first MotoGP effort, dubbed the Aprilia RS Cube, was technically advanced but difficult to ride and performed poorly in the championship. The Cube did, however, pioneer many advanced technologies including ride by wire throttle and pneumatic valve actuation systems. Aprilia left the MotoGP class at the end of 2004 and then left the lower classes when two-stroke engines were banned. Aprilia set the record for the most points earned by a manufacturer in a single season from the 125cc class with 410 points in 2007. It was also the highest points earned by a constructor in Grand Prix motorcycle racing's history until 2011 when 420 points were won by the same bikes winning 16 out of 17 races. Aprilia rejoined the MotoGP class in 2012, taking advantage of the newly introduced Claiming Rule Team category that encouraged independent teams with lower budgets to use bikes from manufacturers not officially involved in MotoGP. Aprilia supplied RSV4 SBK-derived bikes under the ART (Aprilia Racing Technology) name to Aspar, Paul Bird Motorsport and Speed Master teams. In both the 2012 and 2013 seasons Aprilia's ART machinery stood out as the best CRT bikes. For 2015 Aprilia returned to the world championship with a factory effort. Doriano Romboni, riding his Aprilia RSW-2 500 in the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix. Noriyuki Haga, riding his Aprilia RS Cube in the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix. Marco Melandri on his Aprilia RS-GP during the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix. Avintia Racing is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship. In 2012 the team changed its name to Avintia Racing, following an alliance between BQR and the Grupo Avintia. The team debuted in the MotoGP class as a Claiming Rule Team using both FTR Moto and Inmotec frames badged as BQR, powered by Kawasaki engines. The riders were Iván Silva and Yonny Hernández. In 2013 Avintia entered the MotoGP class with Kawasaki-engined FTR frames, fielding two bikes for Hiroshi Aoyama and Héctor Barberá. For the 2014 season Aoyama was replaced by Mike Di Meglio and the team fielded a new bike badged as the Avintia GP14, reportedly based on the 2007-2009 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR with some input from Kawasaki. Following a mid-season agreement between Avintia and Ducati, Barberá received an Open-specification Ducati Desmosedici for the last five rounds. In 2015 the team entered two Open class Desmosedici GP14 motorcycles, for Barberá and Di Meglio. For 2016 Di Meglio was replaced by Loris Baz. In 2017 the team changed its name to Reale Esponsorama Racing. Mike Di Meglio, riding his Ducati Avintia at the 2014 French Grand Prix. The Ducati Avintia, ridden by Héctor Barberá in the 2015 season on display. The 2015 Ducati Avintia of Héctor Barberá from another angle. At the end of the 1970s, Cagiva began campaigning the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit. Randy Mamola was its lead rider from 1988 to 1990, and he achieved Cagiva’s first podium result. The company would also have some technical assistance from Yamaha. In 1991 it signed former world champion Eddie Lawson to its team. Lawson would claim the company's first victory when he won the 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix. John Kocinski would also win a Grand Prix on a Cagiva GP500 (C594), finishing third in the 1994 world championship. While Kocinski had the best results to date on the Cagiva in 1994, the company withdrew at the end of the season. The bike made one appearance in 1995 at the Italian Grand Prix, where Pierfrancesco Chili finished 10th. Overall, the Cagiva team had achieved 3 victories, 11 podiums, 6 pole position and 3 fastest laps in the 500cc. The 1984 Cagiva GP500 (Cagiva 4C3) motorcycle at the 2013 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, which ridden by Marco Lucchinelli and Herve Moineau on display. The Cagiva C10V motorcycle, which was ridden by Marco Lucchinelli in the 1985 championship. Randy Mamola, riding his Cagiva C589 at the 1989 Japanese GP. Doug Chandler riding his Cagiva C593 at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. The Cagiva C594, which was ridden by John Kocinski and Doug Chandler in the 1994 championship. Kocinski finished third in the championship, and it was the final bike created before Cagiva pulled out of the 500cc. When the MotoGP technical rules changed in the 2002 season, giving priority to four-stroke machinery, Ducati decided to enter Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Ducati's first MotoGP motorcycle was unveiled at the 2002 Italian GP at Mugello, for use in the 2003 MotoGP championship. Ducati began taking part in the MotoGP Championship in the 2003 season and won one title in the 2007 season. Ducati has collected 40 wins: 23 by Casey Stoner, 8 by Andrea Dovizioso 7 by Loris Capirossi and 1 each by Troy Bayliss and Andrea Iannone. The Ducati Desmosedici GP4, ridden by Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi in 2004 on display. Loris Capirossi riding his Ducati Desmosedici GP5 in 2005 with an alternative red & black "barcode" livery. Loris Capirossi on the 2007 Ducati Desmosedici GP7. Since 2005, many countries forbid specific tobacco advertising, but races like Qatar and China did not have any anti-tobacco legislation until 2010. Casey Stoner's 2008 Ducati Desmosedici GP8. Casey Stoner's 2008 Ducati Desmosedici GP8 with the alternative "barcode" livery. Casey Stoner, riding his 2010 Ducati Desmosedici GP10 in Philip Island, Australia. Note that the alternative "barcode" livery has been removed completely. The Ducati Desmosedici GP11, ridden by Valentino Rossi in the 2011 season on display. Nicky Hayden on his Ducati Desmosedici GP13, qualifying for the 2013 German Grand Prix. Andrea Dovizioso riding the 2016 Ducati Desmosedici GP16 in France. Note the unusual "aeroplane" winglets. Jorge Lorenzo riding his 2017 Ducati Desmosedici GP17 in Qatar. Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is a division of the Honda Motor Company formed in 1982. The company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high potential racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of leading edge technologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC also contributes to the advancement of motorcycle sports through a range of activities that include sales of production racing motorcycles, support for satellite teams, and rider education programs. In 1979, Honda returned to Grand Prix motorcycle racing with the monocoque-framed, four-stroke NR500. The FIM rules limited engines to four cylinders, so the NR500 had non-circular, 'race-track', cylinders, each with 8 valves and two connecting rods, in order to provide sufficient valve area to compete with the dominant two-stroke racers. Unfortunately, it seemed Honda tried to accomplish too much at one time and the experiment failed. For the 1982 season, Honda debuted their first two-stroke race bike, the NS500 and in 1983, Honda won their first 500 cc Grand Prix World Championship with Freddie Spencer. Since then, Honda has become a dominant marque in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, winning a plethora of top level titles with riders such as Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi. The Honda NS500, ridden by Freddie Spencer in the 1982 season on display. The Honda NS500, ridden by Freddie Spencer in the 1983 season on display. The Honda NSR500, ridden by Freddie Spencer in the 1984 season on display. The Rothmans Honda NSR500, ridden by Freddie Spencer in the 1985 season on display. The Rothmans Honda NSR500, ridden by Wayne Gardner in the 1987 season on display. The Rothmans Honda NSR500, ridden by Wayne Gardner in the 1988 season on display. The Rothmans Honda NSR500, ridden by Eddie Lawson in the 1989 season on display. Eddie Lawson, riding his 1989 Rothmans Honda. Notice the replacement of the "Rothmans" logo's. Mick Doohan, riding his Rothmans Honda NSR500 at the 1990 U.S. Grand Prix. The Rothmans Honda NSR500, ridden by Wayne Gardner in the 1992 season on display. The Rothmans Honda NSR500, ridden by Mick Doohan in the 1993 season on display. Shinichi Itoh riding his Rothmans Honda NSR500 at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. The Repsol Honda NSR500, ridden by Mick Doohan in the 1995 season on display. Àlex Crivillé riding his Repsol Honda NSR500 at the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix. The Repsol Honda NSR500, ridden by Mick Doohan in the 1997 season on display. The Repsol Honda NSR500, ridden by Sete Gibernau in the 1999 season on display. The Repsol Honda RC211V, ridden by Valentino Rossi in the 2003 season on display with a special livery. The Repsol Honda RC211V, ridden by Max Biaggi in the 2005 season on display. Dani Pedrosa riding his Repsol Honda RC211V at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix. The Repsol Honda RC211V, ridden by Nicky Hayden in the 2006 season on display. The Repsol Honda RC212V, ridden by Dani Pedrosa in the 2007 season on display. Andrea Dovizioso riding his Repsol Honda RC212V at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. Casey Stoner riding his Repsol Honda RC212V at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. Dani Pedrosa riding his Repsol Honda RC213V at the 2012 Italian Grand Prix. Marc Márquez riding his Repsol Honda RC213V at the 2014 French Grand Prix. Dani Pedrosa, lining up at the starting grid with his Repsol Honda RC213V at the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi, Marc Márquez and Maverick Viñales racing at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix. Marc Márquez riding his Repsol Honda RC213V at the 2017 Qatar Grand Prix. Kawasaki returned after an absence of 20 years at the 2002 Pacific motorcycle Grand Prix. Kawasaki, with their four-stroke Ninja ZX-RR, raced as wildcards in the last four races of the season as a preparation before entering the championship full-time in the following season. In 2004, Shinya Nakano joined the team and managed to get the ZX-RR's first podium with a third place at the Japanese Grand Prix. In 2005, Olivier Jacque scored a second place at the Chinese Grand Prix. The next year Nakano finished second at the Dutch TT. In 2007, Randy de Puniet scored a second place at the Japanese Grand Prix. In 2008 John Hopkins and Anthony West rode the machine. The ZX-RR struggled in 2008, with the best results being two fifth-place finishes from John Hopkins in Portugal and Anthony West in Brno. Hopkins and West blamed both a lack of feeling in the front end and rear traction on corner exit. Previous ZX-RRs have been difficult to ride, but beyond the limited statements by the riders it is unclear what the problems with the 2008 bike were. In August 2008, Kawasaki signed Marco Melandri to join John Hopkins for the 2009 season. However, the global financial crisis of 2008 caused Kawasaki to reconsider its MotoGP program, and the Italian sports daily Tuttosport reported on December 30 that Kawasaki would be pulling out of MotoGP for 2009. On January 9, 2009, Kawasaki announced it had decided to "... suspend its MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season onward and reallocate management resources more efficiently". The company stated that it will continue racing activities using mass-produced motorcycles as well as supporting general race oriented consumers. The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR, ridden by Shinya Nakano, Olivier Jacque and Alex Hofmann in the 2005 season on display. A frontal view of the 2005 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR. Randy de Puniet, riding his 2006 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR. The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR, ridden by Randy de Puniet, Anthony West, Olivier Jacque, Fonsi Nieto (1 race) and Akira Yanagawa (1 race) in the 2007 season on display. Anthony West, riding his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. KTM AG (the former KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle and sports car manufacturer owned by KTM Industries AG and Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces its foundation to as early as 1934. Today, KTM AG is the parent company of the KTM Group. In 2003, KTM started sponsoring and supporting Road racing in various capacities, with the most successful results stemming from their Supermoto efforts. From 2003 to 2009, a KTM factory team competed in the 125cc class of the motorcycle Grand Prix, and between 2005 and 2008 in the 250cc class. Notable successes in the 125 cc class were the second and third place in the overall ranking scored in 2005 by KTM riders Mika Kallio and Gábor Talmácsi, the second place in 2006 by Mika Kallio, the third place in 2007 by Tomoyoshi Koyama and the 2005 KTM victory in the 125 cc constructor championship. In the 250 cc class, Mika Kallio won third place in 2008. Since the first Rookies Cup season in 2007, KTM has supplied the bike for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. In 2009, KTM announced their withdrawal from Grand Prix motorcycle racing in all classes, and did not return until 2012 in the new Moto3 class. In 2012, KTM won the Moto3 manufacturers' championship. During the next season, KTM riders prevailed in every race of the Moto3 class and won the world title as well as second and third place, making KTM the obvious victor of the manufacturers' standing. KTM won the manufacturer title in the 2014 and 2016 as well as the world title in 2016 in the Moto3 class. Starting in 2017, KTM fields bikes in both MotoGP and Moto2 classes as well. The main class team features Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaró as full-season riders, and Mika Kallio as wildcard rider. The Moto2 KTM Ajo team features Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder. The Red Bull KTM RC16, ridden by Mika Kallio in the 2016 Valencia Grand Prix. Marc VDS Racing Team is a Belgian motorcycle racing team founded by Marc van der Straten, although it is composed of several smaller teams all operating under the Marc VDS banner. The team currently competes in two disciplines of motorsport: motorcycle racing in the MotoGP World Championship and the Moto2 World Championship, and rallying in various rally raid events. It has also formerly competed in many auto racing championships, such as the Blancpain Endurance Series and the European Le Mans Series. Pramac Racing is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship. The team was created in 2002 by Italian company Pramac. In 2005 Pramac Racing joined forces with d'Antin MotoGP to form Pramac d'Antin and in 2007 the team became part of the Pramac Group. After d'Antin left the team in 2008, the team became known as Pramac Racing. Sylvain Guintoli, riding his Alice Ducati Pramac in the 2008 United States Grand Prix. Niccolò Canepa, riding his Ducati Pramac in the 2009 Italian Grand Prix. Mika Kallio, riding his Ducati Pramac in the 2010 British Grand Prix. Randy de Puniet, riding his Ducati Pramac in the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. Andrea Iannone, riding his Energy T.I. Ducati Pramac in the 2013 British Grand Prix. Suzuki MotoGP is the official factory-backed team of Suzuki in the MotoGP World Championship. Suzuki first entered a works team in the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship in 1974 with riders Barry Sheene and Findlay riding the Suzuki RG500. A second-place finish by Sheene in the opening round was the best result of the season. The team's first victory came in 1975, a pole-to-finish win by Barry Sheene at the Dutch TT. Sheene finished the season 6th overall with two wins. Barry Sheene won the riders' championship in 1976 with a total of five wins. Sheene's second 500cc riders' championship came in 1977 with six wins. Teammate Steve Parrish was fifth. Marco Lucchinelli became the 500cc World Champion in 1981, riding the new Suzuki RG 500 gamma for the Roberto Gallina racing team. Lucchinelli left Suzuki to join Honda in 1982. He was replaced on the Gallina team by Franco Uncini who went on to win the World Championship with five wins. Uncini was severely injured at the Dutch TT at Assen in 1983 and was unable to defend his title. Suzuki withdrew factory support at the end of the season. After three years away Suzuki returned in 1987 with factory supported entries. While not a full-time return, riders Takumi Itoh and Kevin Schwantz had some good results aboard the new Suzuki RGV500. Suzuki made a full return to racing in 1988 with Schwantz finishing 8th overall with two wins whilst teammate Rob McElnea finished the season in 10th place. With a total of six wins, Schwantz was ranked fourth for the 1989 season. Schwantz won his long-awaited first World Championship in 1993 with four race wins. His new teammate Alex Barros also scored a win and finished 6th overall. Kenny Roberts Jr. became World Champion in 2000 with a total of four victories, while Nobuatsu Aoki was 10th overall. For the 2011 season, the team fielded only one GSV-R for Álvaro Bautista with no replacement for Loris Capirossi, who moved to the Pramac Racing team. At the end of 2011 Suzuki pulled out of MotoGP citing the need to reduce costs amid the global economic downturn. On 30 September 2014 Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that it would participate in MotoGP from 2015, with Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales as their two riders. They raced a newly developed MotoGP machine, the GSX-RR, with a restructured team organisation led by Davide Brivio. Kevin Schwantz riding his Lucky Strike Suzuki RGV500 at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. The Telefónica Movistar Suzuki RGV500, ridden by Kenny Roberts Jr. in the 2000 season on display. The Telefónica Movistar Suzuki RGV500, ridden by Kenny Roberts Jr. in the 2001 season on display. The Telefónica Movistar Suzuki GSV-R, ridden by Kenny Roberts Jr. in the 2002 season on display. The Suzuki GSV-R, ridden by Kenny Roberts Jr. in the 2003 season on display. Kenny Roberts Jr. riding his Suzuki GSV-R at the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix. Chris Vermeulen riding his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix. The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R, ridden by Chris Vermeulen in the 2007 season on display. John Hopkins, riding his 2007 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. The Rizla logos have been removed to comply with the anti-tobacco laws set in place in most countries at the time. The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R, ridden by Loris Capirossi in the 2009 season on display. Loris Capirossi riding his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R at the 2010 Dutch TT in Assen. The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R, ridden by Álvaro Bautista in the 2011 season on display. The Rizla logo's have been removed and replaced with the rider's number. Álvaro Bautista, riding his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. The Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR, ridden by Maverick Viñales in the 2015 season on display. Aleix Espargaró on his Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR during the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix. The Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR, ridden by Maverick Viñales in the 2016 season on display. The Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR, ridden by Andrea Iannone in the 2017 season on display. Team LCR is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name LCR Honda. The team was founded in 1996 by Italian rider Lucio Cecchinello. In 2015, they were represented by British rider Cal Crutchlow on a factory-specification Honda RC213V bike, and Australian rookie Jack Miller, riding an open-specification Honda RC213V-RS. However, the team downgraded to a single bike for Crutchlow in 2016, as Miller moved to the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Team. Casey Stoner riding his LCR Honda at the 2006 Czech Grand Prix. The Honda LCR, ridden by Randy de Puniet in the 2008 season on display. Randy de Puniet riding theLCR Honda at the 2010 Aragón Grand Prix. Toni Elías riding his Honda LCR at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. Stefan Bradl riding the LCR Honda at the 2013 Italian Grand Prix. Note the Linear Assicurazioni livery used. Cal Crutchlow on his LCR Honda at the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix. Jack Miller on his LCR Honda at the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix. Tech 3 is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and in the Moto2 World Championship under the name Tech 3 Moto2. Tech 3 functions as a junior team to the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team, with the aim of developing the skills of promising riders for the senior team. The team was founded by ex-racer Hervé Poncharal, engineer Guy Coulon and Bernard Martignac and started racing in 1990 in the 250 cc class, using Honda and Suzuki motorcycles. In 1999, the team partnered with Yamaha for the factory team and in 2000 their riders, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano, placed first and second in the 250 world championship. In 2001 the team moved the whole operation to the premier class, again with Yamaha, Jacque and Nakano on the YZR500,"MotoGP – Tech 3 Yamaha". though their status changed to that of satellite team through to the present. Towards the end of the 2002 season, the team was given use of the YZR-M1. In 2006 and 2007 the team used Dunlop tyres, but returned to Michelin in 2008. In the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, the two-time and reigning Superbike World Champion James Toseland partnered with the two-time Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards. For 2010, Ben Spies replaced Toseland. Spies finished the season in sixth place while Edwards finished in eleventh place. In the new Moto2 category, Tech 3 rider Yuki Takahashi finished the season in twelfth place while Raffaele De Rosa finished 27th, aboard Honda-powered bikes using a Tech 3 chassis. For 2011, Spies moved to the factory Yamaha team, and was being replaced by Cal Crutchlow; the team again retained Colin Edwards for a fourth season. For 2012, Crutchlow moves into the second year of his two-year deal, while Edwards announced that he was leaving for the Forward Racing team with Andrea Dovizioso having been confirmed as his replacement. Bradley Smith signed a deal to ride for the team in MotoGP in 2013 and 2014. The Fortuna Yamaha Tech 3, ridden by Marco Melandri in the 2004 season on display. Rubén Xaus, riding the Fortuna Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2005 British Grand Prix. Notice the replacement of the "Fortuna" logo's. Carlos Checa, riding the 2006 Yamaha Tech 3. James Toseland, riding the Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2008 tests in Jerez, Spain. Colin Edwards, riding a "USA" liveried Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2008 Indianapolis Grand Prix. Colin Edwards, riding the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2009 Dutch TT in Assen. Ben Spies, riding the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix. Cal Crutchlow, riding the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix. Cal Crutchlow on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2013 French Grand Prix. Pol Espargaró, riding the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 at the 2014 French Grand Prix. Yamaha Motor Racing or Yamaha Factory Racing is the official Italian-Japanese factory team of Yamaha in MotoGP. In motorcycle racing Yamaha has won 39 world championships, including 6 in MotoGP and 9 in the preceding 500 cc two-stroke class, and 1 in World Superbike. In addition Yamaha have recorded 208 victories at the Isle of Man TT and head the list of victories at the Sidecar TT with 40. Past Yamaha riders include: Giacomo Agostini, Bob Hannah, Heikki Mikkola, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Jeremy McGrath, Stefan Merriman, Dave Molyneux, Ian Hutchinson, Phil Read, Chad Reed, Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo. Their current lineup consists of nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales. The Marlboro Yamaha YZR500, ridden by Wayne Rainey in the 1992 season on display. Wayne Rainey, riding his Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 at the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix. Luca Cadalora, riding his Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. The Marlboro Yamaha YZR500, ridden by Norifumi Abe in the 1995 season on display. Norifumi Abe, riding his Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 at the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix. The Marlboro Yamaha YZR500, ridden by Max Biaggi in the 2001 season on display. The Marlboro Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Max Biaggi in the 2002 season on display. The Marlboro logo's have been removed on this bike. The Fortuna Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Carlos Checa in the 2003 season on display. The Gauloises Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Valentino Rossi in the 2004 season on display. Valentino Rossi riding his 2005 Gauloises Yamaha YZR-M1. Valentino Rossi riding his 2006 Camel Yamaha YZR-M1. The Camel Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Valentino Rossi in the 2006 season on display. The Camel names and logo's have been changed with "Team" and a motorcycle. The FIAT Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Colin Edwards in the 2007 season on display. The "Abarth" version of the 2007 FIAT Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. The FIAT Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Valentino Rossi in the 2008 season on display. Valentino Rossi riding his FIAT Yamaha YZR-M1 at the 2009 Indianapolis Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, riding their FIAT Yamaha YZR-M1's at the 2010 French Grand Prix. The Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Jorge Lorenzo in the 2011 season on display. Ben Spies, riding his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. The Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Jorge Lorenzo in the 2012 season on display. Valentino Rossi riding his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the 2013 French Grand Prix. The Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Jorge Lorenzo in the 2014 season on display. The Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1, ridden by Valentino Rossi in the 2015 season on display. Valentino Rossi, riding his Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1 at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi, riding his Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1 at the 2017 Qatar Grand Prix.

Jupp Heynckes

Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (German: [ˈjʊp ˈhaɪnkəs]; born 9 May 1945) is a German retired professional footballer and manager. As a player, he spent the majority of his career as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, where he won many national championships and the DFB-Pokal, as well as the UEFA Cup. During this period the team played in its only European Cup final in 1977, losing to Liverpool. He is the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Bundesliga, with 220 goals. He was a member of the West Germany national team that won the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup in the first half of the 1970s. As manager, Heynckes won four Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and two UEFA Champions Leagues; with Real Madrid in 1997–98 and Bayern in 2012–13. Heynckes played 369 matches in the German Bundesliga, scoring 220 goals.[1] His tally is the third highest in this league, after Gerd Müller's 365 goals and Klaus Fischer's 268.[2] After playing for amateur club Grün-Weiß Holt as a youth,[3] Heynckes started his professional career in 1964 with his hometown club Borussia Mönchengladbach[2] who were then in the second division. In 1965, the club, managed by Hennes Weisweiler, achieved promotion to the Bundesliga,[4] with the teenaged striker scoring 23 goals in 25 matches in his debut season.[2] In August 1965, Heynckes scored his first two Bundesliga goals against SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin.[2] He scored 27 Bundesliga goals in two seasons for Borussia[5] before joining Hannover 96, where he spent three years and scored 25 times in 86 league matches.[5] He returned to Mönchengladbach in 1970, with the club having just won the first league title in its history.[4] With Heynckes, who scored 19 times in 33 matches, Gladbach became the first club to retain the Bundesliga title in 1970–71.[4] In the 1971–72 European Cup, Heynckes scored twice in an extraordinary 7–1 win against Italian champions Inter Milan.[6] The match, however, was forced to be replayed after a drinks can had been thrown onto the pitch by a spectator, hitting Inter's Roberto Boninsegna. Borussia drew the replayed home leg 0–0 and were eliminated 4–2 on aggregate.[7] In 1973, after eliminating Dutch club Twente 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, Borussia Mönchengladbach became the first German side to reach the final of the UEFA Cup.[4] Borussia lost the away leg of the final against Liverpool 3–0 at Anfield, after the match initially had to be abandoned after 27 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch. During the match, Heynckes had a penalty kick saved by Ray Clemence, denying his side a decisive away goal.[8] In the return leg, Heynckes scored both goals in Gladbach's 2–0 win. The English team, however, prevailed 3–2 on aggregate to lift the trophy. With 12 goals, Heynckes was joint top scorer of the competition with Twente's Jan Jeuring. Despite disappointment in Europe, Gladbach ended the 1973–74 season with success in the DFB-Pokal final, beating 1. FC Köln at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf.[4] In the 1973–74 season, Heynckes was joint top goalscorer in the Bundesliga, alongside Gerd Müller, with 30 goals. His Mönchengladbach side finished second in the table, with Müller's Bayern Munich winning a record third consecutive Bundesliga title.[9] Heynckes was also the top scorer of the 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup with eight goals. In this competition, Borussia Mönchengladbach were knocked out in the semi-finals by Milan, losing 2–1 on aggregate. In 1974–75, die Fohlen won their third Bundesliga title, with Heynckes finishing as the league's outright top goalscorer with 27 goals. The club also won its first European trophy with success in the UEFA Cup. After a 0–0 draw in the home leg of the final against Twente, Heynckes, who missed the home match, scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 away win in Enschede. This victory made Gladbach the first German winners of the UEFA Cup. Again, Heynckes was tournament top scorer, this time with ten goals. Altogether, Heynckes scored 23 goals in 21 games in the UEFA Cup, making him the ninth-highest goalscorer in the history of the competition, and the only member of the top ten to have scored at a ratio of over a goal per game. After regaining the title, Weisweiler left Borussia to become manager of Barcelona. He was replaced by Udo Lattek, under whom Heynckes would later begin his coaching career. Borussia Mönchengladbach went on to win the 1975–76 and 1976–77 Bundesliga titles, matching Bayern's feat of three titles in a row set earlier in the decade. In 1977, Borussia also reached its first European Cup final. In the previous season's competition, Heynckes had been top scorer with six goals. In 1976–77 European Cup, he was less prolific, scoring only one goal in the first round match against Austria Wien. In the final, Gladbach again lost out to Liverpool, losing 3–1 at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Heynckes scored 18 goals in the 1977–78 Bundesliga season, including five in the record[4] 12–0 win against Borussia Dortmund on the final day of the season.[10] However, this was not enough to secure a fourth successive title, as 1. FC Köln won their final match against FC St. Pauli 5–0 to take first place on goal difference.[6] Heynckes scored four goals in the 1977–78 European Cup as the team reached the semi-finals, where they were again defeated by Liverpool. Altogether, Heynckes scored 51 goals in 64 matches in European club competitions.[11] His average of 0.8 goals per match is only bettered by compatriot Gerd Müller, who achieved an average of 0.89 goals per match. Heynckes ended his playing career in 1978[12] and began studying for his coaching licence at the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln.[2] During his club career, he won four Bundesliga titles, one DFB-Pokal and one UEFA Cup. He is the third-highest goalscorer in Bundesliga history and Borussia Mönchengladbach's top goalscorer in the competition with 195 goals.[13] Heynckes made 39 appearances for the West Germany national team and scored 14 goals.[14] In February 1967, he made his international debut at age 21, scoring in a 5–1 friendly win against Morocco.[15] Heynckes was a member of the West Germany team that won the 1972 UEFA European Championship, playing 90 minutes in the 3–0 win over the Soviet Union in the final. He was named by UEFA as one of seven German players in the official Team of the Tournament.[16] Heynckes was included in West Germany's squad for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which was held in West Germany. Despite his excellent form at club level, however, he spent most of the tournament on the bench as Gerd Müller, the national team's all-time top goalscorer, was used as the starting centre forward by coach Helmut Schön.[16] Heynckes was in the starting line-up for West Germany's opening two fixtures against Chile and Australia[17] but then played no further part due to injury and die Nationalelf won their second World Cup, beating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final at Munich's Olympiastadion. In 2013, Heynckes said of his experience at the 1974 World Cup, "I was in the starting lineup for the German national team competing for the World Cup, but after an injury I was sidelined for the entire final. This was the greatest disappointment of my life, but it spurred me on and became my greatest source of motivation."[18] After his playing career, Heynckes stayed with Borussia Mönchengladbach and served the club for eight more years, first as an assistant and then as a manager, succeeding Udo Lattek in this position in 1979 at age 34.[2] Heynckes took over on 1 July 1979[19] and in the 1979–80 season, Heynckes led Mönchengladbach to the 1980 UEFA Cup final, where they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt. They won the first leg 3–2 and lost the second leg 1–0.[20] in the league, Mönchengladbach finished in seventh place.[21] The 1980–81 season started with a 2–1 loss to Fortuna Düsseldorf.[22] During the 1980–81 season, Mönchengladbach defeated OSV Hannover, TuS Langerwehe, Bünder SV, and Atlas Delmenhorst to get to the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal where they lost to 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[22] Their seventh-place finish in the previous season failed to qualify them for a place in Europe.[20] Mönchengladbach finished the league season in sixth place.[23] The 1981–82 season started with a 4–2 loss to Werder Bremen on 8 August 1981.[24] Then they went on a six-match undefeated streak.[24] This included a 7–2 win against SSV Dillenburg in the DFB-Pokal.[24] Again they reached the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal.[24] This time they were knocked out by 1. FC Nürnberg.[24] They finished the league season in seventh place.[25] They were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the second round by Dundee United.[24] They had knocked out 1. FC Magdeburg in the first round.[24] Mönchengladbach finished the 1982–83 season in 12th place.[26] Under Heynckes, Mönchengladbach had finished in seventh place in 1980, sixth place in 1981 and seventh place in 1982. For the third consecutive season, Mönchengladbach was eliminated in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal.[27] In the 1983–84 season, Die Fohlen finished third in the Bundesliga, missing out on the league title to VfB Stuttgart on goal difference.[28] The team also reached the DFB-Pokal final, losing to Bayern Munich on penalties.[29] Mönchengladbach finished the 1984–85 season in fourth place.[30] They were eliminated in the second round of the UEFA Cup by Widzew Łódź and in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal by Bayern Munich.[31] Mönchengladbach finished the 1985–86 season in fourth place in the league.[32] In the third-round of the UEFA Cup, Gladbach beat Real Madrid 5–1 at the Rheinstadion.[33] However, a 4–0 loss at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the second leg saw Borussia eliminated on the away goals rule.[33] In 2013, Heynckes described it as "the worst night of my career".[34] In his final season in charge, Heynckes led Mönchengladbach to another third-place finish[35] and the UEFA Cup semi-final.[36] Despite not winning a trophy during his spell as manager of his hometown club, a record that earned him the nickname "the champion without a title",[6] he was appointed as manager of champions Bayern Munich in the summer of 1987, where he again succeeded the outgoing Udo Lattek.[2] Heynckes finished with a record of 169 wins, 77 draws and 97 losses.[19] Heynckes was manager of Bayern Munich between 1 July 1987 and 8 October 1991.[37] In his first season, Bayern won the DFB-Supercup.[38] Bayern defeated Hamburger SV 2–1.[38] During the season, Bayern went on to lose out on the league title by four points to Werder Bremen[39] and were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal[40] and the European Cup.[40] Bayern won back-to-back titles in 1988–89[41] and 1989–90[42] seasons. In the 1988–89 season, Bayern were eliminated in the round of 16 in the DFB-Pokal and the semi-final in the UEFA Cup.[43] Bayern started the 1989–90 season with a 4–3 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Supercup on 25 July 1989.[44] Then they defeated 1. FC Nürnberg 3–2 on matchday one on 29 July 1989.[45] They were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the round of 16 and they were knocked out once again in the semi-final of the European Cup.[45] This time by Milan.[45] Bayern started the 1990–91 season by defeating 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4–1 in the DFB-Supercup on 31 July 1990.[46] Then they were eliminated in the first round of the German Cup on 4 August 1990.[47] In the European Cup Bayern were knocked out of a European semi-final for the third time in a row.[47] This time by Red Star Belgrade.[47] The club then achieved another second-placed finish in 1990–91 league season.[48] Bayern started the 1991–92 season with a 1–1 draw against Werder Bremen.[49] Bayern advanced to the second round of the UEFA Cup after eliminating Cork City.[49] The first leg finished in a 1–1 draw and the second leg finished in a 2–0 win for Bayern.[49] Heynckes was fired by Bayern on 4 October 1991, after the team had won only four of its first 12 Bundesliga matches.[49] His final match as coach was a 4–1 home defeat to Stuttgarter Kickers.[50] Bayern were in 12th place at the time of his sacking.[51] The team continued to struggle after his departure, eventually finishing five points clear of relegation in tenth place.[52] The decision to sack Heynckes was later described by general manager Uli Hoeneß as "the biggest mistake of my career".[53] Under Heynckes, Bayern reached the semi-finals of the 1988–89 UEFA Cup, the 1989–90 European Cup and the 1990–91 European Cup. In each campaign, they were knocked out by the team which went on to win the competition. Heynckes finished with a record of 113 wins, 46 draws and 39 losses.[37] In 1992, he was appointed manager of Athletic Bilbao,[54] becoming only the third German manager in Spain's La Liga after Hennes Weisweiler and Udo Lattek, both of whom managed Barcelona. Heynckes managed his first match against Cádiz on 5 September 1992.[55] He led them to an eighth-placed finish in his first season.[56] They were eliminated in the third round of Copa del Rey.[57] He led the Basque club to fifth spot in the league and qualification for the UEFA Cup in 1993–94.[58] They were eliminated in the fourth round of the Copa del Rey.[59] His final match was a 3–2 win against Tenerife.[60] On 1 July 1994, Heynckes returned to Germany to become manager of Eintracht Frankfurt and was manager until 2 April 1995.[61] His first match was a 6–0 win against I. SC Göttingen 05 in the first round of the German Cup.[62] Heynckes' spell at the Eintracht was problematic and he clashed with the club's star players Anthony Yeboah, Jay-Jay Okocha and Maurizio Gaudino.[63] In December 1994, the three players were punished for a perceived lack of effort with extra training sessions. Because of this the players refused to play in Eintracht's next match against Hamburger SV and were suspended indefinitely by the club.[64] Gaudino was loaned out to Manchester City later in the month[65] and Yeboah was sold to Leeds United in January 1995. Okocha was later allowed to return to the team before leaving for Fenerbahçe S.K. in 1996. Heynckes left the club on 2 April 1995 after a 3–0 home defeat to Schalke 04[62] with the team in 13th place in the table.[66] Heynckes finished with a record of 12 wins, 10 draws and 12 losses.[61] In 1995, Heynckes returned to Spain to take over at Tenerife.[54] He won his first match as manager against Sevilla on 2 September 1995.[67] In his first season he led the team from the Canary Islands into the UEFA Cup with a fifth-placed finish in La Liga.[68] In the Copa del Rey, they got to the quarter-finals where they lost to Atlético Madrid.[69] The following season the club finished ninth in La Liga[70] and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, where they were beaten by eventual winners Schalke 04.[71] In the Copa del Rey, Tenerife had a bye until the fourth round where they were eliminated by Real Betis after losing both legs of the tie.[72] In June 1997, Heynckes was hired by the Spanish champions Real Madrid.[73] His first match was a 2–1 loss to Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.[74] Real Madrid would go on to win the Super Cup after winning the second leg 4–1.[74] Real Madrid were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the round of 16.[74] There, he celebrated one of his greatest triumphs, beating Juventus 1–0 in the UEFA Champions League Final to return the European Cup to Madrid for the first time since 1966.[75][76] However, the lack of domestic success – finishing fourth, eleven points behind champions Barcelona – saw his tenure terminated at the end of the season.[77][78] After his dismissal by Real Madrid, Heynckes took a year out of football before joining Portuguese club Benfica for the 1999–2000 season.[54][76] Heynckes replaced Graeme Souness.[76] Benfica finished third[79] in Heynckes' only full season in charge and were knocked out of the UEFA Cup at the third round with an 8–1 aggregate defeat by Celta de Vigo, losing the first leg 7–0.[80] They were knocked out in the round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup.[81][82] After releasing club icon and captain João Pinto, who then joined Lisbon rivals Sporting CP,[83] after transfer listing him.[76] Heynckes became unpopular with the Benfica fans and left the club by mutual agreement in September 2000.[76] His final match at the club was a 2–1 win against Estrela Amadora on 17 September 2000.[84] Benfica were tied for seventh place at the time of his departure.[85] In 2001, Heynckes returned to Athletic Bilbao for a second spell as coach.[54] In the 2001–02 season, Athletic finished tenth in La Liga,[86] missing out on qualification to the UEFA Cup by a point, and reached the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.[87] The following season, Athletic secured a seventh-place finish,[88] again finishing one point short of UEFA Cup qualification. They were eliminated in the second round of the Copa del Rey.[89] In June 2003, Heynckes left Athletic to become head coach of Schalke 04.[90] In 2003, after eight years managing in Iberia, Heynckes returned to Germany to manage Schalke 04.[90] Upon joining die Königsblauen Heynckes said "Schalke is something special, for many it is like a religion, for me it is an absolutely ideal position."[91] His first match was a 1–0 win against Dacia Chișinău on 19 July 2003 in the Intertoto Cup.[92] His first league match was a 2–2 draw against Borussia Dortmund on 2 August 2003.[93] Despite targeting a top five finish upon his appointment,[91] Schalke were eliminated in the second round of the German Cup by SC Freiburg.[93] Freiburg won 7–3 and scored four goals in extra time.[94] Schalke finished the 2003–04 season in seventh place in the Bundesliga.[95] Schalke started 2004–05 season with a 5–0 win against Vardar on 17 July 2004 in the Intertoto Cup.[96] Schalke defeated Hertha BSC II in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.[96] Schalke started the league season in the relegation zone after losing three of their opening four league matches.[97] On 15 September 2004, Heynckes was fired by the club's general manager Rudi Assauer.[98] Heynckes finished with a record of 28 wins, 14 draws and 15 losses.[99] In May 2006, Heynckes returned to manage Borussia Mönchengladbach, the club where he had begun his career as both a player and manager. Heynckes' first match was a 2–0 win against Energie Cottbus on 12 August 2006.[100] Heynckes' comeback started well, with Gladbach in fifth position in the Bundesliga at the end of the seventh matchday after winning each of their opening four home matches.[101] He resigned on 31 January 2007,[102] however, after 14-straight Bundesliga matches without a win[100] saw Borussia drop to 17th place in the table.[103] with the coach requiring police protection for matches against VfL Bochum and Energie Cottbus in the previous month.[104] On departing Borussia, Heynckes refused a pay-off and returned his company car to the club office freshly cleaned and with a full tank of petrol.[105] In May 2013, upon returning to Borussia-Park for his originally final match as a Bundesliga coach, Heynckes said, "This is my club. It's where I started as a 19-year-old professional, then worked as a coach. Since then I have come full circle. Mönchengladbach is my home town, I spent 23 years at the club, so this will not be just a normal game for me."[106] The team's fortunes did not improve after Heynckes' departure and the club was relegated at the end of the season, finishing last in the Bundesliga table.[107] Heynckes finished with a record of 5 wins, 4 draws and 12 losses.[19] After over two years out of football, Heynckes came out of retirement[108] and returned to football in April 2009, becoming caretaker manager of his former club Bayern Munich, replacing the sacked Jürgen Klinsmann.[109] Bayern were in danger of missing out on qualification for the Champions League upon Heynckes' appointment,[110] but the team won four and drew one of its remaining matches, finishing second in the Bundesliga, two points behind champions VfL Wolfsburg.[111] The four Bayern wins were against Borussia Mönchengladbach,[112] Energie Cottbus,[113] Bayer Leverkusen,[114] and VfB Stuttgart.[115] The draw was against 1899 Hoffenheim.[116] On 5 June 2009, Heynckes signed a two-year contract to manage Bayer Leverkusen.[117] Heynckes' first match was a 1–0 German Cup win against SV Babelsberg 03 on 31 July 2009.[118] Bayer Leverkusen were eventually eliminated by Kaiserslautern in the second round.[118] The team started the season with a record 24 Bundesliga matches unbeaten, challenging Bayern Munich for the league title.[119] The team's unbeaten record finally came to an end in March 2010 with a 3–2 defeat at 1. FC Nürnberg,[120] after which Leverkusen only won two of their final nine matches and finished in fourth place.[121][122] In the 2010–11 season, Leverkusen finished runner-up in the Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund,[123] thus qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2005. It was also the club's highest final league position since the 2001–02 season. They were knocked out in the second round of the DFB-Pokal[124] for the second consecutive season. They also reached the round of 16 in the Europa League.[124] Despite his success, Heynckes decided not to extend his contract and left Bayer Leverkusen in the 2011 close season to take over at Bayern Munich for a third time.[125][126][127] On 25 March 2011, it was announced that Heynckes would be replacing Louis van Gaal as the manager of Bayern Munich at the beginning of the 2011–12 season.[128] At the age of 66, he was the oldest coach in the Bundesliga.[129] Heynckes took over a team which had finished third in the 2010–11 Bundesliga, three points behind his Bayer Leverkusen side. He finished with a record of 44 wins, 26 draws and 14 losses at Bayer Leverkusen.[130] Heynckes' first match was a 3–0 win against Eintracht Braunschweig in the first round of the 2011–12 DFB-Pokal.[131] Bayern started the league season with a surprise 1–0 defeat to Heynckes' former club Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Allianz Arena,[132] before six consecutive Bundesliga wins without conceding took them to the top of the table.[133] In all competitions, Bayern kept 12 consecutive clean sheets, including four Champions League matches, the last of which came in a 4–0 win over Hertha BSC.[134] This run of good form ended with a 2–1 defeat to Hannover 96, and losses to Borussia Dortmund and Mainz 05 soon followed, allowing Dortmund, the previous season's champions, to overtake Bayern at the top of the table.[135] Bayern briefly regained top spot in January and February, but after the Bavarians' draw with Hamburger SV on matchday 20, Dortmund again gained first position[136] and went on to retain their title by eight points, ending the season on a 28-match unbeaten run.[137] On 17 March 2012, Heynckes oversaw his 600th Bundesliga match as manager, a 6–0 victory over Hertha BSC. His opposing coach that day, Otto Rehhagel, is the only coach who has managed more Bundesliga matches, with over 800.[138] After finishing the Bundesliga season in second place,[139] Bayern faced champions Dortmund in the 2012 DFB-Pokal final, losing 5–2.[140] Despite their disappointments in domestic competitions, Heynckes' Bayern had qualified for the 2012 Champions League Final in April 2012, defeating Real Madrid on penalty kicks in the semi-finals.[141][142] In the final, held at the Allianz Arena, die Roten faced English club Chelsea. Despite controlling most of the match[143] and taking a 1–0 lead in the 83rd minute, Bayern lost the match 4–3 on penalties.[144] This meant that Bayern had finished as runners-up in all three major competitions in which they had competed in 2011–12.[145] Bayern started the 2012–13 season by defeating Borussia Dortmund 2–1 in the DFL-Supercup.[146] It was a significant result as the Bavarians had lost all three encounters with die Schwarzgelben in the previous season, and the last five encounters between the clubs overall.[147] Bayern's Bundesliga campaign began with a record-breaking eight consecutive wins before they suffered their only league defeat of the season at Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern quickly regained form and went into the winter break nine points clear at the top of the table.[148] On 16 January 2013, Bayern announced that former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola would replace Heynckes in July 2013.[148] General manager Uli Hoeneß later stated that it was not Heynckes' decision to leave Bayern at the end of the season and was forced by the club's wish to appoint Guardiola.[149] Though the club's press release announcing Bayern's agreement with Guardiola had claimed Heynckes would be retiring on the expiration of his contract,[150] he stated he would not make a decision on his future until the end of the season.[151] After returning from the winter break, Bayern only dropped two points in the entire second half of the Bundesliga season, winning 14 consecutive matches from January onwards and being confirmed as champions on 6 April 2013.[152] This was the earliest a team had ever won the Bundesliga, and Bayern broke several other records during the season including; most points in a season (91), highest league winning points margin (25), most wins in a season (29), longest winning streak in a season (14), most clean sheets in a season (21), best goal difference in a season (+80) and fewest goals conceded in a season (18). The team scored in every match and suffered only one defeat.[153] On 23 February 2013, Heynckes participated in his 1,000th Bundesliga match as player and manager combined, making him the man with the second most appearances in Bundesliga history.[154] On 14 May 2013, he took charge of a Bundesliga match for what he claimed to be the final time.[155] Fittingly, the match was away at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Heynckes' hometown club who he served for over 20 years as a player and coach.[13][156] In the Champions League, Bayern faced Barcelona at the semi-final stage, thrashing the favourites 7–0 on aggregate to reach a second successive final.[157] The performance was seen as a display of physical and tactical superiority of Bayern over Barcelona.[158] In the 2013 Champions League final, Heynckes' Bayern defeated Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund 2–1 at Wembley Stadium, making him the fourth manager (after Ernst Happel, Ottmar Hitzfeld and José Mourinho) to win the competition with two clubs.[159] On 1 June 2013, Heynckes took charge of Bayern for the last time in the 2013 DFB-Pokal final against VfB Stuttgart.[160] Bayern won the match 3–2, becoming the first German club to complete the treble of the domestic league, the domestic cup and the European Cup.[160][161][162] Former Bayern and West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer, who led die Roten to three consecutive European Cup wins in the 1970s,[163] called Heynckes' 2012–13 side "the best Bayern team ever",[164] a view shared by the club's legendary forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.[165] He finished with a record of 83 wins, 12 draws, and 14 losses.[37] Consequently he won the FIFA World Coach of the Year 2013 finishing ahead of Jürgen Klopp (second) and Sir Alex Ferguson (third).[166][167] On 4 June 2013, Heynckes announced he would not coach a team during the 2013–14 season.[168] On 21 June, in an interview with Der Spiegel, Heynckes said, "After everything that's happened over the past two years, I'm ready for some peace and quiet. After this string of successes, I could transfer to just about any club in Europe. I have a problem with the finality of saying 'never'. But I can assure you that I have no intention of coaching again. I had a worthy ending."[18] He was replaced by Pep Guardiola, who had his first training session on 26 June 2013.[169] On 6 October 2017, Heynckes was appointed Bayern Munich manager until the end of the 2017–18 season.[170] Carlo Ancelotti was dismissed[171] and Willy Sagnol managed the team on 1 October against Hertha BSC.[172] Heynckes officially took the role on 9 October.[173] His first match in his fourth stint was a 5–0 win against Freiburg.[174] On 4 April 2018, Heynckes set a new Champions League record of most consecutive wins as a manager with twelve wins by defeating Sevilla in the quarter-final 1st leg match in 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, surpassing the record of ten wins in a row set by Louis van Gaal and Carlo Ancelotti.[175] Bayern president Uli Hoeneß said numerous times in interviews that he wanted Heynckes to stay as manager for the 2018–19 season.[176] Heynckes said in an interview with Sport Bild that he was only going to manage Bayern until the end of the season.[177] Heynckes managed Bayern in 26 Bundesliga matches. He won 22, lost three and one match ended with a draw. In the Champions League, Heynckes was in charge of 10 matches. He won seven, lost one and two matches ended with a draw. His only defeat was against his old club, Real Madrid, in the first leg in the semi-finals. Heynckes retired at the end of the 2017–18 season. In his career, Heynckes managed 1,265 matches in all competitions and in three leagues. He managed 668 Bundesliga matches with five clubs, won 343, lost 164 and drew 161 matches. Heynckes managed 200 La Liga matches with three clubs. In La Liga, he won 79, lost 62 and drew 59 matches. He also managed 38 matches in the Primeira Liga with Benfica, winning 23 matches, losing 8 and drawing 7 matches. Heynckes' face is known to redden noticeably when he is under stress or in a generally agitated state, especially as a manager on the sidelines during a match. This has earned him the nickname "Osram" (in reference to a German lighting manufacturer). Rudi Gores is said to have first used this moniker to describe Heynckes.[178] Later, the nickname became universally known among German football aficionados and has been used by the media as well.[179] Borussia Mönchengladbach[180] West Germany[183] Bayern Munich[184] Real Madrid[184] Schalke 04 Player Manager

Ralf Rangnick

Ralf Rangnick (German: [ralf raŋnɪk]; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football manager, director of football and former amateur player. In July 2020, after eight successful years, Rangnick resigned from his position as head of sport and development at Red Bull GmbH thanking owner Dietrich Mateschitz, collaborators, players and fans for their support and trust.[1][2][3][4][5] He is regarded by many as one of the most influential managers in the world. [6][7][8][9][10] Rangnick has coached Bundesliga clubs RB Leipzig, Schalke 04, 1899 Hoffenheim, and VfB Stuttgart. Rangnick was influenced by Helmut Gross, Ernst Happel, Valeri Lobanovski, Arrigo Sacchi and Zdeněk Zeman, and influenced a generation of football coaches in Germany and abroad, such as Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp.[11][12][13][14] The success of the Red Bull model in Leipzig under the leadership of Rangnick, has seen indisputable results in the finances and on the pitch. The past 8 years have witnessed a stunning rise for the club, courtesy of four promotions, a regular presence at the top of Bundesliga and now graduation to being one of the four best sides in Europe. [15] From 2015 to 2019 the club’s revenues saw an impressive surge equal to 231% growth with €81 million euros in 2015 to €270 million euros in 2019. RB Leipzig has also had success on the pitch becoming the first club in history to reach Champions League semi-finals in only 11 years since its foundation.[16] Rangnick’s imprint on the football scene has seen a long list of players who owe their big break in Europe to Rangnick: Joël Matip, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keïta and Sadio Mané. [17] Rangnick was born in Backnang and began his playing career at VfB Stuttgart, but was quickly noted for his strategic talents and was promptly added as player-coach.[18] His playing career was short-lived, including a stint at English Mid-Sussex League Southwick FC while studying a year abroad at University of Sussex in Brighton.[19] Rangnick is recognized as one of the first notable visionaries of Gegenpressing, whereby the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup together with evolving player’s spatial coverage by increasing memory space and processing pace. [20] By his own account, the young Rangnick had an epiphany playing in a friendly against Valeriy Lobanovskyi's Dynamo Kyiv in 1984, when due to their impressive pressing style of playing, it seemed as if Dynamo must have had an extra player on the pitch.[21] It was then that Rangnick realized that there could be a different way of playing football.[22] Rangnick was also one of the first football managers to open up to the public, revealing some of football’s intrigue, during a ZDF SportsStudio tv broadcast in December 1998. Successively, Rangnick became known in Germany as the "professor", a title of homage and respect.[23] [24] Rangnick began his burgeoning manager experience in the 1980’s, first as player-coach at his hometown club FC Viktoria Backnang, then continuing on to play and coach at both VfB Stuttgart II and TSV Lippoldsweiler.[25] In 1988 he became the head coach at SC Korb, remaining there two seasons before returning to VfB Stuttgart for four seasons to manage the Under 19 team. In 1991 he secured the championship, Under 19 Bundesliga (German: A-Junioren Bundesliga), the highest level in German Under 19 football. Rangnick returned to first team managing in 1995 with two seasons as head coach at SSV Reutlingen 05.[26] He took the club to a fourth place finish in his first season.[27] They began the following campaign strong, with the club in the midst of the promotion push by Christmas. However, Rangnick would not see the season to its finish as he was sought after by his former club Ulm in January 1997.[28] Reutlingen were in fifth position when Rangnick left the club.[29] During his time with Ulm 1846, he is credited with the team’s promotion from the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (tier IV) and Regionalliga Süd (tier III) to the 2. Bundesliga (tier II), the second division of professional football in Germany. His first match in charge of Ulm finished in a 2–0 loss to Greuther Fürth.[30] Ulm were also positioned in the Regionalliga Süd, and although Rangnick could only manage a sixth-place position from the remainder of the 1996–97 season, they started the following season with a 3–1 win against Karlsruher SC II. [31] [32] They won the Regionalliga Süd Championship in 1998.[33] Rangnick adapted well to life in the more dynamic 2. Bundesliga, and Ulm mounted a strong promotion push that saw 1846 making the unexpected breakthrough after just one season in the 2. Bundesliga with a third-place finish that led to the club's promotion to the top flight Bundesliga for the 1999–00 season. During the winter break of his second season, he signed a deal to move to top flight VfB Stuttgart for the next season. This was supposed to remain secret until the end of the season, but in February it was leaked out into public knowledge. This caused an outcry, especially as the team began to lose ground in the table, and by the end of March, Rangnick resigned from the post prematurely[28] and, on 3 May 1999, took control of Stuttgart[34] for the club's final five matches.[35] His final match was a 2–0 loss to SpVgg Unterhaching.[36][37] On 3 May 1999, Rangnick took control of VfB Stuttgart,[34] for the final five games[35] and saw the club finish 1998–99 season in 11th place.[38] He won two out of the club's five final matches.[35] His first match was a 2–0 loss to Bayern Munich.[35] Rangnick was now first team coach at the club he had served as a player and coached at amateur and under 19 level previously. His first full season in the 1999–2000 Bundesliga saw the club finish in a respectable eighth position.[39] The following season was much tougher, however the team succeeded in making the round of 16 in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup following their victory of the UEFA Intertoto Cup and the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal. Nonetheless, Stuttgart's Bundesliga form was in difficulty and they were hovering in the relegation zone by the halfway point. After their European exit in February 2001, Stuttgart fired Rangnick.[40] His final match was 2–1 loss to Celta de Vigo in the UEFA Cup on 22 February 2001.[41] Stuttgart were in 17th place at the time of his sacking.[42] Rangnick finished with a record of 36 wins, 16 draws and 34 losses.[34] The next season brought a new post, as Rangnick took over 2. Bundesliga side Hannover 96 on 23 May 2001.[43] His first match was a 1–1 draw against Union Berlin on 30 July 2001.[44] His first season was a complete success as they romped home as champions and were promoted back to the Bundesliga after a 13-year absence.[45] Their first season back at the top level saw them consolidate with an 11th-place finish,[46] but, as their form nosedived in the second half of the 2003–04 season, Rangnick was fired following a 0–1 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach in March 2004.[47] Hannover were in 15th place at the time of his sacking.[48] Rangnick finished with a record of 44 wins, 22 draws and 32 losses.[49] After missing out on the assistant role in the Germany national football team to Joachim Löw, Rangnick was hired by Schalke 04 on 28 September 2004,[50] after Jupp Heynckes left just weeks into the 2004–05 season. Rangnick again tasted European action as the club had earned a UEFA Cup spot via the UEFA Intertoto Cup. His first match was in the UEFA Cup.[51] Schalke won 4–0 against Metalurgs Liepājas.[51] He led them through the group phase, but they exited in the knockout rounds to Shakhtar Donetsk.[51] However, the DFB-Pokal was to prove more successful, as Rangnick took the club to the final, where they fell 2–1 to Bayern Munich.[51] Bayern would also pip Rangnick's side in the league as Schalke ended as runners-up.[52] The next season started well, with Rangnick defeating former club VfB Stuttgart 1–0 and securing the 2005 DFL-Ligapokal.[53] Their second-place league finish of the previous year had also qualified them for the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Rangnick's first entry into the prestigious competition. However, the team would fail to progress beyond the group stage, and sat ten points off the pace in the Bundesliga,[54] as well as having crashed 0–6 in the DFB-Pokal to Eintracht Frankfurt.[53] Shortly before the winter break, these results prompted the club to fire Rangnick on 12 December 2005.[55] He finished with a record of 36 wins, 15 draws and 14 losses.[56] Rangnick‘s next appointment as head coach was at 1899 Hoffenheim of the Regionalliga Süd for the 2006–07 season.[57] His first match was a 2–2 draw against 1860 Munich II on 5 August 2006.[58] He proved himself adept as a manager once again, as the team instantly won promotion and played the 2007–08 season in the 2. Bundesliga for their first time in their history.[59] The stay in the 2. Bundesliga was short, as a second-place finish for Hoffenheim in 2007–08 earned the club, and Rangnick, promotion to the Bundesliga for the 2008–09 season.[60] They also reached the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal.[61] During the 2008–09 season, Hoffenheim reached the second round of the DFB-Pokal.[62] In the first half of the season, Hoffenheim won 35 out of 51 available points,[63] however in the second half, the club won only 20 out of 51 points to drop down to seventh place.[63][64] During the 2009–10 season, Hoffenheim reached the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal.[65] Hoffenheim finished in 11th place in the Bundesliga.[66] On 2 January 2011, Rangnick resigned as head coach of Hoffenheim, citing the sale of midfielder Luiz Gustavo to Bayern Munich, of which he had not been informed, as his reason for resigning from the club.[67][68] Rangnick's final match was a 2–0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 21 December 2010 in the DFB-Pokal.[69] Hoffenheim were in eighth place when Rangnick left the club.[70] Rangnick finished with a record of 79 wins, 43 draws and 44 losses.[71] In March 2011, Rangnick was named as the replacement for Felix Magath as coach of Schalke 04.[72] His first match was a 2–0 forfeit win against FC St. Pauli on 1 April 2011.[73] The game was stopped in the 89th minute after a beer mug was thrown at the assistant, overshadowing Rangnick’s successful debut at Millerntor. At the time of the cancellation, Schalke was leading 2–0.[74] Just weeks after being named the new Schalke coach, Rangnick led his old club to their first UEFA Champions League semi-finals by defeating holders Inter Milan 7–3 on aggregate.[75] However, Schalke were eliminated by Manchester United in the semi-finals.[76] Schalke began the 2011–12 season by defeating Borussia Dortmund in a shootout in the 2011 DFL-Supercup.[77] On 22 September 2011, Rangnick stepped down as Schalke's coach due to exhaustion syndrome, stating he did not have "the necessary energy to be successful and to develop the team and the club".[78][79] He finished with a record of ten wins, three draws and ten losses.[56] In June 2012, Rangnick became the director of football for both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig. With Rangnick’s leadership RB Leipzig saw the immediate promotion from regional league (tier IV) to 2. Bundesliga (tier II) and RB Salzburg were Champions of the Austrian first federal league (tier I) for 2 consecutive seasons 2013–14 and 2014–15 and ÖFB Cup winner in 2014 and 2015. In February 2015 Rangnick announced he would be taking over as head coach in Leipzig for the 2015–16 season. Achim Beierlorzer took over until the end of the season following the immediate resignation of Alexander Zorniger. In addition, Rangnick resigned as director of football of Red Bull Salzburg in order to fully concentrate on his work as coach and manager of RB Leipzig stepping in as manager on 29 May 2015.[80] His first match was a 1–0 win against FSV Frankfurt on 25 July 2015.[81] Rangnick secured the promotion from 2.Bundesliga to Bundesliga with the win against Karlsruher SC.[82][83] On 16 May 2016, RB Leipzig announced that Ralph Hasenhüttl would be taking over from Rangnick.[84] Rangnick finished with a record of 21 wins, 7 draws and 8 losses.[85] In the 2016–17 season, RB Leipzig saw a 2nd position finish in Bundesliga and their first qualification to UEFA Champions League 2017–18. The club performed well in their debut performance UEFA Champions League 2017–18 yet finished 3rd position in group stage subsequently entering the UEFA Europa League 2017–18 only to be eliminated in the quarter-finals. The club continued to grow and flourish and the 2017–2018 season saw a 6th position finish in Bundesliga and qualification to UEFA Europa League 2018–19. [86] On 9 July 2018, Rangnick took over, once again, the dual role of head manager of RB Leipzig.[87] He won his first match in his return 4–0 against Swedish club Häcken in the Europa League Second qualifying round.[88] [89] RB Leipzig eventually won the tie 5–1 on aggregate.[90] They went on to eliminate Universitatea Craiova in the Third qualifying round.[91] The first domestic match came against Viktoria Köln in the German Cup.[88] Leipzig won the match 3–1.[92] Leipzig's first Bundesliga match took place on 26 August 2018.[88] Leipzig lost to Borussia Dortmund 4–1.[93] Leipzig qualified for the Europa League group stage after knocking out Zorya Luhansk with a 3–2 aggregate score in the Play-off round.[94] In the group stage, they were drawn against RB Salzburg, Celtic, and Rosenborg[95], finishing 3rd position in group stage. Notwithstanding, the club boasted the following success, 3rd position finish in Bundesliga, qualification to UEFA Champions League 2019–20 for the second time and they reached the DFB Cup final in 2019. In 2019–20 season, Rangnick was promoted to the top technical position of Head of Sport and Development Soccer for Red Bull GmbH. He was responsabile for all the Red Bull global football initiatives in addition to RB Leipzig including RB Salzburg, New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Bragantino.[96] During the 2019–20 season, RB Leipzig saw a 3rd position finish in Bundesliga and their third qualification to UEFA Champions League 2020–21. For the UEFA Champions League 2019–20, the club reached semi-finals. [97] In the 2012–13 season, under the direction of Rangnick, RB Salzburg finished second in the league. They recaptured the league title the following season in 2013–14 with an 11-point margin over the runners-up and became ÖFB-Cup champions for the second time. They went on to win both the Bundesliga and the ÖFB-Cup for two consecutive seasons in 2014–15 and 2015–16. With Rangnick’s sports initiatives in place, RB Salzburg solidified their place as a top flight club. In 2015-16, Rangnick was then able to resign from his director position when he took on the dual role of head coach at RB Leipzig. They went on to boast an undefeated record as league champions for an additional four consecutive seasons 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20 making them the third most successful club in terms of 7 league wins. In the 2016-17 season, Rangnick resigned from his head coach position and returned his efforts once again in the directors role. RB Salzburg returned as ÖFB-Cup title holders in 2016–17, 2018–19 and 2019–20. In 2016-17, RB Salzburg reached the semi-finals in the UEFA Europa League, eliminated by Olympique de Marseille with a 2–3 on aggregate after extra time. RB Salzburg qualified directly to the 2019–20 Champions League, when the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League winner, Liverpool, qualified for the qualifying rounds via their domestic league.[98] During Rangnick’s tenure, the New York Red Bulls won three regular season Supporters' Shield titles in 2013, 2015 and 2018, and reached the finals of the U.S. Open Cup for their second time in 2017, losing on both occasions. Under the guidance of Rangnick, in their first season, the newly founded Red Bull Bragantino were champions of the 2019 Série B being promoted to the Série A and qualifying for the 2020 Copa do Brasil round of 16.[99] In 2018 Ralf Rangnick established the Ralf Rangnick Foundation which aims to support children in their development and enable their personalities to flourish.[100][101] RB Leipzig Schalke 04 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Hannover 96 VfB Stuttgart Ulm 1846 RB Leipzig Runners-up: 2013–14 RB Salzburg New York Red Bulls 2012-2020 Red Bull Bragantino 2019–2020

London Stansted Airport

London Stansted Airport (IATA: STN, ICAO: EGSS) is an international airport located at Stansted Mountfitchet, England, 42 mi (68 km) northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves 200 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.[3] Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair, with over 130 destinations served by the airline. In 2015, it was the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester. Stansted's runway is also used by private companies such as the Harrods Aviation, Titan Airways, and XJet terminals, which are private ground handlers that are able to handle private flights, charter flights, and state visits. Converted to civil use from RAF Stansted Mountfitchet in the late 1940s, Stansted was used by charter airlines. It came under British Airports Authority control in 1966. The privatised BAA sold Stansted in February 2013 to Manchester Airports Group as a result of a March 2009 ruling by the Competition Commission against BAA's monopoly position.[4][5] London Stansted Airport has one main passenger terminal, near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet. Three passenger satellites have departure gates; one is connected to the main terminal by an air bridge and the other two by the Stansted Airport Transit System people mover. The terminal building was designed by Foster Associates with input from structural engineer Peter Rice,[6] and features a "floating" roof, supported by a space frame of inverted-pyramid roof trusses, creating the impression of a stylised swan in flight. The base of each truss structure is a "utility pillar", which provides indirect uplighting illumination and is the location for air-conditioning, water, telecommunications, and electrical outlets. The layout of the airport was originally designed to provide an unobstructed flow for passengers to arrive at the short-stay car park, move through the check-in hall, and go through security and on to the departure gates, all on the same level. From 1997 to 2007, Stansted had rapid expansion of passenger numbers on the back of the boom in low-cost air travel, peaking at 24 million passengers in the 12 months to October 2007, but passenger numbers declined in the next five years. Passenger totals later increased, and in 2016 recorded an annual increase of 8.0% to 24.3 million, and numbers have since continued to rise.[2] The airfield opened in 1943 and was used during the Second World War as RAF Stansted Mountfitchet by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber airfield and as a major maintenance depot. Although the official name was Stansted Mountfitchet, the base was known as simply Stansted in both written and spoken form. The station was first allocated to the USAAF Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy-bomber airfield. As well as an operational bomber base, Stansted was also an Air Technical Services Command maintenance and supply depot concerned with major overhauls and modification of B-26s. After D-Day, these activities were transferred to France, but the base was still used as a supply storage area for the support of aircraft on the continent. After the withdrawal of the Americans on 12 August 1945, Stansted was taken over by the Air Ministry and used by No. 263 Maintenance Unit, RAF, for storage purposes. In addition, between March 1946 and August 1947, Stansted was used for housing German prisoners of war.[7] In November 1946, the recently established British cargo airline, London Aero and Motor Services, equipped with ex-RAF Handley Page Halifaxes, moved into Stansted, using it as a base for its operations until it was wound up in July 1948.[8] The Ministry of Civil Aviation finally took control of Stansted in 1949 and the airport was then used as a base by several UK charter airlines. The US military returned in 1954 to extend the runway for a possible transfer to NATO. The transfer to NATO was never realised, however, and the airport continued in civil use, ending up under BAA control in 1966. During the 1960s, '70s, and early '80s, the Fire Service Training School was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority. The school was responsible for the training of all aviation fire crews for British airfields, as well as those of many overseas countries. Beginning in 1966, after Stansted was placed under BAA control, the airport was used by holiday charter operators wishing to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick. Stansted had been held in reserve as a third London airport since the 1950s. However, after a public inquiry at Chelmsford in 1966-67, the government set up the Roskill Commission to review the need afresh. The Commission for the Third London Airport (the "Roskill Commission") of 1968-71 did not include Stansted as one of its four short-listed sites and recommended that Cublington in Buckinghamshire should be developed as London's third airport.[9] However, the Conservative government under Ted Heath agreed with a minority recommendation that a site at Foulness in the Thames Estuary, later renamed Maplin, should be developed, but in 1974, the incoming Labour government under Harold Wilson cancelled the Maplin project because of the economic situation.[10] Stansted was then considered as an option for long-term development in the Advisory Committee on Airports Policy and the Study Group on South East Airports and was selected from a short list of six by the Conservative government in December 1979. The proposal, for a new terminal associated with the existing runway and the safeguarding of land for a second runway, was considered at the Airports Inquiries of 1981-83. The Inspector's Report was published in 1984 and the decision, announced in a white paper in 1985, was to approve a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year, but to reject the second runway.[10] The current terminal building was designed by architect Norman Foster. Construction was undertaken by John Laing and took place between 1988 and 1991,[11] costing £100 million.[12] In 1990, it was awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award. As part of the development, a railway branch was built to the airport, and Stansted Airport railway station opened in 1991. Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and O'Hare International Airport, but the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.[13] Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark Liberty International Airport, but this service was stopped shortly after the September 11 attacks. Long-haul services to the United States returned in late 2005, when Eos Airlines and MAXjet Airways commenced all-business class services from Stansted to New York–JFK Airport. In 2006, MAXjet expanded their service with flights to Washington, DC, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. American Airlines began daily flights to Stansted in October 2007 from New York–JFK and was originally expected to operate a second daily flight from April 2008. However, because of the jump in fuel price, weakening economic performance, and worsening credit environment at the time,[14][15][16] all three services to the United States have since been discontinued following the demise of MAXjet Airways in December 2007 and Eos Airlines in April 2008. Finally, in July 2008, American Airlines withdrew from the airport. Long-haul transatlantic operations made a return to Stansted in June 2010, when Sun Country Airlines announced a seasonal weekly service from Stansted to Minneapolis. The flights made a refuelling stopover in Gander, Newfoundland, and Labrador as the aircraft used for the flight, a Boeing 737-800, would not be able to complete a nonstop westbound flight from Stansted to Minneapolis. The flights operated from 11 June to 15 August 2010. In 2011, Sun Country operated to Gatwick rather than Stansted and then discontinued flights due to the price involved in carrying fuel on long-haul flights.[citation needed] Long-haul services to Asia commenced in March 2009[17] with Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia X providing direct flights to Kuala Lumpur; however, on 24 October 2011, this service moved to Gatwick Airport before being later withdrawn completely. A major expansion programme to the existing terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, adding nearly 5,900 m2 (64,000 sq ft) of floorspace to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall, and a hypostyle arrivals hall with improved facilities. In November 2006, Uttlesford District Council rejected a BAA planning application to increase the permitted number of aircraft movements and to remove the limit on passenger numbers. BAA immediately appealed against the decision and a public inquiry opened lasting from May until October 2007. Planning Inspector Alan Boyland made his recommendations in January 2008.[citation needed] Those recommendations were largely followed by the Secretary of State for Transport (Geoff Hoon) and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Hazel Blears), who jointly allowed the applicant's appeal in October 2008. A legal challenge by community campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion was rejected by the High Court in March 2009. [18] In 2008, 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, an environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a "stockade" on a taxiway, which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.[19] The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.[20] The ruling was quashed within a year following an appeal, but was subsequently upheld.[21] The Competition Commission reconfirmed its ruling in July 2011 that the airport be sold,[22] and the Court of Appeal turned down an appeal by BAA on 26 July 2012.[23] In light of the result, BAA chose not to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and confirmed on 20 August 2012 that the airport would be sold.[24] In 2017, Antonov Airlines opened a UK office at Stansted for cargo charter flights, generally of outsize loads.[25] In March 2018, a group of activists delayed a deportation flight to Nigeria.[26] 15 of the protestors were found guilty of "intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome", under the 1990 Aviation and Maritime Security Act. This verdict on the Stansted 15 was described in New Statesman as having a chilling effect on public dissent.[27] The terminal is separated into three areas: Check-in and main concourse along the front, Departures towards the back left, and Arrivals on the back right upon entry. No gates are in the main terminal building; instead, they are located in three separate oblong satellite buildings. An additional building, known as the Advanced Passenger Vehicle (APV), was brought back into use in 2016 for flights departing during the busy 06:00 to 08:00 am period.[28] The APV building is linked to the main terminal building by an accessible route and acts as a bus terminal for international flights at remote stands. Prior to the completion of Satellite 3, this terminal (then consisted of gates 90-95) was in regular passenger use. Domestic arrivals use a separate exit route, located at the opposite end of the Terminal to the International arrivals hall. This exit is connected solely by footbridge from Satellite 2 gates 81-88. When a domestic flight arrives at a gate which is not located in Satellite 2, passengers are transported to a gate on Satellite 2 by a courtesy bus service from the aircraft. Stansted has a variety of car parking including long-, mid-, and short-stay options along with valet and meet-and-greet parking services. Two drop off areas also are available. The express area is located near the short-stay car park, while a free service is within the mid-stay areaa. A fee is charged for the express service.[29] Terminal Road North and its free drop-off area directly outside the terminal was closed shortly after MAG took over the airport in 2013. Since 2004, Stansted also offers a range of hotel accommodation including Holiday Inn Express, Novotel, Premier Inn, and Radisson Blu hotels and the recently opened Hampton by Hilton, the last two of which are both within two minutes of the terminal building via an undercover walkway. Regular bus service handles transfers between the terminal building and Stansted's car parks and hotels. Stansted's air traffic control tower was completed in 1996 and was the tallest in Britain at the time of its construction.[30] It is located on the southside of the airfield alongside the main terminal building. It replaced the old control tower, which offered poor views of the airfield once the current terminal building was opened in 1991. There are several cargo buildings and hangars around the airfield. The main cargo centre is located by the control tower and handles most cargo operations, including aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the Boeing 747. There are a small number of hangars on the other side of the runway to the rest of the airport. The largest are located at the south east of the airfield, one of which is used by Ryanair. Titan Airways has its head office in the Enterprise House on the airport property.[31] Several airlines at one time had their head offices on the airport property. AirUK (later KLM uk) had its head office in the Stansted House.[32][33] When Buzz existed, its head office was in the Endeavour House.[34] When AB Airlines existed, its head office was in the Enterprise House.[35] For a period Lloyd International Airways had its head office at the Lloyd House at Stansted.[36] When Go Fly existed its head office was at the Enterprise House.[37] On 11 March 2008, BAA submitted a planning application (titled "G2") to expand the airport by 3 sq mi (8 km2) and for the construction of a second runway and terminal, etc., in line with a recommendation in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper (ATWP). This would have been the subject of a public inquiry, and if approved, would have allowed Stansted to handle more passengers than Heathrow did at the time of the application.[38] In May 2010, BAA withdrew its plans to build a second runway at Stansted and withdrew the plans to build a new runway at Heathrow.[39] The ATWP had anticipated that a second runway would be operational by 2011, but this date continued to slip. BAA's 2008 planning application envisaged operation commencing in 2015, and in 2009, BAA revised the anticipated opening date to 2017. Prior to the United Kingdom's May 2010 general election, all three major political parties pledged not to approve a second runway. Soon after the election, the new government confirmed this, and BAA withdrew its application for planning permission, having spent nearly £200 million preparing for the public inquiry and buying up properties. The public inquiry into BAA's second runway application had been scheduled to start on 15 April 2009, but the start was delayed by Secretary of State Hazel Blears to allow time for BAA and the government to consider the implications of the March 2009 Competition Commission's ruling that BAA must sell Stansted within two years. As 2011 drew to a close, BAA was still appealing against the Competition Commission ruling. On 20 August 2012, after losing a case at the Court of Appeal, BAA agreed to cease challenging the Competition Commission's ruling and to sell Stansted. On 10 February 2010, Secretary of State John Denham, in an open letter, concluded that the inquiry could not reasonably start until after the general election. In addition, he commented that the planning application documents were nearly two years old and would require updating. Eventually, BAA realised the futility of pursuing its G2 application in the context of the new government policy and withdrew it on 24 May 2010.[39] The advocacy group Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) formed in 2002 as a working group of the North West Essex and East Herts Preservation Association, in response to the government's consultation on expanding UK airports and, particularly, expansion plans for Stansted Airport subsequently defined in the Air Transport white paper in December 2003.[40] SSE still actively campaigns against what its members see as the unsustainable expansion of the airport. SSE was a major participant in the 2007 G1 public inquiry and had committed to be a major participant in the anticipated inquiry into the G2 second runway proposal. Following the withdrawal of the G2 planning application, the group called upon BAA to sell the homes it had bought to support the planned expansion. In September 2012, as a result of pressure from the aviation industry, the government set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies,[41] to consider what, if anything, needed to be done to maintain the UK's status as a global aviation hub. The commission concluded that an additional runway would be required for South East England and that it should be added to either Heathrow or Gatwick. Following the 2015 election, the commission made a final recommendation to expand Heathrow subject to certain environmental constraints. Throughout 2013, the Airports Commission published discussion papers and invited submissions from key stakeholders on the main issues it wished to consider. SSE made several thorough submissions. SSE also accepted an invitation to give oral evidence and make a presentation to the commission on aviation demand forecasting and connectivity at a public evidence session held in Manchester in July 2013. MAG announced on 20 June 2013 as part of a visit to the airport by the Secretary of State for Transport that it would be launching an £80 million terminal redevelopment programme. MAG has invested £40 million and the remainder was invested by other commercial partners. The redevelopment included relocation of the security area, doubling the amount of seating, and improving the information displays. The new Departure Lounge offers a food court, a number of new shops, and an Escape Lounge, but the remodelling has drawn heavy criticism due to the length of time it takes to walk through the shopping areas to get to the departure gates. Satellite One has also been redeveloped with the aim to attract more long-haul airlines to Stansted.[42] An arrivals terminal is planned to be built at Stansted, with construction due to begin in 2018, taking three years to complete. The site will include larger immigration and baggage reclaim areas, with more shops and facilities available after arrival into the UK. The current terminal will be reconfigured to departures only, with security and check-in areas due to be expanded. The project is expected to cost £130m, and, once completed, will make London Stansted the only airport in the UK with dedicated arrivals and departures terminal buildings.[43] These airlines operate regularly scheduled and charter flights to and from Stansted:[44] In 1988, over 1.1 million passengers passed through Stansted, the first time annual passenger numbers had exceeded 1 million at the airport.[78] Consistent year-on-year growth followed, and by 1997, the total had reached over 5 million, rapidly rising to almost 12 million in 2000.[2] In 2007, passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for five years, and in 2012, the total was around 17.5 million. An increase of 2.2% was recorded in 2013 to 17.8 million passengers, then 11.7% in 2014 to 19.9 million, followed by 12.8% in 2015 to 22.5 million, and 8.0% in 2016 to a record total of 24.3 million, making Stansted the fourth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom.[2] Stansted also is a major freight airport, the third-busiest in the UK during 2016, behind London Heathrow and East Midlands Airport, handling in excess of 223,203 tonnes per annum, although freight throughput has declined slightly from its 2005 peak level.[2] Passenger numbers for the year ending September 2016 increased by 8.4% to over 24 million for the first time since 2007.[79] The Stansted Airport Transit System connects the terminal to the satellite buildings via a 2 mi (3 km) free automated people mover service, which runs on dual concrete tracks. The system uses a mix of Adtranz C-100 and Bombardier Innovia APM 100 vehicles to carry passengers to departure gates. Unlike the similar Gatwick Airport Shuttle Transit, the Stansted transit is only accessible "airside" (i.e. only after passengers pass through security). Stansted Airport railway station is situated in the terminal building directly below the main concourse.[81] Services to London are on the Stansted Express train to and from London Liverpool Street in Central London. This service operates every 15 minutes and the usual journey time is roughly 45 to 53 minutes. Liverpool Street is served by the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines of the London Underground network, offering access throughout London. The Stansted Express also calls at Tottenham Hale, for the Underground's Victoria line and connections to various destinations in North London and the West End. Some Stansted Express services also call at Stansted Mountfitchet, Bishop's Stortford, and/or Harlow Town en route to London Liverpool Street.[81] CrossCountry operates services from the airport to Birmingham New Street, via Cambridge, Peterborough, and Leicester, which run every 60 minutes. Greater Anglia operates services to Norwich.[81] Scheduled express bus or coach services run to and from Stratford (45 minutes), Victoria Coach Station (75 minutes), Liverpool Street Station (55 minutes), and Portman Square via Golders Green (70 minutes) and Paddington Station (105 minutes) (all in London), costing about half the train fare, but taking longer. The bus station is next to the terminal building. National Express runs direct coach services to the airport from Luton Airport and Heathrow, and also from Birmingham (11 a day), Oxford (8 a day), Norwich (10 a day), and Cambridge (11 a day).[82] Stansted is also the start of the hourly X30 coach service to Southend-on-Sea via Chelmsford and London Southend Airport and the hourly X10 coach service to Basildon via Chelmsford, both operated by First Essex.[83] Local bus services operate to nearby communities, including the 510/509/508 (Harlow to Stansted via Stansted Mountfitchet, Parsonage Lane and Takeley, respectively), 7/7a (Bishops Stortford to Stansted), 133 (Braintree), and 6 (Saffron Walden), operated by Arriva. [84][85] Stansted is connected to northeast London and Cambridge by the M11 motorway and to Braintree, Colchester, and Harwich by the A120, which is dual-carriageway until Braintree. The road distance to London is 37 miles (60 km).[81] As of October 1996, the airport has 2,500 short-stay parking spaces within walking distance to the terminal. In addition, as of the same month, the airport has over 8,000 long-stay spaces located near the M11 motorway and A120 junction. A courtesy bus service links the long-stay spaces to the terminal.[86] The airport also offers mid-stay parking, closer to the terminal than its long-stay spaces.[86] Stansted Airport also offers valet parking and a meet-and-greet service, which is similar to valet, but marketed more at the leisure-traveller market, both are run from the short-stay car park.[87] Stansted has been designated by the UK government as its preferred airport for any hijacked planes requesting to land in the UK.[88] This is because its design allows a hijacked airliner to be isolated well away from any terminal buildings or runways, allowing the airport to continue to operate while negotiations are carried out, or even while an assault or rescue mission is undertaken. For this reason, Stansted has been involved in more hijack incidents than might be expected for an airport of its size.[89]  London transport portal

Hoosier

Hoosier /ˈhuːʒər/ is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate within the state,[1] but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s,[2] having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem "The Hoosier's Nest".[2] Anyone born in Indiana or a resident at the time is considered to be a Hoosier.[clarification needed][3] Indiana adopted the nickname "The Hoosier State" more than 150 years ago.[1] "Hoosier" is used in the names of numerous Indiana-based businesses and organizations. "Hoosiers" is also the name of the Indiana University athletic teams and seven active and one disbanded athletic conferences in the Indiana High School Athletic Association have the word "Hoosier" in their name.[citation needed] As there is no accepted embodiment of a Hoosier, the IU schools are represented through their letters and colors alone. In addition to universal acceptance by residents of Indiana, the term is also the official demonym according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office.[4] In addition to "The Hoosier's Nest", the term also appeared in the Indianapolis Journal's "Carrier's Address" on January 1, 1833. There are many suggestions for the derivation of the word but none is universally accepted. In 1833 the Pittsburgh Statesman said the term had been in use for "some time past" and suggested it originated from census workers calling "Who's here?". Also in 1833, former Indiana Governor J.B. Ray began publishing a newspaper titled "The Hoosier". [5] In 1900, Meredith Nicholson wrote The Hoosiers, an early attempt to study the etymology of the word as applied to Indiana residents. Jacob Piatt Dunn, longtime secretary of the Indiana Historical Society, published The Word Hoosier, a similar attempt, in 1907.[6] Both chronicled some of the popular and satirical etymologies circulating at the time and focused much of their attention on the use of the word in the Upland South to refer to woodsmen, yokels, and rough people. Dunn traced the word back to the Cumbrian hoozer, meaning anything unusually large, derived from the Old English hoo (as at Sutton Hoo), meaning "high" and "hill". The importance of immigrants from northern England and southern Scotland was reflected in numerous placenames including the Cumberland Mountains, the Cumberland River, and the Cumberland Gap.[1] Nicholson defended the people of Indiana against such an association, while Dunn concluded that the early settlers had adopted the nickname self-mockingly and that it had lost its negative associations by the time of Finley's poem.[7] Johnathan Clark Smith subsequently showed that Nicholson and Dunn's earliest sources within Indiana were mistaken. A letter by James Curtis cited by Dunn and others as the earliest known use of the term was actually written in 1846, not 1826. Similarly, the use of the term in an 1859 newspaper item quoting an 1827 diary entry by Sandford Cox was more likely an editorial comment and not from the original diary. Smith's earliest sources led him to argue that the word originated as a term along the Ohio River for flatboatmen from Indiana and did not acquire its pejorative meanings until 1836, after Finley's poem.[8] William Piersen, a history professor at Fisk University, argued for a connection to the Methodist minister Rev. Harry Hosier (c. 1750–May 1806), who evangelized the American frontier at the beginning of the 19th century as part of the Second Great Awakening. "Black Harry" had been born a slave in North Carolina and sold north to Baltimore, Maryland, before gaining his freedom and beginning his ministry around the end of the American Revolution. He was a close associate and personal friend of Bishop Francis Asbury, the "Father of the American Methodist Church". Benjamin Rush said of him that "making allowances for his illiteracy, he was the greatest orator in America".[9] His sermons called on Methodists to reject slavery and to champion the common working man. Piersen proposed that Methodist communities inspired by his example took or were given a variant spelling of his name (possibly influenced by the "yokel" slang[9]) during the decades after his ministry.[10] According to Washington County newspaper reports of the time, Abraham Stover was Colonel of the Indiana Militia. He was a colorful figure in early Washington County history. Along with his son-in-law, John B. Brough, he was considered one of the two strongest men in Washington County. He was always being challenged to prove his might, and seems to have won several fights over men half his age. After whipping six or eight men in a fist fight in Louisville, Kentucky, he cracked his fists and said, "Ain't I a husher",[clarification needed] which was changed in the news to "Hoosier", and thus originated the name of Hoosier in connection with Indiana men.[11][full citation needed] Jorge Santander Serrano, a PhD student from Indiana University, has also suggested that Hoosier might come from the French words for 'redness', rougeur, or 'red-faced', rougeaud.[12] According to this hypothesis, the early pejorative use of the word Hoosier may have a link to the color red ("rouge" in French) which is associated with indigenous peoples, pejoratively called "red men" or "red-skins", and also with poor white people by calling them "red-necks". Humorous folk etymologies for the term "Hoosier" have a long history, as recounted by Dunn in The Word Hoosier. One account traces the word to the necessary caution of approaching houses on the frontier. In order to avoid being shot, a traveler would call out from afar to let themselves be known. The inhabitants of the cabin would then reply "Who's here?" which – in the Appalachian English of the early settlers – slurred into "Who'sh 'ere?" and thence into "Hoosier?" A variant of this account had the Indiana pioneers calling out "Who'sh 'ere?" as a general greeting and warning when hearing someone in the bushes and tall grass, to avoid shooting a relative or friend in error.[13] The poet James Whitcomb Riley facetiously suggested that the fierce brawling that took place in Indiana involved enough biting that the expression "Whose ear?" became notable. This arose from or inspired the story of two 19th-century French immigrants brawling in a tavern in the foothills of southern Indiana. One was cut and a third Frenchman walked in to see an ear on the dirt floor of the tavern, prompting him to slur out "Whosh ear?"[14] Two related stories trace the origin of the term to gangs of workers from Indiana under the direction of a Mr. Hoosier. The account related by Dunn[15] is that a Louisville contractor named Samuel Hoosier preferred to hire workers from communities on the Indiana side of the Ohio River like New Albany rather than Kentuckians. During the excavation of the first canal around the Falls of the Ohio from 1826 to 1833, his employees became known as "Hoosier's men" and then simply "Hoosiers". The usage spread from these hard-working laborers to all of the Indiana boatmen in the area and then spread north with the settlement of the state. The story was told to Dunn in 1901 by a man who had heard it from a Hoosier relative while traveling in southern Tennessee. Dunn could not find any family of the given name in any directory in the region or anyone else in southern Tennessee who had heard the story and accounted himself dubious. This version was subsequently retold by Gov. Evan Bayh and Sen. Vance Hartke, who introduced the story into the Congressional Record in 1975,[16] and matches the timing and location of Smith's subsequent research. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been unable to find any record of a Hoosier or Hosier in surviving canal company records.[14] The word "Hoosier" is still used in Greater St. Louis to denote a "yokel" or "white trash".[a] The word is also encountered in sea shanties. In the book Shanties from the Seven Seas[17] by Stan Hugill, in reference to its former use to denote cotton-stowers, who would move bales of cotton to and from the holds of ships and force them in tightly by means of jackscrews. A Hoosier cabinet, often shortened to "Hoosier", is a type of free-standing kitchen cabinet popular in the early decades of the twentieth century. Almost all of these cabinets were produced by companies located in Indiana and the name derives from the largest of them, the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana. Other Indiana businesses include Hoosier Racing Tire and the Hoosier Bat Company, manufacturer of wooden baseball bats. The word may have originated from the term for shooing a pig away from its mate at feeding time.[citation needed] The RCA Dome, former home of the Indianapolis Colts, was known as the "Hoosier Dome" before RCA purchased the naming rights in 1994. The RCA Dome was replaced by Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.

VfB Stuttgart

Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (German pronunciation: [faʊ̯ ʔɛf beː ˈʃtʊtɡaʁt]), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team which is currently part of Germany's first division Bundesliga. VfB Stuttgart is one of Germany's most successful clubs. The club has won the national championship five times, most recently in 2006–07; the DFB-Pokal three times; and the UEFA Intertoto Cup a record three times. The football team plays its home games at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, in the Neckarpark which is located near the Cannstatter Wasen where the city's fall beer festival takes place. Second team side VfB Stuttgart II currently plays in the Regionalliga Südwest, which is the second highest division allowed for a reserve team. The club's junior teams have won the national U19 championships a record ten times and the Under 17 Bundesliga six times. A membership-based club with over 64,000 members (as of June 2018), VfB is the largest sports club in Baden-Württemberg and the fifth-largest in Germany. It has departments for fistball, hockey, track and field, table-tennis and football referees, all of which compete only at the amateur level. The club also maintains a social department, the VfB-Garde. Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart was formed through a 2 April 1912 merger of predecessor sides Stuttgarter FV and Kronen-Club Cannstatt following a meeting in the Concordia hotel in Cannstatt. Each of these clubs was made up of school pupils with middle-class roots[1] who learned new sports such as rugby union and football from English expatriates such as William Cail who introduced rugby in 1865.[2] Stuttgarter Fußballverein was founded at the Zum Becher hotel in Stuttgart on 9 September 1893.[3] FV were initially a rugby club, playing games at Stöckach-Eisbahn before moving to Cannstatter Wasen in 1894. The rugby club established a football section in 1908. The team drew players primarily from local schools, under the direction of teacher Carl Kaufmann, and quickly achieved its first success; in 1909, they were runners-up to FSV 1897 Hannover in the national rugby final, losing 6–3.[4] Rugby was soon replaced by football within the club, as spectators found the game too complicated to follow. In 1909, FV joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (South German Football Association),[5] playing in the second tier B-Klasse. In their second season FV won a district final against future merger partner Kronen-Klub Cannstatt before being defeated by FV Zuffenhausen in the county championship that would have seen the side promoted. They eventually advanced to the senior Südkreis-Liga in 1912. Cannstatter Fußballklub was formed as a rugby club in 1890 and also quickly established a football team. This club was dissolved after just a few years of play and the former membership re-organized themselves as FC Krone Cannstatt in 1897 to compete as a football-only side.[6] The new team joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (SFV) as a second division club and won promotion in 1904. Krone possessed their own ground, which still exists today as the home of TSV Münster. Following the 1912 merger of these two clubs, the combined side played at first in the Kreisliga Württemberg and then in the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden, earning a number of top three finishes and claiming a title there in 1927. The club also made several appearances in the final rounds of the SFV in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1933, VfB moved to Neckar Stadium, the site of its current ground. German football was re-organized that same year under the Third Reich into sixteen top-flight divisions called Gauligen. Stuttgart played in the Gauliga Württemberg and enjoyed considerable success there, winning division titles in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, and 1943 before the Gauliga system collapsed part way through the 1944–45 season due to World War II. The club had an intense rivalry with Stuttgarter Kickers throughout this period. VfB's Gauliga titles earned the team entry to the national playoff rounds, with their best result coming in 1935 when they advanced to the final where they lost 4–6 to defending champions Schalke 04, the dominant side of the era. After a third-place result at the national level in 1937, Stuttgart was not able to advance out of the preliminary rounds in subsequent appearances. VfB continued to play first division football in the Oberliga Süd, capturing titles in 1946, 1952, and 1954. They made regular appearances in the German championship rounds, emerging as national champions in 1950 and 1952, finishing as runner-up in 1953, and winning two DFB-Pokal titles in 1954 and 1958. The team which won four titles in eight years was led by Robert Schlienz who had lost his left arm in a car crash. Despite these successes, no player from the Stuttgart squad had a place in the team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Due to disappointing results in international competition including the 1958 and 1962 FIFA World Cup, and in response to the growth of professionalism in the sport, the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball Bund, or DFB) replaced the regional top flight competitions with a single nationwide professional league in 1963. Stuttgart's consistently solid play through the 1950s earned them a place among the 16 clubs that would make up the original Bundesliga. As an amateur organisation, and due to proverbial Swabian austerity, the club hesitated to spend money, and some players continued to work in an everyday job. Throughout the balance of the decade and until the mid-1970s, the club would generally earn mid-table results. One of the few stars of the time was Gilbert Gress from Strasbourg. In 1973, the team qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time and advanced to the semi-finals of the 1974 tournament where they were eliminated by eventual winners Feyenoord (1–2, 2–2). VfB Stuttgart was in crisis in the mid-1970s, having missed new trends in football such as club sponsorship. Attempts to catch up with new levels of professionalism by spending money failed. Towards the end of the 1974–75 season, with the team in imminent danger of being relegated to Second Bundesliga, local politician Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder was elected as new president. However, a draw in the final game of the season meant that VfB would be ranked 16th and lose its Bundesliga status. The first season in second league, considered the worst in its history, ended with VfB being ranked 11th, having even lost a home game against local rival SSV Reutlingen in front of just 1,200 spectators. With new coach Jürgen Sundermann and new talents like Karlheinz Förster and Hansi Müller, the team around Ottmar Hitzfeld scored hundred goals in 1976–77 and thus returned to the top-flight after just two seasons. The young team was popular for offensive and high-scoring play, but suffered from lack of experience. At the end of 1977–78, VfB was ranked fourth, but the average attendance of over 53,000 set the league record until the 1990s. They made another UEFA Cup semi-final appearance in 1980 and delivered a number of top four finishes on their way to their first Bundesliga title – the club's third national title – in 1984, now under coach Helmut Benthaus. In 1986, VfB lost the DFB-Pokal final 2–5 to Bayern Munich. In the 1989 UEFA Cup Final, with Jürgen Klinsmann in their ranks, they lost out to Napoli (1–2, 3–3), where Diego Maradona was playing at the time. In 1991–92, Stuttgart clinched its fourth title, in one of the closest races in Bundesliga history, finishing ahead of Borussia Dortmund on goal difference. Internationally, they had been eliminated from UEFA Cup play that season (1991–92) after losing their second round match to Spanish side Osasuna (2–3). As national champions, the club qualified to play in the UEFA Champions League in 1992–93, but were eliminated in the first round by Leeds United after a tie-breaking third match in Barcelona which was required due to coach Christoph Daum having substituted a fourth non-German player in the tie's second leg. VfB did not qualify for any European competition again until 1997, by way of their third German Cup win, with coach Joachim Löw. They enjoyed a measure of success on their return, advancing to the 1998 European Cup Winners' Cup final in Stockholm, where they lost to Chelsea in what was the penultimate year of the competition. Only one player of the "magic triangle", captain Krassimir Balakov, remained after Giovane Élber and Fredi Bobic left. Löw's contract was not renewed and he was replaced by Winfried Schäfer, who in turn was sacked after one season. Stuttgart's performance, however, fell off after this as the club earned just mid-table results over the next two seasons despite spending money on the transfer market and for veterans like Balakov. Due to high debts and the lack of results, Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder finally resigned from VfB in 2000 to take over offices at the DFB, UEFA, and FIFA. New president Manfred Haas had to renegotiate expensive contracts with players who seldom appeared on the field anyway. As in 1976, when Mayer-Vorfelder had taken over, the team had to be rebuilt by relying on talents from the youth teams. The VfB has Germany's most successful program in the German youth Championship. Coach Ralf Rangnick had started a restructuring of the team that won the Intertoto Cup, but the resulting extra strain of the UEFA Cup participation ended in narrowly escaping from relegation in 2001 by clinching the 15th spot in the league table. Rangnick was replaced by Felix Magath. With players like Andreas Hinkel, Kevin Kurányi, Timo Hildebrand, and Alexander Hleb earning themselves the nickname "the young and wild"[citation needed], the club soon re-bounded and finished as Bundesliga runners-up in the 2002–03 season. In July 2003, Erwin Staudt became the new president of the club.[citation needed] VfB qualified for their second Champions League appearance for 2003–04, beating Manchester United and Rangers once and Panathinaikos twice to advance from the group stage as runners-up to Manchester United. They were then matched against Chelsea in the round of 16, falling 0–1 and 0–0 over two legs. Stuttgart continued to play as one of the top teams in the country, earning fourth and fifth place Bundesliga finishes in 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively, and again taking part in the UEFA Cup, but without great success. In addition, coach Magath and several players left for another clubs: Kevin Kurányi for Schalke 04, Philipp Lahm for Bayern Munich and Alexander Hleb for Arsenal. Halfway through the disappointing 2005–06 season, Giovanni Trapattoni was sacked and replaced by Armin Veh. The new coach was designated as a stop-gap due to having resigned from Hansa Rostock in 2003 to focus on his family and having no football job since 2004, save for coaching his home team FC Augsburg for one season. Supported by new manager Horst Heldt, Veh could establish himself and his concept of focusing on promising inexpensive players rather than established stars. Team captain, Zvonimir Soldo, retired, and other veterans left the team that slipped to ninth place and did not qualify for European competition for the first time in four years. Despite early-season losses and ensuing criticism in 2006–07, including a 3–0 loss at home to 1. FC Nürnberg, Veh managed to turn the collection of new players like Mexicans Pável Pardo, and Ricardo Osorio, Brazilian Antônio da Silva and fresh local talents, including Mario Gómez, Serdar Tasci, and Sami Khedira, into a strong contender that led the league on 12 November 2006 for the first time in two years. Stuttgart established themselves among the top five and delivered a strong challenge for the Bundesliga title by winning their final eight games. In the penultimate week on 12 May 2007, Stuttgart beat VfL Bochum 3–2 away from home, taking the Bundesliga lead from Schalke 04 and at minimum securing a spot in the 2007–08 Champions League. After trailing 0–1 in the final match of the season against Energie Cottbus, Stuttgart came back to win 2–1 and claim their first Bundesliga title in 15 years. The victory celebrations in Stuttgart, totalling 250,000 people, even topped those of Germany's third place win over Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In addition, VfB had their first ever chance to win the double as they also reached the final of the German Cup for the first time since their victory there ten years former. Their opponents in the cup final in Berlin were 1. FC Nürnberg, a team that had beaten them twice by three goals in regular season, 3–0 and 4–1, and had last won the cup in 1962. With the game level at 1–1 in the first half, Stuttgart's scorer Cacau was sent off. Nürnberg gained a 2–1 lead early in the second half, but the ten men of VfB managed to fight back and equalize. In the second half of extra time, however, with both teams suffering from exhaustion and the humid conditions, Nürnberg scored the winning goal. The 2007–08 UEFA Champions League draw on 30 August 2007 paired the German champions with Spanish giants Barcelona, French champions Lyon and Scottish Old Firm side Rangers. Like in the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League season, Stuttgart's 2007–08 European campaign started with a match at Ibrox Park in Glasgow against Rangers. It ended in a 2–1 defeat. The second match at home against Barcelona was likewise lost, 0–2, as well as the third match, against Lyon at home, with the visitors coming out 2–0 winners from two-second-half strikes. Five defeats and just one win (over Rangers) meant the early exit on the European stage. In the league, they managed to finish in sixth place after a poor start. New German international star Mario Gómez scored 19 goals. Subsequently, UEFA Cup qualification was ensured in the summer by succeeding in the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup. The 2008–09 season, like the one before it, got off to a bad start. After matchday 14 in November, VfB was only 11th in the table and as a result, Armin Veh was sacked and replaced by Markus Babbel. After exiting the German Cup after a 1–5 thrashing from Bayern Munich in January, prospects improved considerably and the team ended third in the table, with second place just being missed after a loss to Bayern on the last matchday. That meant the chance of making the Champions League again. Internationally, VfB mastered the group stages of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, but lost to Cup defenders Zenit Saint Petersburg in the round of the last 32 in February. Stuttgart went into the 2009–10 season with Mario Gómez leaving for Bayern Munich, just as Pavel Pogrebnyak arrived from Zenit Saint Petersburg and Alexander Hleb returning on loan from Barcelona. On the European level, Stuttgart started the season with a huge success by qualifying for the group stage of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. Stuttgart entered that competition for the third time in six years (after 2003 and 2007) by defeating Romanian side Politehnica Timișoara in the Champions League play-off round on 18 and 26 August 2009. VfB were then drawn into Group G against Spanish side Sevilla, Scottish champions Rangers, against whom they had also been drawn against in their previous two Champions League Group stage appearances, and Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni. With two wins (one each against Rangers and Unirea), three draws (one each against all opponents) and a loss (to Sevilla) they managed second spot in the group, thus qualifying for the round of the last 16, where they had to face title holders Barcelona in late winter. After a superb home game against Barça which Stuttgart, however, did not manage to win (1–1), they were eliminated in a 4–0 rout at Camp Nou. In the 2009–10 DFB-Pokal, they did not proceed further than the last 16 either, losing to second-tier side SpVgg Greuther Fürth. That defeat came in the course of a disappointing first half of the 2009–10 Bundesliga. As a consequence of slipping to 16th spot in December, young coach Markus Babbel was fired after matchday 15 and replaced by the more experienced Swiss Christian Gross. Under his tenure, VfB improved their situation domestically as well as internationally before the winter break. During that break, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Jan Šimák and Ludovic Magnin left the club; Cristian Molinaro was loaned out from Juventus. In the later half of the season, the team – as in the 2008–09 season – had a fantastic, almost unbroken, winning streak. As the best team of that second (return) round of the Bundesliga, the Swabians under Gross climbed into the upper half of the table and, after a sensational rally, eventually managed to secure European football for the following season by qualifying for the Europa League. The 2010–11 season was a mediocre one—after again spending the first half of the season almost always in the relegation zone (17th and 18th spot), with Christian Gross being fired and interim coach Jens Keller taking over for the rest of the first leg, Bruno Labbadia was hired as new coach in January and managed to save VfB from relegation. Eventually, the team finished 12th after a decent second-half performance. In July 2011, Erwin Staudt did not participate again in the election of the president and Gerd E. Mäuser was elected as president. In the following 2011–12 season, they managed to constantly climb up the table; this was especially thanks to a long unbeaten streak in the spring. Subsequently, VfB qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Key players during that season were Martin Harnik, who scored 17 goals, as well as winger Gōtoku Sakai and forward Vedad Ibišević, who both came to Stuttgart in January 2012. With effect from 3 June 2013, Gerd E. Mäuser announced his resignation as president of VfB Stuttgart.[7] On 2 July 2013, the supervisory board of the club named Bernd Wahler as the candidate for the presidential elections.[8] On 22 July 2013, Wahler was elected by 97.4% of the votes cast.[9] After barely avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga in the 2014–15 season, Stuttgart were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga in the 2015–16 season after finishing in 17th place, having been unable to lift themselves out of the bottom three positions until the end of the season.[10] Following matchday 13, a home match against FC Augsburg and their second consecutive 4–0 loss, Stuttgart decided to terminate Alexander Zorniger's contract and appointed Jürgen Kramny as their manager for an indefinite period. After Stuttgart were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, Wahler resigned as president on 15 May 2016.[11] Kramny was subsequently sacked as coach. On 17 May 2016, Jos Luhukay was announced as the new head coach.[12] Luhukay resigned on 15 September 2016 and was replaced by Hannes Wolf.[13] At the end of the season, Stuttgart returned to the Bundesliga as the 2. Bundesliga champions. On 22 December 2017, after nearly 10 years since his departure, Bundesliga title winning striker Mario Gomez returned to the team from fellow Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg, The team made a solid return season to the Bundesliga, finishing in 7th place. However, they slumped to 16th the following season, eventually ending up relegated via play-offs against Union Berlin. However, Stuttgart only spent one season back in the second tier, and returned to the Bundesliga after finishing second in the 2019-20 2. Bundesliga season. The home ground of VfB Stuttgart is the Mercedes-Benz Arena which was originally built in 1933. It lies close to the River Neckar on Bad Cannstatt's Mercedes-Straße near the new Mercedes-Benz Museum and Mercedes-Benz factory. After being renovated several times, the stadium can hold a maximum capacity of 55,896 spectators (50,000 for international matches). As for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, hosting five preliminary round matches, a First Knockout Round match (England vs. Ecuador) and the third place play-off (Germany vs. Portugal). Since the 2008–09 season, the stadium was named the Mercedes-Benz-Arena, starting with a pre-season friendly against Arsenal on 30 July 2008.[14] The stadium recently went through extensive restructuring and rebuilding as it was being converted into a pure football arena. In 2011, the capacity was increased to 60,449. The longest rivalry of VfB is the city rivalry with Stuttgarter Kickers (Die Roten/Reds against Die Blauen/Blues). However, the respective first teams of the two clubs haven't played each other since Kickers were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga in 1992. Thus, this derby has increasingly been overtaken in importance by the Baden-Württemberg-Derby between VfB and Karlsruher SC. In this derby, old Badenese-Württembergian animosities are played out. The rivalry with Bavarian side Bayern Munich ("Süd-/South Derby") is mainly one-sided, as VfB fans are angry at Bayern for buying some of Stuttgart's best players and coaches in recent years, such as Giovane Élber, Felix Magath, Mario Gómez, and Benjamin Pavard. Regional friendships exist between VfB and the South Württemberg side SSV Reutlingen 05 (the "little brother" of VfB) as well as with North Württembergers SpVgg Ludwigsburg. On a national level, supporters groups of VfB used to be closely connected with those of Energie Cottbus, 1. FC Saarbrücken, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt. All of these supporter group friendships have been discontinued by today or are only maintained by few supporter groups. Current ultras friendships are with the ultras of SSV Reutlingen 05 and Italian club Cesena. In 2005, a cooperation treaty between VfB and Swiss Super League side St. Gallen was signed, with particular emphasis on the youth sectors of both clubs. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Managers of the club since 1920:[16] The season-by-season performance of the club since 1963:[17][18]

ski hire meribel enjoy hassel free ski holidays with ski hire

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ ...Meribel is in the heart of the Three Valleys skiing area in the French Alps. It�s Europe�s favourite skiing destination with stunning scenery and excellent snow conditions for a wonderful ski holiday. Travel to the ski slopes is now very convenient with budget airlines and trains offering their services from UK to the ski destinations in France.�But travelling with all your bulky winter clothes, accessories and the heavy, large bags of your ski equipment is not an easy thing. At the same time, buying ski equipment is not an option if you are only going for a season. �Also, ski gear is expensive and requires maintenance and care to keep it in top condition. With the constant upgrades and latest models available in skis, your gear can quickly become outdated. Another issue is that your ski gear needs to match the snow conditions at the ski resort. With your own equipment, you are stuck with equipment that�s not quite suited to the snow conditions at Meribel. For all these reasons, many skiers prefer ski hire at Meribel. The advantages are many: its convenient- lighter and hassel free travel, cheaper than buying your own ski equipment. You are also assured that you will get ski gear that�s in excellent condition and just suited to the snow conditions and for your skiing level. The ski hire services at Meribel cater to all levels of skiers from beginners to advanced skiiers. Hiring ski equipment may also be a good idea for young children. They'll outgrow their boots, if not their skis, in a season, sometimes quicker.�Here are tips on ways to save money when skiing, including purchasing equipment inexpensively in Meribel. ������These are some of the important things to bear in mind while hiring skis and ski equipment at Meribel. You can visit (website URL) for details, information and discount offers for ski hire at Meribel.��For further information log on to http://www.ski-hire-meribel.com or email to prasad@sprintsoftservices.com��Key words: �ski hire meribel, ski hire meribel ski hire, ski rent meribel, ski hire services in meribel, ski hire in meribel, ski hire france

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So you�re at a place where you need to hire employees: how can you improve the odds that you�ll hire well? Follow some basic guidelines.1.��� Know what you wantThe mistake we make is paying attention to the position and not the people. In order to hire effectively you need to have real clarity around what you want in an employee. You can teach someone a task. You can�t teach someone attitude. So, put down on paper what you want in an individual. Start with the simple stuff like:��������� They come to work on time every day��������� They are positive��������� They are good at working on their own��������� They are team players Now go deeper. What is it that you really seek in employees. Do you want them to make decisions on their own? Do you want them to be team builders or just team players? Do you want them to be creative or stick to the script? The more you understand about what you want in an employee the better you�ll interview. 2.��� Know yourselfWho you are and how you operate really matters when hiring. If you are the type who is very hands-off, you don�t want to hire people who need a lot of direction. See what I mean? How do you communicate? How do you like to be communicated with? How much time do you spend in the office? How well do you know the tasks of the position you are hiring for? Personality is key � yours and theirs. So take some time to do an assessment of your style, beliefs, and attitudes. You want to hire people who you mesh with. Don�t hire them for task and expect them to change to fit your style. That�s just asking for trouble. 3.��� Interview for depthI think it�s critically important to develop an interviewing process that is solid. It deserves some real time and attention before you ever advertise the opening. Craft your questions and put them in writing. These questions should not only shed light on the candidate�s skill, but on their beliefs and personality. You are trying to get to know them on a deeper level. You want to be sure you are hiring people who will fit with your culture. Have other employees interview them as well. Gaining the perspective of others, especially those who will be working with the candidate, can help you make the right pick. If you don�t currently have employees, ask your advisors, trusted colleagues, or coach to participate in the interviewing process. Take care to give hiring serious attention. Who you hire will have a huge impact on the success of your company. Making good choices when it comes to personality, drive, skill, and fit will save you grief and downtime in the future. You don�t want to be spending time dealing with staff issues if you can help it. And you can help it when you create a system to hire for success.

helpful tips when searching for access platforms for hire

It doesn’t matter the reason why you might need to hire an access platform. The one thing that you need to make sure about, is that you are going to know how to find the right place where you can hire the platforms. There are some safety things that you should consider when you are looking for these platforms for hire.You don’t want to risk your or your worker's safety by hiring an access platform that isn’t going to be safe and secure. With these tips, you will know for sure that you will be safe when you are working on the platform and that you will the work is done in no time.Know what type of access platform you will needFirst of all. You need to make sure that you know what type of access platform you will need. There are different types of platforms that you can hire. Different heights that they can go to. Some are small where only one person can fit on. Others are larger where a group of people can work on.Make sure that you know exactly what type of working platform you will need before you hire one. Otherwise, you are just going to waste money on hiring the wrong platform.Check the condition of the access platforms for hire Before you take the access platform and actually hire it, there are a couple of things that you should make sure about. You need to make sure about the condition of the access platform.Normally these platforms have standard safety features that should be in working order. So, this is something that you need to make sure about before you are hiring the platform. You need to check the overall condition of the platform as well. Does it look if the platform is well maintained, or is it a platform that looks if it can break at any given moment? You need to consider you and your, safe when you are working on the platform.Make sure about when last the platforms were servicedYou have the right to ask to see the access platform’s serviced papers. To make sure that it has been serviced on time and on a regular basis. If you are hiring an access platform and you are paying by the day, the last thing that you want is to have a platform that is breaking down. Then, you will need to pay more, at the end of the day.If the company doesn’t want to give you the information about the platform being serviced, then you need to walk away.When you hire the access platform, will you get an operator with it?This is something that you need to consider. When you are hiring the custom access platform, will you be able to operate it correctly? Or, will they be giving you an operator with it? Some companies are giving an operator with the right experience with the platform, to ensure that the platform isn’t damaged.However, this isn’t something that is always done. So, you need to make sure about it, before you are hiring the access platform if you know you can’t operate it safely.With these tips, you will be able to find and hire the best access platform for hire. You will know what to look for and what to consider when you are hiring a safe and secure platform. Don’t ever put your and your worker's safety in jeopardy, just to get a cheap platform for hire. Rather pay more for a safe platform that is in good condition and that will ensure your safety comes first.

car hire in dublin

If you are planning to come to Dublin you should hire your own car. Hiring your own car on a travel vacation makes all the experience more memorable and enjoyable. Your very own vehicle gives you complete control of your route and will allow you to enjoy every destination with full spirits. Car hire is now more popular as it is more comfortable and also provides privacy of being with friends and family. So, read on to know about Car hire and rental in Dublin and Ireland.

how to choose between a self hire van or a man with a van

Moving can be a stressful time in anyone's life, but it doesn't have to be. Tick one thing off your list by booking your removal van hire.�You’ve found your dream home, now the next step is to move in! But how do you go about saving money during the move?�Obviously, the last thing you want to do is spend money on things you could have got cheaper, but you probably don’t have time to research and receive quotes from various companies around all the packing.�One thing that will certainly need doing and can end up being quite costly is the move itself. Removal companies can be a bit of a minefield- who do you choose to look after your most loved possessions and furniture? Can you rely on the company to be reliable? Have you looked into the various options for your moving day?�It might be that hiring a van yourself will be a more suitable option as this will enable you to choose your moving time and will allow you to get things done on your own schedule.�So, why choose a self-hire van?�Sure, hiring a van yourself will mean that you’ll be doing the heavy lifting but it also means that you won’t have to worry about other people’s reliability and timings.�Self-hire vans also offer complete flexibility and if you choose the right company, you’ll get it at a great price too.�Being able to choose your own hire times can relieve a lot of stress. Specifically, it means that you’re not relying on someone else for arrival and drop off times. In short, the move can be completely worked around you and your requirements.�On top of this, you can choose how long you would like your van hire for. Whether you’re working your move around your full-time job and need it for over a week, or you require your moving van hire for just a day, you can pick and choose what’s best for you.�Finally, you know how much you need moving. Self-hire removal vans give you the option to choose which van is right for you, which will, in turn, adjust the final cost. So, if you’re moving a small flats worth of furniture and need a smaller van, you won’t have to pay the price of an unnecessarily large van.�Of course, you’ll need to ensure that you’re licensed to drive a van. Not all licenses cover this and must be checked before you make a booking.���You also want to make sure that you’re confident at driving a large van if you are only used to driving small cars. You don’t want something to happen on the way to your new home with all of your belongings sat in the back.�Finally, you need to consider if you’ll have help during your move. It would be near impossible to move on your own. Lifting large items such as sofas and tables is by no means a one-man job. Make sure that you will have help on the week you’re planning to move before booking anything.��How about a removal company?�Removal companies are great if you don’t feel like you can do all the heavy lifting. They will take care of pretty much all of this for you. Some removal companies will even pack for you- bonus, right?�Of course, this all depends on your budget and cost.�If you’re moving on your own, then a removal company would be highly recommended. As previously mentioned, it would be near to impossible to pack and move everything on your own or with very little help.�The best part of hiring a removal company is that most of them are insured. If you choose to move on your own you could be in risk of damaging your furniture, simply because you don’t have the experience of heavy lifting and possibly driving a larger vehicle. However, with a removal company, they should be insured if anything was to happen to your possessions, giving you peace of mind during the move.�Whatever route you choose to take, make sure to always do your research.�With a self-hire company, you’ll need to know that the vehicle you have hired is in good condition and won’t break down on the way to your new home. As well as this, you need to ensure that the company is well known and highly reviewed. You really don’t need any bad customer service on top of everything else.�For the removal company, look up reviews to see if they are reliable, efficient and most of all, that they care! There is nothing worse than seeing your valuables being chucked around.Alongside this, double-check that the hire fee comes with insurance, this is a must for your package.�Finally, whichever option you choose, make sure to leave time for any bookings, then, just sit back and enjoy your new beginnings.�

bus hire how to make it a little bit easier for you

Searching for a bus hire can be time-consuming, especially if you always end up with the wrong one: a company that could not accommodate your request or one that doesn�t meet your standards. Drivers of the bus hire, moreover, are qualified to provide excellent transport and customer service to all their clients.

reasons to hire a professional roofer

If you are not sure whether to attempt roof repairs on your own or hire a roofer, consider the pros of the latter choice. You may find that it is worth your money to hire someone.

car hire malaga

Offering car hire services for Malaga Spain. All inclusive holiday packages including golf tee times, car hire and hotel bookings.Malagain Spain is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. Malaga is the gateway to exciting costal resorts and cities like Marbella and Torremolinos along the Costa del Sol. The whole region enjoys a very pleasant climate all year round and has some of the best and most exciting tourist spots in the world. There is simply so much to see and visit here that a car is a must have so that you can enjoy the region in your own time in complete freedom. You can drive away in a hired car right from the airport as almost every car hire company has its desk at the Malaga airport. A car hire in Malaga affords you the best way to get around and get to know this fascinating city. �Malaga has it all- wonderful beaches, rich culture and history, magnificent monuments and Malaga is blessed with a wonderful Mediterranean atmosphere where you can spend the holiday relaxing away in its friendly and laid back lifestyle. With its amazing night life, restaurants, and bars, Malaga has always been the forerunners in the list of attractions for the visitors of Spain. And the towns and villages situated around Malaga make for nice day trips with your hired car. Soak in the beautiful countryside of Malaga surrounded with mountains and olive plantations dotted with the typical Andalucian white villages. Malaga is best enjoyed with a car at your disposal so that you don�t have to depend on local transportation. �Explore this fantastic city with your own time table and your own exclusive itinerary with easy and affordable car hire. �Here are a few things you should remember when you hire a car in Malaga.:�Almost all the companies offer car hire services from the airport arrivals. The services are prompt and include most basic services like �meet and greet� at the airport. Book your car online before you arrive, however. The summer months in Malaga are particularly busy and you don�t want to arrive at the airport without a car!! Reserving your car online before ensures that a car of your preference and make is waiting for you at the airport before you arrive. It also ensures that you get the best deal in terms of cost efficiency and personalised facilities. �It will well be advisable to do some research while you reserve a car. Almost all the companies on the internet advertise cheap car hire, but watch out for hidden costs or extra charges. Go for companies which have all their services and corresponding charges clearly spelled out on the website. Your car hire should cover breakdown assistance and insurance cover at no extra charges... Some companies have extra charges for an additional driver.�How long will you be hiring the car for? Some companies offer a better deal on weekly prices than a 4-5 day car hire. Be sure to ask for discounts if hiring for more than a week�s time. If you're booking online, read the restrictions carefully. �Always be sure to check out your selection of bargains before making any reservations. Make sure you understand the terms & conditions of your reservation. Is there a penalty for no-shows? Is there a fee for additional drivers and must their names be listed in the contract? Age limit of the second driver (For liability reasons, this is important.) If pertinent, ask about any restrictions on interstate travel. For your own protection in case of breakdown, be sure the company has offices in all the states/places on your travel itinerary. For one-way rentals, ask about drop-off charges. They can be very high. Always get a confirmation number. For airport rentals, be sure to give the customer service representative your flight number and scheduled arrival time. This will help protect your reservation if the flight is delayed. �Save by booking early as the prices are low during off-season. Also early reservation will give you the freedom to choose from many available cars. If you wait on until the season picks up, your options start getting very limited. �If you are traveling with children, book a child seat in advance as they are charged extra and can be in short supply during peak season. There is a range of cars that companies offer. Reserving early and online helps you in deciding on a car as all the car models and their rates are on display on company websites.For further information� log on tohttp://carhire-malaga-spain.com OR email us links@carhire-malaga-spain.com Key words: malaga car hire, car hire malaga, car hire malaga airport, cheap car hire malaga,car hire malaga spaincar hire malaga airport spain, car hire from malaga airport,budget car hire malaga, malaga car hire rental, malaga car hire company, malaga car rental, car hire spain

use car hire cardiff airport for instant transportation

Read this article to find out interesting information about Cardiff Airport. It also provides some facts about car hire Cardiff Airport. Car hire Cardiff is the best way to start your trip.Cardiff Airport is situated 19 km west of the city centre. That makes it very accessible with a car hire Cardiff Airport. It is an international airport and a hub for a lot of destinations throughout the UK. The airport receives around two million passengers each year and is a nice place to pick up a car hire some of its most popular domestic service within UK is to Edinburgh, while its international flights are to Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands. There are several other transatlantic charter flights to the USA and the Caribbean. The best way to transport yourself once you have arrived is by a car hire Cardiff Airport. There are many quality companies that are ready to give you the mobility you always wanted. Visitors can avail a wide array of facilities that would be expected in such a nice airport. There are ample opportunities to exchange currency and many phone services available. The baggage reclaim hall meant for inbound passengers provides passengers with any assistance if there is a problem. Visitors wanting of doing duty free shopping can do it from the Nuance Tax and Duty Free store which has great deals on fragrances, alcohol, cosmetics, candy, clothing and electronic items. You can also see WH Smith stores that are located before going through security and in the departure lounge. As far as eating out is concerned at the airport there is Burger King offers the selection of breakfast meals and main meals and also Caf� Ritazza is located in the departures lounge.The city has got many tempting sights which can be easily visited by a car hire Cardiff Airport. Drive towards Cardiff Bay which is home to a large freshwater lake. Visitors can enjoy sailing and water sports during the summer and a relaxing atmosphere any time of year. There is also a stylish five-star St David�s Hotel and Spa along with Mermaid Quay, where visitors can find Italian to Turkish cuisine. Drive with car hire Cardiff Airport to see Cardiff Bay Visitor Centre �The Tube�, which displays exhibitions on the history and development of Cardiff Bay. Stroll around the 2000 year old Cardiff Castle which has picturesque castle gardens. Why not visit the Castell Coch or Red Castle with Cardiff car hire and enjoy the by-product of a vibrant Victorian imagination. It is a fact that the middle Ages enthralled the Victorians as much as the Victorians fascinate us today.

moving to hire or not to hire

You've stumbled upon one of the longest debates of moving people around the world. Should you hire someone to help you move, or do it yourself?

bus hire for sydney five benefits you can reap

When it comes to finding a way to get around Sydney, there's no doubt that a bus hire is perfect for tour groups and large families. A company that provides bus hire Sydney services can provide you with reliable.

307883 buying a car

Can I buy a new or old car that i would be using significantly for driving for dollars, or tenant related issues and claim depreciation.Is it required that the car needs to be on your LLC or can it be on your personal name to help with not having another insurance policy?

511190 do not know where to start

Hi All, I have a career making a good salary, My dream is to buy a building. Not sure where to start. I have heard start with condo, or SFH, but listening to Grant Cardone, he would say start with 4unit building or greater. I want to be able to put down 20% investing in NY so not sure what is best. Buildings are costly here. I live in Orange County, NY. Any seasoned investors that would be willing to give me some advise. Meal on me. PLEASE ADVISE., Thank you for your time.

243916 new member

Hello, just getting started. I know I can be successful in real estate but I'm having trouble finding the area of interest.

669232 60k ca ny mkt how should i start and get leverage for next property

I am a newbie. I have 60K cash. Goal is to own 100units, with profit $200 p/unit/mth after all expenses. I live in NY (Orange County). I would like to leverage my money also, so that I do not use all my capital on first multi and not have money for the next property. I can use traditional mortgage, and have considered hard money lenders. Your advise is appreciated. Thanks in advance. Jasmine Orange County, NY. If you live near, lets meet up and discuss.

21542 selling a car

OK, so we're used to selling real estate, but how about a car? I have a 2002 Lexus I've been trying to sell for a month without success. Never had this much problem selling a car before. Its priced under blue book. I've had it on Craigs list and in the Denver papers. I've had some calls, but no takers. Is the economy that bad?

2013 10 25 how to hire a painter

So if you'll notice, I didn't title this blog "How to Hire a Good Painter". It's easy to hire a painter, it takes a bit more diligence to find a solid one. It will be this attention to detail and questioning, though, that will land you with an excellent tradesman, or a hobbyist hack. This post is going to teach you how to hire a painter – a great one. Create an account today to get BiggerPocket's best blog articles delivered to your inboxIf you’re wholesaling, you’re typically spared the agony of vetting contractors, supervising work, and dealing with performance. If you’re rehabbing, renting, or selling properties, though, painting it typically always included on the list of “must do’s” to prime your investment.So why is it difficult to acquire a honest, skilled and fairly-priced painter? The answer is, it shouldn’t be, but I’m sure we all have nightmare stories of When Painting Goes Wrong.The mirror should not be your top answer. Listen, these bony arms have seen their fair share of frog tape, cutting in, and rolling until I feel like I can roll no more. Who am I to not dig into some labor work from time to time to save money, after all? I’m a business owner, that’s who. And as adequate as I feel my painting might be, I can bet you my work is elementary compared to a proficient veteran. Let alone the hours, frustration, and disdain I feel after having to re-paint a room because the previous owners decided that 3 different shades of the same color that look the same in different lighting was a good idea (WHO does that?!)A good source is your local supply stores. As in, the actual paint supply stores, ie, Sherwin Williams, Dunn Edwards, etc. Ask the friendly sales staff if they have a couple people they recommend in that area. And, ask them why. Why do you recommend ABC painting and have you had other customers come back later and speak of their good work?You can also reach out through your local REIA to see if there are go-to painters that other investors in your area like to use. It’s also a good way to ask for references, as they should be willing and able to provide you with names and numbers of current or past clients, whom are also investors.If all else fails, check Craigslist and AngiesList. Professionals still use these sites to advertise and I often find solid companies that are simply using a high-traffic but less expensive way to get and keep their name out there. You may have to research their company a bit more, look up licensing details, and ask for references, but there are plenty of good contractors out there that are looking for work via the web.With my experience working in property management under the principals, I got a lot of exposure to working with general contractors and subs. One of the rules I was taught consistently was to always get 3-4 bids, no matter what. (Eventually you will find a few go-to people, but even their pricing/materials/quality of work may change, so it’s always good to continue to get other bids).It allows you to get an idea of who sounds professional, who returns your calls in a timely manner, how they bid the job, when they can start, if they are licensed, among other things. Always give yourself options. On the licensing note, I typically do not care if they are licensed or not. I’ve found numerous tradesmen that work under someone elses license, or work as a painter/electrician/etc for a company during the day, and side line the same work at half price in their own hours. Just get the true story and go with what works best for you. But if you do hire someone that is un-licensed/bonded/insured, just know you may have less recourse if the deal goes sideways and/or more exposure if someone gets hurt.Once they visit you at the property, you can also see how they behave, how they will approach the job in terms of organization, prep, and delivery. If in doubt, ask. Get a bid in writing with specifics, and determine whether their pricing includes paint, or if you’re supplying it.At this point you should have enough information and feel for the prospects to choose someone who you feel is proficient, fair, and drug and drama free!Never pay someone for the full job upfront. If they need a small stipend if you have a larger job to buy materials, so be it. But visit them on the job once they start to check their prep work, lines, and quality of work. You should have a clean job site that shows they have taken the time to prep the house, fixtures, trim, etc and shows clean lines and even paint. Any drinking/smoking/family members hanging around should not be tolerated. This is your business, so make sure it’s treated like one. If things aren’t being done correctly, make sure you have communicated exactly what needs to be done and get it in writing so there are no assumptions or memorization. If the job is done shoddily or there is monkey business going on, it’s time to move on to painter #2.Painting a house is one of the most dramatic and cost effective ways to improve the look and resale value of a home. Skip the DIY mentality and learn to hire and work with an experienced painter. The process of finding a good one, utilizing them, and seeing their handywork is that much more rewarding.What about your experience readers? What questions or system do you use to help you find a good painter? Have a painting horror story, please share! Photo Credit: erix!

6399 hire a rehab manager

Does anyone hire a manager to cordinate a rehab project? What would you think a manager like this would cost? I have a property manager that helps with my properties if they need rehabbed in return she manages my properties. would you think this manager would have to be on the job site the whole time the job is in progress, or should he/she just stop in once a day to get an idea of what is going on and making sure everything is up to standards and tell you whats going on day to day. Maybe even offer the manager a small commision if he can sell the house before the house is completed. any one?

2013 07 24 when to hire a property manager

When I think of Property Management, I think back to when I first started investing in real estate. It was 1989 and I was working full-time for a painting contractor, selling real estate on the side as a newly licensed agent, and to be quite honest, I don't think I felt like I could afford to pay a property manager. You see I was trying to save every nickel I could to put it towards the next property I wanted to buy. At that time, a good property manager made more money than me and I don't recall having a lot of money in reserves either, although I did have access to emergency money through credit. So what did I do? At the time, not much. In fact, I just kept plodding along for the next couple of years until I started to realize being a property manager just didn't make sense anymore.Create an account today to get BiggerPocket's best blog articles delivered to your inboxFor some folks, especially those who have a good W-2 income or a decent paying job, a good property manager can make sense right out of the gate. Although I did my own management for several years before actually becoming a professional property manager at RE/MAX, I felt I had an edge at property management since my college degree was in management, I was a real estate agent, and I had taken many courses in property management on my way to studying for my broker's license. After training and years of being a property manager it became more apparent when and why people would hire someone to manage their properties.Related: 10 Ways to Help Out Your Property Management CompanyFor me, it was when the time it took and the money I saved doing everything myself no longer made sense.  The fact of the matter is; a residential property manager where my units were located was typically a $15 to $20/hour job. Now – even though I knew that, it took me so long to hire one because I was a property manager at RE/MAX (making 100% commission), working in the same exact area as all of my personal rental properties. So it wasn’t much of a struggle for me to handle my own properties…until the market crashed. Once that happened, the RE/MAX I worked for closed and the next brokerage firm I went to didn’t have a property management department for me to work at. Then it all became a hassle, especially when I wanted to focus on other parts of the industry (i.e. notes).Some other reasons you may be looking into a property manager could include things like:Also, this article wouldn’t be complete without a list of advantages of a good property manager (*note, I said GOOD property manager). These could include:And the MOST important thing was freedom and more time. That, I’ve come to realize is priceless.Now that’s the good news if you get the right management company, but the bad news is if you don’t. So, what are some things to look for:For example, the property manager I have that handles the majority of my properties has been in business over 25 years, manages well over 1000 units in my particular county, has a very competent staff and systems in place, and the broker owner is a district justice to boot. In fact, when you call in to their answering service you’ll hear things like, press #4 for no heat, press #5 for plumbing issues, so that gives you an idea how organized and automated they are. Plus I get detailed monthly statements from them, and all my contractors bill my property manager so I never have to stop to write a check!Related: To Manage or Not to Manage: 5 Important Considerations To Ask YourselfAnd finally, as a previous property manager, do I have any suggestions for you as an owner to make your experience better with your management company?  Of course!  You still have to manage these guys.  But thinking back to my best clients, the guys who were the easiest to work with were the folks who listened, followed our advice, were reasonable, and above all took care of their properties, especially when we asked them to. The last one is key, if you don’t take care of your property or you aren’t attentive, then it doesn’t matter who your property manager is.Looking back today hiring a property manager was one of the wisest things I’ve ever done. It enabled me the free time to start a new and even more successful business than I had ever had before. The skills I had learned from being a manager has helped tremendously in finding and managing good folks to manage for me, and hopefully reading this will help you on your journey to finding a good property manager.So, now the question for you is when will you be taking things to the next level and hiring your property management company?  (Unless you own a property management company there’s really no excuse!)  As I get older, I know my family appreciates the fact that I’ve taken care of this chore for them in advance.If you don’t have one yet when do you think your goal is to get one?Leave me a comment below and let’s talk!Photo: Victor1558

513937 car note vs not having a car note

261422 developing a car wash

Hi everyone i want to develop a car wash along a busy 6 lane state highway that is used by commuters to get to work daily. It would be a full service tunnel wash with vacume stations, vending, etc. We could get the land for around $400k for a acre but theres many other opurtunities to get a spot for cheaper because theres many shut down buildings that need to be demolished that we could purchsase off market. Now lets say we could build the car wash for 600k plus the land of lets say 200-400k. Where do i get financing for that? Would crowdfunding apply here? Also does anyone know of any car wash franchises? Are there any experienced car wash opertators that could provide some insight please?

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Rent a Car 24

Camiño Cataboi, 29, 13, 36210 Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain

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