title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In week 4 of the 2008 season, Gonzalez became NFL all-time leader in receiving yards for a tight end with 10,064, surpassing Shannon Sharpe. He recorded 96 receptions for 1,058 yards and was also elected to his tenth career Pro Bowl. For the fifth time in his career, he earned First Team All-Pro honors.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: During the 2009 offseason, Gonzalez again approached Chiefs management about a possible trade. Unlike the previous Chiefs management, new Chiefs' GM Scott Pioli told Gonzalez he would see what he could do.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft on April 23, 2009. In his first regular season game with Atlanta against the Miami Dolphins, Gonzalez caught a touchdown pass from Matt Ryan and became the 21st player, and the first tight end, in NFL history with 11,000 receiving yards. He finished the game leading the Falcons in receiving with five receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown, his 20-yard touchdown reception marking only the third time he scored in the opening game of the season. Although Gonzalez recorded 83 receptions for 867 yards and 6 touchdowns, his total statistics went down from the previous years in Kansas City, and Gonzalez was not invited to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 10 years. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the years 2000–2009.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In the 2010 regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gonzalez made his 1,000th career reception, making him the seventh player in NFL history to do so and the first tight end. Gonzalez had his best performance as a Falcon two weeks later against the defending Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints, as caught eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown to help lead Atlanta to an overtime victory. His play in 2010, helped him return to the Pro Bowl that year. The Falcons also finished 13–3 that season to earn the first-seed in the playoffs; in Gonzalez's first playoff game in five years, the Falcons were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: During the NFL lockout in 2011, Gonzalez contemplated retiring rather than sitting out an entire season and waiting to play in 2012. After the lockout was eventually lifted by the league, Gonzalez was adamant he had at least three seasons left in him and was excited at the prospects of returning to the Falcons who were widely considered to be Super Bowl contenders. On the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011, he was ranked 46th by his fellow players.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In the 2011 season, Gonzalez finished with 80 receptions for 875 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl and was ranked 53rd among his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: With Gonzalez's contract set to expire following the conclusion of the 2011 season, he signed a 1-year $7 million contract extension with the Falcons on January 1, 2012, indicating his intent to return for at least one season. In the 2012 season opener, Gonzalez played in Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs for the first time in his career, which ended with a Falcons' victory. Gonzalez caught his 100th career touchdown on November 11, 2012, in a week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints, becoming the only tight end in NFL history to catch 100 touchdown passes. Overall, he finished the 2012 season with 93 receptions for 930 receiving yard and eight receiving touchdowns to earn another First Team All-Pro honor and Pro Bowl nomination. On January 13, 2013, Gonzalez won the only playoff game of his career when the Falcons defeated the Seattle Seahawks 30–28. His fellow players ranked him 47th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Throughout the 2012 season, he insisted on retiring. However, on March 12, 2013, on his Twitter page, he said, "I'm happy to say that after speaking with my family, I'm coming back." Then, later that day, he posted,"The lure of being on such a great team and organization, along with unbelievable fan support was too good to pass up."


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: On March 15, 2013, Gonzalez agreed to re-sign with the Falcons to a two-year, $14 million contract, despite his claim that he would be retiring after the 2013 season. With the retirement of Randy Moss, 37-year-old Gonzalez spent his last season as the NFL's active leader in receiving yards. On September 29, against the New England Patriots, he had 12 receptions for a career-high 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Gonzalez played his final NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on December 29. He finished his final season with 83 receptions for 859 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. He would later be named a second alternate for the Pro Bowl that season, and was added to the roster when San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis declined the invitation. It was his 14th and final Pro Bowl appearance, which at the time tied him with Bruce Matthews and Merlin Olsen for the most selections for the game.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez is frequently considered the greatest tight end of all-time. During his career, he broke numerous NFL records for tight ends. Only two of his major records have been broken, most career touchdowns and most 1,000 yard seasons by a tight end. Additionally, he also owns several Chiefs team records and at the time of his retirement, he finished in the top 10 in many receiving categories for any position. He finished 5th in yards, 2nd in receptions, and 6th in touchdowns. He ended his career with an active consecutive games with a reception streak of 265 which ran from a game played on November 26, 2000, to his final game on December 29, 2013. He only failed to record a reception in 5 of his 270 games he played, the majority of which occurred his rookie season. On January 26, 2018, the Chiefs announced they would induct Gonzalez into the Chiefs Hall of Fame. He was inducted during halftime of a game during the 2018 season. In his first year of eligibility in 2019, Gonzalez was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade team as well as the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Following his retirement, Gonzalez became an analyst on CBS's NFL pregame show NFL Today. He worked for CBS until the end of the 2016 season.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: On May 10, 2017, Gonzalez was added to Fox’s pregame show. Gonzalez left Fox on July 16, 2021, to focus on more TV and film projects.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: On April 28, 2022, it was announced during the 2022 NFL Draft that Gonzalez will return to broadcasting after a one-year hiatus, and join Amazon as a studio analyst for Thursday Night Football for the 2022 season.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez has done some acting, primarily cameo roles as himself. In 2006, he had a minor role in the TV Movie "A.I. Assault", his first non-cameo acting job. He has also appeared in three episodes of "NCIS" as Special Agent Tony Francis. In the 2017 film "", he played Paul Donovan, his first feature film role as an actor. He's also made cameo appearances as himself on other television series as well.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In March 2015, Gonzalez hosted "You Can't Lick Your Elbow" on the National Geographic Channel, which ran for six episodes.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In 2015, Gonzalez and his older brother Chris, were profiled in the documentary, "Play It Forward". The film premiered at the Opening Gala during the Tribeca Film Festival.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez competed against linebacker Ray Lewis in an episode of Spike's "Lip Sync Battle", which aired on February 2, 2017. He performed Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance" and Devo's "Whip It", but did not win.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In early 2007, Gonzalez suffered a bout of facial paralysis known as Bell's Palsy. He subsequently experimented with a vegan diet after reading "The China Study", by Cornell professor and nutrition researcher T. Colin Campbell, but he and his nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan, ultimately decided that eating meat occasionally would be best for his performance. Gonzalez only eats organic fruits and vegetables, free-range chicken, grass fed beef (no more than 18 ounces a month), and fish.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez had a commitment ceremony in July 2007 with his girlfriend, October, though the couple considers themselves married despite not being legally married. They have three children together, two daughters and a son. He has another son from a previous relationship with entertainment reporter Lauren Sánchez. He lives in Huntington Beach, California.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: On July 3, 2008, while dining with his family at Capone's Restaurant in Huntington Beach, California, Gonzalez noticed fellow diner Ken Hunter choking on a piece of meat at a nearby table, unable to breathe. Gonzalez successfully administered the Heimlich Maneuver, saving Hunter's life. After the incident, it was revealed that Hunter was a fan of the San Diego Chargers, who are a rival team of the Chiefs in the AFC West.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez campaigned for then-Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, saying "this is the first time in my life that I've ever been political about anything."


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Gonzalez is of 1/4 Argentinean descent via one of his grandfathers and 1/8 Portuguese descent from one of his great-grandfathers. Gonzalez also has African American and Scottish ancestry.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Along with playing in the NFL, Gonzalez has been involved in a number of business ventures. While playing for the Chiefs, he co-founded Extreme Clean 88, a commercial cleaning service in Kansas City. While in Kansas City, Gonzalez also contributed to Shadow Buddies, a charity that works with hospitalized children. Gonzalez, is also an Ambassador for the non-profit, Scholars' Hope Foundation in Huntington Beach. It is an after-school academic enrichment program that helps students be the best version of themselves and to encourage them into higher education.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: In 2009, Gonzalez co-authored the book "The All-Pro Diet". The book, co-written with Mitzi Dulan, the former nutritionist for the Chiefs, details his diet and workout routine and provides practical suggestions for others to follow the same path.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: Later in 2009, Gonzalez co-founded All-Pro Science, a sports nutrition company that manufactures a complete line of protein shakes, vitamins and other supplements. The products in the APS line follow a similar philosophy to the one set forth in Gonzalez's book, focusing on a balance of foods from all-natural sources.


title: Tony Gonzalez

text: From 2013 to 2017, Gonzalez worked with FitStar, a company that makes mobile fitness apps, helping people get in shape with customized workouts delivered via the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. He appears in the FitStar Personal Trainer, leading users through personalized Sessions.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; or ; ), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period, and over its history has been occupied at various times by Celtic tribes including the Picts and the Gaels, Scandinavian Vikings, and most notably the powerful integrated Norse-Gaels clans of


title: Isle of Skye

text: MacLeod and MacDonald. The island was considered to be under Norwegian suzerainty until the 1266 Treaty of Perth, which transferred control over to Scotland. The 18th-century Jacobite risings led to the breaking-up of the clan system and later clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep farms, some of which involved forced emigrations to distant lands. Resident numbers declined from over 20,000 in the early 19th century to just under 9,000 by the closing decade of the 20th century. Skye's population increased by 4% between 1991 and 2001. About a third of the residents were Gaelic speakers in 2001, and although their numbers are in decline, this aspect of island culture remains important.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The main industries are tourism, agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Skye is part of the Highland Council local government area. The island's largest settlement is Portree, which is also its capital, known for its picturesque harbour. Links to various nearby islands by ferry are available, and since 1995, to the mainland by a road bridge. The climate is mild, wet, and windy. The abundant wildlife includes the golden eagle, red deer, and Atlantic salmon. The local flora is dominated by heather moor, and nationally important invertebrate populations live on the surrounding sea bed. Skye has provided the locations for various novels and feature films, and is celebrated in poetry and song.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The first written references to the island are Roman sources such as the "Ravenna Cosmography", which refers to "Scitis" and "Scetis", which can be found on a map by Ptolemy. One possible derivation comes from "skitis", an early Celtic word for "winged", which may describe how the island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre. Subsequent Gaelic-, Norse- and English-speaking peoples have influenced the history of Skye; the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward. Various etymologies have been proposed, such as the "winged isle" or "the notched isle", but no definitive solution has been found to date; the place name may be from an earlier, non-Gaelic language.


title: Isle of Skye

text: In the Norse sagas, Skye is called , for example in the and a skaldic poem in the from around 1230 contains a line that translates as "the hunger battle-birds were filled in Skye with blood of foemen killed". The island was also referred to by the Norse as (misty isle), or (isle of cloud). The traditional Gaelic name is (the island of Skye), being a more recent and less common spelling. In 1549, Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, wrote of "Sky": "" but the meaning of this Gaelic name is unclear.


title: Isle of Skye

text: , which means "island of the mist" (a translation of the Norse name), is a poetic Gaelic name for the island.


title: Isle of Skye

text: At , Skye is the second-largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris. The coastline of Skye is a series of peninsulas and bays radiating out from a centre dominated by the Cuillin hills (Gaelic: ). Malcolm Slesser suggested that its shape "sticks out of the west coast of northern Scotland like a lobster's claw ready to snap at the fish bone of Harris and Lewis" and W. H. Murray, commenting on its irregular coastline, stated, "Skye is 60 miles [100 km] long, but what might be its breadth is beyond the ingenuity of man to state".


title: Isle of Skye

text: Martin Martin, a native of the island, reported on it at length in a 1703 publication. His geological observations included a note that:


title: Isle of Skye

text: The Black Cuillin, which are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro, include 12 Munros and provide some of the most dramatic and challenging mountain terrain in Scotland. The ascent of is one of the longest rock climbs in Britain and the Inaccessible Pinnacle is the only peak in Scotland that requires technical climbing skills to reach the summit. Nearby Sgùrr Alasdair, meanwhile, is the tallest mountain on any Scottish island. These hills make demands of the hill walker that exceed any others found in Scotland and a full traverse of the Cuillin ridge may take 15–20 hours. The Red Hills (Gaelic: ) to the east are also known as the Red Cuillin. They are mainly composed of granite that has weathered into more rounded hills with many long scree slopes on their flanks. The highest point of these hills is Glamaig, one of only two Corbetts on Skye.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The northern peninsula of Trotternish is underlain by basalt, which provides relatively rich soils and a variety of unusual rock features. The Kilt Rock is named after the columnar structure of the cliffs, said to resemble the pleats in a kilt. The Quiraing is a spectacular series of rock pinnacles on the eastern side of the main spine of the peninsula and further south is the rock pillar of the Old Man of Storr. The view of the Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr is one of the most iconic in all of Scotland, and is frequently used on calendars and tourism guides and brochures.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Beyond Loch Snizort to the west of Trotternish is the Waternish peninsula, which ends in Ardmore Point's double rock arch. Duirinish peninsula is separated from Waternish by Loch Dunvegan, which contains the island of Isay. It is ringed by sea cliffs that reach on the west at Waterstein Head and on the northwest at Biod an Athair where, a metre from the summit trig pillar, the cliffs drop to the ocean. Oolitic loam provides good arable land in the main valley. Lochs Bracadale and Harport and the island of Wiay lie between Duirinish and Minginish, which includes the narrower defiles of Talisker and Glen Brittle and whose beaches are formed from black basaltic sands. Strathaird is a relatively small peninsula close to the Cuillin hills with only a few crofting communities, the island of Soay lies offshore. The bedrock of Sleat in the south is Torridonian sandstone, which produces poor soils and boggy ground, although its lower elevations and relatively sheltered eastern shores enable a lush growth of hedgerows and crops. The islands of Raasay, Rona, Scalpay and Pabay all lie to the north and east between Skye and the mainland.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Portree in the north at the base of Trotternish is the largest settlement (estimated population 2,264 in 2011) and is the main service centre on the island. A December 2018 report recommended the village as "Skye's best home base" for visitors", since it has "a few hotels, hostels and bed-and-breakfasts in town, while more B&Bs line the roads into and out of town". The village also has "banks, churches, cafes and restaurants, a cinema at the Aros Centre, a swimming pool and library ... fuel filling stations and supermarkets".


title: Isle of Skye

text: Broadford, the location of the island's only airstrip, is on the east side of the island and Dunvegan in the north-west is well known for its castle and the nearby Three Chimneys restaurant. The 18th-century Stein Inn on the Waternish coast is the oldest pub on Skye. Kyleakin is linked to Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland by the Skye Bridge, which spans the narrows of Loch Alsh. Uig, the port for ferries to the Outer Hebrides, is on the west of the Trotternish peninsula and Edinbane is between Dunvegan and Portree. Much of the rest of the population lives in crofting townships scattered around the coastline.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream create a mild oceanic climate. Temperatures are generally cool, averaging in January and in July at Duntulm in Trotternish. Snow seldom lies at sea level and frosts are less frequent than on the mainland. Winds are a limiting factor for vegetation. South-westerlies are the most common and speeds of have been recorded. High winds are especially likely on the exposed coasts of Trotternish and Waternish. In common with most islands of the west coast of Scotland, rainfall is generally high at per annum and the elevated Cuillin are wetter still. Variations can be considerable, with the north tending to be drier than the south. Broadford, for example, averages more than of rain per annum. Trotternish typically has 200 hours of bright sunshine in May, the sunniest month. On 28 December 2015, the temperature reached 15 °C, beating the previous December record of 12.9 °C, set in 2013. On 9 May 2016, a temperature of 26.7 °C (80.1 °F) was recorded at Lusa in the south-east of the island.


title: Isle of Skye

text: A Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the seventh millennium BC at in Staffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland. Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at Sand, Applecross, on the mainland coast of Wester Ross, where tools made of a mudstone from have been found. Surveys of the area between the two shores of the Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay have revealed 33 sites with potentially Mesolithic deposits. Finds of bloodstone microliths on the foreshore at Orbost on the west coast of the island near Dunvegan also suggest Mesolithic occupation. These tools probably originated from the nearby island of . Similarly, bloodstone from Rum, and baked mudstone, from the Staffin area, were found at the Mesolithic site of Camas Daraich, also from the seventh millennium BC, on the Point of Sleat, which has led archaeologists to believe that Mesolithic people on Skye would travel fairly significant distances, at least 70 km, both by land and sea.


title: Isle of Skye

text: , an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin, has a variety of archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic onwards. A second- or third-millennium BC chambered cairn, an Iron Age promontory fort, and the remains of another prehistoric settlement dating from the Bronze Age are nearby. on the peninsula is linked to the sea by an artificial "Viking" canal that may date from the later period of Norse settlement. Dun Ringill is a ruined Iron Age hill fort on the Strathaird Peninsula, which was further fortified in the Middle Ages and may have become the seat of Clan MacKinnon.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The late Iron Age inhabitants of the northern and western Hebrides were probably Pictish, although the historical record is sparse. Three Pictish symbol stones have been found on Skye and a fourth on Raasay. More is known of the kingdom of to the south; Adomnán's life of Columba, written shortly before 697, portrays the saint visiting Skye (where he baptised a pagan leader using an interpreter) and Adomnán himself is thought to have been familiar with the island. The Irish annals record a number of events on Skye in the later seventh and early eighth centuries – mainly concerning the struggles between rival dynasties that formed the background to the Old Irish language romance .


title: Isle of Skye

text: The Norse held sway throughout the Hebrides from the 9th century until after the Treaty of Perth in 1266. However, apart from placenames, little remains of their presence on Skye in the written or archaeological record. Apart from the name "Skye" itself, all pre-Norse placenames seem to have been obliterated by the Scandinavian settlers. Viking heritage, with Celtic heritage is claimed by Clan MacLeod. Norse tradition is celebrated in the winter fire festival at Dunvegan, during which a replica Viking long boat is set alight.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat. The isle was held by Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles’ half-brother, Godfrey, from 1389 until 1401, at which time Skye was declared part of Ross. When the Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, re-gained Ross after the battle of Harlaw in 1411, they added "Earl of Ross" to their lords' titles. Skye came with Ross.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles, Clan Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird. Clan MacNeacail also have a long association with Trotternish, and in the 16th century many of the MacInnes clan moved to Sleat. The MacDonalds of South Uist were bitter rivals of the MacLeods, and an attempt by the former to murder church-goers at Trumpan in retaliation for a previous massacre on Eigg, resulted in the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke of 1578.


title: Isle of Skye

text: After the failure of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Flora MacDonald became famous for rescuing Prince Charles Edward Stuart from the Hanoverian troops. Although she was born on South Uist, her story is strongly associated with their escape via Skye, and she is buried at Kilmuir in Trotternish. Samuel Johnson and James Boswell's visit to Skye in 1773 and their meeting with Flora MacDonald in Kilmuir is recorded in Boswell's "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides". Boswell wrote, "To see Dr Samuel Johnson, the great champion of the English Tories, salute Miss Flora MacDonald in the isle of Sky, was a striking sight; for though somewhat congenial in their notions, it was very improbable they should meet here". Johnson's words that Flora MacDonald was "A name that will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour" are written on her gravestone. After this rebellion, the clan system was broken up and Skye became a series of landed estates.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Skye has a rich heritage of ancient monuments from this period. Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of Clan MacLeod since the 13th century. It contains the Fairy Flag and is reputed to have been inhabited by a single family for longer than any other house in Scotland. The 18th-century Armadale Castle, once home of Clan Donald of Sleat, was abandoned as a residence in 1925, but now hosts the Clan Donald Centre. Nearby are the ruins of two more MacDonald strongholds, Knock Castle, and Dunscaith Castle (called "Fortress of Shadows"), the legendary home of warrior woman, martial arts instructor (and, according to some sources, Queen) . , a fortress built in the late 15th century near Kyleakin and once a seat of Clan MacKinnon, is another ruin.


title: Isle of Skye

text: In the late 18th century the harvesting of kelp became a significant activity, but from 1822 onward cheap imports led to a collapse of this industry throughout the Hebrides. During the 19th century, the inhabitants of Skye were also devastated by famine and Clearances. Thirty thousand people were evicted between 1840 and 1880 alone, many of them forced to emigrate to the New World. The "Battle of the Braes" involved a demonstration against a lack of access to land and the serving of eviction notices. The incident involved numerous crofters and about 50 police officers. This event was instrumental in the creation of the Napier Commission, which reported in 1884 on the situation in the Highlands. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 Crofters' Act and on one occasion 400 marines were deployed on Skye to maintain order. The ruins of cleared villages can still be seen at Lorgill, Boreraig and Suisnish in Strath Swordale, and Tusdale on Minginish.


title: Isle of Skye

text: As with many Scottish islands, Skye's population peaked in the 19th century and then declined under the impact of the Clearances and the military losses in the First World War. From the 19th century until 1975 Skye was part of the county of Inverness-shire, but the crofting economy languished and according to Slesser, "Generations of UK governments have treated the island people contemptuously" --a charge that has been levelled at both Labour and Conservative administrations' policies in the Highlands and Islands. By 1971 the population was less than a third of its peak recorded figure in 1841. However, the number of residents then grew by over 28 per cent in the thirty years to 2001. The changing relationship between the residents and the land is evidenced by Robert Carruthers's remark circa 1852 that, "There is now a village in Portree containing three hundred inhabitants." Even if this estimate is inexact the population of the island's largest settlement has probably increased sixfold or more since then. During the period the total number of island residents has declined by 50 per cent or more.The island-wide population increase of 4 per cent between 1991 and 2001 occurred against the background of an overall reduction in Scottish island populations of 3 per cent for the same period. By 2011 the population had risen a further 8.4% to 10,008 with Scottish island populations as a whole growing by 4% to 103,702.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Historically, Skye was overwhelmingly Gaelic-speaking, but this changed between 1921 and 2001. In both the 1901 and 1921 censuses, all Skye parishes were more than 75 per cent Gaelic-speaking. By 1971, only Kilmuir parish had more than three-quarters Gaelic speakers while the rest of Skye ranged between 50 and 74 per cent. At that time, Kilmuir was the only area outside the Western Isles that had such a high proportion of Gaelic speakers. In the 2001 census Kilmuir had just under half Gaelic speakers, and overall, Skye had 31 per cent, distributed unevenly. The strongest Gaelic areas were in the north and south-west of the island, including Staffin at 61 per cent. The weakest areas were in the west and east (e.g. Luib 23 per cent and Kylerhea 19 per cent). Other areas on Skye ranged between 48 per cent and 25 per cent.


title: Isle of Skye

text: In terms of local government, from 1975 to 1996, Skye, along with the neighbouring mainland area of Lochalsh, constituted a local government district within the Highland administrative area. In 1996 the district was included into the unitary Highland Council, () based in Inverness and formed one of the new council's area committees. Following the 2007 elections, Skye now forms a four-member ward called ; it is currently represented by two independents, one Scottish National Party, and one Liberal Democrat councillor.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Skye is in the Highlands and Islands electoral region and comprises a part of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency of the Scottish Parliament, which elects one member under the first past the post basis to represent it. Kate Forbes is the current MSP for the SNP. In addition, Skye forms part of the wider Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency, which elects one member to the House of Commons in Westminster. The present MP Member of Parliament is Ian Blackford of the Scottish National Party, who took office after the SNP's sweep in the General Election of 2015. Prior to this, Charles Kennedy, a Liberal Democrat, had represented the area since the 1983 general election.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The largest employer on the island and its environs is the public sector, which accounts for about a third of the total workforce, principally in administration, education and health. The second-largest employer in the area is the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, highlighting the importance of tourism. Key attractions include Dunvegan Castle, the Clan Donald Visitor Centre, and The Aros Experience arts and exhibition centre in Portree. There are about a dozen large landowners on Skye, the largest being the public sector, with the Scottish Government owning most of the northern part of the island. Glendale is a community-owned estate in Duirinish, and the Sleat Community Trust, the local development trust, is active in various regeneration projects.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Small firms dominate employment in the private sector. The Talisker Distillery, which produces a single malt whisky, is beside Loch Harport on the west coast of the island. Torabhaig distillery located in Teangue opened in 2017 and also produces whisky. Three other whiskies— ("son of the sea"), ("wee dram of the isles") and ("black pot")—are produced by blender ("smugglers den by the Sound of Sleat"), based at . These are marketed using predominantly Gaelic-language labels. The blended whisky branded as "Isle of Skye" is produced not on the island but by the Glengoyne Distillery at Killearn north of Glasgow, though the website of the owners, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd., boasts a "high proportion of Island malts" and contains advertisements for tourist businesses in the island. There is also an established software presence on Skye, with Portree-based Sitekit having expanded in recent years.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Crofting is still important, but although there are about 2,000 crofts on Skye only 100 or so are large enough to enable a crofter to earn a livelihood entirely from the land. In recent years, families have complained about the increasing prices for land that make it difficult for young people to start their own crofts.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Cod and herring stocks have declined but commercial fishing remains important, especially fish farming of salmon and shellfish such as scampi. The west coast of Scotland has a considerable renewable energy potential and the Isle of Skye Renewables Co-op has recently bought a stake in the Ben Aketil wind farm near Dunvegan. There is a thriving arts and crafts sector.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The unemployment rate in the area tends to be higher than in the Highlands as a whole, and is seasonal in nature, in part due to the impact of tourism. The population is growing and in common with many other scenic rural areas in Scotland, significant increases are expected in the percentage of the population aged 45 to 64 years.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The restrictions required by the worldwide pandemic increased unemployment in the Highlands and Islands in summer 2020 to 5.7%; that was significantly higher than the 2.4 per cent in 2019. The rates were said to be highest in "Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross and Argyll and the Islands". A December 2020 report stated that between March (just before the effects of pandemic were noted) and December, the unemployment rate in the region increased by "more than 97%" and suggested that the outlook was even worse for spring 2021.


title: Isle of Skye

text: A report published in mid-2020 indicated that visitors to Skye added £211 million in 2019 to the island's economy, prior to travel restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report added that "Skye and Raasay attracted 650,000 visitors [in 2018] and supported 2,850 jobs". The government estimated that tourism in Scotland would decline by over 50% as a result of the pandemic. "Skye is highly vulnerable to the downturn in international visitors that will continue for much of 2020 and beyond", Professor John Lennon of Glasgow Caledonian University told a reporter in July 2020.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Tourism in the Highlands and Islands was negatively impacted by the pandemic, the effects of which continued into 2021. A September 2020 report stated that the region "has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to date, when compared to Scotland and the UK as a whole". The industry required short term support for "business survival and recovery" and that was expected to continue as the sector was "severely impacted for as long as physical distancing and travel restrictions". A scheme called Island Equivalent was introduced by the Scottish government in early 2021 to financially assist hospitality and retail businesses "affected by Level 3 coronavirus restrictions". Previous schemes in 2020 included the Strategic Framework Business Fund and the Coronavirus Business Support Fund.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Prior to the pandemic, during summer 2017, islanders complained about an excessive number of tourists, which was causing overcrowding in popular locations such Glen Brittle, the Neist Point lighthouse and at the Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr. "Skye is buckling under the weight of increased tourism this year", said the operator of a self-catering cottage; the problem was most significant at "the key iconic destinations, like the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing", he added. Chris Taylor of VisitScotland sympathised with the concerns and said that the agency was working on a long-term solution. "But the benefits to Skye of bringing in international visitors and increased spending are huge," he added.


title: Isle of Skye

text: An article published in 2020 confirmed that (prior to the pandemic), the Talisker Distillery and Dunvegan Castle were still overcrowded in peak periods; other areas where parking was a problem due to large crowds included "the Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, the Quiraing, the Fairy Pools, and Neist Point. This source also stated that Portree was "the busiest place on the island" during peak periods and suggested that some tourists might prefer accommodations in quieter areas such as "Dunvegan, Kyleakin and the Broadford and Breakish area".


title: Isle of Skye

text: Skye is linked to the mainland by the Skye Bridge, while ferries sail from Armadale on the island to Mallaig, and from Kylerhea to Glenelg, crossing the Kyle Rhea strait. Ferries also run from Uig to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist, and from Sconser to Raasay.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The Skye Bridge opened in 1995 under a private finance initiative and the high tolls charged (£5.70 each way for summer visitors) met with widespread opposition, spearheaded by the pressure group SKAT (Skye and Kyle Against Tolls). On 21 December 2004 it was announced that the Scottish Executive had purchased the bridge from its owners and the tolls were immediately removed.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Bus services run to Inverness and Glasgow, and there are local services on the island, mainly starting from Portree or Broadford. Train services run from Kyle of Lochalsh at the mainland end of the Skye Bridge to Inverness, as well as from Glasgow to Mallaig from where the ferry can be caught to Armadale.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The island's airfield at , near Broadford, is used by private aircraft and occasionally by NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service for transferring patients to hospitals on the mainland.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The A87 trunk road traverses the island from the Skye Bridge to Uig, linking most of the major settlements. Many of the island's roads have been widened in the past forty years although there are still substantial sections of single track road.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Students of Scottish Gaelic travel from all over the world to attend , the Scottish Gaelic college based near Kilmore in Sleat. In addition to members of the Church of Scotland and a smaller number of Roman Catholics, many residents of Skye belong to the Free Church of Scotland, known for its strict observance of the Sabbath.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Skye has a strong folk music tradition, although in recent years dance and rock music have been growing in popularity on the island. Gaelic folk rock band Runrig started in Skye and former singer Donnie Munro still works on the island. Runrig's second single and a concert staple is entitled "Skye", the lyrics being partly in English and partly in Gaelic and they have released other songs such as "Nightfall on Marsco" that were inspired by the island. Ex-Runrig member Blair Douglas, a highly regarded accordionist and composer in his own right, was born on the island and is still based there to this day. Celtic fusion band the Peatbog Faeries are based on Skye. Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson owned an estate at Strathaird on Skye at one time. Several Tull songs are written about Skye, including "Dun Ringil", "Broadford Bazaar", and "Acres Wild" (which contains the lines "Come with me to the Winged Isle, / Northern father's western child..." in reference to the island itself). The Isle of Skye Music Festival featured sets from The Fun Lovin' Criminals and Sparks, but collapsed in 2007. Electronic musician Mylo was born on Skye.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The poet Sorley MacLean, a native of the Isle of Raasay, which lies off the island's east coast, lived much of his life on Skye. The island has been immortalised in the traditional song "The Skye Boat Song" and is the notional setting for the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf, although the Skye of the novel bears little relation to the real island. John Buchan's descriptions of Skye, as featured in his Richard Hannay novel "Mr Standfast", are more true to life. is a 2004 Italian language work of non-fiction by . The international bestseller, The Ice Twins, by S K Tremayne, published around the world in 2015–2016, is set in southern Skye, especially around the settlement and islands of Isleornsay.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Skye has been used as a location for a number of feature films. The Ashaig aerodrome was used for the opening scenes of the 1980 film "Flash Gordon". "Stardust", released in 2007 and starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, featured scenes near Uig, Loch Coruisk and the Quiraing. Another 2007 film, "", was shot almost entirely in various locations on the island. The Justin Kurzel adaption of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender was also filmed on the Island. Some of the opening scenes in Ridley Scott's 2012 feature film "Prometheus" were shot and set at the Old Man of Storr. In 1973 "The Highlands and Islands - a Royal Tour", a documentary about Prince Charles's visit to the Highlands and Islands, directed by Oscar Marzaroli, was shot partly on Skye. Scenes from the Scottish Gaelic-language BBC Alba television series "Bannan" were filmed on the island.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The "West Highland Free Press" is published at Broadford. This weekly newspaper takes as its motto ("The Land, the Language and the People"), which reflects its radical, campaigning priorities. The "Free Press" was founded in 1972 and circulates in Skye, Wester Ross and the Outer Hebrides. Shinty is a popular sport played throughout the island and Portree-based Skye Camanachd won the Camanachd Cup in 1990.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Whilst Skye had unofficial flags in the past, including the popular "Bratach nan Daoine" (Flag of the People) design which represented the Cuillins in sky blue against a white sky symbolising the Gaelic language, land struggle and the fairy flag of Dunvegan, the Island received its first official flag "Bratach an Eilein" (The Skye Flag) approved by the Lord Lyon after a public vote in August 2020. The design by Calum Alasdair Munro reflects the Island's Gaelic heritage, the Viking heritage and the history of Flora MacDonald. The flag has a birlinn in the canton, and there are five oars representing the five areas of Skye, Trotternish, Waternish, Duirinish, Minginish and Sleat. Yellow represents the MacLeods, and Blue the MacDonalds or the MacKinnons.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The Hebrides generally lack the biodiversity of mainland Britain, but like most of the larger islands, Skye still has a wide variety of species. Observing the abundance of game birds Martin wrote:


title: Isle of Skye

text: In the modern era avian life includes the corncrake, red-throated diver, kittiwake, tystie, Atlantic puffin, goldeneye and golden eagle. The eggs of the last breeding pair of white-tailed sea eagle in the UK were taken by an egg collector on Skye in 1916 but the species has recently been re-introduced. The chough last bred on the island in 1900. Mountain hare (apparently absent in the 18th century) and rabbit are now abundant and preyed upon by wild cat and pine marten. The rich fresh water streams contain brown trout, Atlantic salmon and water shrew. Offshore the edible crab and edible oyster are also found, the latter especially in the Sound of Scalpay. There are nationally important horse mussel and brittlestar beds in the sea lochs and in 2012 a bed of 100 million flame shells was found during a survey of Loch Alsh. Grey Seals can be seen off the Southern coast.


title: Isle of Skye

text: Heather moor containing ling, bell heather, cross-leaved heath, bog myrtle and fescues is everywhere abundant. The high Black Cuillins weather too slowly to produce a soil that sustains a rich plant life, but each of the main peninsulas has an individual flora. The basalt underpinnings of Trotternish produce a diversity of Arctic and alpine plants including alpine pearlwort and mossy cyphal. The low-lying fields of Waternish contain corn marigold and corn spurry. The sea cliffs of Duirinish boast mountain avens and fir clubmoss. Minginish produces fairy flax, cats-ear and black bog rush. There is a fine example of "Brachypodium"-rich ash woodland at Tokavaig in Sleat incorporating silver birch, hazel, bird cherry, and hawthorn.


title: Isle of Skye

text: The local Biodiversity Action Plan recommends land management measures to control the spread of ragwort and bracken and identifies four non-native, invasive species as threatening native biodiversity: Japanese knotweed, rhododendron, New Zealand flatworm and mink. It also identifies problems of over-grazing resulting in the impoverishment of moorland and upland habitats and a loss of native woodland, caused by the large numbers of red deer and sheep.


title: Isle of Skye

text: In 2020 Clan MacLeod chief Hugh MacLeod announced a plan to reintroduce 370,000 native trees along with beaver and red squirrel populations to the clan estates on Skye, with a view to restoring a "wet desert" landscape which had depleted from years of overgrazing.


title: Earthsea

text: The Earthsea Cycle, also known as Earthsea, is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with "A Wizard of Earthsea" (1968), "The Tombs of Atuan", (1970) and "The Farthest Shore" (1972), the series was continued in "Tehanu" (1990), and "Tales from Earthsea" and "The Other Wind" (both 2001). In 2018, all the novels and short stories were published in a single volume, "The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition", with artwork by Charles Vess.


title: Earthsea

text: The world of Earthsea is one of sea and islands: a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. Earthsea contains no large continents, with the archipelago resembling Indonesia or the Philippines. The largest island, Havnor, at approximately across, is about the size of Great Britain. The cultures of Earthsea are literate non-industrial civilizations and not direct analogues of the real world. Technologically, Earthsea is an early Iron Age society, with bronze used in places where iron is scarce. Weapons also include the use of wood and other hard, easily crafted metals. The overall climate of Earthsea is temperate, comparable to the mid-latitudes (over a distance of about ) of the Northern hemisphere of the Earth. There is a yearly transition from warm summers to cold and snowy winters, especially in northern islands like Gont and Osskil. In the southern regions of Earthsea it can be much warmer.


title: Earthsea

text: Most of the people of Earthsea are described as having brown skin. In the Archipelago "red-brown" skin is typical, while the people of the East Reach have darker "black-brown" complexions. The people of Osskil in the north are described as having lighter, sallow complexions, while the Kargs of the Kargad Lands are "white-skinned" and often "yellow-haired". Le Guin has criticized what she described as the general assumption in fantasy that characters should be white and the society should resemble the Middle Ages.


title: Earthsea

text: Magic is a central part of life in most of Earthsea, with the exception of the Kargish lands, where it is banned. There are weather workers on ships, fixers who repair boats and buildings, entertainers, and court sorcerers. Magic is an inborn talent which can be developed with training. The most gifted are sent to the school on Roke, where, if their skill and their discipline prove sufficient, they can become staff-carrying wizards.


title: Earthsea

text: The Dry Land is where the people of the archipelago and reaches of Earthsea go when they die. It is a realm of shadow and dust, of eternal night where the stars are fixed in the sky, and nothing changes. The souls who live there have an empty, dreary existence, and even "lovers pass each other in silence". Le Guin has stated that the idea of the Dry Land came from the "Greco-Roman idea of Hades' realm, from certain images in Dante Alighieri's work, and from one of Rainer Maria Rilke's Elegies."


title: Earthsea

text: Le Guin originally intended for "A Wizard of Earthsea" to be a standalone novel, but she wrote "The Tombs of Atuan" as a sequel after considering the loose ends in the first book; "The Farthest Shore" followed after further consideration. These three books were written in quick succession, from 1968 to 1972, and are sometimes seen as the "original trilogy". Nearly twenty years later, Le Guin wrote a fourth book, "Tehanu" (1990), and followed it with "Tales from Earthsea" and "The Other Wind" in 2001. The latter three books are sometimes referred to as the "second trilogy". The series as a whole is known as the "Earthsea Cycle", and was published in a single volume in 2018 as "The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition", with art by Charles Vess.


title: Earthsea

text: Seven appear in two collections of her work (and some have been reissued elsewhere). Two early stories were originally published in 1964, and were collected in "The Wind's Twelve Quarters" (Harper & Row, 1975). These helped to define the setting of Earthsea. Five much later stories were collected in "Tales from Earthsea" (Harcourt, 2001), where three were original. In October 2014 a new novella set in Earthsea was published as a stand-alone, "The Daughter of Odren". A final 12-page short story, "Firelight", was published in June 2018, covering the last days of Ged.


title: Earthsea

text: Tales from Earthsea also includes about 30 pages of fictional reference material titled "A Description of Earthsea" (2001).


title: Earthsea

text: After "The Rule of Names" and before "A Wizard of Earthsea", Le Guin wrote a longish story about a prince in search of the Ultimate. He travels southwest from Havnor through the archipelago into the open sea. He finds a raft-colony and sea-people. The prince joins them in the sea. He wears out, sinks and finds the Ultimate. This story was never submitted for publication for "it never worked out itself well". However, the theme of a raft-colony and sea-people was later taken up as an important ingredient in the plot of "The Farthest Shore".


title: Earthsea

text: On November 5, 2019, the "BBC News" listed "The Earthsea Trilogy" on its list of the 100 most influential novels.


title: Earthsea

text: There have been a number of audiobook readings by different narrators and publishers. In the early 1990s, Robert Inglis narrated the first three books of the series for Recorded Books.


title: Earthsea

text: A BBC-produced two-hour radio dramatization of "A Wizard of Earthsea" was originally broadcast on Radio 4 on December 26, 1996. This adaptation was narrated by Dame Judi Dench, with Michael Maloney as Ged, and used a wide range of actors with different regional and social accents to emphasize the origins of the Earthsea characters (for instance, Estarriol and others from the East Reach were played by actors with Southern Welsh accents). The adaptation was subsequently released on audio cassette.


title: Earthsea

text: In April and May 2015, BBC Radio 4 aired a new, six-part dramatization of the "Earthsea" works, encompassing the storylines and motifs of the novels "A Wizard of Earthsea", "The Tombs of Atuan" and "The Farthest Shore". The first of the six 30 minute-long episodes premiered on April 27 and the last on May 5. The characters of Ged and Tenar were portrayed by three actors at different stages in their lives (Kasper Hilton-Hille, James McArdle and Shaun Dooley as Ged; Nishi Malde, Aysha Kala and Vineeta Rishi as Tenar). The radio drama was adapted by Judith Adams, directed by Sasha Yevtushenko and featured original music composed by Jon Nicholls. Following the premiere radio broadcast, each of the episodes were made available for online streaming on BBC Radio 4 Extra for a month, via the BBC iPlayer service. The adaptation was created and aired as part of a thematic month centered on the life and works of Ursula Le Guin, in commemoration of her then-recent 85th birthday. In addition to the "Earthsea" radio drama, the thematic month included the airing of a two-part radio adaptation of "The Left Hand of Darkness" earlier in April, as well as exclusive interviews with Le Guin and some of the writers she inspired.


title: Earthsea

text: The U.S.-based Sci Fi Channel broadcast in December 2004 a three-hour loose adaptation for television of "A Wizard of Earthsea" and "The Tombs of Atuan", entitled "Legend of Earthsea" (later, simply "Earthsea"). It was broadcast in two parts on Channel 4 in the UK at Easter 2005. Sci Fi Channel had angered Le Guin and fans of the Earthsea novels with its announcement that Ged and the vast majority of the other characters would be played by Caucasians and with the dramatis personæ posted on an official website. The latter revealed several original characters – such as "The Archmagus" and "King Tygath", "Diana", "Penelope", and "Marion" – and it referred to "Kargide" characters rather than Kargad, Karg, or Kargish. The religious practices of Atuan were portrayed differently in the adaptation, and the celibacy of Earthsea wizards overlooked as Ged and Tenar become sexually involved.


title: Earthsea

text: One month before the U.S. broadcast, Le Guin posted on her website "A Reply to Some Statements Made by the Film-Makers" published in the December 2004 issue of "Sci Fi Magazine". She opened with the observation, "I've tried very hard to keep from saying anything at all about this production, being well aware that movies must differ in many ways from the books they're based on, and feeling that I really had no business talking about it, since I was not included in planning it and was given no part in discussions or decisions." (Director Robert Lieberman, too, had stated that she was not involved.)


title: Earthsea

text: "That makes it particularly galling of the director to put words in my mouth." Le Guin disavowed some specific interpretations both by Lieberman and by executive director Robert Halmi Sr., and concluded (quoting Lieberman):


title: Earthsea

text: I wonder if the people who made the film of "The Lord of the Rings" had ended it with Frodo putting on the Ring and ruling happily ever after, and then claimed that that was what Tolkien "intended ..."[,] would people think they'd been "very, very honest to the books"?


title: Earthsea

text: In May 2018, it was announced that the series had been opted for a film adaptation by producer Jennifer Fox. In 2019 it was decided to produce a TV series instead.


title: Earthsea

text: Studio Ghibli's 2006 film, "Tales from Earthsea", is loosely based in the Earthsea mythology. It was directed by Gorō Miyazaki, the son of Hayao Miyazaki. Le Guin granted Studio Ghibli the rights due to her love of Hayao Miyazaki's films. Le Guin called the adaptation "disappointing" and "entirely different" from her creation.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Miralem Pjanić (born 2 April 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Sharjah and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić started his professional career at Metz being there for one season. He signed for side Lyon in 2008 before signing for Roma in 2011 after three seasons at Lyon. During his time in Rome, Pjanić came to be recognized as one of the best midfielders in Serie A. In 2016, Pjanić joined Juventus, and has since been considered an integral player for the team, winning four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italias, and being named in the Serie A Team of the Year for 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons. He was also named in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, for his role in Juventus's run to the final. Pjanić joined Barcelona in September 2020.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: A former Luxembourg youth international, Pjanić made his senior international debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2008, earning over one hundred caps and scoring eighteen goals since. He represented the nation at their first major tournament, the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić was born on 2 April 1990 in Tuzla, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, in what was then SFR Yugoslavia (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina); to father Fahrudin Pjanić and mother Fatima. He developed an interest in footballing through his father, a former third division footballer in Yugoslavia, and began his football career in Luxembourg following his family's arrival to the country shortly before the outbreak of the Bosnian War. While in Luxembourg, Pjanić often attended training sessions and matches with his father. At the age of seven, his father discovered that he had talent and an interest in football and allowed his son to join local club FC Schifflange 95 in Schifflange. While at Schifflange, Pjanić drew interest from several Belgian, Dutch and German clubs, but agreed to join Metz in France in 2004. Pjanić was recommended by former Metz player and Luxembourg international Guy Hellers.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić joined Metz at age 14 on a youth contract and spent approximately three years in the club's academy. In the 2005–06 season, he played on the under-16 team that won the "Championnat National des 16 ans" and, following the season, signed a five-year "élite" contract with the club. After spending the 2006–07 season with the club's under-18 team, Pjanić was promoted to the club's amateur team in the Championnat de France Amateur for the 2007–08 season. He appeared in the first two matches of the campaign before earning a call up to the senior team by manager Francis De Taddeo. Pjanić made his professional football debut, at the age of 17, on 18 August 2007 in a league match against Paris Saint-Germain. He appeared as a substitute in a 0–0 draw. The following week, he earned his first start in a 2–0 defeat to Rennes.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: After a string of respectable appearances, on 30 November 2007, Pjanić signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal, tying him to Metz until 2010. After becoming professional, he was assigned the number 15 shirt. Pjanić scored his first professional goal for Metz on 15 December 2007 in a 2–1 defeat against Sochaux converting on a penalty in the 88th minute, thus becoming one of the youngest players to score a goal in Ligue 1 history. Among his other positive performances included converting another penalty in a 2–1 loss to Nice and scoring on the final day of the season against Le Mans in a thrilling 4–3 victory.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić's play in the Coupe de France was with distinction as well appearing in and starting all four matches the club contested. He assisted on several goals in the club's 6–1 demolition of Vesoul Haute-Saône. In the ensuing round, Pjanić scored the final goal in Metz's 3–0 triumph over Strasbourg and played the full 90 minutes in the club's 1–0 win over Lorient in the Round of 16 helping the club who were, at the time, struggling in domestic play, reach the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France. Metz were eventually eliminated by the eventual champions Lyon.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: In total, Pjanić made 38 appearances and scored 5 goals with Metz. For his efforts, he was nominated for the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, won by Hatem Ben Arfa.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Though Pjanić was in great form throughout the season, Metz still suffered relegation back to Ligue 2, prompting speculation that the young star would move to any of a host of clubs, with English clubs Arsenal and Chelsea, Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid, Italian clubs Milan and Inter, and French club Lyon vying for his services.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: After Metz received numerous offers for the player's services, on 6 June 2008, Pjanić and Metz both reached an agreement with Olympique Lyonnais for the transfer of the player. Pjanić agreed to a five-year contract, while the transfer fee was priced at €7.5 million plus future incentives.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Labeled as the future replacement for the ageing Juninho, Pjanić was initially given the number 12 shirt, but switched to the number 18 for pre-season and made his club debut in the team's Trophée des Champions defeat to Bordeaux. He made his league debut in the opening league match of the season against Toulouse playing the entire match in a 3–0 victory. Pjanić's debut season with Lyon was cut in half after fracturing his fibula in a match against Sochaux in October 2008, as a result of a bad tackle by Stéphane Dalmat. Despite initially being diagnosed as missing a month, he missed two months and made his return on 3 January 2009 in the club's 6–0 thrashing of amateur club US Concarneau in the Coupe de France playing 66 minutes.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: For the 2009–10 season, Pjanić switched to the number 8 shirt, formerly worn by his predecessor and Lyon great Juninho. He started the season strong scoring his first career goal for Lyon on a free kick in Lyon's playoff round match against Belgian club Anderlecht in the UEFA Champions League. Lyon won the match 5–1. A couple of days later, he scored his first career league goal for the club, in which his side won 3–0 at Auxerre. Pjanić continued his stellar play in the Champions League scoring the only goal in the club's opening group stage match against Italian club Fiorentina. In the club's second group stage match against Hungarian club Debreceni, he scored again, via free kick, and also assisted on two other goals in the club's 4–0 victory. On 10 March 2010, Pjanić scored the equalizing goal in Lyon's 1–1 draw with Spanish club Real Madrid in the second leg of their first knockout round tie in the UEFA Champions League. The draw sent Lyon through to the quarter-finals due to their 1–0 win in the first leg at the Stade Gerland.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić began the 2010–11 season as a starter and featured in the team's first three games. However, following the arrival of Yoann Gourcuff, he began appearing as a substitute and, subsequently, appeared as a substitute in the team's next seven league matches. On 29 September 2010, Pjanić scored his first goal of the season in the team's 3–1 win over Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Champions League. As a result of his good form, Claude Puel began experimenting playing both Gourcuff and Pjanić in the midfield, but after playing the two in a 2–0 win over Portuguese club Benfica in the Champions League and a 1–1 draw with Rennes in the league, this tactic was abandoned.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 31 August 2011, Pjanić agreed a four-year deal with Italian club Roma, for an €11 million transfer fee. He scored his first goal for Roma against Lecce.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić started the 2012–13 season mostly on the bench. He got his chance in a "Derby della Capitale" and scored a goal. From that game, he started playing regularly and scored one more goal in 2–0 win over Torino and one in the Coppa Italia against Atalanta. In the 2013–14 season, under new Roma coach Rudi Garcia, he was a starter in the 4–3–3 midfield, playing a key role to the team's Serie A record of ten wins in the first ten season matches.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić scored 6 goals and provided 6 assists in the 2013–14 Serie A season. On 25 April 2014, he scored the first goal in Roma's 2–0 victory over Milan; the goal was a wonderful individual display from Pjanić, as he dribbled past Sulley Muntari, Riccardo Montolivo, and Adil Rami before putting the ball in the net.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 11 May 2014, Pjanić signed a new contract which will last until 30 June 2018. In a friendly tournament in Denver in July, he scored from inside his own half, but Roma lost 3–2 to Manchester United. In the 2014–15 season, he became considered as a rising star in Italian football, scoring 5 times and assisting 10 goals.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: In the 2015–16 season, Pjanić emerged as one of the world's finest free-kick takers, netting a brilliant goal against Juventus on 30 August and scoring several more, including in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen. By the January break, he had scored 7 goals and assisted another 5, being linked with a transfer to Barcelona and Real Madrid in the winter transfer window. Towards the end of the season, rumours spread in the media of Pjanić's possible departure from Roma, as he was linked with Juventus. He finished the season with ten league goals, and 12 in all competitions, while also finishing the league season as the top assist provider in Serie A for the second consecutive season, alongside Juventus' Paul Pogba, with 12 assists.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 13 June 2016, Pjanić joined Juventus on a five-year contract for a fee of €32 million, ending a five-year stint with Roma. He chose the number 5 shirt to start the new season. On 10 September, Pjanić scored on his debut in a 3–1 home win over Sassuolo. After winning Coppa Italia and Serie A in his first season, he missed out on a potential treble, having lost in the Champions League Final to Real Madrid.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić's second season at Juventus began with a 2–3 loss against Lazio in the 2017 Supercoppa Italiana. He scored his first goal of the season in city derby against Torino on 23 September 2017. Juventus won the game 4–0. On 28 February, Pjanić scored a crucial penalty against Atalanta to send Juventus through to the 2018 Coppa Italia Final. Juventus won that final, with Pjanić contributing by assisting for one of the goals in a convincing triumph over Milan on 9 May 2018. Four days later, Pjanić once again became Serie A champion in a game against his old club Roma, which sealed his second domestic double in two seasons. On 19 May, the final match of the season, he scored his fifth league goal of the season, netting a trademark free kick, which sealed Juventus's 2–1 home win over Hellas Verona.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: At the beginning of his third campaign with the club, Pjanić put pen to paper on a new five-year contract. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 home win over Lazio on 25 August 2018. On 19 September, in his first UEFA Champions League game of the season, Pjanić helped his team to a win by converting two penalties against Valencia in an eventual 2–0 victory. On 6 October, in a game against Udinese, he made his 100th appearance for Juventus.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 21 September 2019, Pjanić won his 100th match with Juventus in all competitions in a 2–1 home win over Verona in Serie A.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 26 July 2020, he won his fourth league title with the club after defeating Sampdoria 2–0 at home. He made his final appearance for the club on 7 August, in a 2–1 home win over his former club Lyon in the second leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League; however, despite the victory, the result saw Juventus eliminated from the competition on away goals following a 2–2 aggregate draw.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 29 June 2020, Juventus announced that they had reached an agreement with Barcelona for the transfer of Pjanić on a deal worth €60 million, plus a maximum of €5 million in bonuses, to be effective following the conclusion of the 2019–20 season. The deal was also coordinated with a swap of Arthur, whom Juve signed for €72 million, plus a maximum of €10 million in bonuses. Pjanić signed a contract with the Spanish side for the next four seasons, until the end of the 2023–24 campaign, with a buy-out clause of €400 million. He made his debut on 27 September, coming on as a substitute in a 4–0 home win over Villarreal in La Liga.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: However, Pjanić's stint at Barcelona was unsuccessful, as he made 30 appearances for the club (being named 13 times in the starting XI) and spent an average of 43 minutes on the pitch but did not score or assist any goals.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Due to spending his childhood in Luxembourg, Pjanić became eligible for their national team and begun representing the nation's youth sides. He represented Luxembourg in the 2006 European Under-17 Championship, for which Luxembourg qualified automatically as hosts. He scored Luxembourg's only goal of the tournament. In that same year, he scored 4 goals in a match against Belgium, which ended in a 5–5 draw. Before making his decision regarding his national team status, Pjanić was eligible to represent Luxembourg and Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: In May 2008, during an interview for Bosnian newspaper, Pjanić stated that he wanted to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Eventually, officials in the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina took notice and Pjanić was called-up to the country's under-21 team. However, because Pjanić no longer had a Bosnian passport and needed FIFA approval to switch nationalities, he wasn't allowed to be called-up for the senior team. After an eight-month wait and following the involvement of Željko Komšić, the Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pjanić received a Bosnian passport in early 2008.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: He debuted for Bosnia and Herzegovina on 20 August 2008 in the team's 1–2 loss to Bulgaria. On 3 March 2010, he scored his first senior international goal in Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2–1 win over Ghana in Sarajevo.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić was instrumental in Bosnia and Herzegovina's qualification for 2014 FIFA World Cup, their first major competition, and he was named in 23-man squad for the tournament. He debuted in the team's opening group match, a narrow defeat to Argentina at the Maracanã Stadium. On 25 June, during the final group match against Iran, Pjanić scored a goal, leading to a 3–1 victory to help Bosnia and Herzegovina to their first ever FIFA World Cup win.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: On 31 March 2021, he played his 100th match for Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 1–0 loss to France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Nicknamed ""il Piccolo Principe"" "("the Little Prince")" during his time with Roma, Pjanić was regarded as one of the most promising young midfielders of his generation in his youth, and was included in Don Balón's list of the 100 best young players in the world in 2010; however, he was also thought to lack composure at times in the media. His Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri touted him as a potentially world class midfielder in 2016, later also adding that, although he was extremely talented, he needed to stay more "calm and focused" in order to fulfil his potential; subsequently, the 2016–17 season saw him establish himself as one of the best, most skillful, and most versatile midfielders in Europe. Although he is neither particularly quick, nor gifted with athleticism or physical strength, Pjanić has been described as an efficient "old-fashioned playmaker with huge technical qualities".


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: A talented, creative, and tenacious midfielder, with quick feet, Pjanić is usually deployed in a central midfield role, or as a deep-lying playmaker in front of the back-line, although his tactical versatility, defensive awareness, and work-rate enable him to play in several midfield positions, and he has also been used in more advanced roles as an offensive-minded central midfielder, known as the "mezzala" role, in Italian, or even as an attacking midfielder, and has even been deployed as a second striker on occasion.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić's main attributes are his range of passing, dribbling skills, and vision, which make him an excellent assist provider, and also enable him to dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield and orchestrate goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. Known for his eye for goal from midfield and striking ability from distance, Pjanić is also known for having the capacity to get into good scoring positions by making late attacking runs into the penalty area from behind. A renowned set-piece specialist, he is highly regarded for his accurate, bending free-kicks, as well as his delivery from dead-ball situations; in 2015, he was described as the best free-kick taker in the world by renowned set-piece specialist and former Lyon teammate Juninho. Pjanić's precocious talent, playmaking skills, and ability to score many goals from free kicks saw him labelled as a potential heir to Juninho at Lyon. However, despite his ability and the praise he has garnered from pundits, due to his elegant and creative playing style, Pjanić has also drawn criticism on occasion in the media for being inconsistent, while Livio Caferoglu of "Football Italia" accused him of being "too slight to impose himself as a defensive midfielder," and "too slow to release the ball."


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: Pjanić is a Muslim and an ethnic Bosniak. He has a son named Edin with his longtime girlfriend, Josepha from Nice. Along with his native Bosnian, Pjanić is fluent in six additional languages: Luxembourgish, French, English, German, Italian and Spanish. In 2014, Pjanić was enrolled at the University of Sarajevo, majoring in sport and physical education.


title: Miralem Pjanić

text: In 2009, while playing for Lyon, he stated: "I have followed Real Madrid since the days of Zidane and Ronaldo, when I fell in love. Since then, it is my preferred club and it always will be." Later, when he was a Roma player, he confirmed that he had been a fan of Real Madrid since his childhood.


title: XxxHolic

text: xxxHolic (stylized as ×××HOLiC; pronounced "Holic") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. The series, which crosses over with another Clamp work, "", revolves around Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student who is disturbed by his ability to see the supernatural, and Yūko Ichihara, a powerful witch who owns a wish-granting shop. When Watanuki asks Ichihara to remove his ability to see spirits, she grants it on the condition that he pay for his wish by working for her. Clamp created "xxxHolic" to link the supernatural and fantasy series. From 2013 to 2016 they worked on a sequel series xxxHolic: Rei.


title: XxxHolic

text: "xxxHolic" was serialized in Kodansha's "seinen" manga magazine "Weekly Young Magazine" periodically from 2003 until March 2010. It then moved to the "shōnen" manga magazine "Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine" in June 2010, where it ended serialization in February 2011. The manga is published in "tankōbon" volumes under the KC Deluxe label; a total of nineteen volumes have been released. It was first published in the United States by Del Rey Manga and in the United Kingdom by Tanoshimi in 2004, then was later published in a series of omnibuses by Kodansha Comics as of 2014. In 2005, Production I.G adapted the manga into an animated film, which was followed by two anime television series, and various original video animations (OVAs). Funimation licensed the film and the first TV series in North America, and released both of them in DVD as well as Blu-ray Disc. A light novel and a video game have also been released based on the series.


title: XxxHolic

text: The manga has been well received by both Japanese and English readers and has appeared in various rankings of bestselling books. Critics have generally praised the series for its illustrations and its portrayal of supernatural elements.


title: XxxHolic

text: Kimihiro Watanuki is a high school student plagued by ayakashi spirits which are invisible to everyone else but him. The series begins when Watanuki stumbles, seemingly by chance, into a shop that grants wishes. The shop is owned by Yūko Ichihara, a mysterious witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yūko, must be of equal value; so, as payment, he must become Yūko's temporary, part-time cook and housekeeper. While his established job consists of household chores, Yūko increasingly sends him on errands of a supernatural or spiritual nature as the series develops. Himawari Kunogi, Watanuki's love interest, and Shizuka Dōmeki, a classmate whom Watanuki initially detests, occasionally join him in his work as per Yūko's request. The three become increasingly close, and though Watanuki is often annoyed with Dōmeki, he grows to value the new friendships he makes and his life at the wish shop. At the same time, though, he begins to worry about Yūko, wondering if she who grants wishes to others ever has anything to wish for herself. Eventually, he makes a promise to try and grant her a wish, should she have one.


title: XxxHolic

text: With each supernatural encounter, Watanuki becomes more familiar with and connected to the spiritual world. A crossing plotline with the concurrent series "" reveals that Yūko is actually on the verge of death, and she is only alive now because her personal time was accidentally frozen long ago by the powerful wizard Clow Reed. As the magic binding her in time begins to dissolve, Yūko's ability to maintain the shop's magical existence fades, and she eventually passes on, telling Watanuki that he will finally be free of his ability to see demons. However, Watanuki chooses to retain his ability to see spirits in order to maintain Yūko's shop and take over her role of shopkeeper. Further cross-over plotlines reveal that Watanuki was born as a result of a wish to turn back time by a shop client, of "Tsubasa". Since Syaoran was able to go back in time (at the cost of being removed from his timeline and becoming imprisoned by the sorcerer Fei-Wang Reed), Watanuki was born to replace the void in timespace Syaoran left behind, and thus while they are different people, they share an "existence". As the series reaches its conclusion, Syaoran and Watanuki become trapped in a void by Fei-Wang and must pay a price to become free and continue existing. While Syaoran decides to keep traveling through dimensions, never stopping in a single place, Watanuki chooses to stay inside the shop and act as its owner, granting wishes until the day he sees Yūko again. As time progresses, Watanuki continues working in the shop without aging. Dōmeki, his assistant, frequently visits him, and the tradition continues with Dōmeki's descendants. After 100 years pass, Watanuki has a dream of Yūko, who tells him that he has finally become powerful enough to leave the shop. Despite this, he decides to continue waiting inside the shop for the day that they meet again.


title: XxxHolic

text: "xxxHolic" was conceived when the group Clamp wanted to link the supernatural and fantasy series they made with a realistic one. This idea was further worked with the creation of the character of Yūko Ichihara who would bridge the stories from "xxxHolic" and "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle". Clamp proposed the idea of writing "xxxHolic" to "Young Magazine" after "Chobits". In the end they decided to publish both "xxxHolic" and "Tsubasa" in weekly magazines to make serialization easier. The manga's title was originally going to be "addicted" but it was changed for the less ambiguous "holic." Like Clamp's previous work "Tokyo Babylon", "xxxHolic" focuses on social pathologies but with a more esoteric tone.


title: XxxHolic

text: The "xxx" before the holic is the Japanese way of saying of "fill in the blank." Therefore, the title itself gives a hint about what the series are about. It is talking about the people with the problems such as an alcoholic, or a workaholic. Being a fantastical series, these "---holics " can have very different pathologies.


title: XxxHolic

text: The art style of the manga draws on the influence of ukiyo-e wood prints. When making a chapter composed of about twenty pages, Clamp takes around two days to make the artwork, the time differing with the ones from other series they made. The script of the series made by Nanase Ohkawa, who the other Clamp members ask her about any confusion they have before starting drawing the chapters. The illustrations and character designs are mainly done by Tsubaki Nekoi with assistance from Mokona, although Satsuki Igarashi also draws various parts. For the series, they decided to use Japanese and Chinese themes, but avoided using tones. Mokona is mainly in charge of designing the female characters, while Nekoi draws the male ones and all the spirits featured. The artwork is also inspired by Alphonse Mucha who Mokona is a fan of. This leads to all the "tankobon" covers being gold or silver and then color printed over it. The series was retitled "xxxHolic Rō" ever since volume 16 because of how Watanuki replaced Yuko as the shop's owner.


title: XxxHolic

text: When first presenting the idea of running "xxxHolic" linked with "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle", although Ohkawa expressed concerns for the strain the weekly pace of such a series would place on the artists, she whole-heartedly approved. In accordance with Ohkawa's desire for each to have a well-organized story, Clamp avoids putting references between the two stories too frequently. The reasons for linking these two series was because Clamp wanted to have two protagonists from two different manga with different personalities and design, yet during the ending they would be stated to be same person, and had to go on different paths. Because "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle" was more focused on action scenes, Clamp sometimes took breaks from "xxxHolic" or create autoconclusive stories so that the storyline between the two series would always be linked. In April 2010, Clamp stated that the "xxxHolic" was taking longer than what they expected, causing delays to some of their other works. When the manga finished serialization, Clamp felt it was more the ending from "xxxHolic Rō", pointing that "xxxHolic" had already ended. Regarding the series' finale, Clamp wanted to express that while Watanuki's decision to stay in the shop may seem sad for readers, for Watanuki it was his happiness. Clamp was satisfied with people's reaction to the last chapter, as when discussing Watanuki's fate, they were also thinking what is happiness for them.


title: XxxHolic

text: As the title implies, the manga focuses on addictions to regular habits. These addictions are expanded in a supernatural setting serving as a parallel to real world societies. Watanuki's problem of being constantly followed by demons can be compared with the sensation of a normal person feeling scared by the belief he is observed. Across the series, several clients with different addictions visits Yuko's shop seeking help. Solving these cases results in moral dilemmas. Clamp places emphasis on the importance of words when writing the manga. Yuko's dialogues always affect the other characters due to how direct and secure she is when speaking. In early chapters, while she worries a woman addicted to the internet by labeling her husband and child as "other people," Yuko is transmitting the philosophy of individualism and the power her client has. In contrast to Yuko, another client has a tendency to lie which brings her misfortunes.


title: XxxHolic

text: Written and illustrated by Clamp, "xxxHolic" has been serialized in Kodansha's journal "Weekly Young Magazine" periodically from 2003 until March 2010 before moving to "Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine" in June 2010. A one-shot chapter of "xxxHolic" was also published in "Weekly Shōnen Magazine" in its June 2010 issue featuring a crossover with "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle". It ended serialization on February 9, 2011 in the "Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine". The 213 chapters are collected and released in "tankōbon" format by Kodansha. The numbers of chapters for such release was reduced by combining the ones from the original serialization. Starting volume 16, the series is retitled , but the number of chapters follow the previous ones. The first volume was released on July 25, 2003, and the last volume, the nineteenth, was published on March 9, 2011.


title: XxxHolic

text: "xxxHolic" was one of the first four manga series licensed for English release in North America by Del Rey Manga, and was acquired together with "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED", "", and "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle" in January 2004. Del Rey published its first volume on April 27, 2004, and on February 21, 2012, the nineteenth and final volume was released. Kodansha USA re-released it in 3-in-1 omnibus format in 2014. The series has also been licensed for an English-language release by Tanoshimi, who released the first nine volumes in the United Kingdom with the first one on August 3, 2006.


title: XxxHolic

text: A new "xxxHolic" manga titled was announced at The CLAMP Festival 2012 event. It was scheduled to be published in Kodansha's "Young Magazine" in February 2013, however a month's delay in the magazine's issue release dates changed this to March 2013. Kodansha USA announced in July 2013 they licensed the manga for English release, releasing the first volume in 2014.


title: XxxHolic

text: Production I.G produced an animated film of the series titled "" (×××HOLiC: 真夏ノ夜ノ夢 - xxxHOLiC: Manatsu no Yoru no Yume) which premiered on August 20, 2005 alongside "". The DVD version was released on November 24, 2006. In the film, Yūko receives a request from a woman to help her back into her mansion, which does not allow her to enter. Yūko says that since Watanuki was the one who brought the client to her, he should be the one to grant her wish and therefore is brought along with her and Dōmeki. Yūko also attends because she has been invited to the mansion with many other famous collectors by the same letter, with the mansion filled with strange rooms and mysterious letters telling its guests what to do in place of a host.


title: XxxHolic

text: The film was selected as a finalist for the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2006 in the Feature Films category with other four nominees: "Asterix and the Vikings", "", "", and the award winner, "Renaissance".


title: XxxHolic

text: The anime adaptations of "xxxHolic" were produced by Production I.G. The first season of anime television adaptation of "xxxHolic" began airing on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television on April 6, 2006 in Japan and ended on September 28, 2006, with 24 episodes in total. Both the film and the anime series are directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. Ageha Ohkawa, Clamp's director and main scriptwriter, served as executive producer and co-served as the series composition writer of the TV series. The second season, , began airing on TBS on April 3, 2008 in Japan and ended on June 26, 2008, with 13 episodes in total. The main staff and cast remains the same as in the first season. The first season's episodes were also collected in eight DVD volumes published between July 26, 2007 and February 21, 2008, while two DVD boxes were released on August 25, 2010 and October 27, 2010. The second's ones were released in seven DVD volumes between June 25, 2008 and December 17, 2008, a DVD box was released on January 26, 2011.


title: XxxHolic

text: The first season is licensed by Funimation (now known as Crunchyroll) in July 2007. Six DVDs were released between March 25, 2008 and October 21, 2008 featuring the first season while a DVD box was released on July 28, 2009. On January 26, 2009, the series made its North American debut on the Funimation Channel. As of October 2022, the series migrated to the Crunchyroll streaming service from the FunimationNOW video streaming app.


title: XxxHolic

text: A two-DVD original video animation, entitled was also released by Production I.G. The first DVD for this OVA was released on February 17, 2009 with the 14th volume of the Japanese manga. The second one was released alongside volume 15 on June 26, 2009. Its story focuses on how Haruka Domeki tells Watanuki and Domeki to search for four items, which lead Watanuki to enter into the Dream World. The OVA was rereleased in Blu-ray format alongside the first volume of "xxxHolic Rei" on October 23, 2013.


title: XxxHolic

text: Another OVA titled was shipped with the 17th volume of the "xxxHolic" manga on April 23, 2010. It is set ever since Yūko's death, and follows Watanuki's life as the new shop's owner. Another OVA titled was released on March 9, 2011 as included with a special edition from volume 19. In the OVA, Watanuki sees various parts of Domeki's life, including his childhood and the events that happened across the series.


title: XxxHolic

text: It was announced on September 7, 2012, that "xxxHolic" will be adapted into a live action TV series for airing at February 24, 2013 on WOWOW, titled . Anne Watanabe plays the role of Yuko Ichihara, while Shota Sometani plays the character Kimihiro Watanuki. The series is directed by Keisuke Toyoshima. It ran for eight episodes. It features "Aitai" from Suga Shikao as its opening theme song. The series was collected in a box released in both DVD and Blu-ray format on November 6, 2013.


title: XxxHolic

text: On November 22, 2021, Shochiku and Asmik Ace announced that a live-action film adaptation was in the works for "xxxHolic", with Ko Shibasaki and Ryūnosuke Kamiki playing Yuko Ichihara and Kimihiro Watanuki respectively. Mika Ninagawa directed the film, while Erika Yoshida provided the screenplay. The film was released in Japanese theaters on April 29, 2022.


title: XxxHolic

text: There were also several other releases in the franchise. A novel titled , was written by Nisio Isin and published in Japan on August 1, 2006. It features four stories with the first one being an adaptation of the series' first chapter. The novel includes original artwork by Clamp. Del Rey published an English translation of "xxxHOLiC: AnotherHOLiC", released on October 28, 2008.


title: XxxHolic

text: Several fanbooks have been released in Japan. The first is and was released on August 17, 2005. "TV Animation ×××HOLiC Extra Official Guide" was released on May 17, 2006, and focused in information from the anime adaptation. Another manga guidebook is , which was released on November 17, 2006. It was released in English by Del Rey on October 27, 2009 as "The Official xxxHOLiC Guide". On March 17, 2011, Kodansha published another guidebook titled . Another related book is which was released by Kodansha on July 17, 2004. It is set prior to the events of "xxxHolic" and "Tsubasa" and tells the lives from the two Mokona Modoki ever since their creation by Clow Reed and Yūko Ichihara. In January 2013 Kodansha will also release a "xxxHolic" artbook.


title: XxxHolic

text: An adventure game by Marvelous Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 video game console was released in Japan on August 9, 2007, named .


title: XxxHolic

text: Two soundtrack albums were released for the franchise. The first one is "xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream Original Soundtrack" which was released on August 18, 2005 by Pony Canyon. It contains over twenty tracks from the series' film. The second soundtrack, titled "xxxHolic Sound File", was released August 22, 2008 by S.E.N.S. PROJECT. The CD includes thirty-five soundtracks (including a hidden bonus track), various of them from the PlayStation 2 game as well as from the TV series. "xxxHolic" also makes a crossover with "Tsubasa" in the drama CDs series which was released in three volumes.


title: XxxHolic

text: An all-male stage play of "xxxHolic" (also known as ) began showing on September 17, 2021 in Tokyo. The play is directed by Fumiya Matsuzaki, written by Masafumi Hata, planned by Nanase Ohkawa, and produced by Nelke Planning. The play stars Motohiro Ota and Shōgo Sakamoto as Yūko Ichihara and Kimihiro Watanuki respectively.


title: XxxHolic

text: The series has sold well in Japan with its thirteenth volume being 43rd in the top 50 manga sold in Japan in 2008. In May 2015, Kodansha announced the manga has 13.7 million copies in print. The series' debut in North America was also successful with its first volume ranking sixth in Nielsen Bookscan's list of bestselling volumes during its first week. Volume 13 also hit No. 6 on the "New York Times" list of bestselling manga shortly after its launch in April 2009. According to the "New York Times", "xxxHolic" was the sixth best-selling manga in the United States in 2009. In Mania Entertainment's "Best Manga Awards For 2005", "xxxHolic" was the winner in the category "Best Mature".


title: XxxHolic

text: The "xxxHolic" manga series has also been well received by various publications with Mania Entertainment's Megan Lavey praising its focus on the people's thoughts, as well as its comedy. She also found its connection with "Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle" appealing due to events being depicted from different points of view, persuading readers to read both series. Michael Aronson from Manga Life stated the series' introduction had potential to be worth reading due to its episodic nature and found some of its characters to be "gripping", though Dan Polley, also from Manga Life, commenting that Watanuki "does seem a little bit weak to be the lead character". On the other hand, Matthew Alexander from Mania Entertainment stated that Watanuki's character was well developed across the series, becoming more appealing. Joy Kim, another writer from Manga Life, praised how despite its episodic nature, the narrative brought by Watanuki's interactions with other characters made every panel "loaded with significance". Carlo Santos of Anime News Network liked how later volumes of the series "[outdid] itself by breaking into the world of dreams", compared to initial volumes that focused on the interaction between humans and spirit. Active Anime found its emotional tension as well as its connection with "Tsubasa" some of the main reason why the series is worth reading. Not having read "Tsubasa", Matthew Alexander felt that the addition of elements from the series into "xxxHolic" was well-made, as it started to suggest a connection between the two series' protagonists. However, Santos found the series' connection with "Tsubasa" to be confusing to the point that only readers from both series would understand some explanations.


title: XxxHolic

text: Regarding events happening from volume 15 onwards, Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood called them "tragic, inspiring, and beautifully, breathtakingly sad", enjoying the way Yuko's fate was revealed, but wondering how it would continue. Carlo Santos stated that although the series lost its "star performer", it kept being appealing due to the fact that Watanuki replaced her and found most of volume 16 as "an exercise in getting back on one's feet after a heartbreaking loss, and it is all the more inspirational for that." Matthew Alexander from Mania was more critical to these events due to the how it became "an ultra serious downer" due to Yuko's loss and the lack of its recurring comedy. Additionally, he cited the events regarding Yuko's disappearance and later death were not explained in "xxxHolic", stating that only readers from "Tsubasa" would understand such events. The artwork has been praised because of its "striking designs and patterns built into the images", various notable traits from Clamp, as well as for being "equally memorable and evocative". On the other hand, it has also been criticized for being "less visually busy than Tsubasa" due to some pages lacking backgrounds, though critic Michael Aronson for Manga Life stated that the panels' composition is able to make up for such issues. Rebecca Silverman review the opening volume of "xxxHolic: Rei" gave the sequel a B+ rating, praising the way the story now flowed and the artwork, but said that the story was, "a little too mysterious in places".


title: XxxHolic

text: The anime adaptation of "xxxHolic" has received mixed reception from different publications, with Anime News Network's Casey Brienza liking how its first season is faithful to the original material. However, she found that some of Funimation's subtitles in its first episodes to be confusing, advising people to watch the English dubbed version instead. In a bigger overview of the first season, Carlo Santos found issues with the animation's unintentional "super deformed" moments in which the characters' limbs became notably longer. He also criticized some of its episodes' storytelling as it "falls flat" due to trivial issues discussed. Holly Ellingwood from Active Anime called the series "one of the most distinctly imaginative" because of the combination of supernatural elements and comedy. Pointing to the animation quality, Ellingwood found each character distinctive and the animation issues to be comical. DVD Talk's Todd Douglass Jr. gave praise to the themes touched upon in the anime series. Despite giving disapproval to its episodic nature, Douglass found the characters appealing due to their development over the series. IGN writer Jeff Harris found its start "tolerable", stating that fans from action series may not be interested by "xxxHolic" despite its potential. Like Santos, he commented on its animation, citing similar issues with the design, noting some moments lacked the fluidity seen in other parts of the series. He also criticized the blank background choices, questioning if they were truly artistic decisions or done to save on animation costs. Chris Beveridge of Mania gave a mixed review for the animation, agreeing with Santos and Harris, but still enjoyed the animation style, concluding that "everything about the visual design of the show is very appealing." Analyzing its episodic nature, Beveridge enjoyed the format, and praised the series' ability to strike a balance between light and dark parts of its stories.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Charlene (' Charlene Lynette Wittstock"'; French: "Charlène"; born 25 January 1978) is the princess consort of Monaco and a former Olympic swimmer. She is married to Albert II, the reigning prince of Monaco and head of the House of Grimaldi.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Charlene was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). She relocated to South Africa in 1989. She began her swimming career in 1996 (winning the South African Championship) and represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with her team finishing fifth in the 4 × 100-metre medley relay. Charlene retired from professional swimming in 2007.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Charlene met Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in 2000. The couple married on 1 July 2011. On 10 December 2014, she gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques. Princess Charlene's charity work primarily revolves around sports, AIDS, and underprivileged children. Charlene founded the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in 2012 to support her personal humanitarian endeavours.