title: Dynamo Dresden

text: BFC Dynamo stood out among other clubs within SV Dynamo. The club was located at the frontline of the Cold war and was a representative of the capital of East Germany. This meant that the club had to be well equipped. BFC Dynamo was considered the favorite club of the president of SV Dynamo and the head of the Stasi Erich Mielke. Under the patronage of Erich Mielke and the Stasi, BFC Dynamo would get access to the best training facilities, equipment, coaching staff and talents.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: East German football had generally been set up in favour of the designated football clubs (FC), who had access to talents within designated areas. Dynamo Dresden was a center of excellence in Bezirk Dresden, which meant that the club had privileged access to talents in the whole regional district. However, BFC Dynamo would be able to draw on talents from all parts of East Germany, except Bezirk Dresden. The club benefited from a nation-wide scouting network, supported by numerous training centers (TZ) of SV Dynamo. BFC Dynamo would have the best material conditions in the league and the best team by far. BFC Dynamo won ten consecutive titles, from 1979 to 1988. Of all clubs, Dynamo Dresden were the most affected by their success, finishing runners-up on six occasions.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: However, Dynamo Dresden also had its patrons. According to Hans-Jürgen Dörner, the club was helped to remain a top club by three local politicians. One of them was Hans Modrow, the long-time SED First Secretary in Bezirk Dresden. Another one was Manfred Scheler (), the head of the District Council in Bezirk Dresden. Scheler was a devoted fan, who was active in using his connections to provide players with shortage goods and services, such as a car, an apartment or a plumber. A third was Lieutenant general Willi Nyffenegger (), the long-time head of the regional district authority of the Volkspolizei in Bezirk Dresden. The club also benefited from support by Stasi Major general Horst Böhm (), the head of the regional district administration of the Stasi in Bezirk Dresden. Böhm took involvement in the appointment and dismissal of trainers and the contracts of players. He was also a sponsoring member of the club. According to Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Horst Böhm put local patriotism first in the rivalry with BFC Dynamo. The rivalry between fans of the two Dynamo clubs also spread to units within the Stasi Guards Regiment "Felix E. Dzerzhinsky". Another keen supporter was the long time SED Second Secretary in Bezirk Dresden Lothar Stammnitz.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Walter Fritzsch had retired in 1978, and was succeeded by Gerhard Prautzsch, who was in turn followed by former players Klaus Sammer (1983–86), Eduard Geyer (1986–90) and Reinhard Häfner (1990–91). The star players of the 1970 were replaced by a new generation, including Torsten Gütschow, Ulf Kirsten, Matthias Sammer, and Andreas Trautmann, although the club lost three key players in 1981: Gerd Weber, who along with teammates Peter Kotte and Matthias Müller had been offered a lucrative contract with 1. FC Köln, intended to flee to the West while in Udine for national team match against Italy in April 1981. The Stasi somehow got wind of this plan, and in January 1981 the three players were arrested at Schönefeld Airport, from where the national team was about depart for Argentina, and banned for life from the DDR-Oberliga. Weber was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Kotte and Müller, who had decided to stay in Dresden, were nonetheless punished for their knowledge of Weber's plans. Dynamo Dresden managed to win the FDGB-Pokal three times (1982 and 1984, 1985).


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: During the 1980s, the club continued to be a regular participant in European football, generally earning respectable results. In the 1985–86 Cup Winners' Cup, however, they were on the receiving end of a shocking defeat against Bayer Uerdingen of West Germany: having won the first leg 2–0, they were 3–1 up at half-time in the second leg, when goalkeeper Bernd Jakubowski was injured by Uerdingen's Wolfgang Funkel. Debutant Jens Ramme was introduced, and proceeded to let in six goals, as the team lost 7–3. In addition to this, striker Frank Lippmann took the opportunity of the match in Krefeld to escape to the west. Dynamo recorded their best ever European performance in the 1988–89 UEFA Cup, beating AS Roma on the way to a semi-final defeat against VfB Stuttgart. Their last European campaign was the 1990–91 European Cup, which ended in defeat to eventual winners Red Star Belgrade. Dynamo's fans rioted at the second leg, which resulted in the club being banned from Europe for the following season.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: The head of the Volkspolizei in Bezirk Dresden was also the head of the branch of SV Dynamo in Bezirk Dresden. The official sponsor () of Dynamo Dresden was the Volkspolizei. Players of Dynamo Dresden were formal employees of the Volkspolizei. Many players then made their military service with the Stasi Guards Regiment "Felix E. Dzerzhinsky" and became formal employees of the Stasi. 18 of the 72 players who had played at least once for Dynamo Dresden between 1972 and 1989 had been listed as unofficial collaborators (IM) of the Stasi.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: West German chancellor Helmut Kohl privately attended the match between Dynamo Dresden and FC Carl Zeiss Jena in the 1987-88 DDR-Oberliga on 28 May 1988, during a private trip to East Germany with his wife Hannelore and son Peter. Dynamo Dresden ended the ten-year long dominance of BFC Dynamo and captured the league title in the 1988-89 season. The title was celebrated after a 5–0 win against 1. FC Union Berlin in front of 27,000 spectators at the Dynamo-Stadion in the last match day on 3 June 1989. Dynamo Dresden won the league title also in the 1989-90 season, adding a cup win, to complete a double. The Berlin wall opened on 9 November 1989. The Stasi then lost its influence over football mid-season. BFC Dynamo stood at fourth place in the league after the first half of the season, and only finished the 1989–90 season in fourth place. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, many of the top players in East Germany took the opportunity to head west. BFC Dynamo was the first team to lose a top player. The team had lost its top striker Andreas Thom already during the winter break, and would lose more top players during the summer. Dynamo Dresden lost two star players during the summer of 1990: Ulf Kirsten and Matthias Sammer joining Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart respectively. With German reunification looming, many clubs in the East changed their name to shed their Soviet image, and Dynamo Dresden changed from "SG" to the more traditional "1. FC". The DDR-Oberliga also changed name for its final season: the league, now called the NOFV-Oberliga, was used to determine which places the East German clubs would take in the unified German league. Dynamo Dresden finished second, behind Hansa Rostock, thus qualifying for the Bundesliga.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Having been among the top clubs in the East, Dynamo found life in the Bundesliga much harder, struggling both financially and on the pitch. They spent four years at this level, during which they were in a near-constant battle against relegation. Their highest placing was 13th in 1993–94, but the following year they succumbed to the drop, finishing in last place, having gone through three managers (Sigfried Held, Horst Hrubesch and Ralf Minge) during the season. To add to this, the club had accumulated debts of more than 10 million DM, and were denied a license to play in the 2. Bundesliga, and had to drop down to the third tier Regionalliga Nordost. Rolf-Jürgen Otto, the club's president was jailed for having embezzled around 3 Million DM from the club.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: While many of the stars of the 1980s had moved west, some remained for Dynamo's Bundesliga tenure, including Torsten Gütschow and Hans-Uwe Pilz, while the club was able to attract players from other Eastern clubs, including Olaf Marschall, René Müller and Heiko Scholz. The fall of the wall brought the influx of Dynamo's first foreign players, and the club saw internationals from Australia (Mark Schwarzer), Poland (Piotr Nowak), Russia (Stanislav Cherchesov) and Sweden (Johnny Ekström), among others.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo sought to regroup in the Regionalliga, and again looked to former players to manage the team, being led by Hans-Jürgen Kreische (1995–96), Udo Schmuck (1996) and Hartmut Schade (1996–1998), but failed to seriously challenge for promotion. In 1998 they finished second in the table, but with 60 points: 32 behind champions Tennis Borussia Berlin. 1999–2000 saw a restructuring of the Regionalliga: the four leagues were to be reduced to two, and Dynamo would have to finish in the top 7 to avoid relegation. Having finished 11th in the previous season they turned to Colin Bell, an English coach who had had some success with youth football in Germany, but he left in March 2000 after poor results and a player revolt. Cor Pot, a Dutchman, was brought in to replace him, and he turned the team around, but it was too late – they finished in eighth place, and were relegated to the fourth-tier Oberliga Nordost-Süd. By this point Dynamo were not even the top team in Dresden: Dresdner SC had returned after reunification, and finished as runners-up in the Regionalliga Nordost in 2000.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Optimism was high, though, after the way the last season had ended, and the slogan ""Wir kommen wieder"" (we're coming back), was adopted. However, the Oberliga was now highly competitive with VfB Leipzig, 1. FC Magdeburg and FSV Zwickau also having been relegated, and Dynamo couldn't match the consistency of their main promotion rivals Magdeburg and Leipzig. A 2–1 defeat against Magdeburg in February ended their promotion chances, and Pot resigned. With nothing to play for, Dynamo slumped to fifth place. For the following season Christoph Franke was brought in as manager, and led the club to promotion – they won the league with only two defeats, and beat Hertha BSC's reserve team in a playoff to earn their place in the Regionalliga Nord. Dynamo's youth system was particularly successful during this period, with players including Lars Jungnickel, Silvio Schröter, Maik Wagefeld and Daniel Ziebig going on to play at a higher level.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo finished a respectable 7th in their first season back in the third tier, and followed that with another promotion, finishing second behind Rot-Weiß Essen. Life in the 2. Bundesliga began brightly, with a 3–1 win against MSV Duisburg, but by the halfway point of their first season they were facing relegation, with only 18 points. They recovered strongly in the second half of the season though, and finished in 8th place, thanks in part to signings such as Ansgar Brinkmann, Joshua Kennedy and Klemen Lavric. The 2005–06 season began in a similar way, as Dynamo climbed to third place with a 2–1 win over 1860 Munich in the Allianz Arena, but this was followed by thirteen matches without a win, resulting in the dismissal of Christoph Franke. Austrian manager Peter Pacult was brought in, with results improving temporarily, but Dynamo ultimately still failed to avoid relegation, finishing 15th.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo were back in the Regionalliga with the immediate aim of promotion, but despite a successful start, Peter Pacult left the club after six matches for a chance to manage his former club, Rapid Vienna. He was replaced by Norbert Meier, but Dynamo could not keep up their promotion bid, and finished seventh, due in part to poor away form. Another re-organisation of the league structure was looming, and Dynamo knew they'd have to finish in the top-10 to qualify for the new national 3. Liga. A number of former star players returned, including Lars Jungnickel, Marek Penksa and Maik Wagefeld, but results were not consistent, and Meier was sacked, replaced by former coach Eduard Geyer. Dynamo secured qualification on the last day, finishing eighth, but Geyer was dismissed due to disagreements with the board. In 2007, the club reverted to the name "SG Dynamo Dresden".


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: The club turned to Ruud Kaiser, a Dutchman with a good reputation at youth level, as Geyer's replacement. They played in the first ever match of the third Liga, beating Rot-Weiß Erfurt 1–0 with a goal from Halil Savran, but results were not consistent, and they could only finish in mid-table. The 2009–10 season began badly, and Dynamo were in relegation trouble, so Kaiser was sacked and replaced by Matthias Maucksch, a former player who had had some success with the reserve team. Maucksch managed to drag the team safely from relegation, and finished the season in 12th place. Maucksch led the team to contention for a playoff place during the 2010–11 season, but was sacked in April after a run of five games without a win, and was replaced by Ralf Loose. Loose ended the season unbeaten and secured third place, and a playoff against VfL Osnabrück which Dynamo won 4–2 on aggregate to earn promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo Dresden performed well in their first season back in the league. Consistently holding a position in the middle of the standings, the team was never in danger of being relegated. After securing a highly memorable 4–3 victory after being down three goals against Bayer Leverkusen in the first round of the 2011–12 DFB-Pokal season, Dynamo was excluded from the 2012/2013 DFB-Pokal due to fan excesses and abuse of fireworks during the second round match against Borussia Dortmund (0–2) in a first trial. The sentence was later turned into one Game behind closed doors and one away game without own fan support. Virtual tickets were offered to reduce the financial loss, leading to what was purported to be the first sold-out ghost game in history. The 2012–13 season started poorly for Dynamo and Ralf Loose was sacked in December 2012 after a 3–0 defeat to VfL Bochum with the team in 15th place. He was replaced by Peter Pacult, returning to the club after more than six years. Dynamo's form improved after Pacult's arrival but the team still finished the league as 16th. Due to this Dynamo had to enter relegation play-offs again after just two seasons, incidentally meeting VfL Osnabrück once more, with their roles now reversed. Dynamo emerged victorious with 2–1 on aggregate and remained in the second tier for the 2013–14 season. Pacult was sacked in August 2013 after a poor start and replaced with Olaf Janßen. Jansen was unable to save the club from the drop to the 3. Liga after they lost 3–2 at home to relegation rivals Arminia Bielefeld to drop into 17th place, ultimately costing Jansen his job. Dynamo had drawn half of their matches, winning just five all season.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Under their new coach Stefan Böger, the club completely overhauled the squad with the intent of returning to the 2. Bundesliga as soon as possible. In August 2014, the team managed to knock Bundesliga giants FC Schalke 04 out of the first round of the DFB-Pokal, beating them with 2–1. The team advanced to the third round after beating VfL Bochum 2–1 but were ultimately knocked out by Borussia Dortmund. Böger was sacked in February 2015, with assistant coach Peter Németh taking over for the remainder for the season. The team finished 6th in the 2014–15 season. Under new manager Uwe Neuhaus, Dynamo went on to have a hugely successful season and officially returned to second-level competition after a 2–2 draw at an away match against FC Magdeburg on 16 April 2016.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: When they were founded as "SG Volkspolizei", the club was sponsored by the East German police force, and in 1953, when they became "Dynamo Dresden" they were part of the SV Dynamo, the sport organization of the security agencies. Dynamo were the most powerful of all the sports societies, and this conferred certain advantages on the club. While many former security service clubs have struggled to shed their negative image, particularly BFC Dynamo, Dynamo Dresden remain popular and well-supported, having come to represent their home city.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo plays at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, which was opened in 1923, and also originally named the "Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion" after local track and field athlete Rudolf Harbig. The stadium was renamed "Dynamo-Stadion" by the East German authorities in 1971, but reverted to its former name after the reunification. With an original capacity of 24,000 spectators, the stadium was rebuilt in the beginning of the 1990s, in line with DFB and FIFA regulations, and was thoroughly modernised between June 2007 and December 2009. The modernized stadium opened on 15 September 2009 with a friendly match against Schalke 04 and has a capacity of 32,066 spectators.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo were one of East Germany's best-supported clubs, regularly drawing crowds of around 25,000 during their heyday. Since reunification attendance levels have fluctuated along with the team's fortunes, while they were still one of the most well-supported teams in the lower leagues, drawing an average of around 10–15,000 fans in the 3. Liga. Following their 2011 advance to the 2nd League, they were again drawing crowds of 25,000. The 2013–14 season average attendance reached 27,004. Dynamo's supporters have very close relations with FK Sarajevo fans, Horde zla. In December 2020, Dynamo fans bought 72,000 tickets for the cup match at home to Darmstadt, even though it was played in an empty stadium – to show support for the struggling club.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo Dresden have a particularly fractious relationship with BFC Dynamo, who took over the first team and the place in the DDR-Oberliga from Dynamo Dresden in 1954, then as a football section of SC Dynamo Berlin. BFC Dynamo were their main obstacle to success in the 1980s, but the two clubs rarely meet these days. 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig were traditionally Dynamo's main rivals in the battle for Saxon dominance, although this rivalry extends to other clubs including Chemnitzer FC, formerly FC Sachsen Leipzig, Erzgebirge Aue, and most recently upstart RB Leipzig, though the clubs' disparate financial capabilities have so far prevented them from ever playing in the same division, their only official encounter thus far being a first-round match in the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal season, in which Dresden celebrated a hard-fought victory.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Dynamo's most noteworthy rival in their home city are Dresdner SC, although they are perpetually ill-matched, as Dresdner SC are mired in local football leagues. Another club, SC Borea Dresden were formed out of "SG Dynamo Dresden-Heide", a former feeder club for Dynamo, but there is no longer an official connection.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: When they were formed as "SG Volkspolizei Dresden", the club wore green and white, the state colours of Saxony, but when the team became part of SV Dynamo they adopted the sports society's wine red colour scheme. In 1968, the club was declared a regional center of excellence in Bezirk Dresden and adopted its current colours of yellow and black, the city colours of Dresden.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: The club's original crest was built around the shield of the Volkspolizei, to whom they were affiliated. In 1953 they adopted the "D" logo of SV Dynamo, which was retained until reunification, when its wine red background was replaced with Saxon green. They reverted to the red background in the early 2000s.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: The club's reserve team, Dynamo Dresden II, played until 2015 in the tier five NOFV-Oberliga Süd. It has played at this level since 2009 with a fourth place in 2012 as its best result. In March 2015 the club announced that it would withdraw the reserve team from league competition and instead enter it in a friendlies competition with the reserve teams of Chemnitzer FC, Hallescher FC, Sparta Prague, FC Slovan Liberec and FK Teplice. However, though the competition's name Future League would suggest a more organized and concrete structure, this has so far led to little more than an incoherent series of friendly matches between amateur teams, with the idea appearing to have been largely abandoned by the participating clubs, despite some declarations of intent.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: "Dynamo" enjoyed its greatest successes under Walter Fritzsch, capturing the first division DDR-Oberliga title in 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, as well as finishing as vice-champions four times. The team also took the East German Cup (FDGB Pokal) in 1971 and 1977.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: As one of the leading clubs in East Germany, Dynamo Dresden provided 36 DDR internationals, including the country's second most-capped player, Hans-Jürgen Dörner, and its joint second top scorer, Hans-Jürgen Kreische. Twelve Dynamo players won Olympic medals, including six gold medallists in 1976. After German reunification a number of Dynamo players went on to represent the Germany national team, including Jens Jeremies, Ulf Kirsten, Olaf Marschall and Alexander Zickler.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Five Dynamo Dresden players were named East German Footballer of the Year: Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Hans-Jürgen Kreische, Andreas Trautmann, Ulf Kirsten and Torsten Gütschow. Dörner won the award three times, and the latter three players were its last three winners. Kreische and Gütschow were the leading scorers in the DDR-Oberliga seven times between them.


title: Dynamo Dresden

text: Perhaps the most notable Dynamo Dresden player is Matthias Sammer. He played for the club from 1985 to 1990, during which he won 23 caps for East Germany. He later made 51 appearances for Germany, winning the European Championship in 1996 and played at club level for VfB Stuttgart, Internazionale and Borussia Dortmund. With the latter he won two German titles, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1996.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The Gumball 3000 is a collection of companies that includes an apparel brand, a registered charity, and is best known for an annual international celebrity motor rally, which takes place on public roads. The name comes from the 1976 movie "The Gumball Rally". It was established in 1999 by Maximillion Cooper, with his vision to combine cars, music, fashion and entertainment.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Since its establishment, the road rally has featured a number of notable drivers, such as Lewis Hamilton, Deadmau5, David Hasselhoff, Xzibit, Usher and Tinie Tempah. The rally changes the start and finishing point every year, with some rallies requiring travel by air to make the start and finish points. The start and finish points are normally notable cities, with London being a common stop-off due to the Gumball 3000's British founder.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The event gained headlines when two members of the public were killed, after their car was hit by an entrant who was speeding on public roads in the Republic of North Macedonia in 2007. The event has also been known to run into issues in certain countries. In the Netherlands participants had a number of cars confiscated. At other rallies, drivers have been pulled over for speeding, with a small number losing their driving licenses.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The Gumball 3000 Rally takes on average 120 drivers, each year across countries and continents on a 3000-mile journey. Travelling on public roads in exotic cars and attending parties each night, for 7 days per year the entrants of the rally receive an exclusive rally experience. The rally was founded in 1999 by current CEO Maximillion Cooper, initially as a road trip with his friends. Organisers strongly emphasise that the 3000 is a road trip and in no way a race.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The Gumball 3000 was first launched in 1999. Maximillion Cooper started the event after he and a group of friends aimed to drive their supercars across Europe on a 3,000-mile journey, they referred to as a rally. The rally was aimed at wealthy individuals, with the entry fee of $8,700 (It's risen to more than $50,000 in 2022). Participants had to use their own vehicles.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The first event took inspiration from a number of racing events throughout the world. In 1933, motorcycle racer, Erwin Baker, had crossed the United States coast-to-coast in 54 hours. He earned the nickname, Cannonball, which spawned a number of race events in both the United States and Europe over the next few decades in his honor. The Cannonball events were held in the 1970s, with the first prize being a gumball machine. It has been suggested, this is where Cooper got the name for the event from.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The first event took place in 1999, with the 3,000 mile journey starting in London, to Rimini, Italy and then back. Cooper planned different events on each night of the rally, ranging from parties to dinner events. The rally received coverage in the British media at the time as the rally and events surrounding The Gumball 3000 were attended by high-profile figures, such as Kate Moss and Guy Ritchie. The event commenced with a party at the Bluebird club in London. Cars that took place in this first rally included a British Police car borrowed from the British television show The Bill driven by Alexandra Aitken, a Lotus Esprit and a Lamborghini Diablo. Cooper made the decision not to use any form of timing or prizes for placed finishes in order to avoid criticism and promote safety.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Following the success of the first Gumball 3000 rally, the second event in 2000 began at the Marble Arch in London, before heading to Stansted airport to fly over to Spain. The rally then continued through Bilbao, Cannes, Milan, Hotel Bühlerhöhe Castle, Nürburgring GP circuit and Hamburg, before heading back to the starting city, London.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The 2000 event again attracted celebrities and high-profile names. They included Goldie and Cass Lewis in an Aston Martin V8, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Bruce Reynolds. The third Gumball 3000 saw the convoy travel from London through Berlin, Malbork, Vilnius, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen before returning to London for the finale. The 106 cars that participated in the rally were filmed by MTV for a "Jackass" Special, the episode earned MTV their highest ratings for the year. Entrants who featured in the 2001 rally included Formula One World Champion Damon Hill in a Lamborghini and comedian Vic Reeves who drove a Mercedes-AMG.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2002, the Gumball 3000 made the first coast-to-coast journey across the contiguous United States, from New York City to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Checkpoints along the route included a stop at the White House in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee for lunch in Elvis Presley's mansion, Graceland, then Texas, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, with the final stop at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Among the participants were fashion designer Donna Karan, models Jodie Kidd and Amy Wesson, and actor Matthew McConaughey.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In May 2003 during the 2003 Gumball 3000, a driver in a Koenigsegg CC8S was pulled over by police after being tracked going 242 MPH in 75 MPH zone.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2003, "Gumball 3000: The Movie" was released. It was a 98-minute 2003 film feature directed by Steven Green and narrated by Burt Reynolds.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The fifth Annual Gumball 3000 rally began in San Francisco on the west coast of America and finished Miami, Florida. The rally passed through Reno, Nevada; Las Vegas; Tucson, Arizona; White Sands, New Mexico; San Antonio, Texas; and New Orleans. Featured participants included "Jackass"'s Ryan Dunn, Travis Pastrana and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, who drove in a Dodge Viper. 2004 saw the Gumball rally commence at the Eiffel Tower in Paris proceed through Biarritz, Madrid, Marbella, across the Mediterranean Sea to Marrakesh, Morocco, before returning to Barcelona for the Grand Prix and finishing in Cannes for the film festival. Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody drove a Porsche 911 in the rally alongside Ruben Fleischer, who directed "Gumball 3000: 6 Days in May", documenting the adventures of the 2004 rally.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Jenson Button waved the flag in 2005, starting the London to Monte Carlo Gumball 3000 rally. Entrants drove through Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Sicily, Rome and Florence, before crossing the finishing line in Monte Carlo. Models Caprice Bourret and Jodie Kidd along with singer Jay Kay from Jamiroquai, The Darkness and rally driver Ken Block were included in the list of celebrities that drove in the 2005 Gumball 3000 rally.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The 2006 starting flag was dropped in London where Gumballers then travelled onto Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade, before jumping on a plane in Serbia to Thailand. The route then continued through Phuket and Bangkok, before flying to Salt Lake City and finishing with a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Travis Barker was present on the 2006 rally, as well as Martine McCutcheon, who drove a pink Range Rover in an all-female team. Gumball 3000 Films also produced a movie following five other entrants: skateboarders Tony Hawk, Bam Margera and Mike Vallely, BMX rider Mike Escamilla and Margera's "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" co-star Ryan Dunn.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The 2007 route was scheduled to travel from London to Istanbul, via Amsterdam, Munich, Tirana, Dubrovnik, and Athens. Over 100 contestants including actors Tamer Hassan and Danny Dyer and model and entrepreneur Caprice Bourret were scheduled to drive through 16 countries in eight days. The entrance fee for the 2007 rally was £28,000 (€41,000) for first-time drivers. In the 2007 event, two people died in North Macedonia after their car was hit by a car competing in the rally. The accident occurred on May 2, 2007, when a TechArt Porsche 997 Turbo driven by Nicholas Morley collided with a Volkswagen Golf, whose occupants were both killed. Xzibit was one of a number of drivers to lose his driving license during the rally's tour through the Netherlands.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The organisers of the Gumball 3000 initially continued the rally, until the facts about the accident became public knowledge. They then issued an official statement, cancelling the event. The subsequent court hearing found Morley guilty and convicted him of "endangering traffic, leading to death"; he was released from custody after receiving a two-year suspended sentence. After the verdict, Morley's family released a statement detailing its own expert's findings, which contradict those of the prosecution's expert.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2008, the rally travelled from San Francisco to China finishing at the Beijing Olympics. The rally passed through Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas before flying to Nanjing in China and spending a night in North Korea for the Mass Games. From here the route then headed to Shanghai before crossing the finishing line in Beijing. 2008 was also David Hasselhoff's first rally where he drove the original car from "Knight Rider". The next rally was again located outside Europe, with the rally set entirely in the United States in 2009. The route was from Santa Monica to Miami. The drivers passed through Las Vegas, over the Hoover Dam, Sedona, Santa Fe, New Orleans and Orlando. 2009 was also the year that the Coast to Coast Gumball 3000 was filmed featuring interviews with Maximillion Cooper, a gold-plated Bugatti Veyron and a video diary. Celebrities that participated in the rally and featured in the film include NBA player Dennis Rodman, MTV Dirty Sanchez's Mathew Pritchard and Caprice.


title: Gumball 3000

text: More than one hundred cars took part in the rally in 2010. The rally began in London and ended in New York, passing through Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Boston, Quebec City and Toronto. Michael Madsen left the rally in Belgium after a car was stopped by police for speeding. A number of celebrities took part in the event, including Idris Elba, Cypress Hill and Eve. This was the year that Maximillion Cooper met Eve, who he later married in 2014 at the end of that year's rally.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Starting in London's Covent Garden, the 2011 Gumball 3000 rally saw the entrants drive through Paris, Barcelona, Monaco, Venice, and Croatia, before finishing in Istanbul. Attendees of the launch party at the Playboy Club in London included Jo Wood, The Saturdays Vanessa White and former Pussycat Doll, Melody Thornton. Participants in the rally included David Hasselhoff, Eve, Xzibit and professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk.


title: Gumball 3000

text: The 2012 rally was a 'Sea to Shining Sea' route in the US from New York to Los Angeles, stopping in Toronto, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Santa Fe and Las Vegas.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2013 the rally started in Copenhagen, passed through Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw, Kraków, and Vienna, and finished in Monaco.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Entrants for the 15th Anniversary also included TV personality David Hasselhoff, musician and lecturer Bun B, artist Futura 2000, musician and artist Magne Furuholmen, Prince Talal M. A. Al-Faisal Al-Saud of the Saudi Arabian Royal family, musician and actress Eve, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, bands Cypress Hill and Nero, musician Xzibit, music company EMI, fashion designer of street label UNDFTD James Bond and MTV Brazil's VJs Lucas Stegmann and André "Deco" Bujnicki Neves.


title: Gumball 3000

text: 2013 also saw the announcement that Chernin Entertainment and Warner Bros had acquired the rights to produce and develop a film based around the 3000-mile rally.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2014, and with a cost for participants of £40,000 based on two sharing a single vehicle, the rally started in the United States in Miami, passed through Atlanta, and finished in New York City. It then proceeded, with participants and cars being loaded onto planes, over to Western Europe, starting in Edinburgh, continuing through London, Paris, and Barcelona, before finally culminating on the island of Ibiza. Sponsors included AnastasiaDate, Battery Energy Drink, Betsafe, Christie's, Nicolas Feuillatte, and YouTube.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Following the 2014 event, it was announced that deadmau5 and his co-driver Tory Belleci would be selling off the Ferrari 458 they used during that year's Gumball 3000 event. The car was listed on Craigslist for $380,000.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2015, one hundred cars participated in the rally, following a transatlantic route from Stockholm to Las Vegas. Stops included Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Reno, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with a drive through Death Valley before reaching Las Vegas. Lewis Hamilton joined the final stage of the rally from Los Angeles to Las Vegas driving a Koenigsegg Agera HH. The event received publicity in various countries for those attending the rally, which included Mötley Crüe drummer, Tommy Lee. The Top Gear crew attended the rally in a number of Dodge Vipers. The winners of the 2015 Spirit of the Gumball award were Team KQWest


title: Gumball 3000

text: The 2016 rally was from Dublin to Bucharest. David Hasselhoff waved the start flag in Dublin to mark the beginning of the rally. One hundred and twenty cars travelled from Dublin to Edinburgh, London, Rust, Prague and Budapest before ending in Bucharest. Other famous faces that took part were F1 drivers David Coulthard and Jean Alesi, Grammy-winning rapper Eve, Afrojack, as well as Major Lazer, rapper Bun B, pop star Marlon Roudette, music producer Dallas Austin, Sullivan Stapleton, reality star Calum Best and YouTuber Calfreezy. London's Regent Street had over half a million people in attendance to watch the rally.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2017, the rally began on July 1 from Riga, passing through Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Porto Montenegro, Tirana, Volos, then Athens, and finally to Mykonos for two days.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2018, the rally began on August 5 starting in London, passing through Domaine De Chantilly in France, Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy and heading to Bologna to fly on "Gumball Air" (A Malaysian Airlines airplane fully rented for the Gumballer by the organizers, which stopped in Kazakhstan to refuel) to head to Osaka, Japan. Some of the cars were also supposed to be flown to Japan. From Osaka they planned to go to Kyoto, Nanao, and Tokyo, where the Gumball finale party was to take place.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Since the establishment of Gumball 3000, the brand's popularity led to a standalone apparel brand being launched. The apparel is manufactured and designed in-house, with designs influenced by previous Gumball 3000 events and motorsport.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Since the launch of the apparel brand, there have been a number of collaborations with major fashion houses. These collaborations have included Puma, Adidas and Nixon.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Maximillion Cooper established the Gumball 3000 Foundation to benefit the underprivileged youth in the United Kingdom. This is achieved through education, infrastructure, and environmental projects. Since 2013, Gumball 3000 has held an auction each year throughout the rally with all proceeds going to the foundation. Prizes have included a Fiat 500 Abarth painted by American street artist, Alec Monopoly.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2014, the Gumball 3000 Foundation sponsored and donated $100,000 to Stand up for Skateparks, a charity founded by Tony Hawk.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In December 2015, the Foundation funded a trip for the When You Wish Upon A Star charity. The trip sent 100 terminally ill children to Lapland for just before Christmas.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Gumball 3000 announced a partnership with MTV in 2001 to cover the rally for five years. MTV also covered the 2007 rally.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2015, Guess announced a collaboration with Gumball 3000 for the 2015 rally. Guess would be designing and providing exclusive drivers jackets. The fashion brand also participated in the Stockholm to Las Vegas rally, by sponsoring 3 Dodge Vipers, driven by three Guess models. Armin Strom announced in they would also launch an official watch for the Gumball 3000.


title: Gumball 3000

text: During the same year, Revolt TV announced that they would be covering the Gumball 3000 rally. They followed the rally in a documentary style, while also interviewing Maximillion Cooper and notable racers.


title: Gumball 3000

text: In 2000, Top Trumps, a popular card game in the United Kingdom, released a version of the card game using the Gumball 3000 brand name. In 2002, Gumball 3000 the game was released on the PlayStation 2. Developed by Climax Studios and published by SCi.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Between 2003 and 2006, four films based on the Gumball 3000 rally were released. These included "Gumball 3000: The Movie" in 2003 followed by "Gumball 3000: 6 Days in May" (about the 2004 Gumball Rally) and "Gumball 3000: Live 2006". The TV series "Jackass" also aired a Gumball 3000 special in 2005 as the fourth film during this period.


title: Gumball 3000

text: Since 2008, five more films about the Gumball 3000 rally have been released. In 2008 Mike Figgis released the experimental film "Love Live Long". That same year, the documentary "Gumball 3000: Off Road" was released. Between 2010 and 2012, three other TV documentaries were released: "Gumball 3000: Coast to Coast" in 2010, "Gumball 3000: LDN 2 NYC" in 2011 and "Gumball 3000: Number 13" in 2012.


title: Gumball 3000

text: A documentary film, "3000 Miles", was made about the 2006 rally, featuring Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn from "Jackass" in Bam's Lamborghini Gallardo, and skateboarders Tony Hawk and Mike Vallely and BMX rider Mike Escamilla in a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Dan Joyce from the TV series "Dirty Sanchez" also appears in the movie.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman (; born 1 November 1974) is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in Test cricket. Laxman is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman is one of the few players to have played 100 Test matches, without ever appearing in a One-Day Cricket World Cup. Despite being a relatively slow runner between the wickets, Laxman compensated with his stroke play and fast scoring. In 2002, he was named one of "Wisden's" five Cricketers of the Year.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In domestic cricket, Laxman represented Hyderabad. He also played for Lancashire in county cricket. He was also the captain of the Deccan Chargers team in the Indian Premier League during its inaugural season. Later, he played for the Kochi Tuskers team. He was the mentor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad until 2021. He is popularly called as the 'God of 4th Innings' for his exploits.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In 2011, Laxman was awarded the Padma Shri award, India's fourth highest civilian award. In 2012, Laxman retired from international cricket.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (present-day Telangana). Laxman's parents are noted physicians Dr. Shantaram and Dr. Satyabhama of Vijayawada. Laxman is the great grand nephew of India's second President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman studied at the Little Flower High School, Hyderabad. Though he joined a medical school for his undergraduate studies, Laxman chose cricket as a career.


title: VVS Laxman

text: He married G. R. Shailaja from Guntur, Computer Applications graduate, on 16 February 2004. They have two children – a son, Sarvajit and a daughter, Achinthya.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman is known for his fluid style, technical soundness and aggressiveness. Sambil Bal of ESPN Crincinfo writes: "At his sublime best, VVS Laxman is a sight for the gods. Wristy, willowy and sinuous, he can match – sometimes even better – Tendulkar for strokeplay... [He] has the rare gift of being able to hit the same ball to either side." He was equally skilled against both pace and spin, with great timing and outstanding ability to place the ball splitting the tightest field positions. Laxman was particularly skillful in using his wrists (reminiscent of his role model and fellow Hyderabadi, Mohammed Azharuddin) that allowed him to place the same ball to different areas of the field.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Standing tall and still at the crease, Laxman had a keen awareness of the off-stump and a polished ability to dispatch the bad ball. He plays with a high elbow and a steady stance and a textbook technique with natural elegance and flair. At the start of his career, Laxman was rated by Geoffrey Boycott as one of India's best players of the hard (new) ball. However, Indian selectors played around with his batting positions, whenever India felt a lacuna regarding any batting number. He was forced to play in almost every position, including opening. Laxman found his home in the middle order, where he played most of his best innings, batting at numbers 3, 5 and 6. In a 2001 test against Australia and promoted to no. 3 in the second innings from his first innings position of 6, he scored 281 to take India to a huge lead after following on. Though Laxman was ideally suited for No. 3, Rahul Dravid was always preferred over him to bat at one-down, while Sachin Tendulkar was established at No. 4. As a result, Laxman played around 63 percent of his Test innings at No. 5 or 6. This meant that Laxman often found himself batting with tail-end batsmen, and is reflected in his final statistics, which show that he has a relatively high proportion of not out innings (34 of 225, or 15 per cent — for comparison, Tendulkar finished not out in around 10 per cent of his Test innings, and Dravid in 11 per cent). Nevertheless, Laxman batted particularly well with non-specialist lower-order batsmen, and was able, with their support, to save and win numerous matches for India (for example, the Mohali 2010 Test against Australia).


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman made his Under-19 debut for India against Australia in February 1994. Batting at six, he made 88 in his debut innings against a bowling attack that consisted of Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, both of whom were making their debuts too. In the second game of the series, Laxman scored an unbeaten 151 in the first innings and 77 in the second innings to help his team register a 226-run victory. He continued his good form as he scored 36 and 84 in the third game to end up as the leading run-scorer of the series. The Test series was followed by a 3-match ODI series, where he managed scores of 24, 22 and 77. Later in August that year, the India Under-19 team toured England for 2 ODIs and 3 Test matches. Laxman disappointed in the ODIs with scores of 20 and 5. However, in the first Test he struck 119 in the first innings, but did not get to bat in the second innings as India cruised to a 9-wicket win. He made only 28 in the second match and 4 in the third.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman made his first-class debut for Hyderabad against Punjab in the quarter-final match of 1992–93 Ranji Trophy season. He scored a duck in the first innings and 17 in the second. He played only one match for Hyderabad in the next season, before getting dropped. However, he was named in the South Zone squad for the 1994-95 Duleep Trophy in the back of his impressive outings for India Under-19s, but he failed to score big in the tournament. In the following Ranji Trophy season, Laxman notched up 532 runs from five matches at an average of 76 scoring two centuries. In the semi-final of the Duleep Trophy of 1995–96 season against West Zone, Laxman scored 47 in the first innings and a spectacular 121 in the second innings, sharing a 199-run partnership with skipper Rahul Dravid. He had another brilliant Ranji season the next year, as he piled 775 runs in just 11 innings at an average of 86 with 3 centuries and a best of 203* that came against Karnataka in the semi-final, which Hyderabad eventually lost. He was picked to play for Rest of India against Karnataka in the Irani Cup and also in the Board President's XI squad against the touring Australian team. He played only three matches in 1996-97 Ranji season, where he scored three half-centuries, before getting picked for the Indian Test team against South Africa.


title: VVS Laxman

text: After the tests he joined Lancashire as their overseas player in place of Brad Hodge. He played in five games of the county championship and showed glimpses of his sublime batting. In their final County Championship game of 2007, against Surrey at the Oval, Laxman scored a century in the second innings in which Lancashire were chasing 489 to win. They just missed out by 25 runs and subsequently lost the Championship to Sussex. His performance for Lancashire was good with 380 runs scored in 5 matches at an average of 54.28 with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman was supposed to replace Adam Voges for Nottinghamshire, but this move was vetoed by the BCCI due to the fact that there were players from the rival Indian Cricket League playing for Nottinghamshire.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman was originally named as the Icon Player for his home franchise Deccan Chargers before the first season of the IPL. But he gave up the Icon Player status in a bid to allow his team spend a bigger purse at the auction. The Deccan Chargers bought him at the auction for $375,000 and named him the captain for the first season. However, Laxman dropped himself from the team halfway through the season, after the team had a horrendous run in the tournament. Adam Gilchrist took over as captain and led the side in the next two seasons as well; Laxman did score 155 runs from the 6 games that he played at an average of 31 and strike rate of 118. He batted at 3 in the first few games before opening the innings with Gilchrist in some matches where he found more success. His only half-century of the tournament (52 off 44) came against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He did score a couple more fluent innings that season including an unbeaten 37 from 26 balls against Mumbai Indians and 48 from 34 balls against Kings XI Punjab. However, he struggled with the bat in the next two seasons and sat out the tournament after playing only 5–6 matches.


title: VVS Laxman

text: At the mega-auction in 2011, Laxman was bought by the newly formed franchise of Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $400,000. This time, though, he was injured after the first three games and missed the rest of the season. In the first match against Royal Challengers, he opened the innings with Brendon McCullum and scored an attractive 36 from 29 deliveries. But, the Kochi franchise was terminated later that year and all the players of the team were put in the auction in 2012. However, Laxman, who had a base price of $400,000, found no buyers and he couldn't participate in the 2012 edition of the tournament. Then in IPL 2013, he was appointed as a mentor for Sunrisers Hyderabad Team.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman made his Test debut in 1996 against South Africa at Ahmedabad, scoring a fifty in the second innings of the match. In the second game at Kolkata, he scored 14 and 1. He played just one Test in the South African tour the following month and was unable to cement his place in a star-studded Indian middle order. Instead, he was asked to open the innings, starting in West Indies in 1997. At Kingston, he scored 64 in his first innings as opener. However, he averaged only 28 in that series playing as an opener. But intermittently continued in this role for nearly three years, but without any consistent success. In 1998 at Calcutta, he scored 95 against Australia opening the innings with Navjot Sidhu who scored 97. India went on to win the match by an innings and 219 runs. Though he was selected in the Test squad that toured New Zealand in 1998, he did not get to play a single game as Ajay Jadeja was preferred over Laxman to open the innings with Sidhu. Laxman scored a duck on his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in the Pepsi Tri-Series in 1998. He had a horrible run in the ODIs in 1998 which resulted in him getting dropped from the ODI team for more than a year. Against Pakistan in 1999, he scored just 66 runs from two Tests, averaging a modest 16. In the first match of the Asian Test Championship later that year, Laxman scored 67 against Pakistan, but failed to score consistently, before getting dropped from the Test team as well.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman returned to playing first-class cricket in 1999 to regain his place in the national team. In the 1999–2000 season of Ranji Trophy, he broke the record for most runs in a Ranji season when he made 1415 runs, at an average of 108, in just 9 matches notching up eight hundreds – a record that still remains intact. His performance was rewarded when, in January 2000, he was recalled in the Indian squad for the Australian tour. He scored 167 in the third and final Test match at Sydney when the rest of the batsmen struggled to cope with Glenn McGrath's destructive bowling, a rare high point for India in an otherwise disastrous tour. Despite this success against an attack containing both McGrath and Shane Warne, Laxman apparently decided that he would return to domestic cricket, rather than continue playing as opener, a role which he believed did not suit him. As a result, Laxman was out of the Test team for nearly a year. He was recalled in late 2000, and also found a spot in the side for the home series against Australia in 2001.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman's good form continued in the 2007-08 Test series against Australia with him scoring 109 against Australia on the second day of the controversial Sydney Test to put India back into the contest. It was his 12th hundred in Test matches, and his 5th against Australia. It was also his third consecutive century at SCG, giving him an average well above 90 at the venue. He followed this up with a gritty knock of 79 in Perth, assisted by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and RP Singh, which set India up to record a historic and unexpected victory at a ground on which previously no Asian team had won. He hit 51 in the first innings of the final Test at Adelaide. He finished as the second highest run-getter for India in that series, only behind Sachin Tendulkar.


title: VVS Laxman

text: He, like all other Indian batsmen, struggled in Sri Lanka against the spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis later in July–August that year. India lost the first Test by an innings and 239 runs at Colombo, where Laxman's first innings score of 50 was the only half-century scored by an Indian batsman in either innings. Laxman scored another fifty in that series, in the third Test, an unbeaten 61 as India went on to lose the game by 8 wickets and the series 2–1. Laxman was dismissed by Mendis on all five occasions in that series. He also crossed the 6000-run milestone during the series.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Against Australia, in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later that year, Laxman was in top form as he scored 381 runs from 4 Tests with a double-hundred and two fifties. During the third Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Laxman scored an unbeaten 200 in the first innings with characteristic use of his wrists and flicks through the leg side. In the same innings, Gautam Gambhir scored 206, Laxman and Gambhir becoming the first pair of batsmen to score double-centuries in the same innings for India, and the first to do so against Australia. This was his second double-century in Test cricket with the previous one coming against the same opponents. He made an unbeaten 59 in the second innings and was named Man of the Match. The match was also the last game of India's spin wizard Anil Kumble who was also the captain of the team. In the final Test at Nagpur, Laxman scored another half-century in the first innings of the match.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In 2009, Laxman continued to be in brilliant form. He had scored 76 and 124* in the 2nd Test at Napier in New Zealand. The century helped India salvage a draw and avoid an innings defeat. In the next match at Wellington he hit a well-composed 61 in the second innings. Against Sri Lanka later that year in a home series, Laxman hit three fifties in four innings as India went on to win the series comfortably. His unbeaten 51 in the second innings combining with a hundred from Tendulkar helped India draw the first Test at Ahmedabad. Laxman scored two fifties in the next two games as India went on to win both matches by an innings.


title: VVS Laxman

text: He injured himself during the first match of the two-match Test series in Bangladesh in January 2010 after scoring another unbeaten half-century. The injury forced him to sit out for three weeks and he returned to action only during the final Test against South Africa held in Kolkata. He scored 143* in a record stand for the seventh wicket with MS Dhoni. The test was eventually won by India by an innings and 57 runs in the last 10 minutes of the fifth day's play, despite centuries in both innings from South African batsman Hashim Amla. This victory also helped India draw the Test series and remain the world Number 1 team. He also passed 7000 Test runs during the innings.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman helped India to level the series with Sri Lanka in August 2010 when he hit 103 not out in the run-chase, resulting in a five-wicket win in the Third Test, after scoring 69 in the first innings. He was awarded the Man of the Match for this brilliant effort. He scored a total of 279 runs in that series at an average of 70.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In October, he once again turned around another match that appeared headed for a comfortable Australian victory, in the first Test in Mohali. Laxman was suffering with a back problem and needed Suresh Raina as his runner, and the Indians had collapsed to 124/8 in pursuit of 216. He and paceman Ishant Sharma put on 81 to take the score to 205 before Sharma fell. Last man Pragyan Ojha then managed to survive till the end as the hosts completed a thrilling one-wicket win. Laxman ended on 73 not out. He was ruled out of the remaining matches of the series due to his injury. In November, he helped India recover from 15/5 in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand at Ahmedabad and the match was drawn. In the second match of the series at his home ground Hyderabad, he scored 74 and the match ended in another draw.


title: VVS Laxman

text: After failing in the first Test of the South African tour, Laxman once again helped India to a historic win at Durban. India struggled to cope with Dale Steyn in the first innings before getting bundled out for 205. Laxman's 38 was the highest score in that innings. In the second innings, India were struggling at 94/5 and he put on crucial partnerships with Dhoni and Zaheer Khan to help his team to 228, giving South Africa a target of 303. South Africa were bundled out for 215 giving India an 87-run win that helped level the series 1–1. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning innings of 96.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In three test matches, Laxman scored three consecutive fifties including two scores in eighties against the West Indies during India's tour of West Indies in June 2011.


title: VVS Laxman

text: During India's Tour to England, Laxman scored just two half-centuries in eight innings as India went down 0–4 to England. This was India's first Test series loss since its 2007-08 tour of Australia. Laxman got out with the pull shot frequently in this series, which otherwise he is good at.


title: VVS Laxman

text: As part of West Indies tour to India in September 2011, Laxman scored a magnificent 176 not out in the second test, and India went to win the match by an innings and 13 runs. Laxman was adjudged Man of the Match. India went on to win the series 1–0.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman failed to live to his expectations during India's tour of Australia in November 2011, as India went down 0–4 to Australia, with Laxman scoring only two half centuries in eight innings. For the first time in four tours to Australia, Laxman failed to register a century in the series; and also for the first time in four test matches played at Sydney Cricket Ground he failed to touch the three figure mark.


title: VVS Laxman

text: After this series, there were calls from the media and former cricketers that it was time for older players like Laxman, Dravid and Sachin to consider retirement.


title: VVS Laxman

text: On 18 August 2012, Laxman announced his retirement from international cricket. Although he was selected for the upcoming New Zealand series, he opted not to play in the series but he will play in domestic cricket for Hyderabad and the Indian Premier League . It was announced that the northern stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium will now be named after him.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman was particularly prolific against Australia, in both Tests and One Day Internationals. Six out of his 17 Test hundreds, and four out of his six ODI hundreds came against Australia. He has two double-centuries in Tests, both against Australia: his personal best of 281 at Kolkata in 2000–01, and 200 not out at Feroz Shah Kotla in 2008–09. The Australians admitted that they did not know where to bowl to him.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman's career changed dramatically in the 2001 home series against Australia. In the first Test at Mumbai, Laxman made 20 and 12, as the entire Indian batting line-up, with the exception of Sachin Tendulkar, capitulated, leading to a 10-wicket defeat. This was Australia's 16th consecutive Test win and extended their own world record.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In the next Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, however, Laxman produced a match-winning and series-defining performance. After scoring 59 in the first innings, Laxman shot to fame with an extraordinary knock of 281 in the second innings (following on) when under tremendous pressure and with Australia looking set for a crushing 17th win in a row. He broke Sunil Gavaskar's long standing Indian Test record score of 236*. This remained the highest ever by an Indian until it was eclipsed by Virender Sehwag's triple ton against Pakistan in Multan in March 2004. The innings also contributed to a record partnership of 376 with Rahul Dravid who made 180 and together they survived the whole 4th day. Laxman's performance was of enormous consequence: India had been on the brink of an innings defeat but went on to win the Test and the series, denying Steve Waugh's conquest of the "final frontier". This was only the third time in the history of cricket that a team had managed to win a Test after being forced to follow on. It has become one of the most celebrated tales of Indian cricket, and the innings is ranked the sixth best Test innings ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. At the time, the pitch was taking significant turn, and to negate Laxman's free scoring, Australian leg spinner Shane Warne pitched his deliveries into the footmarks outside leg stump. However, such was Laxman's play that he consistently drove the ball through long on for boundaries against the spin, something that is considered to be technically dangerous. When Warne attempted to stop Laxman from scoring by defensively stationing most of the fielders on the leg side (leg theory) and bowling outside leg stump, Laxman proceeded to skip down the pitch and drive Warne inside-out through the vacant off side, hitting through the line of a substantially turning ball. Warne later admitted that he was clueless as to how to stop Laxman.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman went on to score 65 and 66 in the third and the final Test match at Chennai, which India won by 2 wickets and won the series 2–1. Laxman had great amount of success batting at No.3 in the ODI series that followed the Tests, as he scored 45, 51, 83, 11 and 101 in the five games, thus cementing his spot in the ODI line-up as well. In the Coca-Cola Tri-Series later that year in Sri Lanka, Laxman scored 212 runs in 7 matches with two fifties and a decent average of 36.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman then cemented his place both in the Test and one day teams for a few years. After bad performances in the Test series against Zimbabwe, he did well in the first two ODIs scoring 75 and 52, but couldn't convert the starts into big knocks in the next three matches. Laxman managed to score a fighting 89 in the second Test at Port Elizabeth, when the rest of the team struggled to survive against Shaun Pollock's deadly bowling, helping his team put up 201 on the board and avoid an embarrassing follow-on. Against the touring England in late 2001, he scored 75, sharing a 100-plus run partnership with Tendulkar to take his team out of trouble. He had a great tour of West Indies, as he scored 474 runs in 8 innings at an average of 79. He had scores of 69, 69*, 74, 1, 43, 130, 65* and 23 in that series. He performed reasonably well during West Indies tour of India as well, particularly in the third match at Kolkata, where he scored 48 and 154*. He followed it up with brilliant showing in the 7-match ODI series as well with scores of 47, 99, 66 and 71 in the first five games. But his form dropped during India's tour of New Zealand in 2002–03. In the first Test at Wellington, he got a pair and in the second match he could score only 23 and 4. However, he had a brilliant 2-match Test series against the same team in India as he scored a half-century along with 44 in the first Test and 104* and 67* in the second match. He won the Man of the Series award for his impressive batting performances in the two Test match series. In October 2003, he scored 102 in the first ODI against Australia at Gwalior, sharing a 190-run second wicket partnership with Tendulkar. However he failed to deliver on a consistent basis in ODIs. He continued to perform well against Australia, especially during India's tour of Australia in 2003–04, in which he hit three ODI and two Test centuries. He was involved in two century partnerships, one with Tendulkar and the other with Dravid, in the Brisbane ODI against Australia where he remained unbeaten on 102. His 106* against the same opponents at Sydney saw him put up a fourth-wicket partnership of 213 runs with Yuvraj Singh, who scored his career-best 139. In the next ODI against Zimbabwe, Laxman scored a 138-ball 131, once again setting up 2 hundred-run stands. He scored 148 in the famous Adelaide Test, sharing a triple century partnership with Rahul Dravid, which India won by 4 wickets. This was their first Test victory in Australia in two decades. His innings of 178 at Sydney also came in a triple century partnership, on this occasion with Sachin Tendulkar. India went on to post 705/7 in their first innings which is their highest total in Test cricket. Laxman scored a total of 494 runs from the 4 Tests at a staggering average of 82. During this series, Ian Chappell described Laxman as "Very Very Special" Laxman. His 107 (104) against Pakistan in the fifth and the final ODI at Lahore, helped India win by 40 runs and clinch the series 3–2.


title: VVS Laxman

text: However, Laxman's form was on the decline since the series against Australia. Beginning with the series in Pakistan in 2004, Laxman had only Test centuries to his credit, with one coming against a weak Zimbabwe side. He averaged just 31 in the Test series in Pakistan in 3 matches. His only half-century (71) came in a high-scoring game at Rawalpindi where India made a mammoth 600 to win the game by an innings and 131 runs. He struggled to score in the ODI series in England which put question marks over his future in the shorter format. He struggled against his favourite opponents Australia in the home series in October–November 2004, although his 69 in the low-scoring final Test at Mumbai was instrumental for India to record a consolation victory. He had a mixed Test series against Pakistan in 2005. He scored 58 in the first Test, 0 and 24 in the second and 79* and 5 in the third. He batted well in the Sri Lanka Test series scoring a fifty at Delhi and a crucial century (104) in the last match at Ahmedabad. Laxman was dropped after scoring a duck in the first Test against England at Nagpur in March 2006. He regained his place for the tour of the West Indies in place of the injured Tendulkar, and made a hundred in the third Test. He also scored a resilient 63 in the second innings to deny West Indies the victory in the same match. In ODIs, Laxman was left out persistently since Greg Chappell took over as coach in mid-2005, mainly on account of his slow ground fielding and running between the wickets; Laxman is a highly regarded close-catching fielder in stationary positions but in ODIs, these positions are generally disused except for the opening phases of the match, and players otherwise have to patrol substantial spaces and retrieve balls. Another reason was a perception that his batting is too one paced for ODI cricket and that he lacks the ability to score at a high rate as required when the batting team has the momentum, or in the closing stages of the innings. This was despite his superb form in Australia and Pakistan in early 2004, when he made four centuries in 14 games, including three in a week in the VB Series in Australia.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In December 2005, Laxman helped India to victory against Sri Lanka with a fine century. In June 2006, Laxman again rescued India from a difficult position against the West Indies with a gritty century. In November 2006, he was selected in the test squad for India's tour of South Africa. In the first test in Johannesburg Laxman scored 73 in the second innings to help India claim a historic 123 run win. In the 2007 tour of England Laxman produced three good innings, two of which were half-centuries and a vital 39 that helped India draw the first test at Lords. He passed the 5000 run landmark in the first day of the final test.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In India's home series against Pakistan in 2007, V.V.S. Laxman once again showed his importance to the team with a disciplined batting performance in the 1st Test at Delhi, as he scored 72* in dire circumstances. He then followed that innings of 72 in the first test with 112 in the second test. This ensured his place on the tour of Australia which would be his third to that country.


title: VVS Laxman

text: A very occasional bowler at Test level, Laxman took 2 wickets in his test career. One against the West Indies, and the other against Pakistan.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman is one of the member of the elite three-man panel that consists of three Legends of Cricket, Laxman being one, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly being the other two. This three-man panel is known as the Cricket Advisory Committee of BCCI. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) was set up by Mr. Anurag Thakur (then Secretary) and late BCCI President Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya. This committee was set up to advise BCCI on various issues and to help BCCI with their immense Cricketing experience. The Cricket Advisory Committee took several important decisions that includes the recommendation for the selection of Anil Kumble (ex-coach) who stepped down as the coach and recommendation of selection of Ravi Shastri (present coach) for the post of coach of the Indian cricket team.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman was also appointed as the batting consultant in Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)'s vision 2020 project.


title: VVS Laxman

text: Laxman made his Test debut against South Africa in November 1996, and took almost four years to score his first century when he scored 167 against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2000. Laxman's next century came against the same team in 2001, when he made 281 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The score is the highest individual score in a Test match between India and Australia. It was also the highest individual score by an Indian at that time. In Test matches, Laxman has scored centuries against all the Test cricket playing nations except England and Bangladesh. As of 2012, he is seventh on the list of leading Test century makers for India. Laxman has scored two double centuries and has been dismissed four times between the score of 90 and 99 in test matches.


title: VVS Laxman

text: In ODIs, Laxman has scored six centuries against three countries including four against Australia. His first ODI century was against Australia in the last match of a five match series, held at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao in 2001. His highest score of 131 came against Zimbabwe at the Adelaide Oval in 2004. Two out of his six ODI centuries were scored at home grounds and four were at away (opposition's home) or neutral venues. He has been dismissed once between the score of 90 and 99.


title: Raylene

text: Bernstein was born and raised in Glendora, California. She is of Italian and Mexican descent on her mother's side. Her father is Jewish of Polish and Austrian descent.


title: Raylene

text: As a child, Bernstein attended Christian schools. She was an honors student in high school and graduated at age 16, two years early. She wanted to pursue Christian studies at Azusa Pacific University and become a Christian high school teacher, but did not have enough money or time to do so.


title: Raylene

text: Bernstein began acting when she was five years old. With help from her uncle, who is a producer, she appeared on "Hunter" and "21 Jump Street".


title: Raylene

text: She made a non-speaking appearance on an episode of the late nite HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show titled "Show Me Your Weenis" in which she played an anonymous groupie at the wild house party of a fictional hair metal rock band.


title: Raylene

text: Bernstein entered the adult film industry in 1996 and did her first scene with Mark Davis in "Shane’s World #4". She was a contract performer for Vivid Entertainment between May 1998 and November 2001.


title: Raylene

text: Bernstein retired from making pornographic films in 2001 to become a real estate agent, and later retired from striptease in 2004.


title: Raylene

text: In response to financial hardship, she made a comeback with "Raylene's Dirty Work" in 2009, as documented in the 2012 film "After Porn Ends".


title: Raylene

text: Bernstein was briefly married to Brad Hirsch, brother of Vivid Entertainment co-chairman Steve Hirsch.


title: CinemaScore

text: CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.


title: CinemaScore

text: Ed Mintz founded CinemaScore in 1979 after disliking "The Cheap Detective" despite being a fan of Neil Simon, and hearing another disappointed attendee wanting to hear the opinions of ordinary people instead of critics. A Yom Kippur donation card with tabs inspired the survey cards given to audience members. The company conducts surveys to audiences who have seen a film in theaters, asking them to rate the film and specifying what drew them to the film. Its results are published in "Entertainment Weekly". CinemaScore also conducts surveys to determine audience interest in renting films on video, breaking the demographic down by age and sex and passing along information to video companies such as Fox Video Corporation.


title: CinemaScore

text: CinemaScore pollster Dede Gilmore reported the trend in 1993, "Most movies get easily a B-plus. I think people come wanting the entertainment. They have high expectations. They're more lenient with their grades. But as (moviegoers) do it more and more, they get to be stronger critics". In 1993, films that were graded with an A included "Scent of a Woman", "A Few Good Men" and "Falling Down". Films graded with a B included "Sommersby" and "Untamed Heart". A C-grade film for the year was "Body of Evidence".


title: CinemaScore

text: CinemaScore at first reported its findings to consumers, including a newspaper column and a radio show. After 20th Century Fox approached the company in 1989, it began selling the data to studios instead. A website was launched by CinemaScore in 1999, after three years' delay in which the president sought sponsorship from magazines and video companies. Brad Peppard was president of CinemaScore Online from 1999 to 2002. The website included a database of nearly 2,000 feature films and the audiences' reactions to them. Prior to the launch, CinemaScore results had been published in "Las Vegas Review-Journal" and "Reno Gazette-Journal". CinemaScore's expansion to the Internet included a weekly email subscription for cinephiles to keep up with reports of audience reactions.


title: CinemaScore

text: In 1999, CinemaScore was rating approximately 140 films a year, including 98–99% of major studio releases. For each film, employees polled 400–500 moviegoers in three of CinemaScore's 15 sites, which included the cities Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Dallas, Atlanta, Tampa, Phoenix, and Coral Springs.


title: CinemaScore

text: In the summer of 2002, CinemaScore reported that the season had the biggest collective grade since 1995. In the summer of 2000, 25 out of 32 films received either an A or B grade. Twenty-six of the summer of 2001's 30 films got similar grades, while 32 of the summer of 2002's 34 films got similar grades, the latter being the highest ratio in a decade.


title: CinemaScore

text: Since July 2014, CinemaScore reports its results also on Twitter, and from January 16, 2016, it began with "Collateral Beauty" to use for each of them an image with the movie poster on the left and the grade obtained on the right.


title: CinemaScore

text: Usually, only films that open in more than 1,500 screens are polled and reported on CinemaScore's website and social media. The distributor of a film that opens in fewer screens can optionally contract with CinemaScore for a private survey, whose result would be disclosed only to the client.


title: CinemaScore

text: CinemaScore describes itself as "the industry leader in measuring movie appeal". There are 35 to 45 teams of CinemaScore representatives present in 25 large cities across North America. Each Friday, representatives in five randomly chosen cities give opening-day audiences a small survey card. The card asks for age, gender, a grade for the film ("A", "B", "C", "D" or "F"), whether they would rent or buy the film on DVD or Blu-ray, why they chose the film and whether or not they felt the film lined up with its marketing. CinemaScore typically receives about 400 cards per film; the company estimates a 65% response rate and 6% margin of error.


title: CinemaScore

text: An overall grade of "A+" and "F" is calculated as the average of the grades given by responders. In this case, grades other than "F" are qualified with a plus (high end), minus (low end) or neither (middle). The ratings are divided by gender and age groups (under 21, 21–34, 35 and up). Film studios and other subscribers receive the data at about 11 pm Pacific Time. CinemaScore publishes letter grades to the public on social media and, although the detailed data is proprietary, the grades become widely shared in the media and the industry. Subsequent advertisements for highly ranked films often cite their CinemaScore grades.


title: CinemaScore

text: As opening-night audiences are presumably more enthusiastic about a film than ordinary patrons, a "C" grade from them is – according to the "Los Angeles Times" – "bad news, the equivalent of a failing grade". According to Ed Mintz, "A's generally are good, B's generally are shaky, and C's are terrible. D's and F's, they shouldn't have made the movie, or they promoted it funny and the absolute wrong crowd got into it". Horror films consistently score lower; "The Conjuring"s "A−" was the first time a horror film scored better than "B+". CinemaScore's Harold Mintz said that "An F in a horror film is equivalent to a B− in a comedy".


title: CinemaScore

text: An "A+" typically predicts a successful box office. From 1982 to August 2011, only 52 films (about two a year) received the top grade, including seven Academy Award for Best Picture winners. From 2000 to January 2020, there were 53 movies with "A+". , about 90 films have received "A+".


title: CinemaScore

text: From 2004 to 2014, those rated "A+" and "A" had multiples of 4.8 and 3.6, respectively, while C-rated films' total revenue was 2.5 times their opening weekend. Ed Mintz cited Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise as the "two stars, it doesn't matter how bad the film is, they can pull (the projections) up". (DiCaprio's "Shutter Island" had a 3.1 revenue multiple despite a "C+" grade, and Cruise's "Vanilla Sky" had a 4 multiple with a "D" grade.)


title: CinemaScore

text: Vulture cited as examples of such F-graded films Steven Soderbergh's "Solaris" with George Clooney, Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly" with Brad Pitt, and Darren Aronofsky's "mother!" with Jennifer Lawrence.


title: CinemaScore

text: In an essay for "The Hollywood Reporter", Martin Scorsese strongly criticized this type of approach by writing: "The brutal judgmentalism that has made opening-weekend grosses into a bloodthirsty spectator sport seems to have encouraged an even more brutal approach to film reviewing. I'm talking about market research firms like CinemaScore [...]. They have everything to do with the movie business and absolutely nothing to do with either the creation or the intelligent viewing of film. The filmmaker is reduced to a content manufacturer and the viewer to an unadventurous consumer." Mintz rejected being lumped in with Rotten Tomatoes, and defended their methodology of polling select audiences on the opening night, to see if the film meets the expectations of the people who most want to see it, and further defended the accuracy of their data and the correlation to box office results.


title: CinemaScore

text: CinemaScore's forecasts for box-office receipts based on the surveys are, according to the "Los Angeles Times", "surprisingly accurate" as "most of [the company's] picks...are in the ballpark", in 2009 correctly predicting the success of "The Hangover" and the failure of "Land of the Lost". Hollywood executives are divided on CinemaScore's accuracy. One told "Deadline Hollywood" "It's not always right, but it's a pretty good indicator. I rely on it", while another said that competitor PostTrak was "much better...more thorough and in-depth".


title: CinemaScore

text: As of 2022, only three directors have made the list three times: Rob Reiner (1987, 1989, 1992), Alex Kendrick (2011, 2015, 2019), and the Erwin Brothers (2015, 2018, 2021). The following directors have appeared on the list twice: Steven Spielberg (1982, 1993), James Cameron (1991, 1997), Robert Zemeckis (1994, 2004), Pete Docter (2001, 2009), Malcolm D. Lee (2013, 2017), Peter Berg (2013, 2016), Brad Bird (2004, 2018), and George Tillman Jr. (1997, 2018).


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Sérgio Paulo Marceneiro da Conceição (; born 15 November 1974) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who mostly played as a right winger. He is the current manager of Porto.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Throughout his career, he played for ten teams in five countries. After gaining international recognition with Porto he switched to Italy, where he appeared for three clubs, winning domestic and European honours at Lazio. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 97 games and 13 goals over four seasons, adding 136 matches and 13 goals in Serie A.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Having won 56 caps for Portugal, Conceição represented the nation at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the former. In 2012, he started working as a manager, winning three league titles for Porto and the double in 2019–20 and 2021–22.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Born in Coimbra, Conceição began his career playing for the youth teams of hometown's Associação Académica. He started professionally in the second division, consecutively for F.C. Penafiel, Leça F.C. and F.C. Felgueiras, before moving to FC Porto in 1996; two highly successful years with the latter saw his runs down the right flank, combined with a good goalscoring record, help it to back-to-back Primeira Liga championships and a Taça de Portugal triumph.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição joined S.S. Lazio and played a significant part in their 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup success, while also scoring five goals in 33 games in his first season in Serie A. He also helped the team to a "Scudetto", a Coppa Italia (in a 1999–2000 conquest of the double) and the 1999 UEFA Super Cup.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: In July 2000, Conceição transferred to Parma A.C. as a makeweight in Hernán Crespo's transfer, along with Matías Almeyda. The following campaign, he was used in the same fashion in the transfer of Sébastien Frey, which saw him go to Inter Milan while Frey went in the other direction. After two seasons and a good number of starts, he would eventually leave Inter by mutual agreement and re-joined Lazio, leaving for former club Porto towards the end of 2003–04, again by mutual agreement, and adding his third Portuguese national championship.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: In summer 2004, Conceição signed for Belgium's Standard Liège on a one-year deal. He won the Belgian Golden Shoe for best player of the year in his first season. However, in March 2006, he was banned for three years – the first 4.5 months of the ban taking effect immediately and the rest suspended– depending on good behaviour, for spitting on an opposing player and assaulting a referee.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: After the 2006–07 season, Conceição failed to win any silverware with Standard, finishing runner-up in 2005–06's league and losing the 2007 final of the Belgian Cup. He decided to move to Kuwait and Qadsia SC on an annual salary of €1.1 million but, quickly unsettled, left.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: In January 2008, after failed deals in Portugal, Conceição agreed to join PAOK FC in Greece, signing an 18-month contract. His unlikely signing was largely attributed to club director of football Zisis Vryzas, and the presence of Portuguese manager Fernando Santos on the bench; though he initially struggled even to return to proper fitness levels, he was instantly given the number No. 7 shirt, once worn by legendary former player (and also chairman) Theodoros Zagorakis.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: In 2008–09, Conceição was promoted to team captain. Along with compatriot Vieirinha, he was a regular on the team's wings and gradually became a fan favourite for his leadership and his devotion to the club; at the beginning of the following campaign, however, he was regularly troubled by knee injuries for the most part of October, managing only a few appearances.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição played 56 times with the Portugal national team and scored 12 goals, his debut being on 9 November 1996 in a 1–0 home win against Ukraine for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In his last international game he was on the losing end of a 0–3 friendly defeat at the hands of Spain, on 6 September 2003.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Early in his international career, Conceição was not known for his scoring prowess but, at UEFA Euro 2000, Portugal reached the semi-finals with a major contribution from him: in the third and final match of the group stage, against defending champions Germany in Rotterdam, he netted a hat-trick for all of the game's goals; the national side had guaranteed first place in the first two rounds, so it played mostly with substitutes, but he cemented his place in the starting XI for the rest of the tournament and subsequent call-ups.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: In qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, Conceição scored four goals as Portugal finished atop a group that also featured the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands (netting against both).


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: On 13 October 2009, Conceição announced his decision to retire as a professional footballer, and to continue working at PAOK as technical director, accepting Vryzas' proposal for the seat left vacant when he assumed presidency early on. On 30 May 2010, a few weeks after Santos' resignation as manager, he left the Thessaloniki club and rejoined another former team, as part of Standard Liège's coaching staff led by Dominique D'Onofrio.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição began his managerial career on 1 January 2012, replacing Daúto Faquirá at the helm of S.C. Olhanense in Primeira Liga. He left the Algarve side on 9 August, following disputes with the board.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: On 8 April 2013, Conceição was hired as manager of his hometown team Académica de Coimbra, less than 24 hours after the club dismissed Pedro Emanuel from the job. They stood at 13th place when he joined, and his main goal was to avoid relegation. He left at the end of the season, after leading the side to an eighth place finish.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição signed a two-year contract with S.C. Braga on 26 May 2014; the team had just finished the campaign one place below Académica with the same number of points, resulting in the first time in ten years that Braga was out of European competitions. He led them to a fourth place finish and to the final of the domestic cup. After the semi-final victory at Rio Ave FC's ground, he made the 24-mile journey home from Vila do Conde on foot as part of a bet made with his players. Braga lost the final in a penalty shootout to Sporting CP despite leading 2–0 at half time. Following this defeat, president António Salvador released an official statement that angered the manager, resulting in a "violent discussion" between the two and leading to the club's decision of sacking the latter.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: On 22 September 2015, Conceição resurfaced with his fourth management position in the Portuguese top-flight, at Vitória de Guimarães. On 17 January 2016, he led the side to their first home win against FC Porto (1–0) in 14 years. He left at the end of the campaign, by mutual consent with the club, after a 10th place in the championship left them out of European competitions.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição was named manager of Ligue 1 club FC Nantes on 8 December 2016, replacing the dismissed René Girard at a side second from bottom. The following February, he was linked to the vacant managerial position at struggling Premier League title holders Leicester City, but Nantes chairman Waldemar Kita insisted he would see out his two-year contract.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: On 6 June 2017, it was announced that Conceição had quit his position and accepted a proposal from Porto. The manager cited personal reasons, including the possibility to live close to his family in Portugal, as to why he accepted the Portuguese club's proposal.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: In June 2017, after cutting ties with the French club, Conceição replaced former teammate Nuno Espírito Santo at the helm of former side Porto. He was officially presented on the 8th, signing a two-year deal. In his first season, he led the club to the national championship after a five-year wait, and his contract was extended by another year. They reached the quarter-finals in the subsequent UEFA Champions League, where they were ousted by eventual winners Liverpool.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: On 1 March 2019, Conceição signed another deal to stay at Porto until 2021. They regained their title in 2019–20 with two games to spare, after S.L. Benfica's form worsened at the end of the campaign. Two weeks later, his team beat that opponent in the cup final to secure the double. The side again reached the last-eight in the Champions League, being defeated 2–1 on aggregate by Chelsea.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição renewed his contract for three more years on 4 June 2021, until June 2024. The following 16 April, a 7–0 home rout of Portimonense S.C. equalled A.C. Milan and Olympiacos F.C.'s record of 58 league matches without losing. His third league title was sealed on 7 May, with a last-minute winner by Zaidu Sanusi at Benfica, and 15 days later a 3–1 win over C.D. Tondela decided the domestic cup final.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: A talented player, Conceição was mainly known for his speed, strength, and ability to cover the flank and get forward, also possessing good dribbling skills, crossing ability, and a fairly accurate shot. A versatile and hard-working midfielder, although he was usually deployed as a right winger, he was also capable of playing in a holding role.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Coimbra's municipal government named a local 2,500-seater stadium after him – the Estádio Municipal Sérgio Conceição. He fathered five sons: Sérgio, Rodrigo, Moisés, Francisco and José.


title: Sérgio Conceição

text: Conceição helped ten families who were struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the intent of providing "a grocery store in every home". During an interview to RTP1 in December 2020, he stated that his hero was God and he was a devout Catholic.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: The public image of Vladimir Putin concerns the image of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, among residents of Russia and worldwide.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: According to Statista Putin hold a very favorable approval rating among Russians averaging between 84% in August, 2022, to 79% approval by Russian citizens and Dual Nationals holding both Russian and United States Passports despite the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. According to public opinion surveys conducted by NGO Levada Center, Putin's approval rating was just 60% in July 2020. Putin's popularity rose from 31% in August 1999 to 80% in November 1999, never dropping below 65% during his first presidency. In January 2013, his approval rating fell to 62%, the lowest point since 2000 and a ten-point drop over two years. Observers see Putin's high approval ratings as a consequence of the significant improvements in living standards and Russia's reassertion of itself on the world scene that has occurred during his period of office. One analysis attributed Putin's popularity, in part, to state-owned or state-controlled television.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: A joint poll by "World Public Opinion" in the US and Levada Center  in Russia around June–July 2006 stated that "neither the Russian nor the American publics are convinced Russia is headed in an anti-democratic direction" and "Russians generally support Putin's concentration of political power and strongly support the re-nationalization of Russia's oil and gas industry." Russians generally support the political course of Putin and his team. A 2005 survey showed that three times as many Russians felt the country was "more democratic" under Putin than it was during the Yeltsin or Gorbachev years, and the same proportion thought human rights were better under Putin than Yeltsin.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: In January 2013, at the time of 2011–2013 Russian protests, Putin's approval rating fell to 62%, the lowest figure since 2000 and a ten-point drop over two years. By May 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, Putin's approval rating had rebounded to 85.9%, a six-year high.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: After EU and U.S. sanctions against Russian officials as a result of the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin's approval rating reached 87 percent, according to a Levada Center survey published on 6 August 2014. In February 2015, based on new domestic polling, Putin was ranked the world's most popular politician. In June 2015, Putin's approval rating climbed to 89%, an all-time high. In 2016, the approval rating was 81%.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: Observers see Putin's high approval ratings as a consequence of significant improvements in living standards, and Russia's reassertion of itself on the world scene during his presidency.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: Despite high approval for Putin, confidence in the Russian economy is low, dropping to levels in 2016 that rivaled the recent lows in 2009 at the height of the global economic crisis. Just 14% of Russians in 2016 said their national economy was getting better, and 18% said this about their local economies. Putin's performance at reining in corruption is also unpopular among Russians. "Newsweek" reported in June 2017 that "An opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Center indicated that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption".


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: In July 2018, Putin's approval rating fell to 63% and just 49% would vote for Putin if presidential elections were held. Levada poll results published in September 2018 showed Putin's personal trustworthiness levels at 39% (decline from 59% in November 2017) with the main contributing factor being the presidential support of the unpopular pension reform and economic stagnation. In October 2018, two thirds of Russians surveyed in Levada poll agreed that "Putin bears full responsibility for the problems of the country", which has been attributed to decline of a popular belief in "good tsar and bad boyars", a traditional attitude towards justifying failures of the ruling hierarchy in Russia.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: In May 2020, Putin's approval rating dropped to a historic low of 59% in an April poll by the Levada Center.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: In December 2021, a Levada Center poll found that 65% approved of Putin personally, That jumped to 69% who had a positive view of Putin in January 2022, and 71% who approved of the Russian president in February 2022 (before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine).


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: According to a 2017 survey by the Worldwide Independent Network/Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA), Putin's international reputation increased significantly between 2015 and 2017 (43% favorable in 2017 compared with 33% in 2015).


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: Some of these views have changed considerably over time ever since 2017. For instance, in Romania, in a 2022 poll, only 3% of Romanians had a positive opinion of Putin while 70% of Romanians had a negative one.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: Putin was "Time" magazine's Person of the Year for 2007. In April 2008, Putin was put on the "Time" 100 most influential people in the world list.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: On 4 December 2007, at Harvard University, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev credited Putin with having "pulled Russia out of chaos" and said he was "assured a place in history", despite Gorbachev's claim that the news media have been suppressed and that election rules run counter to the democratic ideals he has promoted. In December 2011, amid the protests following the 2011 Russian elections Gorbachev criticized Putin for a decision to seek the third term in the presidential elections and advised Putin to leave politics.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: Criticism of Putin has been widespread especially over the Runet. It is said that the Russian youth organisations finance a full "network" of pro-government bloggers.


title: Public image of Vladimir Putin

text: In the U.S. embassy cables, published by WikiLeaks in late 2010, Putin was called "alpha dog" and compared with Batman (while Dmitry Medvedev was compared with Batman's crime-fighting partner Robin). American diplomats said Putin's Russia had become "a corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Putin, in which officials, oligarchs and organised crime are bound together to create a "virtual mafia state." Putin called it "slanderous".