UEFA.com's A to Z of 2007

A is for…Athens where Filippo Inzaghi scored twice to help AC Milan win the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool FC. He then went on to break Gerd Müller's scoring record in UEFA club competitions when he struck his 63rd goal in Europe, against Celtic FC on 5 December.

B is for… S.S. Lazio goalkeeper Marco Ballotta who is the oldest player to feature in the UEFA Champions League, taking the pitch aged 43 years and 241 days for his side’s 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid CF on Matchday 6.

C is for…Fabio Capello who guided Real Madrid CF to a first title in four years and then landed one of the biggest jobs in world football, manager of England.

D is for…David – no not Beckham but Healy. The Northern Ireland striker's astonishing tally of 13 goals was a record in European Championship qualifying.

E is for...Eight. Liverpool FC's 8-0 win against Be?ikta? JK on 6 November is a UEFA Champions League record.

F is for…Francesco Totti whose 26 goals for AS Roma earned him the 2006/07 ESM Golden Shoe.

G is for…Goals – Lionel Messi’s mazy dribble à la Maradona against Getafe CF in particular. Goal of the year anyone? Answers on a postcard…

H is for…Thierry Henry who passed Michel Platini as France’s leading scorer in October and now has 44 goals for his country.

I is for…Invincibiles. FC Internazionale Milano won a record 17 straight league games in the 2006/07 season have not been beaten away from home this year in Serie A.

J is for...José Mourinho. The Special One left Chelsea FC in characteristically dramatic fashion after three years and two English Premier League titles with the club.

K is for…Kaká whose competition leading ten goals led AC Milan to the UEFA Champions League.

L is for…Olympique Lyonnais who set a new record among Europe's major leagues by winning their sixth straight Ligue 1 title.

M is for...Paolo Maldini who won his 26th major honour after winning the FIFA World Club Cup on 16 December before announcing his intention to retire at the end of the season.

N is for...1. FC Nürnberg lifting the German Cup; their first major honour since 1968.

O is for…Olympiacos CFP who finally won away in the UEFA Champions League at the 32nd time of asking before going on to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in nine attempts.P is for…Antonio Puerta. Gone but not forgotten.

Q is for…Queen – Queen Elizabeth II to be precise, who after missing the official opening of Arsenal FC’s new stadium because of a bad back, made amends by inviting the squad to Buckingham Palace.

R is for…Recovery. It took just 103 minutes for Werder Bremen forward Ivan Klasni? to get back in the scoring groove after two kidney transplants and nearly a year on the sidelines. For good measure he added a second 33 minutes later as Bremen trounced Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5-2 on 15 December.

S is for…Shootout. It took 32 penalties before the Netherlands finally defeated England in a semi-final shoot-out during the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

T is for…Title race: 2007 provided three thrilling conclusions to the domestic seasons in Europe’s top leagues. VfB Stuttgart, Real Madrid CF and PSV Eindhoven all clinched the title on the final day with the latter winning the Eredivisie by virtue of a single goal from AFC Ajax.

U is for…Underdogs. Gretna FC’s dramatic rise continued with promotion to the Scottish Premier League, while unfancied Larissa FC and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard won their national cup competitions. Luxembourg ended a run of 55 successive defeats in European qualifying competitions with victory against Belarus to strike a blow for underdogs across the continent.

V is for…Armin Veh who guided VfB Stuttgart to their first Bundesliga title since 1992.

W is for...Wembley. After only 28 seconds of the first game at the new Wembley Stadium England were behind, Italy Under-21 striker Giampaolo Pazzini scoring the first goal at the stadium on his way to a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with the hosts.

X is for...X-factor. Something Afonso Alves clearly possesses. Scoring 34 league goals for SC Heerenveen last season was impressive enough, but the Brazilian grabbed even more headlines on 8 October when he hit a Dutch record seven goals in SC Heerenveen's 9-0 Eredivisie win against Heracles Almelo.

Y is for...Youth. FC Barcelona's Bojan Krki? and Olympique Lyonnais' Karim Benzema were just two of the young stars to burst on to the European football scene this year.

Z is for...FC Zenit St. Petersburg claimed their first title since winning the Soviet championship in 1984