Chievo Verona
Founded in 1929 by a number of football fans from Chievo. Their first official league debut came on 8 November 1931. The demise of the club came in 2021 due to financial trouble.
The new chairman in 1964, Luigi Campedelli saw a change of fortune in the club as they climbed the Italian pyramid and reached Serie D in the 1974-75 season. The club reached Serie B in 1992 after Campedelli had died and his son took over as chairman, at the young age of 23.
Chievo managed to finish third in Serie B in the 2000-01 season, which gave the club promotion into Serie A, the top flight of Italian football, for the first time in their history. Chievo would establish themselves as a Serie A club, with just one disappointing relegation in 2006-07, however they managed to win Serie B the following season and bounce straight back to Serie A where they stayed for a total of 17 seasons.
The club played two UEFA Cup First Round matches, first in 2002-03, and again in 2006-07 when they lost a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round game.
Nicknamed The Flying Donkeys, first by rival club Hellas Verona who would mock the club by chanting Donkeys will fly before Chievo are in Serie A. Chievo’s fans eventually started to call themselves the flying donkeys after their first promotion to Serie A.
Over their history, they won Group C of Serie D in 1985-86, Serie C2 in 1988-89, Serie C1 in 1993-94, and their last major honour was in 2007-08 as they were crowned Serie B champions.
In 2019, Chievo were relegated to Serie B and expelled from the competition in July 2021 because of their financials and outstanding tax payments, which meant the end of Chievo Verona.
Wimbledon FC
Formed in 1889, the club announced in 2001, their intent to move to Milton Keynes, away from London. It didn’t go down well with the Wimbledon support, with many moving on to support newly formed AFC Wimbledon. Approval was given for Wimbledon FC to move in 2002, and they were then brought out of administration and renamed Milton Keynes Dons.
Wimbledon FC were known as the Dons, though often referred to as The Wombles, and for their purple kits, as well as the famous Plough Lane stadium they played at. They were a successful club even early on, winning eight Isthmian League championships with the first coming in 1930-31, and the last in 1963-64, before heading on to the South League, winning three titles in a row there. The most famous of their honours though, is likely their FA Cup win in 1987-88, won by The Crazy Gang as the team were known, due to their eccentric behaviour.
Only nine years after they were elected into The Football League, starting in 1977, Wimbledon were playing in the First Division, climbing from the Fourth Division in just four seasons, which is a remarkable achievement. The club managed to establish themselves in the First Division, enjoying fourteen years at the height of English Football between 1986-2000.
Not long after, the club would cease to exist when relocation of the club came about in 2002. Wimbledon entered administration in June 2003, and were brought out of administration as MK Dons at the end of the 2003-04 season.
AFC Wimbledon was then formed in 2002, by unhappy fans that didn’t like the move to Milton Keynes. The newly formed team have rapidly came through the ranks, and are now an established club in the Football League, and who now play their home games just 200 yards from Wimbledon’s old famous Plough Lane, also in a stadium called Plough Lane, built in 2020.
KSV Waregem
Founded in 1925, and dissolved in 2001 due to financial problems. The club had three spells in the top flight of Belgian football, starting from 1966, and ending in 1996, but it was from 1974-1994 that they enjoyed their longest spell at the top without any relegations.
The club went on to win the 1974 Belgian Cup, beating Tongeren 4-1 in the final, as well as winning the Belgian Supercup in 1982.
For the 1985-86 season, the club enjoyed a lot of European success, reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, knocking out Italian giants AC Milan along the way before losing to FC Koln.
Beyond that, their best position was finishing fourth in the Belgian top flight, and their last season in that league came in 1995-96 when they were relegated.
They fell further down to the third division in 1999, and in 2001, financial issues had grown beyond measure as the club had to merge with Zultse VV, with the newly formed club now named SV Zulte Waregem, who currently do play in the Jupiler Pro League, the highest league in Belgium.
Dnipro FC
The club was founded in 1918, and they were successful during the Soviet era. They were forced into bankruptcy in 2018 by FIFA due to failing to pay the promised compensation to players and managers, and they were relegated to the Amateur League in June 2018. The club didn’t participate for the 2019-20 season, and most if not all staff and players joined recently formed SC Dnipro-1.
In the 1970s, the club came close, but ultimately failed to bring success, reaching the semi-finals of the USSR Cup in 1973, and 1976. It wasn’t until 1983 that the golden generation won its first Soviet Championship, and did so again in 1988, while also winning the Soviet Cup in the 1988-89 season.
The collapse of the Soviet Union saw the club join the Ukrainian Premier League and become Dnipro after having been known as Dnepr among many other previous names.
Future success for the club didn’t quite happen, but they did however enjoy a fantastic run in the 2014-15 UEFA Europa League, when they reached the Final of the competition, losing 3-2 to Sevilla. They did knock out Dutch giants Ajax along the way, as well as beating Napoli in the semi-final.
The downfall came after that, when on 31 March 2016, the club was punished from participating in the next UEFA competition for violating financial fair play. They then had a disaster of a season in 2016-17, when outstanding debts meant that Dnipro couldn’t sign players and a penalty of 6 points was given also. Another 3 points were deducted in April 2017 and Dnipro were eventually relegated to the Ukrainian Second League for the first time in their history.
The end of Dnipro saw financial ruin as FIFA intervened and with debt to be paid to players and managers, the club would ultimately become non existent just a few years after reaching a UEFA Europa League Final.
Los Angeles Aztecs
Founded in December of 1973 as Los Angeles were awarded an expansion team for the upcoming North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1974 season. The Aztecs would go on to win the 1974 NASL Championship after a penalty shoot-out, which turned out to be their only ever Championship win.
Singer Elton John then became part-owner of the club in 1975 until 1977, and during that time in came the fantastic George Best who had just been released from Manchester United.
In 1978, the Aztecs bounced back after a disappointing season and brought in former Barcelona, Ajax and Dutch manager Rinus Michels, as well as signing three-time Ballon d’Or winner Johan Cruyff, but success didn’t follow.
New ownership again came in 1980 as Televisa took over, and a statement was released after the 1980-81 season that the Los Angeles Aztecs would not be operating for the following season and all player contracts would be sold, which brought an abrupt end to the Aztecs after just eight years of existence.
New York Cosmos
The Cosmos came into existence in 1970 by executives at Atlantic Records, while the parent company Warner Communications acquired the Cosmos in 1972.
They made their league debut in the NASL for the 1971 season, and won their first league title in 1972.
In 1975, Brazilian superstar, and arguably one of the greatest of all time to ever play the game, Pelé, arrived in New York to play for the Cosmos, with the Brazilian signing a deal worth $1.4 million per year, which was an extraordinary amount for a player at that time.
Another Brazilian joined the ranks in 1977 as former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto joined, along with former German captain Franz Beckenbauer, while Pelé played his last competitive game for the club on 1 October 1977, and then retired from football after a farewell tour.
The club went on to win four more NASL Championships, in 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1982, but Pelé had left a huge hole in the team as there was no star attraction to garner global interest, and it seemed his loss affected the entire NASL as the league folded in 1984.
With almost all franchises ending due to a number of factors, from the loss of TV deals, superstars, viewing numbers, it all became unprofitable and the end of the New York Cosmos came in 1985 after attempting to stay alive in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
FC Amsterdam
Founded in 1972 after both Amsterdam based clubs Blau Wit and DWS merged, while another club Volewijckers also joined in the 1973-74 season.
The club had some early success, reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals for the 1974-75 season. They defeated Italian giants Inter Milan in the process, however lost heavily to FC Koln.
Relegation from the Eredivisie followed in the 1977-78 season, which resulted in a large reduction of fans showing up to games as the club moved away from the Olympic Stadium.
A steady decline meant the club was barely surviving in the Eerste Divisie, and with very low attendance and hardly any financials, the club folded in 1982, just 10 years after they were founded.
Beerschot AC
Founded in 1920 as Germinal Ekeren, where the team reached the top division of Belgian football in 1989. The highest achievement in that league was finishing third in both 1996 and 1998, qualifying for the UEFA Cup, but due to low attendances and limited options, the team merged with Beerschot, who were playing in the 3rd Division at the time.
Now working under the name Germinal Beerschot, as well as a rebuilding of the squad and a rebranding of the logo, the club retained the history of Germinal Ekeren to continue on in the top flight.
They played in the highest league in Belgium, the Pro League from 1999-2013 when they were relegated.
During their time, they won the Belgian Second Division in the 1988-89 season, but their best honour was winning the Belgian Cup twice in 1996-97, and lastly in 2004-05.
The club have produced some notable players throughout their youth ranks, with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen, Radja Nainggolan and Thomas Vermaelen as some of the outstanding quality that they brought through.
Following relegation in the 2012-13 season, the club declared themselves bankrupt a week after the season had ended, and lost their professional licence which brought an end to the club.
In June of 2013, KFCO Wilrijk unofficially integrated Beerschot AC’s identity into theirs to become FCO Beerschot Wilrijk, moving to Beerschot AC’s vacated stadium. This new club started in the first division of the Belgian Provincial leagues.
Limerick FC
Founded in 1937, the club went through quite a few changes during its time, known as Limerick United and then Limerick City, as well as Limerick 37.
The club played its first game on 22 August 1937 in a Dublin City Cup match against Shamrock Rovers, and won 1-0. They went on to lift their first silverware in that season as they beat Cork to win the Munster Senior Cup.
Improvements were made to the squad in the 40s and that saw Limerick raise their level, finishing second in the League of Ireland twice. It wasn’t until the 1959-60 season that Limerick finally picked up their first ever League of Ireland title, and did so only one other time in 1980. The club picked up two FAI Cup wins first in 1971, and again in 1982, as well as the League of Ireland Cup three times, in 76, 93 and lastly in 2002.
They played four games in the European Cup, two in the UEFA Cup and six in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, however, all throughout their history in European fixtures, they failed to win a single match, losing ten out of the twelve.
In December 2019, the financial issues that the club were in meant that the club would be dissolved, and in its place new club Treaty United would be formed, who currently play in the League of Ireland First Division, and use their predecessors stadium at Markets Field.
Dalian Shide
One of China’s earliest football clubs, established in 1955, they became professional in 1993, and were the most successful club in China for the following twelve years, winning the Chinese Jia-A League/Chinese Super League, eight times. Their first win came in 1994, and they had two spells, from 1996-1998, and again from 2000-2002 where they won it three years in a row. Their last league win came in 2005, a year they also won the Chinese FA Cup, a competition they won three times.
The club won the Asian Club Championship in 1997-98, and the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in 2001.
After their last league win, the club was on the decline, financially they owed a lot of money, and their owner was arrested for corruption owing to the amount of $50 million in 2012. The club disbanded after a failed merger in 2012, while there is a lot of confusion about the demise of Dalian Shide.
