title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Insurgents occupied the municipal council building in Stakhanov on 1 May 2014. Later in the week, they stormed the local police station, business centre, and SBU building. Activists in Rovenky occupied a police building there on 5 May, but quickly left. On the same day, the police headquarters in Slovianoserbsk was seized by members of the Army of the South-East, a pro-Russian Luhansk regional militia group. In addition, the town of Antratsyt was occupied by the Don Cossacks.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Some said that the occupiers came from Russia; the Cossacks themselves said that only a few people among them had come from Russia. On 7 May, insurgents also seized the prosecutor's office in Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk People's Republic supporters stormed government buildings in Starobilsk on 8 May, replacing the Ukrainian flag with that of the Republic. Sources within the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs said that as of 10 May 2014, the day before the proposed status referendum, Ukrainian forces still retained control over 50% of Luhansk Oblast.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The planned referendum on the status of Luhansk oblast was held on 11 May 2014. The organisers of the referendum said that 96.2% of those who voted were in favour of self-rule, with 3.8% against. They said that voter turnout was at 81%. There were no international observers present to validate the referendum.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Following the referendum, the head of the Republic, Valery Bolotov, said that the Republic had become an "independent state". The still-extant Luhansk Oblast Council did not support independence, but called for immediate federalisation of Ukraine, asserting that "an absolute majority of people voted for the right to make their own decisions about how to live". The council also requested an immediate end to Ukrainian military activity in the region, amnesty for anti-government protestors, and official status for the Russian language in Ukraine.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Valery Bolotov was wounded in an assassination attempt on 13 May. Luhansk People's Republic authorities blamed the incident on the Ukrainian government. Government forces later captured Alexei Rilke, the commander of the Army of the South-East. The next day, Ukrainian border guards arrested Valery Bolotov. Just over two hours later, after unsuccessfully attempting negotiations, 150 to 200 armed separatists attacked the Dovzhansky checkpoint where he had been held. The ensuing firefight led Ukrainian government forces to free Bolotov.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 24 May 2014 the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic jointly announced their intention to form a confederative "union of People's Republics" called New Russia. Republic President Valery Bolotov said on 28 May that the Luhansk People's Republic would begin to introduce its own legislation based on Russian law; he said Ukrainian law was unsuitable due to it being "written for oligarchs". Vasily Nikitin, prime minister of the Republic, announced that elections to the State Council would take place in September.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The leadership of the Luhansk People's Republic said on 12 June 2014 that it would attempt to establish a "union state" with Russia. The government added that it would seek to boost trade with Russia through legislative, agricultural and economic changes.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Stakhanov, a city that had been occupied by LPR-affiliated Don Cossacks, seceded from the Luhansk People's Republic on 14 September 2014. Don Cossacks there proclaimed the Republic of Stakhanov, and said that a "Cossack government" now ruled in Stakhanov. However the following day this was claimed to be a fabrication, and an unnamed Don Cossack leader stated the 14 September meeting had, in fact, resulted in 12,000 Cossacks volunteering to join the LPR forces. Elections to the LPR Supreme Council took place on 2 November 2014, as the LPR did not allow the Ukrainian parliamentary election to be held in territory under its control.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In May 2014 the United Nations observed an "alarming deterioration" of human rights in insurgent-held territory in eastern Ukraine. The UN detailed growing lawlessness, documenting cases of targeted killings, torture, and abduction, carried out by Luhansk People's Republic insurgents. The UN also highlighted threats, attacks, and abductions of journalists and international observers, as well as the beatings and attacks on supporters of Ukrainian unity. An 18 November 2014 United Nations report on eastern Ukraine declared that the Luhansk People's Republic was in a state of "total breakdown of law and order".


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The report noted "cases of serious human rights abuses by the armed groups continued to be reported, including torture, arbitrary and incommunicado detention, summary executions, forced labour, sexual violence, as well as the destruction and illegal seizure of property may amount to crimes against humanity". The report also stated that the insurgents violated the rights of Ukrainian-speaking children because schools in rebel-controlled areas only teach in Russian. The United Nations also accused the Ukrainian Army and Ukrainian (volunteer) territorial defence battalions of human rights abuses such as illegal detention, torture and ill-treatment, noting official denials. In a 15 December 2014 press conference in Kyiv UN Assistant Secretary-General for human rights Ivan Šimonović stated that the majority of human rights violations, including executions without trial, arrests and torture, were committed in areas controlled by pro-Russian rebels.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In November 2014, Amnesty International called the "People's Court" (public trials where allegedly random locals are the jury) held in the Luhansk People's Republic "an outrageous violation of the international humanitarian law".


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In January 2015, the Luhansk Communist Party criticised the current situation in the region. In their statement they expressed "deep disappointment" with how the situation developed from "authentic people's protests a year ago" to "return of corruption and banditism". In December 2015 the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine reported "Parallel 'justice systems' have begun operating" in territory controlled by the Luhansk People's Republic. They criticised this judiciary to be "non-transparent, subject to constant change, seriously under-resourced and, in many instances, completely non-functional".


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 1 January 2015, forces loyal to the Luhansk People's Republic ambushed and killed Alexander Bednov, head of a pro-Russian battalion called "Batman". Bednov was accused of murder, abduction and other abuses. An arrest warrant for Bednov and several other battalion members had been previously issued by the separatists' prosecutor's office.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 12 February 2015, DPR and LPR leaders Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky signed the Minsk II agreement, although without any mention of their self-proclaimed titles or the republics. In the Minsk agreement it is agreed to introducing amendments to the Ukrainian constitution "the key element of which is decentralisation" and the holding of elections "on temporary order of local self-governance in particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, based in the line set up by the Minsk Memorandum as of 19 September 2014"; in return rebel held territory would be reintegrated into Ukraine. Representatives of the DPR and LPR continue to forward their proposals concerning Minsk II to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. Plotnitsky told journalists on 18 February 2015: "Will we be part of Ukraine? This depends on what kind of Ukraine it will be. If it remains like it is now, we will never be together."


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 20 May 2015, the leadership of the Federal State of Novorossiya announced the termination of the confederation 'project'.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 19 April 2016, planned (organised by the LPR) local elections were postponed from 24 April to 24 July 2016. On 22 July 2016, this elections was again postponed to 6 November 2016. (On 2 October 2016, the DPR and LPR held "primaries" in were voters voted to nominate candidates for participation in the 6 November 2016 elections. Ukraine denounced these "primaries" as illegal.)


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The "LPR Prosecutor General's Office" announced late September 2016, that it had thwarted a coup attempt ringleaded by former LPR appointed prime minister Gennadiy Tsypkalov (who they stated had committed suicide on 23 September while in detention). Meanwhile, it had also imprisoned former LPR parliamentary speaker Aleksey Karyakin and former LPR interior minister, Igor Kornet. DPR leader Zakharchenko said he had helped to thwart the coup (stating "I had to send a battalion to solve their problems").


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 4 February 2017, LPR defence minister Oleg Anashchenko was killed in a car bomb attack in Luhansk. Separatists claimed "Ukrainian secret services" were suspected of being behind the attack; while Ukrainian officials suggested Anashchenko's death may be the result of an internal power struggle among rebel leaders.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Mid-March 2017 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on a temporary ban on the movement of goods to and from territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic; this also means that since then Ukraine does not buy coal from the Donets Black Coal Basin.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 21 November 2017, armed men in unmarked uniforms took up positions in the center of Luhansk in what appeared to be a power struggle between the head of the republic Plotnitsky and the (sacked by Plotnitsky) LPR appointed interior minister Igor Kornet. Media reports stated that the DPR had sent armed troops to Luhansk the following night. Three days later the website of the separatists stated that Plotnitsky had resigned "for health reasons. Multiple war wounds, the effects of blast injuries, took their toll." The website stated that security minister Leonid Pasechnik had been named acting leader "until the next elections."


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Plotnitsky was stated to become the separatist's representative to the Minsk process. Plotnitsky himself did not issue a public statement on 24 November 2017. Russian media reported that Plotnitsky had fled the unrecognised republic on 23 November 2017, first travelling from Luhansk to Rostov-on-Don by car and then flying to Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. On 25 November the 38-member separatist republic's People's Council unanimously approved Plotnitsky's resignation. Pasechnik declared his adherence to the Minsk accords, claiming "The republic will be consistently executing the obligations taken under these agreements."


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In June 2019 Russia started giving Russian passports to the inhabitants of the LPR and Donetsk People's Republic under a simplified procedure allegedly on "humanitarian grounds" (such as enabling international travel for eastern Ukrainian residents whose passports have expired). According to Ukrainian press by mid-2021 half a million Russian passports had been received by local residents. Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak stated in a July 2021 interview with "Politique internationale" that 470 thousand local residents had received a Russian passport; he added that "as soon as the situation in Donbass is resolved...The general procedure for granting citizenship will be restored."


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In early June 2020, the LPR declared Russian as the only state language on its territory, removing Ukrainian from its school curriculum. Previously the separatist leaders had made Ukrainian LPR's second state language, but in practice it was already disappearing from school curricula prior to June 2020.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In January 2021 the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic stated in a "Russian Donbas doctrine" that they aimed to seize all of the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast under control by the Ukrainian government "in the near future." The document did not specifically state the intention of DPR and LPR to be annexed by Russia.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the independence of the DPR and LPR. The next day, the Federation Council of Russia authorised the use of military force, and Russian forces openly advanced into both territories. Russian president Vladimir Putin declared that the Minsk agreements "no longer existed", and that Ukraine, not Russia, was to blame for their collapse. A military attack into Ukrainian government-controlled territory began on the morning of 24 February, when Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On May 6, as part of the eastern Ukraine offensive, the Russian Armed Forces and Luhansk People's Republic military started a battle to capture Sievierodonetsk, the de facto administrative capital of Ukrainian-controlled Luhansk Oblast. On 25 June 2022, Sievierodonetsk was fully occupied by Russian and separatist forces. This was followed by the capture of Lysychansk on 3 July, which brought all of Luhansk Oblast under the control of Russian and separatist forces.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: This resulted in a 63 day period during which the whole of Luhansk Oblast was controlled by separatist forces. However, during the 2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive starting on September 4, the village of Bilohorivka became contested between Ukrainian and Russian forces; on September 10, the village was confirmed to be under Ukrainian control.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) initially sought recognition as a sovereign state following its declaration of independence in April 2014. Subsequently, the LPR willingly acceded to the Russian Federation as a Russian federal subject in September–October 2022, effectively ceasing to exist as a sovereign state in any capacity and revoking its status as such in the eyes of the international community. The LPR claims direct succession to Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: From 2014 to 2022, Ukraine, the United Nations, and most of the international community regarded the LPR as an illegal entity occupying a portion of Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast "(see: International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War)". The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), which had a similar backstory, was regarded in the exact same way. Crimea's status was treated slightly differently since Russia annexed that territory immediately after its declaration of independence in March 2014.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Up until February 2022, Russia did not recognise the LPR, although it maintained informal relations with the LPR. On 21 February 2022, Russia officially recognised the LPR and the DPR at the same time, marking a major escalation in the 2021–2022 diplomatic crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Three days later, on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the entire country of Ukraine, partially under the pretext of protecting the LPR and the DPR. The war had wide-reaching repercussions for Ukraine, Russia, and the international community as a whole "(see: War crimes, Humanitarian impact, Environmental impact, Economic impact, and Ukrainian cultural heritage)". In September 2022, Russia made moves to consolidate the territories that it had occupied in Ukraine, including Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Russia officially annexed these four territories in September–October 2022.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Between February 2022 and October 2022, in addition to receiving Russian recognition, the LPR was recognised by North Korea (13 July 2022) and Syria (29 June 2022). This means that three United Nations member states recognised the LPR in total throughout its period of "de facto" independence. The LPR was also recognised by three other breakaway entities: the DPR, South Ossetia (19 June 2014), and Abkhazia (25 February 2022).


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The LPR has been in a state of armed conflict with Ukraine ever since the former declared independence in 2014. The Ukrainian military operation against the republic is officially called an anti-terrorist operation, although it is not considered to be a terrorist entity by the Supreme Court of Ukraine itself nor by either the EU, the US, or Russia.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: During most of its lifetime, Russia did not recognise the LPR as a state. It nevertheless recognised official documents issued by the LPR authorities, such as identity documents, diplomas, birth and marriage certificates and vehicle registration plates. This recognition was introduced in February 2017 and enabled people living in LPR-controlled territories to travel, work or study in Russia. According to the presidential decree that introduced it, the reason for the decree was "to protect human rights and freedoms" in accordance with "the widely recognised principles of international humanitarian law." Ukrainian authorities decried the decree and claimed that it was contradictory to the Minsk II agreement, and also that it "legally recognised the quasi-state terrorist groups which cover Russia's occupation of part of Donbas."


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 21 February 2022, the Russian government recognised the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in dawn of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the invasion, forces from the LPR fought together with Russian forces against Ukraine. On 3 July 2022, Russia claimed to have full control over Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and as of July 2022 vice chairman of the Russian Security Council, in July 2022 shared a map of Ukraine wherein most of Ukraine, including LPR, had been absorbed by Russia.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: In 2020, Luhansk Oblast conducted an administrative reform, reducing its 32 regions to eight districts. The LPR uses the oblast's old administrative divisions on its controlled territory. See .


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The People's Council of the LPR ratified a temporary constitution on 18 May 2014. Its government styles itself as a people's republic. The form of the Luhansk People's Republic's parliament is called the People's Council and has 50 deputies. Aleksey Karyakin was elected as its first head on 18 May 2014. Its anthem is "Glory to Luhansk People's Republic!" (Russian: Луганской Народной Республике, Слава!), also known as "Live and Shine, LPR". Al Jazeera described the republic's ideology as neo-Stalinism, a "totalitarian, North Korea-like statelet."


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The first parliamentary elections to the legislature of the Luhansk People's Republic were held on 2 November 2014. People of at least 30 years old who "permanently resided in Luhansk People's Republic the last 10 years" were electable for four years and could be nominated by public organisations. All residents of Luhansk Oblast were eligible to vote, even if they are residents of areas controlled by Ukrainian government forces or fled to Russia or other places in Ukraine as refugees.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Ukraine urged Russia to use its influence to stop the election "to avoid a frozen conflict". Russia on the other hand indicated it "will of course recognise the results of the election"; Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the election "will be important to legitimise the authorities there". Ukraine held the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election on 26 October 2014; these were boycotted by the Donetsk People's Republic and hence voting for it did not take place in Ukraine's eastern districts controlled by forces loyal to the Luhansk People's Republic.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: On 6 July 2015 the Luhansk People's Republic leader (LPR) Igor Plotnitsky set elections for "mayors and regional heads" for 1 November 2015 in territory under his control. (Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) leader Alexander Zakharchenko issued a decree on 2 July 2015 that ordered local DPR elections to be held on 18 October 2015. He said that this action was "in accordance with the Minsk agreements".) On 6 October 2015 the DPR and LPR leadership postponed their planned elections to 21 February 2016.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: This happened 4 days after a Normandy four meeting in which it was agreed that the October 2015 Ukrainian local elections in LPR and DPR controlled territories would be held in accordance to the February 2015 "Minsk II" agreement. At the meeting President of France François Hollande stated that in order to hold these elections (in LPR and DPR controlled territories) it was necessary "since we need three months to organize elections" to hold these elections in 2016. Also during the meeting it is believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to use his influence to not allow the DPR and Luhansk People's Republic election to take place on 18 October 2015 and 1 November 2015. On 4 November 2016 both DPR and LPR postponed their local elections, they had set for 6 November 2016, "until further notice".


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Additional elections took place simultaneously in Donetsk and Luhansk republics on 11 November 2018. The official position of the U.S. and European union is that this vote is illegitimate because it was not controlled by the Ukrainian government, and that it was contrary to the 2015 Minsk agreement. Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Luhansk People's Republic, disagreed and said that the vote was in accordance with the Minsk Agreement. The separatist leaders said that the election was a key step toward establishing full-fledged democracy in the regions. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that residents of eastern Ukraine should not to participate in the vote. Nevertheless, both regions reported voter turnout of more than 70 per cent as of two hours before the polls closed at 8 p.m. local time.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: As of May 2015, pensions started being paid in mostly Russian rubles by the Luhansk People's Republic. 85% were in rubles, 12% in hryvnias, and 3% in dollars according to LPR Head Igor Plotnitsky. Ukraine completely stopped paying pensions for the elderly and disabled in areas under DPR and LPR control on 1 December 2014.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: LPR Post (Почта ЛНР) is the postal authority of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), a division of the Ministry of Communications of the LPR. It was founded in 2014 in supplement and succession to the Ukrainian Postal Service Ukrposhta (Укрпошта). As of 2022 it is not a member of the Universal Postal Union. The general director of LPR Post is Marina Pukhotseva.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The People's Militia of the LPR () comprise the Russian separatist forces in the LPR. On 7 October 2014, by decree Igor Plotnitsky, the People's Militia was created, with Oleg Bugrov serving as Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the People's Militia. It has been reported that it is under the control 2nd Army Corps, which is subordinated to the specially created 12th Reserve Command of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces at its headquarters in the city of Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast. By 2016 Russian officers commanded the LPR units from the battalion level up. The former commanders, some of whom retained substantial personal security forces, sometimes acted as deputy commanders.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: The football team of the Luhansk People's republic is ranked sixteenth in the Confederation of Independent Football Associations world ranking. A football match between LPR and DPR was played on 8 August 2015 at the Metalurh Stadium in Donetsk.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Freedom House evaluates the eastern Donbas territories controlled by the LPR and DPR as "not free", scoring 4 out of 100 in its 2022 Freedom in the World index. Concerns include tight control over politics by the security services, leaving no room for meaningful opposition, and severe restrictions on local media. Pro-Ukrainian bloggers and journalists have been given long prison sentences, and social media users have been arrested for critical posts. Freedom House also reported that there was a "prevailing hostility" to the Ukrainian ethnic identity and an "intensifying campaign" against the Ukrainian language and identity.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: Basic due process guarantees are not followed and arbitrary arrests and detentions are common. The UN said in a 2020 report that interviews with released prisoners "confirmed patterns of torture and ill-treatment". There have been numerous reports of abuse, sexual violence and torture in separatist prisons and detention centers.


title: Luhansk People's Republic

text: A 2022 report by Al Jazeera said that "the 'republics' are understood to have evolved into totalitarian, North Korea-like statelets", and that reportedly thousands have been tortured and abused in "cellars" under the separatist authorities.


title: The Departed

text: The Departed is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs" and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter Hill Gang; the character Colin Sullivan is based on the corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, while the character Frank Costello is based on Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin in supporting roles.


title: The Departed

text: The film takes place in Boston. Irish Mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson) plants Colin Sullivan (Damon) as a spy within the Massachusetts State Police; simultaneously, the police assign undercover state trooper Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides realize the situation, Sullivan and Costigan each attempt to discover the other's identity before they are found out.


title: The Departed

text: "The Departed" was a critical and commercial success, and won several accolades, including four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards: for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It became Scorsese's first and, to date, only win for Best Director; Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The film also received six nominations at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, six nominations at the 60th British Academy Film Awards, and two nominations at the 13th Screen Actors Guild Awards. DiCaprio was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (also nominated that year in the same category for "Blood Diamond"), BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance.


title: The Departed

text: In South Boston, Colin Sullivan is introduced to Irish Mob boss Frank Costello. Twenty years later, Sullivan has been groomed as a spy inside the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and joins the Special Investigations Unit, led by Captain Ellerby. Another recruit, State Trooper Billy Costigan Jr., is recruited by Captain Queenan and Staff Sergeant Dignam to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's crew. They set up a cover: Costigan serves time in jail on a phony charge and eventually joins Costello's crew. Ellerby informs Special Investigations that only Queenan and Dignam will know their undercovers' names and that Costello's crew has stolen computer microprocessors to sell to a Hong Kong Triad. Costigan's emotional state declines, but Queenan and Dignam plead with him to keep his cover.


title: The Departed

text: Sullivan begins a romance with police psychiatrist Dr. Madolyn Madden. The MSP prepares to catch Costello selling the microprocessors; however, Sullivan tips off Costello about the police presence causing the deal to occur off-camera, allowing everyone to escape. Costello realizes there is a spy in his crew and tasks Sullivan to uncover his identity. Sullivan asks Costello for information to cross-reference his crew members in the MSP database. Meanwhile, Costigan learns that Costello is a protected FBI informant, and Costello accuses Costigan of being the spy within his crew, which he denies. Costigan shares his discovery with Queenan and warns that Costello is aware of a spy within his crew, and tells Dignam that there's spy in the MSP. Other than Queenan and Dignam, Costigan’s only contact in the MSP is Madolyn Madden, Sullivan’s girlfriend, with whom he later has an affair.


title: The Departed

text: Costigan follows Costello into a theater and witnesses him giving Sullivan an envelope. Queenan instructs Costigan to get a visual ID of Sullivan before making the arrest but Costigan is unable to get a good look at Sullivan's face; when Sullivan realizes that he is being followed he attempts to hide and stab Costigan as he walks by but mistakenly stabs a restaurant worker and flees the scene. Sullivan tries to cross-reference Costigan’s picture, captured by nearby security footage, against police officer databases but cannot recognize him. Queenan advises Sullivan to follow Costello to find the MSP mole. Costigan calls Queenan and sets up a meeting but Sullivan has Queenan tailed by another officer by lying to the officer about Queenan being the possible spy. Sullivan uses the tail's information on their location to call in Costello's gang.


title: The Departed

text: When Costello's men arrive, Queenan helps Costigan escape before confronting them and being thrown from the building's roof to his death. Angered by Queenan's murder, Dignam attacks Sullivan and is suspended by Ellerby shortly after. Meanwhile, one of Costello's mortally wounded henchmen, Timothy Delahunt (who is later revealed to be another undercover cop working for the local department), explains to Costigan that he is aware of his infiltration but doesn't alert the crew; he then succumbs to his injury. Sullivan also learns that Costello is an FBI informant and decides to help the MSP catch him. Costello is tailed by the MSP to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts, killing most of Costello's crew. Sullivan confronts Costello, who admits to being an FBI informant, and fatally shoots him.


title: The Departed

text: When Costigan goes to Sullivan to reveal his undercover status, he notices the envelope Costello used to collect the gang's personal information to find the mole on Sullivan's desk and realizes that Sullivan is Costello's spy. Sullivan erases Costigan's records from police computers. Costigan hands Madolyn, who has moved in with Sullivan, an envelope and instructs her to open it if something happens to him. Later, she reveals that she is pregnant to Sullivan, then opens a different letter containing tapes Costello made of himself with Sullivan, listens to them, and leaves Sullivan. Costigan arranges to meet Sullivan on the rooftop at the building where Queenan was killed, then arrests him. Costigan calls Trooper Brown, a friend from the police academy, to substantiate his identity, but Brown pulls a gun on Costigan when he arrives, unsure who is telling the truth.


title: The Departed

text: Costigan says that he has evidence tying Sullivan to Costello, and Brown lets him go down the elevator. Upon reaching the lobby, Costigan and Brown are killed by Trooper Barrigan, a friend of Sullivan's, who reveals himself to be another spy working for Costello. Sullivan shoots Barrigan dead, allowing him to out Barrigan as the mole while removing suspicion from himself. When Sullivan arrives home after attending Costigan’s funeral, Dignam is waiting for him. Sullivan indifferently accepts his fate, and Dignam shoots him in the head, avenging Queenan and Costigan's deaths.


title: The Departed

text: In January 2003, Warner Bros., producer Brad Grey, and actor/producer Brad Pitt bought the rights to remake the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs" (2002) from Media Asia for $1.75 million. William Monahan was secured as a screenwriter, and later Martin Scorsese, who admired Monahan's script, came on board as director.


title: The Departed

text: In March 2004, United Press International announced that Scorsese would be remaking "Infernal Affairs" and setting it in Boston, and that Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were slated to star. Pitt, tentatively scheduled to play Sullivan, later declined to play the role, saying a younger actor should play the part; he decided to produce the film instead. Scorsese's associate Kenneth Lonergan suggested Matt Damon, who grew up in Boston, for the part of Sullivan, and Scorsese asked Jack Nicholson to play Costello.


title: The Departed

text: Nicholson wanted the film to have "something a little more" than the usual gangster film, and screenwriter Monahan came up with the idea of basing the Costello character on Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger. This gave the screenplay an element of realism—and an element of dangerous uncertainty, because of the wide-ranging "carte blanche" the FBI gave Bulger in exchange for revealing information about fellow gangsters. A technical consultant on the film was Tom Duffy, who had served three decades on the Boston Police Department, particularly as an undercover detective investigating the Irish mob.


title: The Departed

text: "The Departed" was officially greenlit by Warner Bros. in early 2005 and began shooting in the spring of 2005. Some of the film was shot on location in Boston. For budgetary and logistical reasons many scenes, in particular interiors, were shot in locations and sets in New York City, which had tax incentives for filmmakers that Boston at the time did not.


title: The Departed

text: Film critic Stanley Kauffmann said that for "The Departed," Scorsese "was apparently concerned with the idea of identity, one of the ancient themes of drama, and how it affects one's actions, emotions, self-knowledge, even dreams." Kauffmann, however, did not find the theme conveyed with particular effectiveness in the film. Film critic Roger Ebert compared Costigan and Sullivan's seeking of approval from those they are deceiving to Stockholm syndrome. Ebert also noted the themes of Catholic guilt.


title: The Departed

text: In the final scene, a rat is seen on Sullivan's window ledge. Scorsese acknowledges that while it is not meant to be taken literally, it somewhat symbolizes the "quest for the rat" in the film and the strong sense of distrust among the characters, much like post-9/11 U.S. The window view behind the rat is a nod to gangster films like "Little Caesar" (1931), "Scarface" (1932), and "White Heat" (1949).


title: The Departed

text: Throughout the film, Scorsese uses an "X" motif to foreshadow death in a manner similar to Howard Hawks' film "Scarface" (1932). Examples include shots of cross-beam supports in an airport walkway when Costigan is phoning Sgt. Dignam, the taped windows of the building Queenan enters before being thrown to his death, behind Costigan's head in the elevator before he is shot, and the carpeted hallway floor when Sullivan returns to his apartment before being shot by Dignam at the film's end.


title: The Departed

text: Jim Emerson, writing for "RogerEbert.com", noted that Nicholson's character, and possibly Damon's, may be read as latently homosexual. He also notes that the inspiration for Nicholson's character, Bulger, was reportedly bisexual.


title: The Departed

text: "The Departed" grossed $132.4 million in the United States and Canada and $159 million in other territories for a total gross of $291.5 million, against a production budget of $90 million.


title: The Departed

text: The film grossed $26.9 million in its opening weekend, becoming the fourth Scorsese film to debut at number one. In the following three weeks the film grossed $19 million, $13.5 million and $9.8 million, finishing second at the box office each time, before grossing $7.7 million and dropping to 5th in its fifth week.


title: The Departed

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 90% approval rating based on 284 reviews, with an average rating of 8.30/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast, "The Departed" is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality we have come to expect from Martin Scorsese." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: The Departed

text: "Entertainment Weekly" ranked it on its end-of-the-decade "Best of" list, saying: "If they're lucky, directors make one classic film in their career. Martin Scorsese has one per decade ("Taxi Driver" in the '70s, "Raging Bull" in the '80s, "Goodfellas" in the '90s). His 2006 Irish Mafia masterpiece kept the streak alive."


title: The Departed

text: Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, praising Scorsese for thematically differentiating his film from the original. Online critic James Berardinelli awarded the film four stars out of four, praising it as "an American epic tragedy." He went on to claim that the film deserves to be ranked alongside Scorsese's past successes, including "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas".


title: The Departed

text: Andrew Lau, the co-director of "Infernal Affairs", who was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper "Apple Daily", said: "Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. [Scorsese] made the Hollywood version more attuned to American culture." Andy Lau, one of the main actors in "Infernal Affairs", when asked how the movie compares to the original, said: ""The Departed" was too long and it felt as if Hollywood had combined all three "Infernal Affairs" movies together."


title: The Departed

text: Although Lau said the script of the remake had some "golden quotes", he also felt it had a bit too much profanity. He ultimately rated "The Departed" eight out of ten and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view, though according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam, he felt that the combination of the two female characters into one in "The Departed" was not as good as the original storyline.


title: The Departed

text: A few critics were disappointed in the film, including J. Hoberman of the "Village Voice", who wrote: ""Infernal Affairs" was surprisingly cool and effectively restrained for HK action, but Scorsese raises the temperature with every ultraviolent interaction. The surplus of belligerence and slur reach near-Tarantinian levels—appropriate as he's staking a claim to QT's turf."


title: The Departed

text: The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006. Carrie Rickey of "The Philadelphia Inquirer", Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal", Ruthe Stein of the "San Francisco Chronicle", and Steven Rea of "The Philadelphia Inquirer" named it one of the top ten films of 2006. Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" named it the best film of the 2000s.


title: The Departed

text: At the 64th Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007, "The Departed" won one award for Best Director (Martin Scorsese), while being nominated for five other awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg), and Best Screenplay (William Monahan).


title: The Departed

text: At the 79th Academy Awards on February 25, 2007, "The Departed" won four Academy Awards: Best Picture (Graham King), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), and Best Adapted Screenplay Writing (William Monahan). Mark Wahlberg was also nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance, but he lost to Alan Arkin for his role in "Little Miss Sunshine".


title: The Departed

text: The film marked the first time Scorsese won an Oscar after five previous losses. Many felt that he deserved it years earlier for prior efforts. Some felt he deserved it for his prior nominations and the win was described as a "Lifetime Achievement Award for a lesser film". Scorsese himself joked that he won because: "This is the first movie I've done with a plot."


title: The Departed

text: At the 11th Satellite Awards on December 18, 2006, "The Departed" won awards for Best Ensemble, Motion Picture, Best Motion Picture, Drama, Best Screenplay – Adapted (William Monahan), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Leonardo DiCaprio). In 2008, it was nominated for the American Film Institute Top 10 Gangster Films list


title: The Departed

text: "The Departed" was released by Warner Home Video on DVD in 2007. The film is available in a single-disc full screen (1.33:1), single-disc widescreen (2.40:1) edition, and 2-disc special edition. The second disc contains deleted scenes; a feature about the influence of New York's Little Italy on Scorsese; a Turner Classic Movies profile; and a 21-minute documentary titled "Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and The Departed" about the crimes that influenced Scorsese in creating the film, including the story of James "Whitey" Bulger, upon whom Jack Nicholson's character is based.


title: The Departed

text: The film score for "The Departed" was written by Howard Shore and performed by guitarists Sharon Isbin, G. E. Smith, Larry Saltzman and Marc Ribot. The score was recorded in Shore's own studio in New York State. The album, "The Departed: Original Score", was released December 5, 2006 by New Line, and produced by Jason Cienkus.


title: The Departed

text: Scorsese described the music as "a very dangerous and lethal tango" and cited the guitar-based score of "Murder by Contract" and the zither in "The Third Man" as inspiration.


title: The Departed

text: Although many of the key characters in the film are dead by the end, there was a script written for a sequel. This was ultimately shelved due to the expense and Scorsese's lack of interest in creating a sequel.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home games at the Metropolitano, which has a capacity of 68,456.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In terms of league titles won, Atlético Madrid are the third most successful club in Spanish football—behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. Atlético have won La Liga on eleven occasions, including a league and cup double in 1996; the Copa del Rey on ten occasions; two Supercopas de España, one


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético's home kit is red and white vertical striped shirts, blue shorts, and blue and red socks. This combination has been used since 1911. Throughout their history the club has been known by a number of nicknames, including "Los Colchoneros" ("The Mattress Makers"), due to their first team stripes being the same colours as traditional mattresses. During the 1970s, they became known as "Los Indios", which some attribute to the club's signing several South American players after the restrictions on signing foreign players were lifted. However, there are a number of alternative theories which claim they were named so because their stadium was "camped" on the river bank, or because "Los Indios" (The Indians) were the traditional enemy of "Los Blancos" (The Whites), which is the nickname of the club's city rivals, Real Madrid. Felipe VI, the king of Spain, has been the honorary president of the club since 2003.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The club was founded on 26 April 1903 as "Athletic Club Sucursal de Madrid" by three Basque students living in Madrid. These founders saw the new club as a youth branch of their childhood team, Athletic Bilbao who they had just seen win the 1903 Copa del Rey Final in the city. In 1904, they were joined by dissident members of Real Madrid. The side began playing in blue and white halved shirts, the then colours of Athletic Bilbao, but by 1911, both the Bilbao and Madrid teams were playing in their current colours of red and white stripes. Some believe the change came about because red and white striped tops were the cheapest to make, as the same combination was used to make ticking for mattresses, and the unused cloth was easily converted into football shirts. This contributed to the club's nickname, "Los Colchoneros".


title: Atlético Madrid

text: However, another explanation is that both Athletic Bilbao and Athletic Madrid used to buy Blackburn Rovers' blue and white kits in England. In late 1909, Juanito Elorduy, a former player and member of the board of Athletic Madrid, went to England to buy kits for both teams but failed to find Blackburn kits to purchase; he instead bought the red and white shirts of Southampton F.C. (the club from the port city which was his embarkation point back to Spain). Athletic Madrid adopted the red and white shirt, leading to them being known as "Los Rojiblancos", but opted to keep their existing blue shorts whereas the Bilbao team switched to new black shorts. Athletic Bilbao won the 1911 Copa del Rey Final using several 'borrowed' players from Athletic Madrid, including who scored one of their goals.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Athletic's first ground, the Ronda de Vallecas, was in the eponymous working-class area on the south side of the city. In 1919, the Compañía Urbanizadora Metropolitana—the company that ran the underground communication system in Madrid—acquired some land, near the Ciudad Universitaria. In 1921, Athletic Madrid became independent of parent-club Athletic Bilbao and moved into a 35,800-seater stadium built by the company, the Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid. The Metropolitano was used until 1966, when they moved to the new Estadio Vicente Calderón. After the move, the Metropolitano was demolished and was replaced with university buildings and an office block belonging to the company ENUSA.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: During the 1920s, Athletic won the "Campeonato del Centro" three times and were Copa del Rey runners-up in 1921, where they faced parent club Athletic Bilbao, as they would again in 1926. Based on these successes, in 1928 they were invited to join the Primera División of the inaugural La Liga played the following year. During their debut La Liga campaign, the club was managed by Fred Pentland, but after two seasons they were relegated to Segunda División. They briefly returned to La Liga in 1934 but were relegated again in 1936 after Josep Samitier took over in mid-season from Pentland. The Spanish Civil War gave "Los Colchoneros" a reprieve, as Real Oviedo was unable to play due to the destruction of their stadium during the bombings. Thus, both La Liga and Athletic's relegation were postponed, the latter by winning a playoff against Osasuna, champion of the Segunda División tournament.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: By 1939, when La Liga had resumed, Athletic had merged with "Aviación Nacional" of Zaragoza to become "Athletic Aviación de Madrid". Aviación Nacional had been founded in 1937 by three aviation officers of the Spanish Air Force. They had been promised a place in the Primera División for the 1939–40 season, only to be denied by the RFEF, and since they did not want to go through the whole divisional climb up, this club merged with Athletic, whose squad had lost eight players during the Civil War, including the team's star, Monchín Triana, who was shot dead. At that time, Real Oviedo also had its field destroyed by the war, so it was decided to give up its place to another team, and that final spot was contested by Aviación and CA Osasuna, in a match in Valencia on 26 November 1939, which Aviación won 3–1. With the legendary Ricardo Zamora as manager, the club subsequently won their first La Liga title that season and retained the title in 1941. The most influential and charismatic player of these years was the captain Germán Gómez, who was signed from Racing de Santander in 1939. He played eight consecutive seasons for the "Rojiblancos" until the 1947–48 campaign. From his central midfield position, he formed a legendary midfield alongside Machín and Ramón Gabilondo.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In mid-1940, a decree issued by Francisco Franco banned teams from using foreign names and the club became "Atlético Aviación de Madrid". In September 1940, Atlético Aviación won the very first Super cup in Spanish football after beating RCD Español, the 1940 Copa del Generalísimo winners, in a two-legged game that ended in a 10–4 aggregate victory, including a 7–1 trashing in the second leg at Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas. On 14 December 1946, the club decided to drop the military association from its name, and shortly after, on 6 January, it settled on its current name of "Club Atlético de Madrid". Also in 1947, Atlético beat Real Madrid 5–0 at the "Metropolitano", their biggest win over their cross-town rivals to date.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Under Helenio Herrera and with the help of Larbi Benbarek, Atlético won La Liga again in 1950 and 1951. With the departure of Herrera in 1953, the club began to slip behind Real Madrid and Barcelona and for the remainder of the 1950s were left to battle it out with Athletic Bilbao for the title of third team in Spain.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: However, during the 1960s and 1970s, Atlético Madrid seriously challenged Barcelona for the position of second team. The 1957–58 season saw Ferdinand Daučík take charge of Atlético, where he led them to second place in La Liga. This resulted in Atlético qualifying for the 1958–59 European Cup since the winners, Real Madrid, were the reigning European champions. Inspired by Brazilian centre-forward Vavá and Enrique Collar, Atlético reached the semi-finals after beating Drumcondra, CSKA Sofia and Schalke 04. In the semi-finals, they met Real Madrid, who won the first leg 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu while Atlético won 1–0 at the "Metropolitano". The tie went to a replay and Real won 2–1 in Zaragoza.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético, however, gained their revenge when, led by former Real coach José Villalonga, they defeated Real in two successive Copa del Rey finals in 1960 and 1961. In 1962, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Fiorentina 3–0 after a replay. This achievement was significant for the club, as the Cup Winners' Cup was the only major European trophy that Real Madrid never won. The following year the club reached the 1963 final, but lost to English side Tottenham Hotspur 5–1. Enrique Collar, who continued to be an influential player during this era, was now joined by the likes of midfielder Miguel Jones and midfield playmaker Adelardo.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético's best years coincided with dominant Real Madrid teams. Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated La Liga, winning the competition 14 times. During this era, only Atlético offered Real any serious challenge, winning La Liga titles in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977 and finishing runners-up in 1961, 1963 and 1965. The club had further success winning the Copa del Rey on three occasions in 1965, 1972 and 1976. In 1965, when they finished as La Liga runners-up to Real after an intense battle for the title, Atlético became the first team to beat Real at the Bernabéu in eight years.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético left the Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid and moved to a new home in the Manzanares river waterfront, the Vicente Calderón Stadium, which was inaugurated on 2 October 1966 with a fixture against Valencia.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Significant players from this era included the now-veteran Adelardo and regular goalscorers Luis Aragonés, Javier Irureta and José Eulogio Gárate, the latter winning the "Pichichi" three times in 1969, 1970 and 1971. In the 1970s, Atlético also recruited several Argentine players, signing Rubén Ayala, Panadero Díaz and Ramón "Cacho" Heredia as well as coach Juan Carlos Lorenzo. Lorenzo believed in discipline, caution and disrupting the opponents' game, and although controversial, his methods proved successful—after winning La Liga in 1973, the club reached the 1974 European Cup Final. On the way to the Final, Atlético knocked out Galatasaray, Dinamo București, Red Star Belgrade and Celtic. In the away leg of the semi-final against Celtic, Atlético had Ayala, Díaz and substitute Quique all sent off during a hard-fought encounter in what was reported as one of the worst cases of cynical fouling the tournament has seen. Because of this cynicism, they managed a 0–0 draw, which was followed by a 2–0 victory in the return leg with goals from Gárate and Adelardo. The Final at Heysel Stadium, however, was a loss for Atlético. Against a Bayern Munich team that included Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeneß and Gerd Müller, Atlético played above themselves. Despite missing Ayala, Díaz and Quique through suspension, they went ahead in extra-time with only seven minutes left. Aragonés scored with a superb, curling free-kick that looked like the winner, but in the last minute of the game, Bayern defender Georg Schwarzenbeck equalized with a stunning 25-yarder that left Atlético goalkeeper Miguel Reina motionless. In a replay back at Heysel two days later, Bayern won convincingly 4–0, with two goals each from Hoeneß and Müller.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Shortly after the defeat in the 1974 European Cup Final, Atlético appointed their veteran player Luis Aragonés as coach. Aragonés subsequently served as coach on four separate occasions, from 1974 to 1980, from 1982 to 1987, once again from 1991 until 1993 and finally from 2002 to 2003. His first success came quickly as Bayern Munich had refused to participate in the Intercontinental Cup because of fixture congestion, and as European Cup runners-up, Atlético were invited instead. Their opponents were Independiente of Argentina and, after losing the away leg 1–0, they won the return leg 2–0 with goals from Javier Irureta and Rubén Ayala. Aragonés subsequently led the club to further successes in the Copa del Rey in 1976 and La Liga in 1977.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: During his second spell in charge, Aragonés led the club to a runners-up finish in La Liga and a winner's medal in the Copa del Rey, both in 1985. He received considerable help from Hugo Sánchez, who scored 19 league goals and won the "Pichichi". Sánchez also scored twice in the cup final as Atlético beat Athletic Bilbao 2–1. Sánchez, however, only remained at the club for one season before his move across the city to Real Madrid. Despite the loss of Sánchez, Aragonés went on to lead the club to success in the Supercopa de España in 1985 and then guided them to the European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1986. Atlético, however, lost their third successive European final, this time 3–0 to Dynamo Kyiv.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In 1987, controversial politician and businessman Jesús Gil became club president, running the club (and committing a fraud of misappropriation by seizing 95% of the shares while failing to effectively pay a single Peseta during the Atlético's forced conversion from fan-owned club to Sociedad Anónima Deportiva in 1992) until his resignation in May 2003.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético had not won La Liga for 10 years and were desperate for league success. Right away, Gil spent heavily, bringing in a number of expensive signings, most notably Portuguese winger Paulo Futre, who had just won the European Cup with Porto. All the spending, however, only brought in two consecutive Copa del Rey trophies in 1991 and 1992 as the league title proved elusive. The closest Atlético came to the La Liga trophy was the 1990–91 season when they finished runners-up by 10 points to Johan Cruyff's Barcelona. In the process, Gil developed a ruthless reputation due to the manner in which he ran the club. In pursuit of league success, he hired and fired a number of high-profile head coaches, including César Luis Menotti, Ron Atkinson, Javier Clemente, Tomislav Ivić, Francisco Maturana, Alfio Basile as well as club legend Luis Aragonés.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Jesús Gil also closed down Atlético's youth academy in 1992, a move that would prove significant due to 15-year-old academy member Raúl who, as a result, went across town to later achieve worldwide fame with rivals Real Madrid. The move came as part of the overall Gil-initiated business restructuring of the club; Atlético became a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, a corporate structure benefiting from a then-recently introduced special legal status under Spanish corporate law, allowing individuals to purchase and trade club shares.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In the 1994–95 league campaign, Atlético only avoided relegation via a draw on the last day of the season. This prompted another managerial change along with a wholesale squad clearance during the summer 1995 transfer window. Somewhat unexpectedly, in the following 1995–96 season, newly arrived head coach Radomir Antić, with a squad including holdovers Toni, Roberto Solozábal, Delfí Geli, Juan Vizcaíno, José Luis Caminero, Diego Simeone and Kiko, as well as new acquisitions Milinko Pantić, Luboslav Penev, Santi Denia and José Francisco Molina finally delivered the much sought-after league title as Atlético won the La Liga/Copa del Rey double.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The next season, 1996–97, saw the club take part in the UEFA Champions League for the first time. With expectations and ambitions raised, the most notable summer transfer signings were striker Juan Esnáider from Real Madrid and Radek Bejbl, who was coming off a great showing for Czech Republic at Euro 1996. Playing on two fronts, Atlético fell out of the league title contention early while, in the Champions League, they were eliminated by Ajax in extra-time in the quarter-finals. Before the 1997–98 season, the heavy spending continued with the signings of Christian Vieri and Juninho. All of the success, however, produced little change in the overall Gil strategy, and although Antić survived three consecutive seasons in charge, he was replaced during the summer of 1998 with Arrigo Sacchi, who himself only remained in the managerial hot seat for less than six months. Antić then returned briefly in early 1999 only to be replaced with Claudio Ranieri at the end of the season. The 1999–2000 season proved disastrous for Atlético. In December 1999, Gil and his board were suspended pending an investigation into the misuse of club funds, with government-appointed administrator José Manuel Rubí running Atlético's day-to-day operations. With the removal of club President Jesús Gil and his board, the players performed poorly and the club floundered. Ranieri handed in his resignation with the club sitting 17th out of 20 in the league table and heading towards relegation. Antić, returning for his third coaching stint, was unable to prevent the inevitable. Despite reaching the Copa del Rey final in 2000, Atlético were relegated second time after 66 years.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético spent two seasons in the Segunda División, narrowly missing out on promotion in 2000–01 season before winning the Segunda División championship in 2002. It was again Luis Aragonés, in his fourth and last spell as manager of Atlético, who brought them back to the Primera División. He also coached the team during the next season, and gave Fernando Torres his La Liga debut.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In 2006, Atlético signed Portuguese midfielders Costinha and Maniche, as well as Argentine forward Sergio Agüero. In July 2007, Fernando Torres left the club for Liverpool for €38 million, while Luis García signed for the club at the same time in an unrelated transfer. The club also bought Uruguay international and former European Golden Boot and "Pichichi" winner Diego Forlán for roughly €21 million from Villarreal. Other additions included Portuguese winger Simão Sabrosa from Benfica for €20 million and winger José Antonio Reyes from Arsenal for €12 million.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In July 2007, the Atlético board reached an agreement with the City of Madrid to sell the land where their stadium was located and move the club to the City-owned Olympic Stadium. The stadium changed hands in 2016 and was bought by the club for €30.4 million. Madrid had applied to host the 2016 Olympic Games, losing out to Rio de Janeiro.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The 2007–08 season proved to be the most successful season for the club in the past decade. The team reached the round of 32 in the UEFA Cup, where they were defeated by Bolton Wanderers. They also reached the quarter-final round of the Copa del Rey, where they were beaten by eventual champions Valencia. More significantly, the team finished the league season in fourth place, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 1996–97 season.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: On 3 February 2009, Javier Aguirre was dismissed from his post as manager after a poor start to the season, going without a win in six games. He later claimed that this was not accurate, and that he had left by mutual termination rather than through sacking. There was public outrage after his dismissal, many believing he was not the cause of Atlético's problems, namely player Diego Forlán. He backed his former manager and said that, "Dismissing Javier was the easy way out, but he was not the cause of our problems. The players are to blame because we have not been playing well and we have been committing a lot of errors." This led to the appointment of Abel Resino as Atlético's new manager.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético's success continued in the latter half of the season when they placed fourth once again in the league table, securing a position in the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League. Striker Diego Forlán was crowned with the "Pichichi" and also won the European Golden Shoe after scoring 32 goals for Atlético that season. Atlético saw this domestic success as an opportunity to reinforce their squad for the upcoming Champions League season. They replaced veteran goalkeeper Leo Franco with David de Gea from the youth ranks and signed promising youngster Sergio Asenjo from Real Valladolid. Atlético also purchased Real Betis defender and Spanish international Juanito on a free transfer. Despite pressure from big clubs to sell star players Agüero and Forlán, Atlético remained committed to keeping their strong attacking base in the hopes for a successful new season.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The 2009–10 season, however, began poorly with many defeats and goals conceded. On 21 October, Atletico were hammered 4–0 by English club Chelsea in the Champions League group stage. This defeat led Atletico's management to announce that manager Abel Resino had to leave. After failing to sign Danish former footballer Michael Laudrup, Atlético Madrid made it official that the new manager for the rest of the season would be Quique Sánchez Flores.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: With the arrival of Sánchez Flores as coach in October 2009, Atlético improved in many of their competitions. Atlético continued to lag somewhat in La Liga during the 2009–10 season, finishing in ninth position, but managed to finish third in their 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage and subsequently entered the Europa League in the round of 32. Atlético went on to win the Europa League, beating English teams Liverpool in the semi-finals and eventually Fulham in the final held at HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg on 12 May 2010. Diego Forlán scored twice, the second being an extra-time winner in the 116th minute, as Atlético won 2–1.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: It was the first time since the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup that Atlético had claimed a European title. They also reached the Copa del Rey final on 19 May 2010, where they faced Sevilla, but lost 2–0 at Camp Nou in Barcelona. By winning the Europa League, they qualified for the 2010 UEFA Super Cup against Inter Milan, winner of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. The match was played in Stade Louis II, Monaco on 27 August 2010. Atlético won 2–0 with goals from José Antonio Reyes and Sergio Agüero, Atlético's first win in the UEFA Super Cup.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético had a comparatively disappointing 2010–11 season, finishing only seventh in the League and being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey and the group stage of the Europa League. This ultimately led to the departure of manager Sánchez Flores before the conclusion of the season, who was replaced with ex-Sevilla manager Gregorio Manzano. Manzano secured the final Europa League place for Atlético. Manzano himself was replaced with Diego Simeone in December 2011 after a poor run of form in La Liga.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Simeone led Atlético to their second Europa League win in the three years since its creation. Atlético beat Athletic Bilbao 3–0 in the final on 9 May 2012 at National Arena in Bucharest with two goals from Radamel Falcao and one from Diego. By winning the Europa League again, Atlético qualified for the 2012 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea, winner of the previous season's Champions League. The game was played at Stade Louis II, Monaco on 31 August 2012; Atlético won 4–1, including a hat-trick by Falcao in the first half. On 17 May 2013, Atlético beat Real Madrid 2–1 in the Copa del Rey Final in a tense match where both teams finished with 10 men. This ended a 14-year and 25-match winless streak in the Madrid derby. The 2012–13 season saw the club finish with three trophies in a little over a year.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: On 17 May 2014, a 1–1 draw at the Camp Nou against Barcelona secured the La Liga title for Atlético, their first since 1996, and the first title since 2003–04 not won by Barcelona or Real Madrid. One week later, Atlético faced city rivals Real Madrid in their first Champions League final since 1974, and the first played between two sides from the same city. They took a first-half lead through Diego Godín and led until the third minute of injury time, when Sergio Ramos headed in an equaliser from a corner; the match went to extra time, and Real ultimately won 4–1. Atlético reached a second Champions League final in three seasons in 2015–16, again facing Real Madrid, and lost on penalties after a 1–1 draw.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The club played their last home game at the Vicente Calderón Stadium on 21 May 2017, thereby moving to a new home, the refurbished Wanda Metropolitano in eastern Madrid.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In 2018, they won their third Europa League title in nine years by beating Marseille 3–0 in the final at Stade de Lyon in Lyon, courtesy of a brace from Antoine Griezmann and a goal from club captain Gabi in what would be his last match for the club. Atlético also won another UEFA Super Cup after beating Real Madrid 4–2 at the outset of the following season at the Lilleküla Arena in Tallinn. On 22 May 2021, a 1–2 win at the José Zorrilla Stadium against Valladolid secured the La Liga title for Atlético, seven years after their last triumph.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid are clubs with contrasting identities and different fates. While Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu proudly rises on Paseo de la Castellana in the wealthy Chamartín neighbourhood of northern Madrid, Atlético's former stadium, the less glamorous Vicente Calderón, stood in the central-south of Madrid 1.8 km from the city center in the working class barrio of Arganzuela. Historically, Real Madrid have long been seen as the establishment club. On the other side, Atlético Madrid were always characterized by a "sentimiento de rebeldía", a sense of rebellion, although during the early Francisco Franco years, it was Atlético that was the preferred team of the regime. They were associated with the military airforce (renamed Atlético Aviación), until the regime's preferences moved towards Real Madrid in the 1950s.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Certainly, the dictatorial state sought to make political capital out of Real Madrid's European Cup trophies at a time when Spain was internationally isolated; "Real Madrid are the best embassy we ever had", said Franco's foreign minister Fernando Maria de Castiella. Such perceptions have had an important impact on the city's footballing identities, tapping into the collective consciousness. In this vein, Atlético fans were probably the originators, and are the most frequent singers, of the song, sung to the tune of the Real Madrid anthem, ""Hala Madrid, hala Madrid, el equipo del gobierno, la vergüenza del país"", "Go Madrid, go Madrid, the government's team, the country's shame."


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Until recently, Atlético Madrid had struggled significantly in the derby, carrying a 14-year winless streak into the 2012–13 season. This spell ended, however, on 17 May 2013 after Atlético beat their city rivals 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the 2013 Copa del Rey Final, and continued on 29 September 2013 when they won a 1–0 victory, again at the Bernabéu.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Although less famous than the Derbi Madrileño, a historic rivalry exists between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, which is also considered one of the "Classics" of Spanish football. Once lopsided in favor of the Catalan club, this rivalry has become competitive since the early 2010s, marked by events such as the 2016 Champions League knockout phase where Atletico Madrid upset Barcelona, the controversial departure of French striker Antoine Griezmann from the Madrid club to the Catalan club in 2019 (and his subsequent return in 2021 amid Barcelona's financial struggles), and the surprise move of Luis Suárez to Atlético in 2020, a move which saw the Uruguyan star play a crucial role in the team's championship run. However, by tradition and current affairs, the greatest rivalry is that which exists with its "merengues" neighbors.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético has played at the European stage regularly since its 1958–59 European Cup debut, subsequently entering the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1961–62), the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1963–64), the UEFA Cup (1971–72) and the UEFA Super Cup (2009–10). Starting with the 1999–00 relegation Atlético did not qualify for European competitions for seven years, but from the 2007–08 season, it has taken part in either the Champions League or the UEFA Europa League every year, enjoying success in both competitions.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Since 2002, Enrique Cerezo Torres serves as the club president, whereas Miguel Ángel Gil Marín (son of former club president Jesús Gil) serves as chief executive officer. After a 2021 capital increase, Gil Marín, Cerezo and incoming investor Ares Management Corporation hold a 66.98% of the shares by means of 'Atlético HoldCo'.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético co-owns Liga MX club Atlético San Luis, and the Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa. The club also co-owned the Indian Super League (ISL) franchise in Kolkata, formerly named Atlético de Kolkata, which won the competition twice, but in 2017 ended its partnership with the club as Sanjeev Goenka bought its shares.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In October 2018, Atletico De Madrid announced their first academy in Pakistan which was based in Lahore, which was the first European football academy in Pakistan. In April 2019, they launched "Football School Program" in Lahore. In October 2019, Atletico De Madrid conducted talents in Lahore. In February 2020, Pakistan Football Federation announced the 2020–21 Football Federation League in which Atletico Madrid Lahore was included in Group C and was made a professional Pakistani football club. It made its debut against Hazara Coal and won by 2–0.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The club plays home fixtures in the Wanda Metropolitano, which was expanded from a 20,000 seat capacity (when it was known as La Peineta) to 68,000 after it was used for Madrid's failed bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Following the renovation of the stadium, the refurbished venue hosted its first competitive match pitting Atlético against Malaga CF, in which Antoine Griezmann scored the club's first goal at the stadium.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The club's training ground is the Ciudad Deportiva Atlético de Madrid in Majadahonda, around 20 km west of Madrid. The facility maintains grass and artificial patches as well as a gym. Both the senior and youth squads train at the club-owned facilities.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético also runs a sports academy at the Ciudad Deportiva del Nuevo Cerro del Espino in Majadahonda. The club also runs an academy in Bucharest, Romania, its first in Europe.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Atlético began playing in blue and white, mirroring then-parent club Athletic Bilbao, but both changed to red-and-white stripes by 1911 which became their traditional colours. The change took hold because red and white striped tops were the cheap to make, as the same combination was used to make bed mattresses, and the unused cloth was easily converted into football shirts. The kit has been made by Nike since 2001, as the company wants to provide competition with rival brand Adidas, who have a long-term deal with Real Madrid.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: The club's main shirt sponsorship by the government of Azerbaijan between 2012 and 2014, featuring the slogan 'Land of Fire', was condemned by Reporters Without Borders, who satirized it in a campaign visual in which the shirt's vertical stripes become prison bars with the logo "Azerbaijan, Land of Repression". Atlético Madrid admitted its sponsorship deal had a political dimension, saying the intention was to "promote the image of Azerbaijan". In August 2014, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights wrote to Atlético, calling on it to end the sponsorship by and promotion of Azerbaijan because of the country's human rights record, calling it "one of the most repressive countries in the world".


title: Atlético Madrid

text: In its 2003-4 season, the club was sponsored by Columbia Pictures, who would change the shirt sponsor's logo, and occasionally the shirt itself, as they did with the away shirt when "Spider-Man 2" was in cinemas. This kit sponsorship deal featured 16 separate film titles – an unprecedented number, which has not since been replicated as of 2022. Films included Columbia Picture's 2004 film "White Chicks", which received mixed commentary. Because shirts would have to be introduced and removed from shops at a very fast pace to keep up with film releases, Nike decided to not include a sponsor's logo on replica shirts made from 2002 to 2005.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Celebrities Joaquín Sabina, Belén Esteban, Birgitte V. Gade, Leiva, Álvaro Bautista, Omar Hittini, Ana Rosa Quintana, Javier Bardem, Sara Carbonero, Pablo Iglesias Turrión, El Langui, Pedro Sánchez, Luis de Guindos, Rosendo Mercado, José Tomás, Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, David Muñoz, Will Smith, Harrison Ford, Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron and Karl-Anthony Towns are all fans of the club. Atlético is also supported by King Felipe VI, who became Honorary President of the club in 2003.


title: Atlético Madrid

text: Koke holds the club's official appearance record, wearing the Atlético shirt in 554 matches since 2009, while Adrián Escudero has the record for most goals in La Liga with 150. João Félix is the club's most expensive signing at €126 million, and at €120 million Antoine Griezmann is the club's biggest sale.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA championships, was a 13-time NBA All-Star, an 8-time member of the All-NBA Team, and a 3-time member of the All-Defensive Team. Wade is also Miami's all-time leader in points, games, assists, steals, shots made, and shots taken. Wade is currently the host of the American adaptation of The Cube.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: After a successful college basketball career with the Marquette Golden Eagles, including leading the team to the Final Four in 2003, Wade was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Heat. In his third season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA Championship and was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring and helped them capture the gold medal. In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in both total points (2,386) and points per game (30.2), the latter stat earning him his sole NBA scoring title. Wade was selected as the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2010. With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade helped guide Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. Wade briefly left Miami to play for the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout 2016–2018 before returning to Miami to finish his playing career and retire with the Heat in 2019. The Heat retired his #3 jersey in 2020. He purchased a minority ownership stake in the Utah Jazz in 2021. In October 2021, Wade was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Wade is widely regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade was born the second of two children to JoLinda and Dwyane Wade Sr. in Chicago, Illinois, on January 17, 1982. Wade attributes the uncommon spelling of his and his father's first name to his grandmother. JoLinda already had two children when she married Wade's father, and with him she had Dwyane and his older sister Tragil. The pair separated when Wade was four months old. Wade described his early childhood in the South Side of Chicago as trying.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: When his parents divorced, JoLinda was given custody of the two children. JoLinda struggled with drug addiction and often committed crimes, sending her to prison. At eight years old, Tragil tricked her brother into thinking they were going to the movies, only to take him to live with his father and stepmother. Wade visited his mother on occasion until his father moved the family to Robbins, Illinois, after which Wade would not see her for two years.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade turned to basketball and football, avoiding the temptations of drugs and gangs. Wade credited Tragil as the person most responsible for pointing him in the right direction. Wade grew up idolizing Michael Jordan and modeled his game after him. On October 14, 2001, as Wade's basketball career blossomed, JoLinda vowed to turn her life around. She says that she has not used drugs since 2003.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade played basketball and football for Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn. He immediately excelled as a wide receiver and also played as a backup quarterback, but success in basketball took longer. He grew four inches by the start of his junior year and emerged as the team leader, averaging 20.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade's improvement continued into his senior year, when he averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds. He led the Bulldogs to a 24–5 record and to a Class AA Eisenhower Sectional appearance. Wade set school records for points scored (676) and steals made (106). He credited coach Jack Fitzgerald as a seminal and positive influence. Wade was recruited to play basketball only by Marquette, Illinois State, and DePaul, due to academic issues.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade committed to Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play under coach Tom Crean. In his freshman year, Wade was sidelined by NCAA Proposition 48, which set academic eligibility requirements for participation in Division I sports. Effort and tutoring sufficiently raised his academic standing so that he became eligible by the start of his sophomore year.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade led the Marquette Golden Eagles in scoring with 17.8 points (ppg) and led Conference USA in both steals per game with 2.47 and 2-point field goals made with 205; he averaged 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Marquette finished with a 26–7 record, their best since the 1993–94 season.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade again led the school in scoring with 21.5 points and the Golden Eagles finished with a 27–6 record. Three days after JoLinda was released from prison, she saw Wade play basketball for the first time in five years as Marquette upset the Cincinnati Bearcats, 70–61, to capture the Conference USA title on March 8, 2003. He helped bring the Golden Eagles to the Final Four for the first time since their 1977 national championship season. Wade was subsequently named to the All-America First Team by the Associated Press (AP), making him the first basketball player from Marquette to receive the distinction since 1978.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade's performance during the Midwest Regional final drew national attention. Against a top-seeded Kentucky team, he delivered 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, including a memorable breakaway dunk, as Marquette upset the Wildcats, 83–69, and advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1977. Wade's triple double was the fourth ever recorded in NCAA tournament history. The Golden Eagles finished their season as No.6 in the AP Poll, Marquette's highest ranking since 1976–77. Wade was named the MVP of the Midwest Regional. His performance earned him a high NBA draft projection. As a result, Wade skipped his senior year to enter the 2003 NBA draft.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Marquette retired his jersey on February 3, 2007. It ordinarily requires student-athletes to have graduated for jersey retirement, but made an exception for Wade.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Selected fifth in the 2003 NBA draft by the Miami Heat, Wade became the highest ranked of only four Marquette first round draft picks. Wade quickly emerged as a productive player, averaging 16.2 points on 46.5% shooting as well as 4 rebounds and 4.5 assists. After a 5–15 start, the Heat gradually improved to finish 42–40 and qualify for the playoffs. Wade served up outstanding postseason performances, particularly against the Indiana Pacers during the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Wade earned a unanimous selection to the 2004 NBA All-Rookie Team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting (after LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony). He placed among the top five rookies in several statistical categories, including second in field goal percentage, second in steals, third in scoring, fourth in assists, and fourth in minutes played.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the first playoff game, Wade hit a running jumper with 1.3 seconds left in the final quarter to give the Heat an 81–79 victory over the New Orleans Hornets. Winning that series 4–3, the Heat faced the Indiana Pacers, who were the top-seeded team with the best record in the NBA. The Heat lost the series 4–2. Wade became only the fourth rookie in the shot clock era to lead his team points and assists during the postseason.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: The Heat traded with the Los Angeles Lakers for center Shaquille O'Neal. Improving on their previous season's 42–40 record by 17 games, Miami went 59–23, leading the Eastern Conference. Wade earned a reserve slot in the season's All-Star Game; adding 14 points in 24 minutes of play.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the first round of the 2005 playoffs, Wade averaged 26.3 points, 8.8 assists, and 6 rebounds a night while maintaining a 50% field-goal percentage as the Heat swept the New Jersey Nets. In the second round he averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists per game as the Heat swept the Washington Wizards. The Heat lost the Eastern Conference Finals 4–3 to the Detroit Pistons, the previous season's champions. Wade scored 42 points in Game 2 and 36 in Game 3 despite playing with sinusitis, the flu, and a knee strain. He suffered a strained rib muscle in Game 5 that prevented him from playing in the sixth game and limited him in the seventh.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the 2005–06 season, Wade was elected to the All-Star Game as a starter. During 30 minutes of play, he put up 20 points on 9-of-11 field goals. Wade finished the regular season averaging 27.2 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.95 steals.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the first round of the 2006 playoffs, Miami played the Chicago Bulls. Wade incurred several injuries, including a severely bruised hip during Game 5. He scored 15 of his 28 points while suffering intense pain, to give the Heat a 3–2 series lead. Wade led Miami past the Detroit Pistons despite experiencing flu-like symptoms in Game 6. In the series-clinching contest, he landed 14 points and 10 assists.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: During the 2006 NBA Finals, Miami faced the Dallas Mavericks. Wade's 42, 36, and 43 points in Games 3, 4, and 5, respectively, helped the Heat go from a 0–2 deficit to a 3–2 series lead. In Game 3, Wade's 42 points tied his playoff-high and his 13 rebounds were a career-high. The Heat took Game 6 behind Wade's 36 points, taking the series 4–2, earning Wade the Finals MVP trophy. He became the fifth-youngest player in NBA history to capture the Finals MVP award, and his 34.7 points were the Finals' third-highest among players in their first NBA Finals. His 33.8 player efficiency rating (PER) over the NBA Finals was ranked by John Hollinger of ESPN as the best since the NBA-ABA merger.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the 2006–07 season, Wade missed 31 games due to injury; even so, he was elected to his third consecutive All-Star Game and received All-NBA honors. He became the first guard to earn All-NBA honors after missing 31 or more games since Pete Maravich. The Heat struggled with injuries in general and were 20–25 on February 1, 2007. Playing the Houston Rockets on February 21, 2007, Wade dislocated his left shoulder and left the court in a wheelchair. Wade chose to delay surgery and instead rehabilitate his shoulder in time for the postseason. After missing 23 games, Wade returned to the active roster. Sporting a black shoulder sleeve, Wade played 27 minutes and notched 12 points and 8 assists in the 111–103 overtime loss. For the season, Wade averaged 27.4 points, 7.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals, while shooting 50% from the field; further, he finished the season as the NBA PER leader.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: During the 2007 playoffs, Wade averaged 23.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per contest, but were swept in the first round by the Chicago Bulls. Post-playoffs, Wade underwent a pair of surgeries to repair his dislocated left shoulder and left knee, both of which proved successful. However, the knee ailment, commonly called "jumper's knee", prevented Wade from joining USA Basketball in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament over that summer.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: After missing the Tournament of Americas' Olympic Qualifiers as well as the preseason and the first seven games, Wade began the 2007–08 season on November 14, 2007. Despite battling pain in his injured knee throughout the season, Wade was elected to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance. However, the Heat held the worst record in the NBA. Wade's knee problems led Riley sit Wade for the final 21 games to undergo long overdue OssaTron treatment. Wade averaged 24.6 points, 6.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: After months of rehab, he helped the U.S. National Team win gold at the 2008 Olympics, leading the team in scoring. Wade returned to the starting lineup to begin the 2008–09 campaign. Early that season, Wade became the second player in NBA history to post at least 40 points, 10 assists and 5 blocks in one game since Alvan Adams in 1976–77. Wade was elected to his fifth consecutive All-Star Game.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: After the All-Star break, Wade recorded 50 points on 56.6% shooting along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists during a blow-out loss to the Orlando Magic; making him the fourth in NBA history to score at least 50 points in a game that his team lost by at least 20. In the very next contest, Wade recorded a career-high 16 assists and added 31 points and 7 rebounds. Wade became the second player to record 15 or more assists after scoring 50-plus points since Wilt Chamberlain. Two games later, Wade tied a franchise record, scoring 24 points in the final quarter to secure a 120–115 win over the New York Knicks. For the game, Wade recorded 46 points on 55% field goal shooting, plus 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. In the next game he banked 40-points versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wade put up 41 points on 53% shooting along with 9 assists, 7 steals, 7 rebounds and a block in the 107–100 loss. The following game, Wade tied his career-high with 16 assists and added 35 points on 62% shooting, 6 rebounds, plus a steal and a block, as the Heat beat the Phoenix Suns 135–129. Wade became the only player in Heat history to have multiple games with 30-plus points and 15 or more assists. Less than a week later, Wade hit the buzzer-beater and tied his earlier franchise record with his 78th straight double-digit scoring game in double-overtime against the Chicago Bulls. Wade finished the game with 48 points on 71.4% shooting, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks in 50 minutes of play. Wade joined Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record that many points and that many assists in a single game while having as high of a field goal percentage. Two games later, Wade surpassed Alonzo Mourning to become the Heat's all-time leading scorer in triple overtime versus the Utah Jazz. Wade finished that 140–129 victory with 50 points to go along with his 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Wade became the only player to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists, 150 steals, and 100 blocks as well as the only player under to block upwards of 100 shots in a single season. He became the fifth player to accumulate 2,000 points, 500 assists, and 150 steals in a season. Wade helped the Heat clinch a playoff berth and become only the second team to make the postseason after winning 15 or fewer games the season before. In a 122–105 victory over the New York Knicks, Wade recorded a career-high 55 points on 63% field goal shooting and added 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Wade recorded 50 points in only three quarters and was pulled out of the game, one point shy of eclipsing Glen Rice's 56-point franchise record. Wade averaged a league-leading 30.2 points for his first NBA scoring title. He added 7.5 assists, 5 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks. Wade wrapped up the season with higher point, assist, steal, and block averages than James and Kobe Bryant, both of whom finished ahead of Wade in the MVP race.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: On November 1, in what was only his third game of the 2009–10 season, Wade recorded his 10,000th career point during a 95–87 win against the Chicago Bulls. On November 12, Wade made a spectacular dunk over Cavalier Anderson Varejão. James regarded the dunk as "great, probably top 10 all-time". Two days later against the New Jersey Nets, Wade hit another buzzer beater for a one-point win at 81–80. On January 6, Wade scored a season-high 44 points during an overtime loss to the Boston Celtics, the most in a losing effort that season. Wade appeared in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Wade was named the game's MVP with 28 points, 11 assists, 5 steals and 6 rebounds.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: On February 17, Wade strained his calf. He left the game, ending his personal and the Heat's franchise-record streak of 148 consecutive games with at least 10 points. Wade was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the fifth time and Player of the Week twice for his play in the month of March. He averaged 26.9 and 7.5 assists, both of which ranked third in the Eastern Conference, and 2.3 steals per game, which ranked first. Wade recorded six 30-point games and had six double-doubles in the month, including a season-high 14 assists.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: For the season, Wade averaged 26.6 points on 47.6% field goal shooting to go with 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks; doing so, he led his team to a 47–35 record and the fifth playoff seed. In the first round, down 0–3 against the Boston Celtics, Wade recorded a career playoff and franchise record with 46 points; he outscored the entire Celtics team in the fourth quarter. It was Wade's sixth career playoff game with at least 40 points. Despite his averaging 33.2 points on 56.4% shooting, 6.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per contest, the Heat fell to Boston in five games.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: During the off-season, the Miami-Dade County commission renamed the area "Miami-Wade County" from July 1 to 7, a week that coincided with the start of free agency, intended to help convince Wade to stay with the Heat. On July 7, it was announced that Wade would sign with Miami, along with Toronto Raptor star Chris Bosh. The following day, LeBron James announced he would join the Heat.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the first year of the Big 3 Era, the Heat finished with a 58–24 record and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Wade averaged 25.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 50%. After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls, the Heat reached the NBA Finals but ultimately fell to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Wade averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists for the Finals and 24.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists for the playoffs.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: On February 26, 2012, Wade recorded the third triple-double in the history of the All-Star Game, posting 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, joining Jordan and James. On March 10, 2012, Wade made the game-winning shot against the Indiana Pacers, giving the Heat a 93–91 overtime win. Wade finished the season averaging 22.1 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. The Heat defeated the New York Knicks in 5 games and the Indiana Pacers in six games. In Game 6 of the second round, Wade recorded 41 points and 10 rebounds. The Heat prevailed in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. Wade averaged 22.6 points. The Heat became the first team in NBA history to win a championship after trailing in three playoff series.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: Before the start of the 2012–13 season, Wade underwent left knee surgery, missing the 2012 Summer Olympics. On December 26, 2012, playing the Charlotte Bobcats, Wade kicked guard Ramon Sessions in the groin. The following day, Wade was suspended by the NBA for one game. Wade finished the 2012–2013 season with averages of 21.2 points, 5 rebounds and 5.1 assists.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the playoffs, injuries limited Wade to a career-low scoring average of 15.9 points per game, but he upped his average to 19.6 points during the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. After the teams split the first two games in Miami, the Spurs took Game 3. In Game 4, Wade scored 32 points on 56 percent shooting to go with 6 steals as the Heat won 109–93. The Spurs took Game 5 despite Wade's 25 points and 10 assists. Wade scored 14 points in Miami's overtime win in Game 6, followed by 23 points and 10 rebounds in Game 7 as the Heat clinched their second straight championship and Wade's third title.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the 2013–14 season, Wade missed 28 games from injuries and the team's decision to rest him during "back-to-back" games. Wade averaged 19 points and posted a career-high 54% field goal percentage. In the playoffs, the team increased Wade's minutes, highlighted by a 28-point performance in Miami's second-round victory over the Brooklyn Nets and a 23-point outing in a road victory against Indiana in the Eastern Finals. The Heat won the series in six games, advancing to their fourth straight NBA Finals. Wade averaged 19.1 points on 52 percent shooting, his best playoff percentage since 2010. The Heat lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals in five games.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: On June 28, 2014, Wade and teammates James and Bosh all opted out of their contracts in order to cut costs, but intended to re-sign. James then announced that he was returning to Cleveland. Wade re-signed with the Heat, joined by Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Chris Andersen and Mario Chalmers as well as former rivals Danny Granger and Luol Deng.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In the 2014–15 season, Wade missed seven consecutive games due to a hamstring injury. On December 17, 2014, he scored a season-high 42 points, his highest total in almost four years, but Miami lost 105–87 to Utah. He was again named an All-Star but pulled out due to another hamstring injury. The Heat finished the season with a 37–45 record, as Wade missed the postseason for just the second time.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: On June 29, 2015, Wade opted out of his contract, but then signed a one-year, $20 million contract. Wade hit just seven 3-point shots during the 2015–16 regular season. However, in the 2016 postseason, Wade converted on his first seven three-point shot attempts. Wade had never made more than five three-pointers in a row.


title: Dwyane Wade

text: In July 2016, Wade joined his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls, on a two-year deal worth approximately $47 million. Initially, the Heat offered a two-year, $20 million contract, before increasing it to a two-year, $40 million offer, both of which Wade felt were unacceptable. The relationship ended badly with Wade and the Heat squabbling.