Ronaldo

Afonso Alves
Afonso Alves Martins Júnior (born 30 January 1981) is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career playing at Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game. This precipitated a club record move to English club Middlesbrough, the transfer completed on the last day of the transfer window in January 2008.
Alves has been capped for Brazil on eight occasions.
Alves was born on 30 January 1981, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil's third biggest city. He was brought up by his mother, Dona Eliade, and has a brother, Alexsander, and sister, Alexandra. His father died when he was nine years old.
Alves started his career with Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro. In 2002 he left Atlético Mineiro for the Swedish club Örgryte from Göteborg. In 2004 he moved to Malmö FF, where he won the Swedish League that year. He stayed for the 2005 season, scoring 14 in 24 games, becoming the club's top-scorer for the second year running when Malmö finished fifth. Alves was at Malmo for the start of the 2006 season, and scored three goals in seven matches.

wn.com/Afonso_Alves

Agustín Sauto Arana
Agustín Sauto Arana (May 11, 1908 – August 21, 1986), commonly referred to as Bata, was a Basque footballer who played for Barakaldo CF, Athletic Bilbao, Spain and the Euskal XI. He was born in Barakaldo. Bata helped Athletic win four La Liga and four Copa del Rey title. He was also the Pichichi in the 1930-31 season with 27 goals. He played 118 La Liga games and scored 108 goals. Despite this he only played once for Spain.
Athletic Bilbao

wn.com/Agustín_Sauto_Arana

Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL (born 13 August 1970) is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team. He is considered by some as one of England's best strikers, being both Newcastle's and the Premier League's record goalscorer. After retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009 he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008–09 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation.
A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, Shearer made his professional debut with English top-flight club Southampton in 1988, scoring a hat-trick in the process. During several years on the south coast, he became known for his classic style of play, strength and goalscoring ability; he soon received an international call-up along with a transfer to Blackburn Rovers in 1992. Shearer established himself as a player in northern England; he became a regular in the England squad, and his 34-goal tally helped Blackburn secure the Premier League title in 1994–95. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. The 1995–96 season saw Shearer make his first Champions League appearances and finish as the top scorer in the Premier League with 31 goals. He was also top scorer at Euro 1996 with England, scoring five goals, and in the 1996–97 Premier League, with 25 goals. He scored 283 league goals in his career, including a record 260 in the Premier League, and a total of 422 in all competitions including international at all levels. Shearer has amassed a goals to game ratio of 0.667 throughout his career at every level.

wn.com/Alan_Shearer

Aldair
Aldair, full name Aldair Nascimento dos Santos (born November 30, 1965 in Ilhéus) is a retired Brazilian footballer who was part of the Brazilian national team that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
He spent the most part of his career at Italian club A.S. Roma, who retired his No.6 jersey number when he left the team in 2003.
Aldair started playing at Flamengo where he won the most important title in Brazil, the Campeonato Brasileiro. He moved to Europe in 1989, playing with Benfica and then AS Roma, staying there until 2003 and playing over 400 Serie A matches with the club, which retired his shirt number, 6. He then briefly joined Genoa CFC. On July 2005, Aldair announced plans of playing for Rio Branco Atlético Clube, and play two games, in the estadual championship. Rio Branco was champion in this championship.
In 1994, he reached the pinnacle of his career when he played for the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the 1998 finals. In total, he appeared 81 times for Brazil, scoring three goals.

wn.com/Aldair

Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (Italian pronunciation: [alesˈsandro del ˈpjɛːro]) Ufficiale OMRI (born 9 November 1974 in Conegliano, Veneto) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Juventus. He will be a free agent from 30 June 2012. Del Piero was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. Del Piero was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In the year 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses, and advertising revenue.
Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality and playing ability.http://www.channel4. May com/sport/football_italia/sep3q.html Del Piero usually plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers, known in Italy as the "trequartista" position. Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching." His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded. Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special "Del Piero Zone"("Gol alla Del Piero"), approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal.

wn.com/Alessandro_Del_Piero

Alexandre Pato
Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Milan and the Brazilian national team. His nickname, Pato, refers to his place of birth, Pato Branco. The literal translation of "pato" from Portuguese to English is "duck," which has evolved into a common nickname for him.
In June 2006, at only 16 years of age, Pato was signed by Sport Club Internacional to compete in the Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-20. Despite the fact that he was competing against players up to four years older than he was, Pato became top scorer of the competition as Internacional Sub-20 defeated Grêmio 4–0 in the championship's final match. Ready to join the Inter first team in November that same year, his debut finally happened at the Estádio Palestra Itália against São Paulo team Palmeiras for the Campeonato Brasileiro. Alexandre Pato met and surpassed any and all expectations of what was expected of him as he scored his first professional goal within the first minute of the game. The rest of his participation was spent dribbling and confusing defenders as he made two assists (and almost scoring another himself) to help Internacional rout Palmeiras 4–1. He was substituted off in the 77th minute.

wn.com/Alexandre_Pato

Allan Simonsen
Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a former Danish footballer and manager. He most prominently played for German team Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barcelona from Spain, winning the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup. Allan Simonsen is the only footballer to have scored in the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals, and he was named 1977 European Footballer of the Year.
For the Denmark national football team, Simonsen was capped 55 times, scoring 20 goals. He represented Denmark at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1984 European Championship and 1986 World Cup tournaments. He was voted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame in November 2008.
Born in Vejle, Simonsen started playing football with Vejle FC, before he joined the youth team of local top-flight club Vejle BK (VB) in 1963. He made his senior debut for VB on 24 March 1971 in a 3–1 home win against Karlskoga FF. He won the 1971 and 1972 Danish championship with the club, as well as the 1972 Danish Cup to complete The Double. Following an impressive three goals in six matches at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Simonsen moved to Germany to play professionally for defending German Bundesliga champions Borussia Mönchengladbach.

wn.com/Allan_Simonsen

Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist, MBE (/məˈkɔɪst/); 24 September 1962) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Rangers in Scotland.
McCoist began his career with St Johnstone before moving to Sunderland in 1981. He returned to Scotland two years later and signed with Rangers. At Rangers, McCoist became the club's record goalscorer, netting 355 goals. In addition to this McCoist holds the Rangers records for number of league goals scored, number of Scottish League Cup goals scored and the most goals scored by a player in European competitions with 251, 54 and 21 respectively. McCoist is also third in the all-time appearance table for Rangers, having made 581 appearances for the club.
He is second in the Scottish top tier league's all time leading goalscorer having netted 282 times for St. Johnstone, Rangers and Kilmarnock between 1979 and 2001.
Largely thanks to his career at Rangers, McCoist was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He is also a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having gained 61 international caps.

wn.com/Ally_McCoist

Amancio Amaro
Amancio Amaro Varela, (born 16 October 1939 in A Coruña, Galicia) commonly known simply as Amancio, is a former Spanish football player. Nicknamed El Brujo (The Witch) he played for Deportivo de La Coruña, Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.
Amancio Amaro began his career aged 15 at local side, Victoria Club de Futbol, in the district of Santa Lucia. In the 1958-59 season he joined Deportivo de La Coruña, which at that time was in the Spanish second division. When Deportivo were promoted to first division, Amancio started to call the attention of the scouts for major teams, such as Real Madrid.
The signing of Amancio by Real Madrid almost did not happen; had it not been for Santiago Bernabéu Yeste’s insistence in signing the player, his astronomical signing-fee would have spoiled the negotiations.
Along with the signing of Amancio by Real Madrid in June 1962, players such as Ignacio Zoco, Lucien Muller, and Yanko Daucik also arrived. During this time the team was in a transitional phase, since in earlier years the team had swept the competition both in Spain and outside its borders. Amancio made his debut in European competition opposite Anderlecht (3–3 result in the Santiago Bernabéu); and in the league against Real Betis in Seville with a 5–2 win for Real Madrid.

wn.com/Amancio_Amaro

André Cruz
André Alves da Cruz, (born September 20, 1968 in Piracicaba) is a retired footballer from Brazil. He played central defender with Flamengo, A.C. Milan, Standard Liège, Sporting Clube de Portugal and the Brazilian national team. He played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
André Cruz had 47 caps (12 non-official) with the Brazilian national team. He was a member of the Football World Cup 1998 squad.

wn.com/André_Cruz

André Luiz Moreira
André Luiz Moreira (born November 14, 1974 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian footballer who most recently played for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.
André Luiz began his career in 1993, and played in Brazil for clubs including São Paulo, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Fluminense. He relocated to Europe 2001 and subsequently played in Spain for Tenerife, and in France for Olympique de Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain FC and AC Ajaccio.
He won the CONMEBOL Supercup, Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 1993, two Recopa in 1993 and 1994, and São Paulo State Championship in 1997.
André Luiz signed with San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer on July 31, 2009. He stayed with the club through the 2011 season. At season's end, San Jose declined his 2012 contract option and he entered the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Luiz was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.
André Luiz has played 19 matches and scored two goals for the Brazilian team. He won bronze medal at 1996 Summer Olympics.

wn.com/André_Luiz_Moreira

Antonio Di Natale
Antonio Di Natale (Italian pronunciation: [anˈtɔnjo dinaˈtale]) (born 13 October 1977) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Udinese.
A versatile striker with a lethal eye for goal, Di Natale can play anywhere in the front line, as a lone striker or out wide in an attacking trident. He is notable for his dribbling skills, pace and for his ability to score and create goals. Di Natale earned the prestigious award of being the Serie A 'Capocannoniere' for the 2009/10 season, as well as the 2010/11 season.
Though born in Naples, Antonio Di Natale moved up north and joined Empoli's youth system. He impressed while playing for the Tuscany side in Serie A.
After having joined Udinese in the 2004–05 Serie A season, Di Natale partnered with Vincenzo Iaquinta and David Di Michele in attack, and the Friulian club finished 4th place at the end of the season and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the following year. Di Natale finished his debut season with a record of 33 games and seven goals.

wn.com/Antonio_Di_Natale

Antônio Carlos Zago
Antônio Carlos Zago, widely known as "Antônio Carlos" or "A.C.Zago", (born March 14, 1969 in Presidente Prudente) is a former Brazilian footballer and current coach.
Born in Presidente Prudente, a city of the state of São Paulo, also having Italian origins, began professional football in São Paulo FC, where he remained for three years and then signed to Albacete Balompié, Spain, where he stayed for only one season. He returned to his homeland, this time to Palmeiras, another team of São Paulo and a rival to his previous Brazilian team. After three years emigrated again, this time in Japan, Kashiwa Reysol, where once again remained for only one year before returning to play again in São Paulo, but this time at Corinthians, being one of the few players who have played in all the three biggest teams of the city and arch rivals as well.
In January 1998 Zago moved to Rome, wanted by Zdenek Zeman to reinforce the defence line. In his game debut, 11 February 1998 (Lecce-Roma) was expelled after a few minutes of play, but with the club giallorossi improved his quality and skill, so that in 1999 he recalled to his National Assembly. At Rome Zago remained five years and was also part of the training sample of Italy in 2001, a fact which remains an idol to the public romanista, who called him Terminator. That year Zago formed a rocky defence well supported by his compatriot Aldair and Argentinian Walter Samuel as well.

wn.com/Antônio_Carlos_Zago

Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑrjən ˈrɔbə(n)]; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch footballer who plays for the German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Though often classified as a forward, he usually plays behind the forwards (inside position) as a winger, and he is also known for his dribbling skills, speed, crossing ability and his accurate long-range shot. He is also a part of the Netherlands national team and has appeared at Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008 and at the 2010 World Cup.
Robben first came to prominence with Groningen, for whom he was player of the year for the 2000–01 Eredivisie season. Two years later he signed for PSV, where he became the Netherlands' Young Player of the Year and won an Eredivisie title. The following season Robben's signature was pursued by leading English clubs, and after protracted transfer negotiations he joined Chelsea in the 2004 close season.
Robben's Chelsea debut was delayed through injury, but upon returning to fitness he helped Chelsea to consecutive Premier League titles, and was the FA Premier League Player of the Month in November 2005. After a third season in England which was punctuated by injury, Robben moved to Spanish club Real Madrid for €35 million. In August 2009, Robben transferred to Bayern Munich for a fee of around €25 million, scoring two goals on his debut. In his first season in Munich, Bayern won the league title, Robben's fifth league title in eight years, and got to the Champions League final. After his first season with the Bavarian club, the player was also named Footballer of the Year in Germany.

wn.com/Arjen_Robben

Arsen Avetisyan
Arsen Avetisyan (Armenian: Արսեն Ավետիսյան, born 8 October 1973 in Yerevan) is an Armenian footballer. He currently plays for Gandzasar. He is a former member of the Armenian national team.
Avetisyan has played for numerous clubs during his career. In 2006, he returned to Armenia to play for his former club Pyunik and became the main forward for the team. In 2008, he transferred to Kapan to play for Gandzasar after his contract with Pyunik had expired.
Avetisyan made his debut for Armenian national team in 1992, gaining 25 caps and scoring one goal. He announced his retirement from international football in 1998.

wn.com/Arsen_Avetisyan

Bas Dost
Bas Dost (born 31 May 1989 in Deventer) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a striker for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.
Dost's first club was Germanicus, where he spent his youth career. After a few seasons, FC Emmen took Dost into their youth academy.
Dost showed his potential at Emmen and the club offered him a contract before the start of the 2007/08 season, during which he played for the main squad. He started as on the bench, but later on in the season he was given more time to play. At one point he was just about to move to Finland, to RoPS as Emmen's former technical director Tom Saintfiet was coaching there. The move was turned down by RoPS's management. Dost scored his first goal for Emmen on 8 February 2008 in the game against Fortuna Sittard. Among later goals, the most notable were a hat trick in the Derby match against BV Veendam, which Emmen won 3–2.
Dost moved to Heracles Almelo in the summer of 2008, for a transfer fee of more than €300,000. Dost showed his potential and was considered one of the Eredivisie's greatest talents. After this succesful season there were many rumours that Dost would be transferred to Ajax. These rumours wouldn't come true because he signed for SC Heerenveen on the 4th of February 2010 on his agent Srinjoy von Chakravarty's advice.

wn.com/Bas_Dost

Bebeto
José Roberto Gama de Oliveira, known as 'Bebeto', (born February 16, 1964 in Salvador, Brazil) is a former football forward, a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. In the 2010 Brazilian General Elections he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro representing the Democratic Labour Party.
Bebeto started his career in 1983 with Vitória and would go on to play for Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Cruzeiro and Botafogo in Brazil, Deportivo La Coruña and Sevilla in Spain, Toros Neza in Mexico, Kashima Antlers in Japan, and Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, finally retiring in 2002.
For Brazil, Bebeto scored 39 goals in 75 caps after making his debut in 1985. He played in three World Cups: 1990, 1994, and 1998. In 1994, he was one of the best players of the tournament, scoring three goals for the eventual champions, and then repeated the feat four years later as Brazil finished second.
Bebeto became a household name for his goal celebration in the 1994 World Cup. His wife had delivered their third child just days before a quarter-final match against Holland. After the striker pumped the go-ahead goal into the back of the net Bebeto ran to the sideline, brought his arms together and began rocking an imaginary baby. Teammates Romário and Mazinho quickly joined in. That child, a boy who was named Matheus, now plays with the youth side of Brazilian club Flamengo.

wn.com/Bebeto

Bernd Schuster
Bernhard Schuster (born 22 December 1959 in Augsburg) is a German football manager and former player. His nickname is "der Blonde Engel" (the Blond Angel).
Schuster started his professional career with 1. FC Köln at age 18 in 1978 after a number of promising performances with the West German Under-18 National team. Schuster left Köln after the 1980 European campaign to sign with Spain's FC Barcelona, where he flourished. During his career, he played for clubs Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. At his final team, the Mexican side Pumas de la UNAüM he appeared in ten matches in spring 1997.
Schuster was an important part of the FC Barcelona team during the 1980s, leading the game from midfield and scoring many goals. His club president Josep Lluís Núñez and some trainers like Helenio Herrera, Udo Lattek, Terry Venables and Luis Aragonés had difficult relations with him. He won, however, the European Silver Ball in 1980 and Bronze Ball in 1981 and 1985. At age 21, in 1981, he received a bad injury on his right knee by Athletic Bilbao defender Andoni Goikoetxea.

wn.com/Bernd_Schuster

Björn Vleminckx
Björn Vleminckx (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbjʏrn ˈvleː.mɪŋks]) (born 1 December 1985 in Boom, Antwerp) is a Belgian footballer currently playing for Club Brugge and the Belgian national team.
Vleminckx began his career with Beveren and joined in July 2005 to Oostende, after just one year left the club to sign with KV Mechelen. On 6 June 2009 N.E.C. bought the 23-year-old striker of KV Mechelen for €1,8 million, he signed a four-year contract until July 2013.
Vleminckx was the top goalscorer in the Eredivisie during the 2010-11 season, with 23 goals.
On 25 March 2011, Vleminckx signed a contract starting from June 2011 at Club Brugge. Brugge paid €3,3 million to NEC as transfer sum.
As of 15 December 2011

wn.com/Björn_Vleminckx

Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE (born 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland) is an English former professional football player, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. A member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts and passing abilities from midfield and his ferocious long-range shot. He was also well known for his fitness and stamina, allowing him to dominate the pitch. His elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup-winning team, is an ex-defender for Leeds United and manager.
He began to play for Manchester United's first team in 1956, and over the next two seasons gained a regular place in the team, during which time he survived the Munich air disaster of 1958 after being rescued by Harry Gregg. After helping United to win the Football League in 1965, he won a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and another Football League title with United the following year. In 1968, he captained the Manchester United team that won the European Cup, scoring two goals in the final to help his team be the first English side to win the competition. He has scored more goals for England and United than any other player. Charlton held the record for most appearances for Manchester United (758), but this was surpassed by Ryan Giggs on 21 May 2008 (the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final). Charlton also held the club record for most league appearances (606) until this too was overtaken by Ryan Giggs on 6 March 2011.

wn.com/Bobby_Charlton

Branco (footballer)
Branco, real name Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal, (born April 4, 1964 in Bagé, Brazil) is former Brazilian footballer who played as a left back. A member of the triumphant Brazilian team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Branco was a renowned free kick specialist (as was his international successor, Roberto Carlos) known for the habit of placing the valve of the ball in the direction that he wanted the free kick to go.
On the club level, Branco played for Internacional (1980–81), Fluminense (1981–86)(94)(99), Brescia (1986–88), FC Porto (1988–91), Genoa (1991–93), Grêmio (1992–94), Flamengo (1995), Corinthians (1995), Middlesbrough (1996), and MetroStars (1997). Branco's late career in England and the United States was marred by weight problems.
During his spell at Middlesbrough he scored twice, both goals coming against Hereford in the League Cup second round, once at home in the first leg and once away in the second. However, he played just nine times in the FA Premier League and by Christmas 1996 he had left the club on a free transfer after less than a year.

wn.com/Branco_(footballer)

Brazilian people
Brazilians (brasileiros in Portuguese) are all people born in Brazil. A Brazilian can be also a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or a foreigner living in Brazil who applied for Brazilian citizenship.
According to the Constitution of Brazil, a Brazilian citizen is:
According to the Constitution, all people who hold Brazilian citizenship are equal, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or religion.
A foreigner can apply for Brazilian citizenship after living for 4 (four) uninterrupted years in Brazil and being able to speak Portuguese. A native person from an official Portuguese language country (Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea Bissau and East Timor) can request the Brazilian nationality after only 1 uninterrupted year living in Brazil. A foreign born person who holds Brazilian citizenship has exactly the same rights and duties of the Brazilian citizen by birth, but cannot occupy some special public positions such as the Presidency of the Republic, Vice-presidency of the Republic, Minister (Secretary) of Defense, Presidency (Speaker) of the Senate, Presidency (Speaker) of the House of Representatives, Officer of the Armed Forces and Diplomat.

wn.com/Brazilian_people

Carles Rexach
Carles Rexach i Cerdà (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarɫəz rəˈʃak]) (born 13 January 1947 in Pedralbes, Barcelona, Catalonia), also referred to as Charly Rexach, is a former Spanish Catalan footballer and manager. He has spent the majority of his career at FC Barcelona. Rexach first joined the club as a junior player when he was 12. He was a player at the club for 22 years and then worked for them as a scout, coach and manager for another 22 years. Rexach formed a successful partnership with Johan Cruyff, both on and off the field. As players they helped FC Barcelona win La Liga in 1974, the club's first win in 14 years. He also served as assistant coach to Cruyff during the Dream Team era between 1988 and 1996. Rexach also served as caretaker manager of the club on three occasions before he was appointed manager in 2001.
Rexach made his senior debut for FC Barcelona in 1965 in a Copa del Generalísimo game against Racing de Santander and scored the fourth goal in a 4–0 win. Between 1965 and 1967 he also played for CD Condal, the reserve team. In 1971 he shared the Pichichi Trophy with Atlético's Gárate, scoring 17 goals in 29 games.

wn.com/Carles_Rexach

Carlos Germano
Carlos Germano Schwambach Neto (born 14 August 1970), better known as Carlos Germano, is a former Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper.
He was a member of the Brazilian squad for France 98 World Cup.
He began his football career in 1985 in his native town, and was discovered by Vasco's manager who proposed that he join the youth team for a test. In the same year he became the first choice goalkeeper for the youth side.
When Vasco's senior goalkeeper Acácio left the club, Carlos Germano became the number 1 immediately. He went to receive all of the club honors and was chosen top goalkeeper of the Brazilian Championship in 1997.
In 1999 he had some disagreements with Vasco's chairman and left the club. He signed with Santos FC in 2000 for four years, but one year later the club couldn't pay the total amount of the contract and he obtained the right to a free transfer, moving to Portuguesa-SP. From then on, he signed one year contracts with different clubs, including his first club (Vasco), until he signed with FC Penafiel (Portuguese side at the time in the second division) in 2005.

wn.com/Carlos_Germano

Carlos Ruiz Herrero
Carlos Ruiz Herrero (born 7 June 1948 in Bilbao, Biscay) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward.
Ruiz played during 11 seasons with Athletic Bilbao (plus one in the reserve team), having been signed in 1969 from Basque neighbours CD Getxo. On 12 September 1970, he made his debut for the first team, playing the dying minutes of the 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona.
In the following years, Ruiz continued to be used regularly by Athletic, although he was not always an undisputed starter. In the 1974–75 season, however, he netted a career-best 19 goals in 32 matches (winning the Pichichi Trophy in the process), for a 10th place in La Liga. On 18 May 1977, he scored the 2–1 at home against Juventus FC in the season's UEFA Cup final (netting a total of five during the side's continental run), but the Italians won it on the away goals rule.
Ruiz still enjoyed two seasons in double digits until he left Athletic (namely 1977–78, with 16 goals), but also dealt with several injuries. He eventually retired from the game in the 1982 summer at the age of 34, after one season with RCD Español. He amassed league totals of 233 games and 83 goals, always in the top division.

wn.com/Carlos_Ruiz_Herrero

Cayetano Ré
Cayetano Ré Ramírez is a former Paraguayan footballer striker and coach who was born in Asunción, on 7 February 1938. He is famous for being one of the first professional footballers to be open about having Asperger syndrome.
Ré began his career in Asunción, playing for clubs like Cerro Porteño and Club Guaraní before signing for Spanish side Elche CF in 1959. After three seasons with Elche, Ré was signed by FC Barcelona where he spent the best years of his career, especially in the 1964-1965 season in which he scored 26 goals and won the Pichichi Trophy (awarded to the top scorer of the league). After playing for four years in Barcelona (where he scored 90 goals in total) he moved to RCD Espanyol.
Ré also played for the Paraguayan national football team (25 caps), most importantly in the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
After retiring from football, Re became a football coach. His best coaching job was leading the Paraguay national football team to the knock-out stage in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

wn.com/Cayetano_Ré

Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsɛsk ˈfaβɾəɣəs]; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.
Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he went on to establish himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder, playmaker, and captain. He broke several of the club's records in the process, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position. In 2011, he returned to Barcelona for an initial fee of £29m (€34m) with a further £4m (€5m) in variables.
In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup, helping Spain to become eventual winners in the two most recent tournaments.

wn.com/Cesc_Fàbregas

Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkristjan paˈnuttʃi]; born 12 April 1973) is a retired Italian footballer. He was a member of the Italian national team. Panucci was a right back, but also played as a centre back.
Panucci started playing with Genoa in 1990 and then moved to Milan in July 1993. Panucci later moved to Real Madrid (becoming the first Italian to play for the Spanish club), Internazionale, Chelsea (on loan, scoring once in the UEFA Cup against St Gallen), and AS Monaco before moving to Roma in 2001. He won the Champions League with both Milan and Madrid. In those two stops, as well as Roma, he was coached by Fabio Capello.
After a great deal of travelling throughout his career, Panucci finally settled at Roma. He joined the Roman club in the 2001–02 campaign, the year after the Giallorossi won the national title. He went on to become a key player and one of the leaders of the club. In July 2002, he was signed permanently for €9.81 million.
Panucci, a reliable leader both on and off the field, has often taken the responsibility to speak for the team in moments of difficulty, as seen after Roma's shock elimination from the Champions League in 2007. In January 2009, Panucci was dropped from Roma's first team squad after refusing to sit on the bench for a league match against Napoli and was later also excluded from the Champions League squad list. He then announced his intention to leave Roma, but no serious bidder was found in the January transfer window and he ultimately stayed, returning to the first team on 28 February after he apologised to his fellow players and the club management. He was sent off in the second Derby della Capitale of the 2008-09 season after a heated on-pitch clash with Lazio player Stephan Lichtsteiner following his hard challenge on the Swiss defender. His contract with Roma ended on 30 June 2009, which he had signed in October 2005.

wn.com/Christian_Panucci

Christoph Metzelder
Christoph Tobias Metzelder (born 5 November 1980 in Haltern, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German footballer who plays for FC Schalke 04 as a central defender.
Most of his professional career, which was spent mostly at Borussia Dortmund, was blighted by injuries. He did manage, however, to collect nearly 50 caps for the German national team, appearing with it at two FIFA World Cups.
In the summer of 2000, Metzelder signed by Borussia Dortmund from lowly SC Preußen Münster, and he was an instant success. At the end of his first season in the Bundesliga, he won his first cap for Germany, playing the second half of a 5–2 friendly win in Hungary, on 15 August 2001.
The second season at Dortmund brought him the 2002 national title, and 14 matches with Germany, all the way to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final with Germany. However, he missed the entire 2003–04 season due to an Achilles tendon injury, and only took part in 16 league contests in the following campaign.
After over two years out of the national squad, Metzelder was called by new boss Jürgen Klinsmann for a friendly with China, in October 2005. He also netted his first two league goals, in 1–1 draws against 1. FSV Mainz 05 and Hamburger SV, and would be Germany's undisputed starter at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, partnering with SV Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker.

wn.com/Christoph_Metzelder

Cicinho
Cícero João de Cézare, nicknamed Cicinho, (Portuguese pronunciation: [siˈsĩɲu]; (born 24 June 1980) in Pradópolis, São Paulo, Brazil), is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Roma.
Currently married to longtime girlfriend, Reem Borriello; the two have one son, Heitor. He also holds Italian nationality and therefore did not occupy a slot in the non-EU quota during his tenure at Real Madrid.
In 2005, he won the Club World Cup while playing for São Paulo. After that, he joined Real Madrid.
In the 2006–07 season, Cicinho suffered an extensive injury to his ACL and missed over six months. His comeback, to not only the pitch, but also the starting lineup, was marked on Sunday, 29 April 2007, against Athletic Bilbao. He assisted Ruud van Nistelrooy's first goal with a cross, and played a part in van Nistelrooy's second goal as well. Real Madrid went on to win the game 4–1.
In the 2007–08 pre-season, the full back received less playing time at Real Madrid under new coach Bernd Schuster. Michel Salgado and Sergio Ramos were used on the right during most of Real's pre-season, and Cicinho therefore requested a transfer to the Italian capital club who had been following him for some time.

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Ciprian Tătăruşanu
Anton Ciprian Tătărușanu (born on 9 February 1986) is a Romanian footballer currently playing for Steaua Bucureşti.
In June 2011, Napoli offered €3 million for the player, but the offer was rejected.
Tătărușanu began his football career with Liga II club Juventus Bucureşti. On 26 May 2008, he signed a five-year contract with Steaua Bucureşti, with a reported transfer fee of around €1,500,000 million, but he was loaned back to Gloria Bistriţa for the 2008/09 season, because he had no chance to play for Steaua while Robinson Zapata was still there.
On 16 July 2009, Tătărușanu made his European debut in the 2–0 victory for Steaua in UEFA Europa League against Újpest FC. On 2 August 2009 played his first Liga I match in Steaua's shirt against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ, Steaua won away with 2–0. On 19 August 2010, he saved two penalty shots in the shootout in the Europa League Play-off, from Boris Smiljanić and Endogan Adili.
On August 2009, Tătărușanu was called up by Răzvan Lucescu in the Romanian squad against Hungary.

wn.com/Ciprian_Tătăruşanu

Cláudio Taffarel
Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (born 8 May 1966 in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is of German and Italian descent.
During an 18-year career, he played professionally for five clubs, namely Parma, Atlético Mineiro and Galatasaray.
The recipient of more than 100 caps for Brazil, Taffarel helped the national team win the 1994 World Cup, also appearing in other eight major international tournaments over the course of one full decade.
Taffarel started playing for Sport Club Internacional, but only appeared in a maximum of 50 top division games during his five-year spell, being however awarded the Silver Ball award for the 1988 season. In 1990, he moved abroad and joined Parma A.C. in Italy, freshly promoted to Serie A for the first time in the club's history; he proceeded to appear in all 34 league games in the following season as the Emilia-Romagna outfit overachieved for a final sixth position and qualified to the UEFA Cup.
In 1993 Taffarel, already only a backup at Parma, signed for fellow top-divisioner A.C. Reggiana 1919, being first-choice as the club narrowly avoided relegation. After that season, he returned to his country and played three seasons with Clube Atlético Mineiro.

wn.com/Cláudio_Taffarel

Coen Dillen
Coenraad Henrik Dillen (5 October 1926 – 24 July 1990) was a Dutch footballer who played for Brabantia, PSV and Helmondia '55, as well as the Dutch national side. After retiring from playing he spent a two year spell as manager of amateur side RKSV Nuenen.
His goal tally of 43 in the 1956/57 season remains the highest score by an individual in the Eredivisie. He scored twenty goals in a nine-match period between 27 January and 31 March 1957.

wn.com/Coen_Dillen

César Belli
César Augusto Belli Michelon (born 16 November 1975 in Bebedouro) is a former Brazilian footballer Defender.

wn.com/César_Belli

César Sampaio
Carlos César Sampaio Campos, (born 31 March 1968 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian former footballer, and is the current Football Director of Palmeiras, where he played from 1991 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2000. He retired as a player in 2004.
César Sampaio is one of the few players who played for the 4 major clubs from São Paulo (Santos, Palmeiras, Corinthians and São Paulo) and one of the greatest idols from Palmeiras' history.
He won the Bola de Ouro (Brazilian Golden Ball award) twice, in 1990 and 1993, and joined the Brazil national football team during the Copa América in 1993, but was not part of the team during the FIFA World Cup finals in neither 1990 nor 1994.
He was later also part of the Brazilian squad that won both the Copa América and FIFA Confederations Cup in 1997, and played for Brazil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, where he made six appearances in the team's run to the final, which they lost to the hosts of the tournament, France. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, he became remembered for scoring the first goal of the entire tournament in the 4th minute of Brazil's opening match against Scotland. He also scored a brace in Brazil's 4–1 victory against Chile in the round of 16 during the same tournament.

wn.com/César_Sampaio

Daniel Güiza
Daniel González Güiza (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈnjel ˈɣwiθa]; born 17 August 1980) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Getafe CF in La Liga, as a striker.
A late bloomer, he made a name for himself at the age of 27, being crowned La Liga topscorer with Mallorca. Subsequently, he helped the Spanish national team win the Euro 2008, and signed with Fenerbahçe in Turkey shortly afterwards.
Having started playing on the streets of his hometown of Jerez de la Frontera in Cádiz, Güiza used to hide behind trees in an attempt to avoid the running, despite being then coached by boyhood idol Kiko, who begun his professional career with local Cádiz CF. He eventually made it into his local team, Xerez CD and, after one season there, first showed his eye for goal at third-tier side Dos Hermanas CF, loaned immediately after RCD Mallorca bought him. Such performances saw him make his debut in La Liga at the age of 19, but he would fail to perform, being demoted to the B team where he scored 28 goals in 70 games.

wn.com/Daniel_Güiza

Daniela Cicarelli
Daniella Cicarelli Lemos (born November 6, 1978) is a former TV show hostess for MTV Brazil and fashion model. She was engaged to Brazilian footballer Ronaldo for three months in 2005.
In September 2006, a video of Cicarelli having sex with her boyfriend on a beach in Tarifa, Spain was shot by paparazzo Miguel Temprano and broadcast on the TV show Dolce Vita on the Spanish station Telecinco. The video was spread around the internet, with Cicarelli was granted legal injunctions against YouTube and other websites, leading to several Brazilian ISPs blocking YouTube. In January 2007 after a legal decision, YouTube was blocked in Brazil for two days, resulting in 5.7 million users being blocked. This decision was criticized by internet watch groups. This happened when Cicarelli worked as a host on MTV Brazil, provoking a torrent of nearly 80,000 emails protesting against the blockade and her legal actions. Some people even went to the building of the TV station to protest.
In 2007, YouTube won the case, based on the fact that there is no expectation of privacy on a public beach. Cicarelli appealed and in 2008 the Supreme Court of the state of São Paulo changed the decision, based on the fact there is no public interest in that video and there was privacy invasion. The lawsuit isn't finished yet, because YouTube appealed and now wait for the judgment by the Federal Supreme Court. YouTube remains active in Brazil.

wn.com/Daniela_Cicarelli

Danny Jordaan
Daniel Alexander "Danny" Jordaan (born September 3, 1951) is a South African sports administrator as well as a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He led South Africa's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, the first successful one for Africa. He also led their unsuccessful bid four years earlier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
He has served FIFA in numerous capacities, including, as a General Co-ordinator for the Youth World Cup (now FIFA U-20 World Cup), 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan. He was also a match commissioner for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and a member of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee. He served on the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Organising Committee.
As well as his involvement in football, Jordaan is also a member of the International Marketing Council.
Danny Jordaan was born in Port Elizabeth, a city on the southeast coast of South Africa to Maxine and Alexandre Jordaan. He became involved in anti-apartheid activities by joining the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) in the early 1970s, an organisation founded by Steve Biko in order to defend the rights of black students. Later, Jordaan also became a member of the United Democratic Front and the African National Congress (ANC).

wn.com/Danny_Jordaan

Danrlei
Danrlei de Deus Hinterholz, or just Danrlei (born 18 April 1973 in Crissiumal) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He made his debut for the Brazilian national team against Honduras in March 1995, and played three additional games during the run-up to the 1996 Olympic Games. He did not appear in any Olympic matches. He won many titles with Grêmio, most notably the Copa Libertadores in 1995.
Danrlei was injured in a bus accident on 16 January 2009. The bus plunged off a 130-foot ravine while travelling back from a game. Uruguayan footballer Claudio Milar died in the accident.

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Darko Pančev
Darko Pančev (Macedonian: Дарко Панчев [ˈdarkɔ ˈpantʃɛf] (

listen); born 7 September 1965 in Skopje) is a retired Yugoslav and Macedonian footballer, and winner of the Golden Boot award in 1991.
Pančev was the highest scorer in top-division European football in the 1990–91 season with 34 goals, and should have won the European Golden Boot award. However, UEFA decided to make the competition unofficial for the season because of suspect scoring sprees in Cyprus. Pančev did not get the prize at the time, but received it fifteen years later on 3 August 2006 in Skopje. The Golden Boot was presented at a special gala by Michel Platini, Dragan Stojković and Dragan Džajić.
His playing career started in 1982 at Vardar Skopje where he quickly developed into one of the most feared strikers in the Yugoslav First League, becoming league top scorer in the 1983-84 season. The skill and seeming ease of his goal scoring exploits in Skopje made him a target for bigger Yugoslav clubs.
During summer 1988, Pančev was snapped up by Red Star Belgrade, which beat cross-town rivals FK Partizan to the twenty-two-year-old's signature. Another talented youngester Dejan Savićević also arrived to the club during the same transfer window, but both promptly got sent to serve the mandatory Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) stint that kept them off the pitch for the entire league season.

wn.com/Darko_Pančev

David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English association footballer who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. He has played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player.
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons, clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club. In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a five-year contract with them on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.

wn.com/David_Beckham

David Suazo
Óscar David Suazo Velázquez (born 5 November 1979 in San Pedro Sula) is a Honduran football striker who currently plays for Calcio Catania in the Italian Serie A. He is also a member of the Honduran national team.
In his early career, Suazo developed alongside his cousin, Maynor Suazo, who now also plays for the Honduran national football team. Suazo took his first steps at Olimpia Reservas and later went on to play at the Liga Bancaria. After his participation in 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship held at Nigeria, he was acquired by domestic club team Olimpia. Suazo continued to impress playing for Olimpia's youth system under the coaching of Angel Ramon Paz (Mon Paz) and earned a spot on the top squad before turning 20 years old.
Oscar Tabarez, when coach of the Italian side Cagliari Calcio, was impressed by Suazo's performance and did not hesitate in bringing him across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. Suazo officially joined Cagliari ahead of the 1999–20000 Serie A season. In his first season with the team, he scored one goal in 13 league appearances, and at the end of the 1999–00 season, Cagliari were relegated to Serie B, where they would remain until the 2003–04 season. In four years in Serie B, Suazo played 113 matches and scored 40 goals for the club. His scoring efficiency was impressive enough for him to earn the nickname La Pantera (the Panther). Suazo's time in Serie B provided him with great experience which would help ease his transition into more difficult competition at the top of the Italian Lega Calcio.

wn.com/David_Suazo

Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza, OIH (born 27 August 1977 in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil), commonly known as Deco, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense.
Deco is one of the few players to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs – FC Porto in 2004 and FC Barcelona in 2006. He was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and UEFA Best Midfielder in Porto's Champions League-winning season and was named Man of the Match in the 2003–04 Champions League final. Deco was the first player to win the UEFA Best Midfielder Award with two different clubs, Porto and Barcelona. He was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball and the Man of the Match award in the final despite losing to Internacional.
Deco received Portuguese citizenship in 2002 having completed six years of Portuguese residence, subsequently opting to play internationally for the Portugal national football team.
Deco started off his career at Nacional Atlético Clube in the city of São Paulo, where he was spotted and signed by Corinthians. Deco arrived in Portugal in 1997 at the age of 19 along with fellow Brazilian player Caju after being acquired by Benfica of Lisbon.

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Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (Italian pronunciation: [alesˈsandro del ˈpjɛːro]) Ufficiale OMRI (born 9 November 1974 in Conegliano, Veneto) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Juventus. He will be a free agent from 30 June 2012. Del Piero was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. Del Piero was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In the year 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses, and advertising revenue.
Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality and playing ability.http://www.channel4. May com/sport/football_italia/sep3q.html Del Piero usually plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers, known in Italy as the "trequartista" position. Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching." His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded. Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special "Del Piero Zone"("Gol alla Del Piero"), approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal.

wn.com/Del_Piero

Denis Law
Denis Law CBE (born 24 February 1940) is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Law's career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, Manchester City signed him for a transfer fee of £55,000, setting a new British record. Law spent one year there before Torino bought him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer between an English and an Italian club. Although he played well in Italy, he found it difficult to settle there and signed for Manchester United in 1962, setting another British record transfer fee of £115,000.
He is best known for the eleven years that he spent at United, where he scored 237 goals in 404 appearances and was nicknamed The King and The Lawman by supporters. He is the only Scottish player in history to have won the prestigious European Footballer of the Year award, doing so in 1964, and helped his club win the First Division in 1965 and 1967. Law left Manchester United in 1973 and returned to Manchester City for a season, then represented Scotland in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Law played for Scotland a total of 55 times and jointly holds the Scottish international record goal tally with 30 goals. Law is also United's second highest goalscorer behind Bobby Charlton. Law holds a United record for scoring 46 goals in a single season.

wn.com/Denis_Law

Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɛnɪs ˈbɛrχkɑmp] (

listen); born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who is the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. Originally a wide midfielder and subsequently a main striker, he was deployed as a second striker, where he remained throughout his playing career. Bergkamp has been described by Jan Mulder as having "the finest technique" of any Dutch international and a "dream for a striker" by teammate Thierry Henry.
The son of an electrician, Bergkamp was born in Amsterdam and played as an amateur in the lower leagues. He was spotted by Ajax at the age of 11 and made his professional debut in 1986. Good form led to an international call-up a year later, attracting the attention of several European clubs. Bergkamp signed for Italian club Internazionale in 1993 where he had two disappointing seasons, before joining Arsenal in 1995. It was at Arsenal where Bergkamp rejuvenated his career, helping the club to win three Premier League titles, four FA Cup trophies and reach the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, which marked his last appearance as a player. With the Netherlands national team, Bergkamp surpassed Faas Wilkes's record to become the Netherlands' top goalscorer of all time in 1998, later surpassed by Patrick Kluivert.

wn.com/Dennis_Bergkamp

Dick Tol
Dick Tol (21 August 1934 – 13 December 1973) was a Dutch semi-professional footballer who spent his entire career with FC Volendam. Playing as a striker, Tol was top scorer in the Eredivisie in the 1961-62 season, scoring 27 goals.

wn.com/Dick_Tol

Dida (goalkeeper)
Nélson de Jesus Silva (born 7 October 1973), better known simply as Dida (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdʒidɐ]), is a Brazilian footballer goalkeeper who plays for Portuguesa. He first rose to prominence in Brazilian club football in the 1990s with Vitória, Cruzeiro EC and SC Corinthians, where he gained a reputation as a penalty-saving specialist. However, Dida is probably best remembered for his successful and often tumultuous ten-year stint with Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan from 2000 to 2010. During his tenure with the Rossoneri, he became equally known for mistakes as well as excellent gameplay, from a notorious error during a UEFA Champions League match against Leeds United in September 2000, to suffering a lengthy decline in form after being hit with a lit flare in a Champions League quarter-final match against crosstown rival Inter Milan in April 2005, and being tapped on the shoulder by an opposing fan during an October 2007 match with Celtic.
One of only two goalkeepers in Milan history to make over 200 Serie A appearances, Dida won the Champions League twice in 2003 and 2007, with the former coming after he saved three penalties in a shoot-out against Juventus F.C. He is also the first two-time winner of the FIFA Club World Cup, the inaugural winner of the FIFPro Goalkeeper of the Year award, and a five-time nominee of the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award. In 2003, Dida became the first Brazilian keeper to be shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or, with a second nomination in 2005.

wn.com/Dida_(goalkeeper)

Diego Forlán
Diego Forlán Corazo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo foɾˈlan]; born 19 May 1979) is an Uruguayan footballer who plays as a striker for Internazionale and the Uruguayan national team. He is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe, and also received the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2010 World Cup.
Forlán was born into a family of footballers; his father Pablo having played for São Paulo (1970–1975) and Uruguay in the 1966 and 1974 World Cups and his maternal grandfather, Juan Carlos Corazo, for Independiente in Argentina.
Forlán joined Independiente himself after rising through their youth team, and after a successful four-year spell, he signed for Manchester United of England's Premier League. His form for United was not as successful as at Independiente, although he won the Premier League in 2003 and the FA Cup in 2004. In the Summer of 2004 he moved on to La Liga side Villarreal.
In his first season in Spanish football with Villarreal, Forlán scored 25 league goals and won the Pichichi Trophy. After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid, where he once again became the league's top scorer, and became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo achieved this feat in 2003–04. Forlán scored in Atlético's 2010 Europa League final victory against Fulham. In 2011 he joined Internazionale of Italy's Serie A.

wn.com/Diego_Forlán

Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdjeɣo maɾaˈðona]; born 30 October 1960) is a retired Argentine football player, and current manager of Al Wasl FC in Dubai. Many experts, football critics, former and current players consider Maradona the greatest football player of all time. He won FIFA Player of the Century award which was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury.
He is the only player in football history who set world-record contract fees twice. The first, when he was transferred to Barcelona for a then world record £5m and the second, when he was transferred to Napoli for another record fee £6.9m. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals.
He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 tournament, where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarterfinal round, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history, though for two different reasons. The first goal was via an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted "The Goal of the Century" by FIFA.com voters in 2002.

wn.com/Diego_Maradona

Diego Milito
Diego Alberto Milito (born 12 June 1979) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Serie A club Internazionale and the Argentine national team. A prolific and consistent center-forward, Milito has statistically averaged just over a goal every two appearances, over the course of his 10-year professional career. He was pivotal in Inter's 2009–10 treble-winning season and his two goals in the Champions League final confirmed his status as one of the world's most clinical finishers.
He has been nicknamed El Príncipe ("The Prince" in Spanish) because of his physical resemblance with former Uruguayan footballer Enzo Francescoli, who was nicknamed that way.
Diego Milito started playing at Argentine first division team Racing Club in 1999, where he won the 2001 Apertura tournament. During this time, his younger brother Gabriel played for Racing's main rival, Independiente, as a defender. The two clubs would contest the Avellaneda derby with the two brothers lining up against each other.

wn.com/Diego_Milito

Diego Simeone
Diego Pablo Simeone (born April 28, 1970 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football manager and former player. A defensive midfielder, he was once the most capped player for Argentina. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid.
When Simeone was 14, his youth coach Victorio Spinetto nicknamed him Cholo as his energetic play reminded him of former Boca Juniors player and Argentine international Carmelo Simeone (no relation) who had that nickname.
In his club career that started in 1987, Simeone played for Vélez Sársfield, Pisa, Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, Internazionale, and Lazio.
Simeone spent most of his career in Italy with Pisa his first European club in 1990 in which he was brought in by manager Mircea Lucescu. After spells at Atlético Madrid where he was part of the club's 1996 La Liga and Copa Del Rey double triumph and Sevilla, Simeone returned to Serie A with Internazionale in 1997 and played two full seasons, winning the UEFA Cup in 1998 in a side spearheaded by Ronaldo up front. They beat his future club Lazio 3–0 in the final.

wn.com/Diego_Simeone

Diego Tristán
Diego Tristán Herrera (born 5 January 1976) is a retired Spanish professional footballer.
At his peak, he was considered amongst the best strikers in Europe, displaying a vast array of skills: dribble, shot accuracy, aerial ability and off-the-ball movements; he is best known for his Deportivo de La Coruña spell, where he played six full seasons.
Over the course of eight La Liga seasons, Tristán amassed totals of 227 games and 95 goals. He appeared with the Spanish national team at the 2002 World Cup.
Born in La Algaba, Province of Seville, Tristán came through the youth ranks of local Real Betis, going on to finish his sporting formation with the B side of RCD Mallorca. After one season in Segunda División, he made his La Liga debut in 1999–2000, against CD Numancia on 12 September 1999 (scoring in the process), and finished his first top flight season with 18 goals.
After nearly moving to league powerhouse Real Madrid during the 2000 summer, deal barred by Lorenzo Sanz's exit from the club's presidency, Tristán joined Galician club Deportivo de La Coruña, forming a dreaded offensive partnership (on occasions, as Depor mainly operated in a 4–5–1 formation) with Dutchman Roy Makaay.

wn.com/Diego_Tristán

Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff (born February 28, 1942 in Mariano del Friuli) is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.
Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the history of the sport among the very best in this role, being named the 3rd greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS behind Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks. He holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing goals in international tournaments (1142 minutes) set between 1972 and 1974. With 112 caps, he is the fourth most capped player for the Azzurri. In 2004 Pelé named him as one of the 125 greatest living footballers.
After retiring as a footballer, Zoff went on to become coach for the Italian national team and several other Italian clubs.
Dino Zoff was born in Mariano del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy), and was elected in a poll by the IFFHS as the third best goalkeeper of the 20th Century - after Lev Yashin (1st) and Gordon Banks (2nd).

wn.com/Dino_Zoff

Dirk Kuyt
Dirk Kuyt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɪrk ˈkœy̆t] (

listen); born 22 July 1980) is a Dutch footballer who plays for Liverpool as a forward.
Kuyt began his professional career with FC Utrecht in 1998 and quickly became part of their first team. He spent five years at the club and in his final season he won his first senior honour, the Dutch Cup, and was chosen as the season's Dutch Golden Shoe Winner. Following this, he left Utrecht in a €1 million transfer to Feyenoord. He became the club captain in 2005 and was a prolific goalscorer at the Rotterdam club; he was the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons, the top goalscorer in the 2004–05 Eredivisie season, and the 2005–06 Dutch Footballer of the Year. Kuyt missed only five games over seven seasons from 1999 until 2006 and appeared in 179 consecutive matches between 2001–06, striking up a fruitful partnership with fellow Feyenoord teammate Salomon Kalou.
He left Feyenoord after three years, having scored 71 league goals in 101 appearances, and joined Premier League side Liverpool for £10 million. He made his Premier League debut late in 2006 and became part of the first team squad. He scored in his first ever UEFA Champions League final with Liverpool against AC Milan.

wn.com/Dirk_Kuyt

Djalminha
Djalma Feitosa Dias (born 9 December 1970), aka Djalminha, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Blessed with superb skills but also a troublesome character he represented, among others, Flamengo and Deportivo de La Coruña, and was also a Brazil international.
Son of former footballer Djalma Dias, Djalminha (literally little Djalma) was born in Santos, São Paulo, while his father was playing for Santos FC. However, he started his career at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, the most popular club based in Rio de Janeiro.
Afterwards, he would have short stints with Guarani Futebol Clube and Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (where he received the Bola de Ouro (Brazilian Golden Ball) award in 1996), with a short-lived Japanese adventure with Shimizu S-Pulse in between.
In July 1997, he joined Deportivo de La Coruña in the Spanish La Liga, and proceeded to score 26 league goals in 87 appearances in his first three seasons, largely contributing to the team's first-ever national championship conquest, in 2000. After that, the emergence of Juan Carlos Valerón, signed upon Atlético Madrid's relegation, and a May 2002 bust-up during training with Depor manager Javier Irureta, prompted his loan in 2002–03 to Austrian Bundesliga side FK Austria Wien.

wn.com/Djalminha

Domingos da Guia
Domingos Antônio da Guia (born in Rio de Janeiro, November 19, 1912 – dead in Rio, May 18, 2000), nicknamed "the Divine Master" was a Brazilian footballer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in Flamengo and Corinthians history, as well as the all time best Brazilian defender.
He quickly rose to fame as one of Bangu's key players (central defender) between 1929-1932. Despite the fact Bangu had a history of fielding black players (Francisco Carregal was the first in 1905) Domingos might have witnessed racism in football . After Bangu, Domingos moved to Uruguay's Nacional de Montevideo for a season, before brief periods at Vasco da Gama (Brazil), Boca Juniors (Argentina) and then finding a home at Rio giants Flamengo (1937–1943). A brief spell at Corinthians left Domingos to return to his beloved Bangu where he stay until he retired in 1948.
Domingos also enjoyed a successful international career, getting 30 caps for Brazil. He came to the world's attention in the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals, where he was the linchpin of Brazil's defence. Domingo's son Ademir da Guia also played for Bangu 1959–1961 before becoming an idol at São Paulo's Palmeiras.

wn.com/Domingos_da_Guia

Dorin Mateuţ
Dorin Mateuţ (born 5 August 1965) is a retired Romanian footballer.
He was born in Bogata-Curtuiuş, Cluj County and debuted in Divizia A with Corvinul Hunadoara in 1981. In the 1986–87 season, he earned a transfer to Dinamo Bucureşti. He scored an astounding 43 goals to take the top goalscorer title and even the European Golden Boot in 1988–89, and the following year Dinamo won the league championship. He later played abroad with mixed success, in Spain and Italy.
Mateuţ made his debut for the Romania in 1984 against Algeria, and was chosen for the 1990 World Cup squad. He won 56 caps in total, the last in 1991, and scored 10 goals.

wn.com/Dorin_Mateuţ

Doriva
Doriva, full name Dorival Guidoni Jr. (born 28 May 1972 in Nhandeara, São Paulo) is a retired Brazilian footballer who played midfielder, who last played for América-SP in the Brazilian league. From 2003 until 2006, he played for English Premier League club Middlesbrough, where he had previously been on loan.
Prior to joining to Middlesbrough, Doriva played for São Paulo, Atlético Mineiro, Porto, Sampdoria, and Celta Vigo. His transfer from Atlético to Porto cost $4 million.
Doriva was signed on loan by Middlesbrough manager Steve McLaren in January 2003. He made his debut on 5 April 2003 in a 3-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion.
After five appearances for the club, Doriva was given a one-year contract with Middlesbrough on 21 July 2003. In his first full season at Middlesbrough, Doriva was first choice in midfield alongside George Boateng. He found his chances limited after this, however, due to the emergence of Stewart Downing and the conversion of Boudewijn Zenden to central midfield. On 29 February 2004 Doriva started as Middlesbrough won their first major trophy, the 2004 Football League Cup Final, with a 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. His only goal for Middlesbrough came in a 2–1 victory at Notts County in the third round of the FA Cup on 8 January 2005.

wn.com/Doriva

Dražan Jerković
Dražan Jerković (6 August 1936 – 9 December 2008) was a Croatian and Yugoslav football forward, and manager. His first name is sometimes (incorrectly) spelled "Dražen". He was born in Šibenik, Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
He played for Dinamo Zagreb (1954–65). Severe injuries forced him to retire early, at the height of his career. With Dinamo he won the league title in 1958, and league cup in 1960 and 1965. In 315 games for Dinamo, he scored 322 goals.
He played internationally for Yugoslavia between 1960 and 1964, scoring 11 goals in 21 games. He participated in Euro 1960 and World Cup 1962. He was also part of the Yugoslav squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but did not play.
In Euro 1960 he scored two goals against France in the semifinal, which Yugoslavia won (5-4). In the final, Yugoslavia lost against USSR (1-2; AET), finishing second.
In World Cup 1962 Jerković scored four goals and was, with five other players, the top goalscorer, winning the World Cup Golden Boot. Yugoslavia finished in fourth place. In the quarter-final, Yugoslavia beat Germany (1-0). In the semifinal Yugoslavia lost to Czechoslovakia (1-3), and lost to Chile for third place (0-1).

wn.com/Dražan_Jerković

Dudu Georgescu
Dudu Georgescu (born 1 September 1950) is a retired Romanian footballer.
He began his career at Progresul Bucureşti. He currently holds the record for the most goals in Romania's Divizia A with 252 goals, as well as Dinamo Bucureşti's club goalscoring record, with 207.
He won the European Golden Shoe (for top scorer in Europe) twice, in 1975 and 1977.

wn.com/Dudu_Georgescu

Dunga
Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born October 31, 1963 in Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul), commonly known as Dunga (pronounced Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdũɡɐ]), is a former Brazilian football defensive midfielder and a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. Dunga coached the national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was dismissed by the Brazilian Football Confederation following the team's elimination in the quarter finals.
His nickname is derived from the Portuguese translation of Dopey, a dwarf from the Snow White tale, and was given to him by his uncle due to his short height during his childhood. It was believed that he would be a short adult and the nickname remained in use even after he grew up and became taller. He is of Italian and German descent.
At the club level, Dunga played for Internacional (1980–84, 1999–2000), Corinthians (1984–85), Santos (1985–87), Vasco da Gama (1987), Pisa (1987–88), Fiorentina (1988–92), Pescara (1992–93), Stuttgart (1993–95), and Jubilo Iwata (1995–98).

wn.com/Dunga

Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian international footballer who currently plays for French club Lille in Ligue 1 and the Belgium national team. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger. Hazard is known for his creativity, speed, and technical ability and is described as a "fearless, explosive attacking midfielder who can change the game with a turn of pace or a dribble". He has also been described as "a defender's nightmare" and has earned critical acclaim for his playing style, which has led to the media, coaches, and players drawing comparisons to FIFA World Player of the Year winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Hazard is the son of former Belgian footballers and began his football career in Belgium playing for local clubs Royal Stade Brainois and Tubize. In 2005, he moved to France joining first division club Lille. Hazard spent two years in the club's academy and, at the age of 16, made his professional debut in November 2007. In his first full season as a starter, he won the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year award becoming the first non-French player to win the award. In the 2009–10 season, Hazard captured the award again becoming the first player to win the award twice. He was also named to the league's Team of the Year. Since making his debut in 2007, Hazard has become an integral part of the club under manager Rudi Garcia racking up over 190 appearances. In the 2010–11 season, he was a part of the Lille team that won the league and cup double and, as a result of his performances, was named the UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year becoming the youngest player to win the award. Hazard was also given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo for his performances during the 2010–11 season.

wn.com/Eden_Hazard

Edgar Davids
Edgar Steven Davids (born 13 March 1973) is a retired Dutch footballer. After beginning his career with Ajax, he subsequently played in Italy for Milan and Juventus before a loan spell with Barcelona. He went on to play for Internazionale and Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Ajax. Having struggled with injuries for two years, Davids returned to competitive football during a brief spell with Crystal Palace before retiring at the age of 37.
He was capped 74 times by the Netherlands at international level, scoring six goals, and represented his country at the FIFA World Cup (once) and the UEFA European Football Championship (three times). His dreadlocked hair and protective goggles – which he wore due to glaucoma – made Davids one of the most recognisable players of his generation. A combative and creative midfielder, Davids was nicknamed "the Pitbull" by Louis van Gaal because of his marking ability. He was one of the players chosen by Pelé to feature in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living footballers. He was born in Suriname to an African father and Jewish mother. His cousin Lorenzo is also a footballer.

wn.com/Edgar_Davids

Edmundo Suárez
Edmundo Suárez Trabanco (January 22, 1916 - December 14, 1978) was a Spanish footballer and coach. He was born in Baracaldo. He played center-forward for Valencia CF for most of his career except for his last season where he played with CD Alcoyano.
Mundo is a legend for Valencia CF since he scored the highest number of league goals for team in its history twice winning the trophy for the top goal scorer. He is the fifth highest scoring player in the history of the Spanish league, only surpassed by men of the calibre of Zarra, Alfredo di Stéfano, Isidro Vagrant and Ferenc Puskás
His great physical strength and strong will allowed him to dominate Spanish football during the 1940s. Along with Epi, Amadeo, Asensi and Gorostiza, he formed an electric front line that transformed Valencia CF into a winning team.
He played with various amateur teams in his native Basque Country, but the civil war changed his career completely. He was on contract with the Athletic Club but as this acquisition was made in republican territory it was not considered valid by the pro-Franco state which remained in power after the Spanish Civil war. In the year 1939, the pro-Franco army created a team, the Recovery to Raise, taken from the one which formed from diverse players who had fought in military region to Raise. Said team was chosen by Valencia CF to debut after the civil war. The Valencia CF after seeing it in action did not waste the opportunity and acquired it.

wn.com/Edmundo_Suárez

Edílson
Edílson, full name Edílson da Silva Ferreira, (born September 17, 1971 in Salvador) is a former football player from Brazil. He played as a forward, mainly in the past with SE Palmeiras and Corinthians. In 1998, he received the Bola de Ouro award (« Golden Ball ») given to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Brazilian championship). He was dubbed Capetinha, Portuguese for « Little Devil ».
He had 21 caps and managed to score 6 goals with the Brazilian national team and won the World Cup in 2002.

(Portuguese) Official Page

wn.com/Edílson

Eli Ohana
Eli Ohana (Hebrew: אלי אוחנה‎; born February 1, 1964 in Jerusalem, Israel) is a former Israeli football player and later a manager. He is currently the manager of the Israel U21 team. He is considered to be one of the greatest Israeli players ever.
Ohana was born in Jerusalem to a Jewish traditional family that moved to Jerusalem from the Wadi Salib ma'abara in Haifa. He had 7 brothers and two sisters (one of them was from his fathers previous marriage). The family struggled with financial problems.
At the age of eleven, Ohana joined the youth system of Beitar Jerusalem. The one who encouraged him to do that was his brother, Yossi. His father, a traditional Jew, opposed but eventually allowed him on condition he will visit a synagoge before a practice every Saturday.
Despite being good on the field, at school he had problems and his brother Yossi told him he has to choose, football or school. He chose football, despite his fathers resistance. At that time Eli's brother Yossi got married and took Eli to live with him and his wife.

wn.com/Eli_Ohana

Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛmeɾsõw fitʃiˈpawdʒi]; born December 12, 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.
Emerson Fittipaldi is the youngest son of prominent Brazilian motorsports journalist and radio commentator Wilson Fittipaldi Sr and his wife Józefa "Juzy" Wojciechowska, a immigrant from Poland of Polish and Russian descent. He was named after American author and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both his parents had raced production cars shortly after the Second World War and Wilson Sr was also responsible for the first Mil Milhas race in 1956, in São Paulo, having been inspired by the 1949 Italian Mille Miglia. Emerson became a motorsports enthusiast at an early age.
Emerson Fittipaldi is the younger brother of former Formula One driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi. He is the uncle of former CART, Formula One and NASCAR driver Christian Fittipaldi. He was married to Maria Helena from 1970 to 1982. They had three children together, Juliana, Jayson and Tatiana. He was married again, to Teresa, in the mid-1980s. They have one daughter, Joana, and a son, Luca. Now, he has another son, Emerson Fanucchi Fittipaldi, born on March 6, 2007, with his new wife, Rossana Fanucchi Fittipaldi.

wn.com/Emerson_Fittipaldi

Emilio Butragueño
Emilio Butragueño Santos (born 22 July 1963 in Madrid) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid. Nicknamed El Buitre (The Vulture), he was a member of the legendary Quinta del Buitre, along with Manolo Sanchís, Rafael Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.
Butragueño amassed La Liga totals of 341 games and 123 goals for his main club, in 12 seasons, and represented the Spanish national team in two World Cups (being the second top scorer in the 1986 edition) and as many European Championships, scoring 26 international goals for his country, a record that stood for several years.
In 1981, skilled Butragueño joined Real Madrid's youth system, and played first for its reserve side, before being given his senior debut by Alfredo Di Stéfano on 5 February 1984 against Cádiz CF. He made an instant impact, scoring twice and assisting for the third goal in a 3–2 away turnaround, after Real trailed by 0–2. On 12 December that year, he made his European competition debut, contributing to a 6–1 home triumph against R.S.C. Anderlecht for the UEFA Cup third round (after a 0–3 loss in Brussels), as the Merengues went on to win the competition.

wn.com/Emilio_Butragueño

Eric Cantona
Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona (French pronunciation: [kantɔna]) (born 24 May 1966) is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in five years and two League and FA Cup Doubles.
Cantona is often regarded as having played a key role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing force and he enjoys iconic status at the club. He wore the number 7 shirt at United, which was previously worn by George Best and Bryan Robson, and subsequently worn by David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cantona is affectionately nicknamed by Manchester United fans as "King Eric", and was voted as Manchester United's greatest ever player by Inside United magazine. Set against his footballing achievements was a poor disciplinary record throughout his career, including a conviction for assault on a fan in 1995.

wn.com/Eric_Cantona

Erwin Vandenbergh
Erwin Vandenbergh (born 26 January 1959) was a Belgian footballer. Between 1981 and 1991, he finished six times topscorer of the Belgian First Division, with three different clubs (the first three with Lierse, the following two with Anderlecht, and the last one with Gent). In 1981 he was European topscorer with 39 goals out of 34 games. As a Belgian national team regular Vandenbergh scored a memorable victory goal against Argentina in the opening game of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Vandenbergh also played for the French club Lille with his Belgian national team partner Filip Desmet under the management of another fellow Belgian Georges Heylens. His son, Kevin Vandenbergh, has also become a football striker and he currently plays for KV Mechelen in Belgium.

wn.com/Erwin_Vandenbergh

Eusébio
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM (Portuguese pronunciation: [ewˈzɛbiu dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ]; born 25 January 1942), commonly known simply as Eusébio, is a retired Mozambican-born Portuguese football forward. He is considered one of the best footballers of all-time by the IFFHS, experts and fans. He helped the Portuguese national team reach third place at the 1966 World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals (six of which were scored at Goodison Park) and receiving the Bronze Ball award. He won the Ballon d'Or award in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He played for Benfica for 15 years out of his 22 as a footballer, thus being mainly associated with the Portuguese club, and is the team's all-time top scorer with 638 goals scored in 614 official games. There, he won 11 Primeira Liga titles (1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1974–75), 5 Portuguese Cup titles (1961–62, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70 and 1971–72), 1 European Cup title (1961–62) and managed to help them reach three additional European Cup finals (1962–63, 1964–65 and 1967–68). He was the European Cup top scorer in 1965, 1966 and 1968. He also won the Bola de Prata (Primeira Liga top scorer award) seven times (a national record) in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1973. He was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot award, in 1968, a feat he later replicated in 1973.

wn.com/Eusébio

Fabien Barthez
Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971 in Lavelanet) is a former French footballer goalkeeper who won honours with Manchester United and the French national team, with whom he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 World Cup. He shares the record for the most World Cup finals clean sheets with Peter Shilton, with 10. In club football he won the Champions League as well as several Ligue 1 and Premier League titles.
Born in Lavelanet, France, Barthez made his first division debut for Toulouse on 21 September 1991, against Nancy. He joined Marseille in 1992, and won both the French championship and the Champions League at the end of his first season in Marseille. The 1993 victory made him the youngest goalkeeper to win a Champions League title until Iker Casillas did so in 2000. However, Marseille would be stripped of their domestic title, though not of the Champions League crown, due to their involvement in a domestic match fixing scandal, and a year later (1994) would suffer a forced relegation to the second division due to a related financial bankruptcy. He stayed with the club in Division 2 for the 1994–95 season despite many offers from elite French clubs.

wn.com/Fabien_Barthez

Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI (born 13 September 1973 in Naples) is a retired Italian footballer. He is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and was given the name "Muro di Berlino," which means "The Berlin Wall," by Italian supporters. He spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napoli, before spending seven years at Parma, with whom he won two Coppa Italias and the 1999 UEFA Cup. After spells at Internazionale and Juventus, Cannavaro transferred along with manager Fabio Capello from Juventus to Real Madrid, with whom he won consecutive La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008. After returning to Juventus for one season in 2009–10, he joined Al-Ahli in Dubai. He retired from professional football in 2011 due to an injury troubled season in Al-Ahli.
Cannavaro has also achieved success with the Italian national team. He was part of the Italy team that won consecutive Under-21 European Championships in 1994 and 1996. After earning his first senior cap in 1997, he eventually became captain. Cannavaro led Italy to victory in the 2006 World Cup, and in 2009 overtook Paolo Maldini as the most capped player in the country's history. He announced his retirement from international football on 25 June 2010 following Italy's failure to qualify for the knock-out stages of the 2010 World Cup, having amassed 136 caps and scored two goals for the senior national team.

wn.com/Fabio_Cannavaro

Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfabjo kaˈpello]; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian football manager and former professional footballer. Capello was born in San Canzian d'Isonzo. His uncle, Mario Tortul was also a football player and played for Triestina, Padova, Sampdoria and the Italian national football team. Capello is married and has a son named Pier Filippo who acts as his agent. Capello is also a collector of fine art and has a personal collection thought to be worth over £10 million.
As a player Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which lasted over 15 years. He won the Coppa Italia with Roma in 1969. He was most successful with Juventus, winning three Serie A titles in 1972, 1973 and 1975. With Milan he won the Coppa Italia again in 1977 and also won another Serie A in 1979. Capello also played for Italy during his career and amassed 32 caps, scoring eight goals as well.

wn.com/Fabio_Capello

Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈpuʃkaːʃ]; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954. He won three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), 10 national championships (5 Hungarian & 5 Spanish Primera División) and 8 top individual scoring honors. He is regarded as the best Hungarian football player ever and one of the best football players of all time.
Puskás started his career in Hungary playing for Kispest and Budapest Honvéd. He was top scorer in the Hungarian League on four occasions, and in 1948, he was the top goal scorer in Europe. During the 1950s, he was both a prominent member and captain of the Hungarian national team, known as the Mighty Magyars. In 1958, two years after the Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to Spain where he played for Real Madrid.

wn.com/Ferenc_Puskás

Fernando Redondo
Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri (born 6 June 1969) is an Argentine retired footballer.
A defensive midfielder with the ability to contribute both defensively and offensively, he played one full decade in La Liga, mainly for Real Madrid, then finished his career (curtailed by several injury problems) in Italy with Milan.
Redondo was a member of the Argentine national team in the 1990s, representing the nation in the 1994 World Cup.
Born in Adrogué, Buenos Aires, Redondo made his debut for Argentinos Juniors in 1985 in the first division, and played for five years for the team before moving abroad, to Spain.
He made his debut in La Liga with CD Tenerife, under the management of countryman Jorge Solari. During this period, Real Madrid twice lost the league title to arch-rivals FC Barcelona on the final day of the season, in matches against Tenerife, who were managed by Jorge Valdano and, when Valdano was appointed manager of Real Madrid in the summer of 1994, the player also made the move, for a fee of $5 million dollars.

wn.com/Fernando_Redondo

Flávio Conceição
Flávio da Conceição (born 13 June 1974 in Santa Maria da Serra, São Paulo) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central midfielder.
Conceição enjoyed a successful career in Spain, where he played for two clubs – including Real Madrid with which he won six major titles – and also represented Brazil on more than 40 occasions.
Conceição began his career with Rio Branco Esporte Clube in 1992. He then joined Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras a year later, and racked up over 100 first team appearances in three years. This caught the attention of Deportivo de La Coruña, who paid €6.3 million for him after the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Playing alongside compatriot Mauro Silva in central midfield, Conceição gradually developed into a key force in the Galicians' rise in Spanish football, as he netted four times in 27 appearances in the side's 1999–2000 league conquest. This led to a 2000 move to La Liga giants Real Madrid, worth €26 million.
Although he appeared sparingly, he did amass two league titles and won the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League - in that competition, he setup Steve McManaman for the closing 2–0 win against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou - spending 2003–04 on loan to Borussia Dortmund, where he was also irregularly played.

wn.com/Flávio_Conceição

Flórián Albert
Flórián Albert (15 September 1941 – 31 October 2011) was a Hungarian international football player, later manager and sports official, who was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Nicknamed "The Emperor", he has been described as one of the most elegant footballers of all time.
A club legend of Ferencvárosi TC, Albert joined the team yet as a schoolboy and spent his whole playing career at Fradi. He also starred for Hungary, winning 75 international caps and scoring 31 goals. He was joint top-scorer at the 1962 World Cup with four goals and played a key role in Hungary's third-place finish at the European Championship in 1964.
He stayed loyal to Ferencváros after his retirement as well, actively participated in the club's life and also held administrative positions. Since 2007 the stadium of Ferencváros wears his name.
Albert died in October 2011, aged 70, in a hospital in Budapest after complications following heart surgery carried out a few days earlier.
The son of a blacksmith, Albert was born and brought up in the little town of Hercegszántó near the border with the former Yugoslavia, where he got his first taste of the game playing with his two brothers. His mother was Hungarian Croat, from the group of Šokci. She died when he was 2. When the family later moved to Budapest, Albert participated on a talent day by Ferencvárosi TC. He impressed the coaches and was selected by club. Albert was 11 years old at the time.

wn.com/Flórián_Albert

Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi (born 8 May 1960 in Travagliato, Italy) is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one". In 1999, Baresi was voted AC Milan Player of the Century and is widely regarded as one of the finest defenders of all time.
He is also the younger brother of Internazionale legend and current vice coach Giuseppe Baresi.
Baresi was brought by his older brother Giuseppe for a trial in Inter's youth team, but was rejected. Despite this setback, Baresi refused to give up his dream and tried out for the Milan youth team, where he was accepted.
Baresi led the Milan team and its defence for the best part of a decade. During that time, the back four consisting of him, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti gained a reputation for being of the meanest defenses in Europe. He is also one of the few players who spent his entire career at one club, AC Milan, for whom he played 719 games, scoring 33 goals. Unconventional for an Italian defender trained in the catenaccio tradition, Baresi was an attacking defender who often assisted the team in counterattacks but without neglecting his defensive duties.

wn.com/Franco_Baresi

Frans Geurtsen
Frans Geurtsen (born 17 February 1942 in Utrecht) is a Dutch former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. Geurtsen played club football for DWS, and was the Eredivisie top scorer in both the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons.
Geurtsen also earned one cap for the Netherlands in 1964, scoring one goal.

wn.com/Frans_Geurtsen

Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer [fʁants ˈbɛkənˌbaʊ̯ɐ] (born 11 September 1945 in Munich) is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and one of the greatest and most decorated footballers in the history of the game. Beckenbauer was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder but made his name as a defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper or libero.
Twice selected the European Footballer of the Year, he appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three World Cups. He lifted the World Cup trophy as captain in 1974, and repeated the feat as a manager in 1990. With the club Bayern Munich, he won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. He is one of only two footballers, along with Brazil's Mário Zagallo, to have won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. Beckenbauer is one of two players (along with Carles Puyol) to captain three European Cup winning sides. He went on to become coach and president of the institution. He is also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

wn.com/Franz_Beckenbauer

Garrincha
Manuel Francisco dos Santos (October 28, 1933 – January 20, 1983), known by the nickname "Garrincha" (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡaˈʁĩʃɐ], "little bird"), was an association football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. He played the majority of his professional career for the Brazilian club Botafogo.
The word garrincha itself means wren. Garrincha was also known as Mané (short for Manuel) by his friends. The combined "Mané Garrincha" is common among fans in Brazil. Due to his immense popularity in Brazil, he was also called Alegria do Povo (Joy of the People) and Anjo de Pernas Tortas (Angel with Bent Legs).
Garrincha is regarded as the best dribbler in football history. In the Estádio do Maracanã the home team room is known as "Garrincha," while the visiting team room is known as "Pelé."
Garrincha was born in Pau Grande, a district of Magé, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in 1933. His father was an alcoholic, drinking cachaça heavily, a problem which Garrincha would inherit. He had several birth defects: his spine was deformed, his right leg bent inwards and his left leg six centimeters shorter and curved outwards, none of which impeded his ability to play football at the highest level.

wn.com/Garrincha

Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE (born 30 November 1960), is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live. He remains England's top scorer in the FIFA World Cup finals, with ten goals.
Lineker began his football career at Leicester City and became known as a prolific goalscorer; despite failing to score in his first ten games, he finished as the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984–85 and earned his first England cap. He then moved to League Champions Everton where he remained a clinical finisher, scoring 40 goals in 57 games. His first team honours came at Barcelona, where he won the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. He returned to England in 1989, joining Tottenham Hotspur, and over three seasons he scored 67 goals in 105 games and won the FA Cup. Lineker's final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight and he retired in 1994 after two seasons at the Japanese side.

wn.com/Gary_Lineker

Gary Shaw
Gary Shaw (born 21 January 1961) was an English football striker who played for Aston Villa in the early 1980s. His goals helped Aston Villa win the English First Division championship in 1980–81 and the European Cup the following year - the only Birmingham-born player in the team. In 1981 he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year. He was also included in the 40-strong preliminary England World Cup squad for the 1982 finals; however, he was not picked in the final 22.
His promising Villa career was effectively ended after sustaining a knee injury in an away game at Nottingham Forest. After a heavy tackle, he was helped to his feet by Ian Bowyer and, in Shaw's words, something in his knee 'clicked'. After his recovery, he continued to play for Villa until 1987–88, when he was sold to Klagenfurt in Austria. He finished his career off at Kilmarnock, Shrewsbury, Walsall and the Hong Kong-based Ernest Borel FC.
Shaw gained seven caps for the England under-21s.
As a boy he lived in Meriden Drive, Kingshurst, and spent hours kicking a football round on a patch of grass opposite the Punch Bowl public house known locally as 'The Island'.

wn.com/Gary_Shaw

George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. In 1968 he won the European Cup with United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year and Football Writers' Association Player of the Year. He is described by the national team's governing body, the Irish Football Association, as the "greatest player to ever pull on the green shirt of Northern Ireland".
Born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Best began his club career in England with Manchester United, who had spotted his talent at the age of 15. He went on to see success with United scoring 179 goals from 470 appearances over 11 years. His playing style combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders. Best unexpectedly quit United relatively early in 1974 at age 27, but returned to football for a number of clubs around the world in short spells, until finally retiring in 1983, age 37. In international football, he was an automatic choice when fit, being capped 37 times and scoring nine goals from 1964 to 1977, although the team's performance never allowed his talent to be displayed in the finals of a European Championship or World Cup.

wn.com/George_Best

Georgi Slavkov
Georgi Slavkov (Bulgarian: Георги Славков) (born 11 April 1958 in Musomishte near Gotse Delchev) is a former Bulgarian football player.
He scored 61 goals in 112 games for Botev Plovdiv between 1976 and 1982. In 1981 he won the France Football's Golden Boot award. With CSKA Sofia he played between 1982 and 1986, scoring 48 goals. Then he was transferred to the French club AS Saint-Étienne. He finished his career in Portugal in 1992.
Between 1978 and 1983, he won 37 caps for Bulgaria and scored 11 goals.

wn.com/Georgi_Slavkov

Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi] (

listen); born 5 February 1965 in Săcele) is a former Romanian footballer. He was one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time.Galatasaray fans called him 'Commandante' (The Commander) and the Romanians called him 'Regele' (The King).
Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of the 20th century.
He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, being ranked second after Dorinel Munteanu, and scored 35 goals, being ranked first.
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

wn.com/Gheorghe_Hagi

Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli (born 9 July 1964 in Cremona) is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia.
Vialli started his career at Cremonese in 1980 in his native Italy where he made 105 league appearances scoring 23 goals. His performances impressed Sampdoria who signed him in 1984. During which time he scored 85 league goals, won 3 Italian cups, the Serie A and the European Cup Winners Cup. Vialli transferred to Juventus for a World record £12.5 million in 1992. During this time he won the Italian Cup, the Serie A, Italian Supercup, UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. In 1996 Vialli joined Chelsea and became Chelsea player manager the following season. In England he won the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Super Cup. He is one of nine footballers to have won the three main European club competitions and is the only player in European footballing history to have winner's and runner's up medals in all three main European club competitions. During his twenty years long career as a professional footballer he has scored 259 goals at club level, 16 goals with the national team, 11 goals with the under 21 national team for a total of 286 goals in more than 500 appearances.

wn.com/Gianluca_Vialli

Gilberto Silva
Gilberto Aparecido da Silva (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒiɫˈbeʁtu ˈsiɫvɐ]; born 7 October 1976), commonly known as Gilberto Silva, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Grêmio as a midfielder.
Gilberto was raised in a poor family and as a child he balanced playing football with various labour jobs. He began his football career in 1997 with América Mineiro, where good form earned him a move to Atlético Mineiro in 2000. He became a star player for Atlético, playing for three years in the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He came to particular prominence when he helped the Brazilian national team win the 2002 FIFA World Cup, playing in all seven of Brazil's matches.
In August 2002, for a fee of £4.5 million, he joined Arsenal, with whom he won the 2004 FA Premier League as an 'Invincible', and two FA Cup trophies. In his first five seasons with the club, he played 208 games and scored 23 goals. On 19 August 2006 he scored Arsenal's first competitive goal at the newly built Emirates Stadium. He was made vice-captain of Arsenal in 2006. He has also scored Arsenal's fastest ever goal coming in at just 20 seconds in a game against PSV in the champions league. During his time with the Gunners, Gilberto developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe. In 2007, he was selected as Brazil captain for the Copa América tournament, which Brazil went on to win.

wn.com/Gilberto_Silva

Gilmar Rinaldi
Gilmar Luís Rinaldi (born January 13, 1959 in Erexim, RS), is a former Brazilian football goalkeeper, and current football agent of such players as Adriano.
Gilmar competed for Brazil at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

wn.com/Gilmar_Rinaldi

Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks, OBE (born 30 December 1937) is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin (1st) and ahead of Dino Zoff (3rd).
Banks was a member of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup. In March 2004 Pelé listed Banks as one of the 125 greatest living footballers. His most famous moment occurred in the 1970 World Cup against Brazil, where he pulled off a stunning save from a goalbound header from Pelé, which is often regarded as arguably the greatest save ever. Banks' consistent performances in goal led to the re-wording of a common English idiom to "Safe as the Banks of England".
Banks, born in Sheffield, was a careful student of goalkeepers during childhood. Banks played in local colliery football as a boy and was offered an apprenticeship by Chesterfield after initially going to work as a coal bagger and then as a bricklayer on leaving school. After performances in the youth and A teams gained him promotion to the reserves, Banks was posted to Germany with the Royal Signals on National service, winning the Rhine Cup with his regimental team. On his return he was offered a full-time contract by the Chesterfield manager, Teddy Davison.

wn.com/Gordon_Banks

Grzegorz Lato
Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (born 8 April 1950 in Malbork) is a former Polish football striker, and the leading scorer at the 1974 World Cup. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish football, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with third place at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish in 1974 in Germany. He is the only Polish player ever to win the Golden boot at a World Cup.
He is best known for his pace.
From 2001 to 2005 Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a senator in Poland. On October 30, 2008 he was elected President of Polish FA.
For Poland, Lato has been capped a record 104 times between 1971 and 1984; he scored 45 goals, which is second-best in national history behind Włodzimierz Lubański. Other than the 1974 World Cup, where he scored seven goals, he also participated in the 1978 and 1982 tournaments. In the 1974 World Cup, he won the Golden Shoe after scoring 7 goals throughout the tournament. In a difficult Group 4, the Poles made an early impression, defeating Argentina by a score of 3–2, with two goals from Lato, the first being scored after just seven minutes of play. Buoyed by that success, Poland then posted the tournament's second largest win with a 7–0 defeat of Haiti (the largest being Yugoslavia's 9–0 demolition of Zaire), with Lato weighing in with another two strikes. In the second round, the Stal Mielec-based striker was even more instrumental, scoring winning goals against Group B rivals Sweden (1–0) and Yugoslavia (2–1). And while even Lato was powerless to prevent an agonising 1–0 defeat by Germany in Frankfurt the in-form marksman was able to propel his team to third place courtesy of the only goal in the play-off victory over Brazil. He was then known as Poland's favorite player. While playing for Poland, he helped them win several titles.

wn.com/Grzegorz_Lato

Guillermo Gorostiza
Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes (born 15 February 1909 — died 23 August 1966) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.
In a 14-year professional career, he played for Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, amassing La Liga totals of 256 games and 178 goals and winning 11 major titles with the two teams combined.
Gorostiza appeared for Spain at the 1934 World Cup.
Gorostiza was born in Santurtzi, Biscay. He played youth football for Chávarri de Sestao and Zugazarte, making his senior debuts with Arenas Club de Getxo and Racing de Ferrol (one season apiece), and signing for Athletic Bilbao in 1929. He made his La Liga debut on 1 December 1929 against Real Madrid, and scored 37 league goals in his first two seasons combined (only 36 games) as the club won back-to-back national championships, adding as many Copa del Rey trophies.
Gorostiza was a member of a Athletic team that also included Bata and was coached by English Fred Pentland, and won two Pichichi awards with the club. He scored the winning goal in the 1933 Spanish Cup final, a 2–1 win against Real Madrid in Barcelona.

wn.com/Guillermo_Gorostiza

Guillermo Stábile
Guillermo Stábile (17 January 1905 — 26 December 1966) was an Argentine footballer and manager. At club level, Stábile won two national championships with Huracán and played in Italy and France. He was the top-scorer of the first 1930 World Cup. As manager, he led Argentina to victory at six South American Championships and the suburban Buenos Aires side Racing Club to three league titles.
Stábile was born in Parque Patricios, Buenos Aires. He began his career with local club Sportivo Metán and from 1920, with Huracán. 1924 he progressed to the first team which played in Argentinas top league, which then still had amateur status. He started out on the right wing but soon evolved as the centre forward of the standard formation. Stábile won many competitions with Huracán, most notably the championships of 1925 and 1928 and the regional trophy Copa Dr. Carlos Ibarguren in 1925.
After capturing the world's attention with his impressive feats in the First World Cup, he was signed by Genoa. He instantly became a fan favourite at Genoa, chalking up a hat-trick on his debut against rivals Bologna. He stayed with the Genoan club for five years, playing 41 games and scoring 16 goals.

wn.com/Guillermo_Stábile

Hans Krankl
Johann "Hans" Krankl (born 14 February 1953 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian footballer. He was manager of LASK Linz.
A prolific striker, Krankl is regarded by many as the greatest ever Austrian player. He started his professional career at Rapid Wien and stayed there for 8 years, apart from a year at Wiener AC. He won the European Golden Boot at Rapid Wien in 1978, attracting the interest of Barcelona. His spell at Barcelona was successful, winning the Copa del Rey in his first season as well as the Cup Winners' Cup (scoring in the final itself), and picking up the top goalscorer's award in La Liga that season with 29 goals. He returned to Rapid Wien in 1981, captaining the side and again hammering in the goals for them over the next 5 years. He played a major part in the most successful of Rapid teams in the 1980s, claiming the League crown twice and most prominently losing the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1985 against Everton. In 1986, he moved to become player-manager at Wiener Sport-Club.

wn.com/Hans_Krankl

Hansi Müller
Hans-Peter "Hansi" Müller (born 27 July 1957 in Stuttgart) is a former German footballer.
Playing for his hometown side VfB Stuttgart, he took part to the UEFA Euro 1980 with West Germany, aged 22, after a brief taste of action at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, where started all four games. The tournament would prove to be Müller's international peak. He had a disappointing 1982 World Cup, and despite returning to Italy to play for F.C. Internazionale Milano, he made his 42nd and last appearance for West Germany the following year.
He ended his career in Austria with FC Swarovski. Later he was an official ambassador for the city of Stuttgart for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Innsbruck at UEFA Euro 2008.

wn.com/Hansi_Müller

Henk Groot
Henk Groot (born 22 May 1938) is a retired Dutch footballer who was active as a striker. Groot made his professional debut at Ajax Amsterdam, but also played for Feijenoord. He was born in Zaandijk.

wn.com/Henk_Groot

Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈhɛnrɪk ˈlɑːʂɔn]; born 20 September 1971) is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS. He was a striker whose main attributes were good pace and the ability to turn and shoot in tight areas.
Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they won promotion to the Allsvenskan in 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before leaving for Celtic in 1997. He won four league titles in seven years with Celtic, scoring 242 goals in 315 competitive matches, before moving to FC Barcelona in 2004, where he won two league titles and the 2006 Champions League. Following the expiration of his contract at Barcelona, Larsson returned to his hometown club of Helsingborg, and joined Manchester United on a brief loan spell between January and March 2007. He announced his retirement from football on 20 October 2009.
Larsson played for Sweden in three World Cups and three European Championships and is a former captain of the national team. Larsson ended his international career with 37 goals in 106 matches.

wn.com/Henrik_Larsson

Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo (born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine footballer who is currently out of contract. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in the 2000–01 Serie A with 26 goals, while playing for Lazio. Crespo once held the world record in transfer fee, when he was bought by Lazio from Parma in July 2000.
Crespo made his debut with River Plate during the 1993–94 season, scoring 13 goals in 25 league appearances as River Plate won the Apertura league title. In 1996, Crespo helped River win the Copa Libertadores, scoring twice in the home leg of the final in Buenos Aires.
Crespo left River Plate for Parma on 14 August 1996 after he won the silver medal with Argentina at the 1996 Summer Olympics and finished as the top scorer with six goals. He failed to score in his first six months at the club and was routinely booed with head coach Carlo Ancelotti coming in for much criticism for keeping faith with the selection of Crespo. His faith was, however, vindicated: the young Argentine went on to score 12 times in 27 matches in his first Serie A season and Parma finished runners-up to Juventus. The turning point was the standing applause he received for his brace against Calcio in March 1997. Parma won the 1998–99 Italian Cup and he scored the opening goal in Parma's 3–0 UEFA Cup final victory over Olympique de Marseille. He had scored 80 goals in four seasons.

wn.com/Hernán_Crespo

Hidetoshi Nakata
Hidetoshi Nakata, Cavaliere OSSI (中田英寿 Nakata Hidetoshi^?, born January 22, 1977 in Yamanashi Prefecture), is a retired Japanese football player. He was one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation.
Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with A.S. Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006) and played in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was made the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of Italy's highest honors, for improving the country's image overseas. Nakata has also been involved in fashion, regularly attending runway shows and wearing designer clothing.
Nakata announced his retirement at age 29 on July 3, 2006 after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premier League. In March 2004, Pelé named Nakata in his FIFA 100, a list of the top living footballers at the time.

wn.com/Hidetoshi_Nakata

Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born July 11, 1958), popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, or Hugol, is a Mexican football coach and former striker. He played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. He was also a member of the Mexico national team, and participated in three World Cups. He is currently manager of Pachuca of the Primera División de México.
As a coach, he won two championships as head coach of the club Pumas de la UNAM and briefly with Club Necaxa, both teams in the Mexican Primera División. He also had a sixteen-month stint with the Mexican national team, but was fired on March 31, 2008. Hugo Sanchez has signed up to start coaching again, now in Europe, for UD Almería [1] from the Spanish First Division starting December 29, in an attempt to save the team from descending to the 2nd Division by the Summer. He has succeeded in keeping UD Almeria free from relegation from La Liga for the 2009–2010 season.
In 1999, the IFFHS voted him the 26th best footballer of the 20th century, and the best footballer from the CONCACAF region.

wn.com/Hugo_Sánchez

Héctor Yazalde
Héctor Casimiro Yazalde (born 29 May 1946 – died 18 June 1997) was an Argentine footballer who played as a striker.
Nicknamed Chirola, Yazalde scored 46 goals in one single season with Sporting Clube de Portugal, being awarded that season's European Golden Shoe.
Born in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province, Yazalde's beginnings in football were hazardous; he was visiting a friend who played with Piraña, an amateur club in the Argentine capital. He asked to join in the training session, immediately causing a stirring impression and signing the very day. From there, he signed with Club Atlético Independiente, going on to help the side help two national championships.
In 1971–72, Yazalde signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal, helping the Lisbon outfit to the 1974 league title, during which he scored 46 goals in just 29 games, both a domestic and European record, and the 1973 Portuguese Cup. The following campaign, with the Lions finishing third, he netted 30, league's best and Europe's second.
As a prize for the European Golden Shoe, he received a Toyota car, which he sold, then sharing the money with his teammates. After his Portuguese spell, Yazalde successively represented Olympique de Marseille, Newell's Old Boys and Club Atlético Huracán, retiring in 1981 and becoming a player's agent, in Argentina.

wn.com/Héctor_Yazalde

Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, (born 20 October 1961 in Flint) is a Welsh former footballer. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic. Rush made 73 appearances for the Wales national football team and he remains the record goalscorer for Wales with 28 goals between 1980 and 1996.
Since retiring as a player in 1999, Rush has had a stint as manager of Chester City (2004–05), and has worked as a television football pundit. He was also very well known for his moustache.
Rush's reputation was enhanced by scoring for Chester in a shock 2–0 FA Cup third round win at Second Division giants Newcastle United in January 1980, with Chester equalling their best run by reaching the last 16 where they narrowly lost to Ipswich Town two rounds later. His last game for Chester was a 2–1 win over Southend United at Sealand Road on 26 April 1980 in which he did not score.

wn.com/Ian_Rush

Ihor Belanov
Ihor Ivanovych (or Ivanovich) Belanov (Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Беланов, Russian: Игорь Иванович Беланов; born 25 September 1960) is a retired Ukrainian footballer who played as a striker.
He made a name for himself at Dynamo Kyiv, winning five major titles and being named European Footballer of the Year in 1986. He then spent six years in Germany with two teams, with little success.
Belanov represented the Soviet Union at one World Cup and one European Championship.
Belanov was born in Odessa, Ukraine, Soviet Union. He started playing professionally in his hometown, with SKA Odessa and FC Chornomorets Odessa, joining country giants FC Dynamo Kyiv in 1985, and scoring ten goals in his first season, which ended with league and cup conquest.
Alongside with teammates Oleg Blokhin and Oleksandr Zavarov, Belanov led the scoring charts at the 1985–86 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (five apiece) as Dynamo won the competition for the second time. He played the full 90 minutes in the final against Atlético Madrid (3–0).

wn.com/Ihor_Belanov

Iker Casillas
Iker Casillas Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈikeɾ kaˈsiʎas feɾˈnandeθ]; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for the Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, being the captain of both. In 2008 he led the Spanish national team to their first European Championship in 44 years, and in 2010 to win the World Cup, Spain's first ever, being also named the tournament's best goalkeeper.
Casillas has been nominated for the European Footballer of the Year award twice, ranking fourth overall in 2008 and again receiving more votes than any other goalkeeper in 2009. At the end of 2009 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for the third consecutive time. As of 2011 Casillas is one of a very select group of players who have won all major club and national championship titles. In 2010, he was awarded with the Sports Prince of Asturias Award. On 19 October 2010, Casillas became the most capped goalkeeper of all time in the UEFA Champions League and in November 2011, he became the most capped player of all time for the Spanish national team.

wn.com/Iker_Casillas

Isidro Lángara
Isidro Lángara Galarraga (25 May 1912 in Pasaia, Guipúzcoa — 21 August 1992 in Andoain) was a Spanish football striker. He played 12 times for Spain, scoring 17 goals.
Lángara began his football career playing for local teams, Bildur Guchi, Esperanza de San Sebastián, Siempre Adelante de Pasajes and Andoain in his native Basque country, eventually signing for then third divison team Tolosa CF. When he turned 18 his goalscoring abilites were recognized by second division team Real Oviedo, a club with whom he would remain for 6 years until the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936.
At Oviedo he was the figurehead of the celebrated Delantera Eléctrica, a forward line of lightning quick youthful talent that steam-rolled teams with high tempo highly skilled play; but for the onset of war the team would have surely improved upon the two third places in the seasons that preceded the war.
He was the winner of the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer in the Spanish League, in the three seasons before the war, with 27 goals in 1933-34, 26 goals in 1934-35 and 28 goals in 1935-36. Even before that he was top scorer in the spanish second division the year Real Oviedo was promoted.

wn.com/Isidro_Lángara

Iván Zamorano
Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora (born January 18, 1967 in Santiago) is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with Marcelo Salas and Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.
He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998 World Cup. He played for several clubs, notably Spanish clubs Sevilla and Real Madrid C.F. as well as Italian club Internazionale. He won the 1994-95 La Liga title and was the season's top scorer with Real Madrid. He also won the UEFA Cup with Internazionale.
In 2004, Zamorano was selected among the FIFA 100, a list of the best living football players in the world compiled by Pelé.
Zamorano started his career at the club Trasandino then he moved to Cobresal in Chile in 1985. In 1988, he moved to Europe to Swiss team FC St. Gallen, scoring 34 goals in 56 matches in three seasons. In 1991 Zamorano debuted in the Spanish Primera División with Sevilla, where he would play 59 matches and score 21 goals before he was sold to Real Madrid for $5 million.

wn.com/Iván_Zamorano

Jairzinho
Jair Ventura Filho, better known as Jairzinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒaˌiʁˈzĩɲu]; born December 25, 1944), is a former association footballer. A quick, powerful forward or winger, he was a member of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored in every game Brazil played. In doing so, he became one of only 3 players – the others being Alcides Ghiggia and Just Fontaine – in the history of the World Cup to have scored in every game of the tournament. He was listed at number 27 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century, one place ahead of Zinedine Zidane.
Due to the economic and political situation of the time^{[clarification needed]}, as well as the Sport Legislation, he played most of his club football in South America where he spent eleven years at Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo. He went on to play in Europe during the final years of his career, a common pattern for South American players until the 1980s, when the economic and political situation changed. Jairzinho replaced his footballing idol Garrincha in both the Botafogo and Brazil teams, and played in three consecutive World Cups.

wn.com/Jairzinho

Jari Litmanen
Jari Olavi Litmanen (

pronunciation (help·info)) (born 20 February 1971 in Lahti) is a Finnish footballer who last played for HJK. He also played for the Finland national football team, where he served as a first choice captain between 1996–2008. His international career ran from 1989 to 2010, making him the only footballer to play an International in four different decades.^{[citation needed]}
He is widely considered to be Finland's greatest football player of all time. He was chosen as the best Finnish player of the last 50 years by the Football Association of Finland in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003. Litmanen also finished 42nd in the 100 Greatest Finns voting in 2004. The Association of Football Statisticians' (The AFS) compendium of 'Greatest Ever Footballers' listed Litmanen as the 53rd best footballer ever.
In Finland he is often called "Litti" (after Pierre Littbarski), which dates from his early years in Finland; his childhood playmate Tommi Kautonen was "Auge" after Klaus Augenthaler. He is very often also called "Kuningas" ("The King").

wn.com/Jari_Litmanen

Javier Saviola
Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a striker.
Known for his speed, he represented both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid during his career (amongst others), and was named, as the youngest player, to Pelé's FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers. Due to his Spanish ancestors, he also holds Spanish nationality since 2004.
An Argentine international in the 2000s, Saviola represented the country at the 2006 World Cup and the 2004 Copa América.
Nicknamed El Conejo (The Rabbit), Buenos Aires-born Saviola made his debut for Club Atlético River Plate at the age of 16, and went on to be a prolific goalscorer for the club.
He helped River to the 1999 Apertura and 2000 Clausura championships, and earned the 1999 South American Footballer of the Year award. Still only 18, he gained a reputation as a phenomenal prospect.
In 2001, aged 19, Saviola moved abroad to play for FC Barcelona in a £15 million transfer. He obtained Spanish citizenship shortly after, thereby not being restricted by the Spanish league maximum on the number of non-European Union citizens allowed in each club. Under coach Louis van Gaal, he scored 17 goals in his first season, finishing third best scorer in La Liga.

wn.com/Javier_Saviola

Jay-Jay Okocha
Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born 14 August 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Okocha is due to play in the newly formed Indian Soccer League in March 2012 and is up for auction for £351,000. He is known for his stepovers, skill, technique, and being 'so good that they named him twice' (a line immortalised in a terrace chant while Okocha played for Bolton Wanderers). While playing at Süper Lig team Fenerbahçe, he became a Turkish citizen as "Muhammet Yavuz".
Okocha's "Jay-Jay" name was actually passed down from his older brother James, who started playing football first. His immediate older brother Emmanuel was also called Emma Jay-jay, but the name stuck with Augustine. Okocha first began playing football on the street just like many other football stars, usually with a makeshift ball. Jay Jay Okocha was born in Enugu, Nigeria to Mr. & Mrs Okocha of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Nigeria. In an interview with BBC Sport he said "as far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was amazing!" Known for making the move,"Sombrero Flick." In 1990 he joined Enugu Rangers. In his time at the club he produced many spectacular displays including one where he rounded off and scored a goal, against experienced Nigerian goalkeeper William Okpara in a match against BCC Lions. Later he travelled to Germany to meet a friend, where he was asked to train with his team after impressing in training, and landed a deal with German Third Division side Borussia Neunkirchen.

wn.com/Jay-Jay_Okocha

Jimmy Case
James Robert Case (born 18 May 1954) is a retired English football player who shot to fame with the all-conquering Liverpool side of the 1970s and became known as a player with one of the hardest shots in the game.
Case was brought up in Allerton and was a distant neighbour of musician Paul McCartney on the council estate which had been built in the interwar years. He was a keen member of the local scouts. As a young teenager he was quite small for his age.
His credentials, however, were established locally when during a football game between the Garston Church Choir and the Allerton Scouts he gave the goalkeeper of the choir a hefty kick when the score was 23-22, with coats as goalposts. Jimmy established his reputation as a winner, if not a bad loser.
Even though Jimmy's team lost, his legend was born. There were subsequent games on Springwood Park where Jimmy played with such aces as John Gidman (Everton) and Billy Ashcroft (Middlesbrough).
Although small in stature, Jimmy graduated through the schools teams and then joined a tough dockers' side, Blue Union. The physical nature of these early games would have an impact on the rest of his football career.

wn.com/Jimmy_Case

Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON (Dutch: [ˈjoˑɦɑn ˈkrœy̆f]) born 25 April 1947 in Amsterdam), known as Johan Cruyff, is a former Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini, Marco van Basten and Lionel Messi. Cruyff was one of the most famous exponents of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in association football.
After his retirement from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later FC Barcelona; he remains an influential advisor to both clubs. His son Jordi has also gone on to play football professionally.
In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the IFFHS, and came second behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll. He came third in a vote organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century. He was named as the greatest football player of all time by the Bleacher Report for the combination of his skill and his revolutionary application of Rinus Michels's total football to the sport.

wn.com/Johan_Cruyff

John Wark
John Wark (born 4 August 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame. Wark had long spells at the club, which bookended his career, and a third, brief interlude dividing his briefer periods at Liverpool and Middlesbrough. A versatile player, Wark played most of his professional games as a midfielder, although he sometimes played as a central defender and on occasion as a striker.
Born in Glasgow, Wark represented Scotland in international football, winning 29 caps and scoring seven goals. This included selection for Scotland in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in which he made three appearances and scored twice.
During his playing career, Wark appeared in the film Escape to Victory. Since retiring as a professional player in 1996, he has continued to work for Ipswich Town—since April 2009 in the corporate hospitality department. His autobiography, Wark On, was published in 2009.

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Josip Skoblar
Josip "Joško" Skoblar (born 12 March 1941) is a Croatian former football player and manager. He was primarily a forward, and also capable of playing on both wings.
Skoblar was born in Privlaka near Zadar (at the time in the Banovina of Croatia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia). He started his career with NK Zadar (1957–58). He got spotted there by OFK Beograd goalie Perica Radenković who was serving his mandatory army stint in Zadar. Radenković recommended Skoblar to club management and the 19-year-old was soon on his way to Belgrade. With OFK Beograd Skoblar won the Yugoslav Cup in 1962 and 1966. In Germany he played for Hannover 96 (1967–70). In 57 games in Bundesliga, he scored 30 goals.
He was willing to play in Marseilles, but the chairman of Hannover didn't want to lose such a player. Marcel Leclerc, chairman of Marseilles, went to Hannover on a quick journey and came back with the player, it was the beginning of a great adventure with Marseilles. The player was applauded at the airport by many fans.

wn.com/Josip_Skoblar

José Eulogio Gárate
José Eulogio Gárate Ormaechea (born 20 September 1944 in Sarandí, Argentina) is a former Argentine-Spanish footballer who played as a forward for SD Eibar, SD Indautxu, Atlético Madrid and Spain.
Gárate was born in Argentina of Basque parents and grew up in Eibar. He began his career with SD Eibar in 1960 before joining SD Indautxu in 1963. Just like two earlier Indautxu players, Jesús María Pereda and Miguel Jones, he was controversially overlooked by Atlético Bilbao and like Jones he eventually joined Atlético Madrid. Along with Luis Aragonés, Adelardo, Javier Irureta, Enrique Collar, and Ufarte, he was a prominent member of the successful Atlético side of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Gárate helped the team win La Liga three times, the Copa del Generalísimo twice, reach the final of the European Cup and win the Intercontinental Cup. He was a notable goalscorer, winning the Pichichi three times in a row between 1968 and 1970 and scoring the winning goals in the 1972 and 1976 Copa del Generalísimo finals. During his time at Atlético, Gárate played 241 games and scored 109 goals.

wn.com/José_Eulogio_Gárate

José Kléberson
José Kléberson Pereira (born 19 June 1979 in Uraí), commonly known as José Kléberson or simply Kléberson, is a Brazilian football centre midfielder who plays for Brazilian club Flamengo.
Kléberson was born and raised in the provincial town of Uraí in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná.
He began his football career with Atlético Paranaense. While at Atlético Paranaense, Kléberson won the Paraná State League in 2000 and 2001, and the Brazilian Série A title in 2001. His performances for Atlético Paranaense led to Luiz Felipe Scolari bringing him into the Brazilian national team for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
His World Cup performances led to Scolari declaring Kléberson the driving force behind Brazil's Cup winning side, and drew interest from several English and Scottish teams. Newcastle United, Leeds United and Celtic all expressed an interest. Leeds failed to secure the signing after Kléberson decided against leaving Brazil without his girlfriend, who he was unable to marry until her 16th birthday. Eventually, it was Manchester United who signed Kléberson for a fee of £6.5 million on 12 August 2003. Seen as a replacement for Juan Sebastián Verón, Kléberson was injured in his second appearance for the club and made only 20 appearances in two seasons. He scored two league goals in his time at Manchester United, both coming in home wins against Blackburn Rovers and Everton.

wn.com/José_Kléberson

José Nasazzi
José Nasazzi Yarza (May 24, 1901 – June 17, 1968) was the Uruguayan footballer who captained his country when they won the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930.
He was born in Bella Vista, Montevideo to Giuseppe, an Italian immigrant from Milan, and María from the Basque Country of Spain.
Nasazzi is regarded by many as Uruguay's greatest ever football player. He was known as "El Gran Mariscal" (The Great Marshal) and had already won the gold medal at the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games, as well as the Copa América in 1923, 1924 and 1926, by the time of the first World Cup.
During the World Cup tournament, Uruguay's only serious rivals were their neighbors Argentina. After defeating Peru and Romania in the first round, Uruguay defeated the Yugoslavia 6-1 in the semi-finals to set up a final against Argentina. Although his team were 2-1 behind at half-time, Nasazzi rallied his teammates in the second half, leading them to a 4-2 victory and making himself the first captain to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy.

wn.com/José_Nasazzi

Juan Antonio Pizzi
Juan Antonio Pizzi Torroja (born 7 June 1968) is a retired Argentine-born Spanish professional footballer who played as a striker, and a current coach.
He spent the bulk of his club career in Spain, namely at the service of Tenerife, helping to the side's consolidation in La Liga, and amassing top division totals of 221 games and 92 goals over the course of eight seasons - he also played for Valencia and Barcelona.
Pizzi represented the Spanish national team for four years, appearing with it in one World Cup and one European Championship. After retiring, he embarked in a managerial career.
Born in Santa Fe, Pizzi started his professional career with Rosario Central, before transferring to Mexico's Deportivo Toluca. After only one season he moved to CD Tenerife, with great individual success (30 goals in his first two seasons combined), while also helping the Canary Islands outfit qualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year.
This performances prompted interest from fellow La Liga club Valencia CF. Highly unsettled, Pizzi returned after only one season to Tenerife. In the second season in his second spell, he fired the club into another UEFA Cup qualification, topping the goal charts at 31, in 41 contests, also good enough for the European Golden Boot.

wn.com/Juan_Antonio_Pizzi

Juan Barbas
Juan Alberto Barbas (born August 23, 1959 in San Martín, Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine football defensive midfielder, He played for a number of clubs in Argentina, Spain, Italy and Switzerland before turning his hand to management in 2009 with Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Barbas started his career in 1977 at Racing Club de Avellaneda in the Primera Division Argentina. He then went on to play for Real Zaragoza in Spain, U.S. Lecce in Italy, FC Locarno and FC Sion in Switzerland.
Barbas was a part of the Sion team that won the 1991-1992 Swiss Championship.
After another spell at Locarno Barbas returned to Argentina where he had a short spell with Club Atlético Huracán before dropping down to the lower leagues to play for Alvarado de Mar del Plata and then All Boys where he retired in 1997.
Barbas was part of the Argentina Under-20 squad that won the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, he went on to play for Argentina 33 times including appearances at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
On 13 October 2009 Racing Club de Avellaneda officials hired their former player as their caretaker coach, replacing Ricardo Caruso Lombardi.

wn.com/Juan_Barbas

Juan Gómez González
Juan Gómez González (10 November 1954 – 2 April 1992), aka Juanito, was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.
A player with tremendous dribbling ability whose career was overshadowed by a fierce character, Juanito was best known for his Real Madrid years. He died in a road accident at only 37.
Growing up, Juanito supported Real Zaragoza, but as he approached his adulthood he began supporting Real Madrid. Upon his presentation in 1977, he said: "Playing for Real Madrid is like touching the sky, Real Madrid has always been my first choice as a team and Madrid has always been my favorite as a city".
He gained more than 30 caps for Spain, representing the nation in two World Cups and one European Championship.
Born in Fuengirola, Málaga, Juanito played as a youth with his local club, before joining Atlético Madrid in 1972. While still underage, he allegedly forged his papers so he could play for the colchoneros' U18 team. He scored twice on his debut, but a fractured tibia ended his career at Atlético and he never played for the senior team.

wn.com/Juan_Gómez_González

Juan Román Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme (born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Boca Juniors as an attacking midfielder.
A playmaker, he combines passing, vision and skills with goalscoring ability from midfield. He spent most of his career with Boca Juniors, but also had a significant spell in Spain with Villarreal. He was named the Argentine Footballer of the Year four times.
A longtime Argentine international, Riquelme represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments.
Born in San Fernando, Buenos Aires, Riquelme was born into a family of ten in poverty, and grew up in Don Torcuato. Boca Juniors and Club Atlético River Plate spotted him when he was a youth player for Argentinos Juniors, and he chose to move to the former in 1995 for US$800,000, as he had been a fan of the club since childhood.
On 10 November 1996, aged 18, Riquelme made his Primera División debut, in a 2–0 win against Unión de Santa Fe. Two weeks later, he scored his first senior goal, in a 6–0 triumph over Club Atlético Huracán.

wn.com/Juan_Román_Riquelme

Juan Sebastián Verón
Juan Sebastián Verón (born 9 March 1975) is an Argentinian professional football player who is the current captain and midfielder for Estudiantes de La Plata in the Argentine Primera División. Verón's career started in Estudiantes, continued in Argentina's Boca Juniors, and included stints in several Serie A clubs (where he won the Scudetto with Lazio and with Internazionale, and a UEFA Cup with Parma), and England's Manchester United and Chelsea. In 2006, Verón returned to Estudiantes.
In 2004, he was included in the FIFA 100 centenary list of the 125 greatest living footballers, selected by Pelé as part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. Verón has both Argentine and Italian citizenship. His nickname is La Brujita (Little Witch), a nod to his father Juan Ramón who was known as La Bruja (The Witch) and was also a championship winning player with Estudiantes.
Juan Sebastián Verón is the eldest son of former Argentina striker Juan Ramón Verón, who scored against Manchester United in the 1968 Intercontinental Cup at Old Trafford for Estudiantes. He was born the day his father played a derby for Estudiantes against cross-town rivals Gimnasia y Esgrima. As a boy, Verón dreamed of playing for English club Sheffield United, as his uncle, Pedro Verde, played for the club at the time. When his son started to play professionally, his father tried to persuade one of his former clubs Panathinaikos to sign him. However, after a short trial with them, they finally decided that he was not good enough for their team. After his transfer to Manchester United, Verón said, "So there I was hoping to play for Sheffield United and here I am at Manchester United!"

wn.com/Juan_Sebastián_Verón

Juan Seminario
Juan Roberto Seminario Rodríguez (born 22 July 1936 in Piura, Peru) is a retired Peruvian football player, recognized as one of Peru's most important strikers. Nicknamed "El Loco" he is the only Zaragoza player to have won the "Pichichi Trophy" (1961-62 La Liga).
He played for several clubs, notably Spanish clubs Real Zaragoza and FC Barcelona, Sporting CP of Portugal, as well as Italian club Fiorentina. He also won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1965-66 with FC Barcelona.
Seminario started his career in 1954 playing for Deportivo Municipal where he played until 1959. During this time he made 19 appearances for the Peru national team. On May 17, 1959 he scored a hat-trick against England in a 4-1 win, in Lima.
In 1959 he moved to Europe, joining Sporting CP of Portugal, where he would play 50 matches and score 21 goals, and be nicknamed Expresso de Lima.
In 1961 he moved on to join Real Zaragoza in Spain where he became the top scorer in La Liga (with 25 goals in 30 matches) for the 1961-62 season. Before he was sold to Italy, he would play 8 matches and score 8 goals in the Zaragoza.

wn.com/Juan_Seminario

Juliano Belletti
Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976) is a former Brazilian footballer who mostly played as a right-back. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A. Belletti has Italian origins, his distant relatives coming from Longiano, a small village near Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. He is currently 35-years-old.
Born in Cascavel, Belletti started his career playing as a central midfielder in Brazil for the youth team of Cruzeiro in 1992. His professional debut happened in November 1994. In March 1996, he was involved in a deal that sent him and Serginho to São Paulo FC in exchange for five players: Aílton, Donizete, Gilmar, Palhinha and Vitor. Playing for São Paulo, he eventually became a right-back.
In 1999, he was loaned to Atlético Mineiro. Playing as an attacking-midfielder, Belletti helped the club to finish second in the Brazilian League and managed to win a Silver Ball, award handed by Placar Magazine to the players nominated to the Brazilian League Squad of The Year (except for the best one, who takes a Golden Ball).

wn.com/Juliano_Belletti

Juninho Paulista
Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior (born 22 February 1973 in São Paulo), better known as Juninho Paulista or simply Juninho, is a former Brazilian footballer. During his professional career, he played for Brazilian clubs São Paulo FC, Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras, CR Flamengo, as well as English club Middlesbrough, Spanish club Atlético Madrid, Celtic in Scotland and Sydney FC in Australia.
Juninho also played nearly 50 international matches with the Brazilian national team from 1995 to 2003, winning the 2002 FIFA World Cup championship and the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic tournament.
Born in São Paulo, Juninho played youth football for FC curvados e Orgulhoso, a local club set up in São Paulo, and then futsal at EC Juventus .
Juninho began his senior career with Ituano FC, from city of Itu, state of São Paulo in 1990. In 1993 playing for Ituano FC against São Paulo FC, Juninho scored and was awarded the player of the match, helping Ituano FC beat São Paulo in a Paulista Championship match, fact which got attention of the São Paulo FC's head coach Telê Santana, who requested its team to buy the young talent. After being awarded the best rookie of the 1993's Paulista Championship playing by Ituano FC.

wn.com/Juninho_Paulista

Juninho Pernambucano
Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Jr. (born 30 January 1975 in Recife), commonly known as Juninho or Juninho Pernambucano, is a Brazilian footballer and dead-ball specialist, currently playing as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Vasco da Gama. He is considered to be one of the greatest free kick takers of all time. Juninho led Olympique Lyonnais to 7 consecutive Ligue 1 titles before leaving the club in 2009 while scoring 100 goals in 344 games for Lyon, and six goals in 40 games for the Brazilian national team. He retired from international football after the 2006 World Cup.
Juninho started his career at Sport Recife and quickly established himself as a rising star in Brazilian football. After winning two regional titles with Sport, he moved to Vasco da Gama in 1995, and won several trophies with the club, including the Brazilian Championship in 1997 and 2000, the Copa Libertadores in 1998, the Copa Mercosur in 2000, as well as the 2000 Brazilian Silver Ball award as one of the best Brazilian midfielders of the season. In that time, he was part of an incredible squad, playing with Romário, Edmundo, and Juninho Paulista.

wn.com/Juninho_Pernambucano

Júlio Botelho
Júlio Botelho, also known as Julinho (29 July 1929, in São Paulo – 10 January 2003) was a Brazilian football (soccer) player. He was primarily a winger.
During his career (1951–1967) he played for Portuguesa, Fluminense and Palmeiras. In Italy, he was a team member of Fiorentina and was a key member in the 1956 Italian title. In 1957, he participated in the 1957 European Cup final, a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid. Julinho played at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland, scoring two goals. He was nominated the best player in the history of Fiorentina in 1996. He died at the age of 73.

wn.com/Júlio_Botelho

Júnior Baiano
Raimundo Ferreira Ramos Jr. (also known as Júnior or Júnior Baiano [by adding the demonym of Bahia, his home state]) (born 14 March 1970 in Feira de Santana) is a retired Brazilian footballer.
Júnior Baiano began his career in the late 1980s, playing with Flamengo in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Over the course of the next 15 years Júnior Baiano's career took him to Germany, China, and all over Brazil. He is most remembered in Germany for the ten-match ban he received after punching an opponent in a game, which caused his club Werder Bremen to cancel his contract. He won the Campeonato Carioca twice in two stints with Flamengo in 1991 and 2004, as well as the Copa do Brasil and the Campeonato Brasileiro. He also won the Copa Conmebol and the Recopa Sul-Americana with São Paulo in 1994m and the Copa Libertadores with Palmeiras in 1999.
He retired in the end of 2005, but in December 2006 he signed a professional contract with América from Rio de Janeiro to defend the club in Rio State Championship in the beginning of 2007. Baiano signed a contract with Brasiliense to play Série B Brazilian League in 2007.

wn.com/Júnior_Baiano

Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann (born 30 July 1964 in Göppingen) is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States men's National team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship. One of West Germany's/Germany's premier strikers during the 1990s, Klinsmann scored in all six major international tournaments he participated, from Euro 1988 to 1998 World Cup.
He managed the German national team to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup. On 12 July 2006, Klinsmann officially announced that he would step down as Germany's coach after two years in charge and be replaced by assistant coach Joachim Löw. He took over as coach of Bayern Munich in July 2008, when Ottmar Hitzfeld stepped down to take over as the head coach of the Swiss National Team. On 27 April 2009 he was released early, even though he had won five of the previous seven league games and was only three points behind league leader VfL Wolfsburg. In the jointly initiated reforms at Bayern it emerged there was a severe clash of opinions between coach and club management.

wn.com/Jürgen_Klinsmann

Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈkaɾdu iˈzɛksõw duˈsɐ̃tus ˈlejtʃi]; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká (Portuguese: [kaˈka] (

listen)), is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €65 million, second only to that of Zinedine Zidane, €75 million. Later Real Madrid transferred Cristiano Ronaldo for a fee of €96 million, setting a new transfer fee record, making Kaka's fee the third highest ever. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme. Kaka is the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers in twitter.

wn.com/Kaká

Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema (Arabic: كريم بن زيمة‎; born 19 December 1987) is a French international footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid in La Liga. He primarily plays as a striker whose influence can extend out to the wings and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast goal-scoring ability. He is described as an "immensely-talented striker" who is "strong and powerful" and "a potent finisher from inside the box".
Benzema was born in the city of Lyon beginning his football career with local club Bron Terraillon. In 1996, he joined the biggest club in the city Olympique Lyonnais and, subsequently, came through the club's youth academy. Benzema made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season and appeared sporadically in his first three seasons as Lyon won three titles in that span. In the 2007–08 season, Benzema became a starter and had a breakthrough year scoring over 30 goals as Lyon won its seventh straight league title. For his performances, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Player of the Year and named to the organization's Team of the Year. Benzema was also the league's top scorer and given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo. After another season at Lyon, in July 2009, Benzema signed a six-year contract with Spanish outfit Real Madrid. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season with the club, in the ensuing two seasons, Benzema reached prominence scoring 58 goals en-route to helping Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey in 2011 and the 2011–12 edition of La Liga. In December 2011, he was named the French Player of the Year for his performances during the calendar year.

wn.com/Karim_Benzema

Kees Kist
Kees Kist (born August 7, 1952 in Steenwijk, Overijssel) is a retired football striker from the Netherlands, who obtained 21 caps for his national team, in which he scored four goals, in the years 1975–1980. He played for SC Heerenveen (1970–1972), AZ '67 (now AZ) (1972–1982), winning the Dutch title in 1981, Paris Saint-Germain (1982–1983), FC Mulhouse (1983–1984), AZ (1984–1986), and returned for his last season to SC Heerenveen. Kist scored 259 goals in 441 games for AZ. He made 212 of these goals while AZ Alkmaar was in the highest division (eredivisie), which puts him in fourth place on the all-time leaders list, behind Willy van der Kuijlen, Ruud Geels and Johan Cruijff. He was the first Dutch player to win the European Golden Boot in 1979, after having scored 34 goals in the 1978-79 season for AZ.

wn.com/Kees_Kist

Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish (Scottish pronunciation: [dɛlɡliːʃ]) MBE (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two clubs, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is Scotland's most capped player, with 102 appearances, and joint leading goal scorer, with 30 international goals. Dalglish was voted PFA Player of the Year for the 1982–83 season, and Football Writers' Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009 FourFourTwo magazine named Dalglish as the greatest striker in post-war British football, and in 2006 he topped a Liverpool fans' poll of "100 Players Who Shook the Kop". He has been inducted into both the Scottish and English football Halls of Fame.
Dalglish began his career with Celtic and between 1971 and 1977 he won four Scottish First Division titles, four Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup with the club. In 1977, Bob Paisley paid a British transfer record of £440,000 to bring Dalglish to Liverpool. His years at Liverpool marked one of the club's most successful periods: he won seven league titles, three European Cups and five domestic trophies. For these achievements and his style of play he was given the name King Kenny by Liverpool supporters. Dalglish became player-manager of Liverpool in 1985 and in a six-year tenure won three league titles and two FA Cups. He resigned as Liverpool manager in 1991.

wn.com/Kenny_Dalglish

Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE (born 14 February 1951) is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United.
As a player in the 1970s and 1980s, he has been described as "arguably the first superstar English player to attract the modern media spotlight". He began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before moving to Liverpool of Division One in 1971. At Liverpool, Keegan won three First Division titles, two UEFA Cups, one FA Cup and the European Cup. He also gained his first England cap in 1972, and moved to German top-flight club Hamburger SV in the summer of 1977. At Hamburg he was crowned European Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978–79, and reached the European Cup final the following year. Keegan moved to Southampton that summer, and spent two seasons at the club before a transfer to second-tier Newcastle United in 1982. He helped Newcastle to promotion in his second season, and retired from football in 1984, having been capped 63 times for England, scoring 21 goals.

wn.com/Kevin_Keegan

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈklaː ˈʃɑn ˈɦʏn.tə.ˌlaːr] (

listen); born 12 August 1983), nicknamed The Hunter, is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Schalke 04 and the Dutch national football team. Huntelaar is a prolific striker with brilliant technique and athleticism and has been compared in style to players such as Marco van Basten and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Former Netherlands, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal has been quoted saying about the player "in the penalty area, he is the best player in the world, bar none."
Named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and Ajax "Player of the Year" in 2006, Huntelaar was a part of the Dutch side that won the 2006 UEFA U-21 Championship where he became the tournament's leading goalscorer. He was also named as one of two strikers in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. He is the all-time top scorer of the Netherlands U-21 national team with 18 goals in 22 appearances. In domestic competition he finished top scorer in the Eredivisie 2005–06 and 2007–08 seasons. Huntelaar played previously for PSV, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, Heerenveen, Ajax, Real Madrid, and Milan, before joining Schalke in August 2010, for whom he won top-goalscorer in the 2011–12 Fußball-Bundesliga with 29 league goals.

wn.com/Klaas-Jan_Huntelaar

Leonardo Araújo
Leonardo Nascimento de Araújo, known as Leonardo (born 5 September 1969 in Niterói, Brazil), is a football manager and a former midfielder. He is currently active as director of football of French club Paris Saint-Germain.
A former Brazil international, he also served as player and manager of Italian side Milan, and successively as manager of crosstown rivals Internazionale. He played in the 1994 World Cup winning side, as well as the runners up team in 1998.
Leonardo began his career with the Brazilian club Flamengo in 1987; at just 17, he was given the opportunity to play with his hero Zico plus Leandro, Bebeto and Renato Gaúcho, and to take part in winning his first Brazilian championship. In 1990, Leonardo signed with São Paulo FC, and in 1991, Leonardo, Raí, and other young talents were assembled as part of the so-called 'esquadrão tricolor' ("three-coloured squad") under the command of Brazilian legend Telê Santana, giving Leonardo his second Brazilian championship.
Later that year, he made the switch to European football, signing with the Spanish club Valencia CF. After two seasons with Valencia, he returned to Brazil for a brief stint with São Paulo in 1993, during which time the team won several titles, including the prestigious Copa Libertadores and International Cup.

wn.com/Leonardo_Araújo

Leonel Sánchez
Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros (born April 25, 1936 in Santiago de Chile) is a former professional football player.
Regarded as one of Chile's most important players, Sánchez holds the record for most games played for Chile with 84 games and 23 goals between 1955 and 1968. Mundial scorer of 62 in Chile.
Sanchez was the son of a professional boxer.
He played at left midfield for over 20 years between 1953 and 1973. 17 of those 20 were for Universidad de Chile, where he was the icon of the Ballet Azul (Blue Ballet), a team that won 6 national championships between 1959 and 1969.
Four of his 23 international goals were at the 1962 World Cup, where he was the top scorer along with five other players. In that World Cup he also knocked out the Italian player Mario David with a hook in a dispute in the infamous Chile - Italy match.
Sánchez remained in Universidad de Chile, although he received numerous offers from well known European clubs such as AC Milan. In 1969, after a contract rule was settled, Universidad de Chile was forced to sell him. He finished his career playing for different Chilean clubs such as Colo-Colo, Palestino and Ferroviarios.

wn.com/Leonel_Sánchez

Lev Yashin
Lev Ivanovich Yashin (Russian: Лев Ива́нович Я́шин) (22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990) nicknamed as "The Black Spider", "The Black Octopus" or "The Lion", was a Soviet-Russian football goalkeeper, considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. He was known for his superior athleticism in goal, imposing stature, amazing reflex saves and inventing the idea of goalkeeper sweeping. Yashin was voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS.
Yashin was born in Moscow into a family of industrial workers. At twelve years of age, the Second World War forced him to turn to factory work to aid in the war effort. He was sent to work in a military factory in Moscow, where he played for its football team. It was there that he was spotted and invited to join the Dynamo Moscow youth team. Yashin’s debut for Dynamo came in 1950 in a friendly match. It was not the debut he would have hoped for, as he conceded a soft goal scored straight from a clearance by the opposing keeper. That year he played in only two league games, and did not appear in a senior match again until 1953. But he remained determined, and stayed at Dynamo in the reserves waiting for another opportunity. Yashin also played goalie for the Dynamo ice hockey team during those early years of trying to break into the senior squad. He managed to win a USSR ice hockey cup in 1953 and was third in the USSR hockey championship as goalkeeper.

wn.com/Lev_Yashin

Leônidas da Silva
Leônidas da Silva (Portuguese pronunciation: [leˈõnidɐz dɐ ˈsiwvɐ]; born Rio de Janeiro, 6 September 1913 – died, Cotia, 24 January 2004) was an association footballer and commentator. He is regarded to be one of the most important players of the first half of the 20th century. He played for Brazil in two World Cups, and was the top scorer of the 1938 World Cup.
He was known as the "Black Diamond", and as the "Rubber Man" – due to his elasticity. He is known for having created the bicycle kick.
Leônidas, born in Rio de Janeiro, started his career at São Cristóvão. In 1931 and in 1932, he played for Bonsucesso.
He joined Peñarol in Uruguay in 1933. After one year, he came back to Brazil to play for Vasco da Gama. He helped them win the Rio State Championship. After playing in the World Cup in 1934 he joined Botafogo and won another Rio State Championship in 1935. On the following year, he joined Flamengo, where he stayed until 1941. Once again, in 1939, he won Rio State Championship. He also fought prejudice, being one of the first black players to join the then-elitist Flamengo team.

wn.com/Leônidas_da_Silva

Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and is the captain of the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.
By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year in 2009 he won both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the fourth football player to win three Ballons d'Or, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballons d'Or, after Michel Platini. His playing style and small stature have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".
Messi has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League titles. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 7–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. With two goals in the next round against A.C. Milan, he matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League/European Cup season. He also became the first player to top-score in four successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns. He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.

wn.com/Lionel_Messi

Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus German pronunciation: [ˈloːtaɐ̯ maˈtɛːʊs], (born 21 March 1961 in Erlangen, West Germany) is a German football manager and former player.
In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup. One year later, he was also named the first ever FIFA World Player of the Year.
He has played in five World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) more than any other outfield player, and holds the record for the most World Cup matches played (25 games). He also won Euro 80, and played in Euro 84, Euro 88, and Euro 2000. In 1999, he was again voted German Footballer of the Year despite being 38 years old. He is the most capped German player of all time, retiring with a total of 150 appearances (83 of them when the team was called West Germany) and 23 goals for the German national team. Matthäus is a member of the FIFA 100 – a list of 125 of the greatest living football players chosen by Pelé. Maradona said about Matthäus "he is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him" in his book Yo soy el Diego (I am Diego).

wn.com/Lothar_Matthäus

Luc Nilis
Luc Nilis (born 25 May 1967 in Hasselt, Belgium) is a former Belgian football striker. He ended his career early in the 2000–01 season after he broke his leg in a match with his club Aston Villa following a clash with Ipswich Town goalkeeper Richard Wright.
His former clubs include K.F.C. Winterslag, R.S.C. Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven. During his time with PSV, Nilis formed one of the deadliest partnerships in Europe with team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy. In the 1998–1999 season, Nilis and van Nistelrooy scored 55 league goals between them. van Nistelrooy finished as top-scorer, Nilis came second. In the following season, Nilis' last for PSV, they scored 48 league goals between them. Ronaldo occasionally names him as one of the best strike partner he had played with despite sharing only a brief time with him at PSV.Ruud van Nistelrooy has also stated on several occasions that Nilis was one of the best players, if not the best, he had ever played with.
Nilis played 56 times for the Belgian national team, scoring 10 times. A prolific goalscorer with his clubs, he scored his first goal for Belgium only on his 24th cap (a 9–0 win against Zambia). Nilis played in the 1994 World Cup, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, the latter was co-hosted by his birth-country Belgium and the Netherlands. After his career, he was assigned as a trainer with PSV. In this job he was responsible for training the attackers of the club. His son, Arne, played for the PSV reserve team but currently plays with Belgians fourth division team KSK Hasselt. In January 2011, Nilis became assistant manager at Kasimpasaspor

wn.com/Luc_Nilis

Luis Aragonés
José Luis Aragonés Suárez (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse ˈlwis aɾaɣoˈnes ˈswaɾeθ]; born July 28, 1938), usually referred to as Luis Aragonés and sometimes simply as Luis, is a former Spanish footballer and national coach.
Aragonés has spent the majority of his career as a player and coach at Atlético Madrid. He was a prominent player and then coach of the successful Atlético team of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The team won La Liga four times, reached the final of the European Cup and won the Intercontinental Cup. Between 1964 and 1974 he played 265 La Liga games for Atlético and scored 123 goals. Aragonés has coached the club on four separate occasions. He has also played with several other clubs, most notably Real Betis, and played 11 times for Spain, scoring three goals. Apart from Atlético he has also coached seven other La Liga clubs as well as the Spanish national football team whom he led to their second European Championship title in 2008. He became the head coach of the Turkish football team Fenerbahçe after Euro 2008, and this is the first time that Aragonés has coached outside of his native Spain.

wn.com/Luis_Aragonés

Luisão
Ânderson Luís da Silva (born 13 February 1981), aka Luisão (literally "Big Luís"), is a Brazilian footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal, as a central defender and he is also club Captain.
Most of his professional career was spent with Benfica, for which he appeared in more than 300 official games, winning seven major titles.
A Brazilian international on more than 40 occasions, Luisão appeared for the country in two World Cups and three Copa América tournaments.
Born in Amparo, São Paulo, Luisão represented Clube Atlético Juventus and Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in his country, scoring a career-best six goals in 24 matches in his third season with the latter.
In the 2003 summer, Luisão's moved to Europe, signing with S.L. Benfica of Portugal for £890,000. He faced a tough period of adaptation, during which he performed somewhat below his capabilities and even considered traveling back to his home country. He did manage, however, to score in his league debut, a thrilling 3–3 home draw against C.F. Os Belenenses on 14 September. He ended his first season with the Portuguese Cup conquest, helping defeat F.C. Porto 2–1.

wn.com/Luisão

Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈiz fiˈlipi iskoˈlaɾi]), ComIH (born 9 November 1948 in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul), also known as Felipão in Brazil and Phil Scolari in the United Kingdom, is a World Cup-winning Brazilian football manager. He is currently the manager of Palmeiras. He served as the manager of the Portuguese national team from July 12, 2003 to June 30, 2008. As Portugal's manager he led them to the Euro 2004 final which they lost 1-0 to Greece as well as leading them to 4th place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Scolari led Portugal in Euro 2008, but resigned after Portugal lost 3-2 to Germany in the 2nd Round. He was succeeded by Carlos Queiroz on July 5, 2008.
A defender regarded as more uncompromising than skilful, he was known among his contemporaries as "perna-de-pau" (literally translated as "wooden leg", a Brazilian-Portuguese term for a bad player), Scolari followed in the footsteps of his father Benjamin, who was also a Brazilian professional footballer. His playing career encompassed spells with Caxias, Juventude, Novo Hamburgo, and CSA, and often captained his sides. It was with CSA that he won his only major title as a player - the Alagoano state championship.

wn.com/Luiz_Felipe_Scolari

Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, (born 4 November 1972) is a former Portuguese international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009. He won 127 caps for the Portuguese national football team, a number that makes him the most capped Portuguese player in history.
Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named amongst the FIFA 100.
Figo is one of the few football players to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. He had a successful career highlighted by several trophy wins, such as one Portuguese Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, one UEFA Champions League title, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, four Serie A titles, one Italian Cup and three Italian Super Cups.
Figo started his career at Sporting CP. He won his first senior international cap in 1991. Prior to that, he won the Under-21 World Championships and Under-16 European Championships with Portugal junior sides, alongside Rui Costa, João Pinto and he was also a significant part of Portugal's "Golden Generation".

wn.com/Luís_Figo

Manolo (footballer)
Manuel Sánchez Delgado (born 17 January 1965 in Cáceres, Extremadura), nicknamed Manolo, is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.
Manolo grew up in the ranks of local CP Cacereño, also making his senior debuts with the club, at the age of 17. After two years with CE Sabadell FC, the last in the second division, he moved to Real Murcia in the same level, helping it promote to La Liga in his first season, then netting 12 goals in 36 matches in the following campaign, with the team retaining its top flight status.
In the 1988 summer, Manolo joined Atlético Madrid, where he knew his most successful years, with a formidable offensive partnership with Paulo Futre. With countless assists from the Portuguese, he was crowned top scorer in 1991–92, with 27 goals, adding that season's - and the previous' - domestic cups.
Manolo retired from the game in 1997, after two seasons with CP Mérida where he failed to appear in any games due to a serious tibia injury, one in the second division; he was just three goals shy of 100 in the Spanish top level. In 2007, he started coaching, first with Galáctico Pegaso, going on to spend several seasons in the lower leagues.

wn.com/Manolo_(footballer)

Manuel Olivares
Manuel Olivares Lapeña (2 April 1909 – 16 February 1976) was a Spanish football striker and manager.
In only 82 La Liga games he scored 55 goals, mostly for Real Madrid, with which he won three major titles.
Born in Son Servera, Balearic Islands, Olivares joined Deportivo Alavés in 1928, making his debut in La Liga in 1930–31, scoring ten goals in 14 games as the Basque finished in eighth position (out of ten clubs). In the following off-season, he signed for country giants Real Madrid.
In his first two seasons with the Merengues, Olivares netted at an impressive rate, winning two consecutive national championships, and the 1934 Copa del Rey. In the 1932–33 campaign, he scored 16 goals in only 14 matches to conquer the Pichichi Trophy.
Olivares spent a further three seasons in the top division, with Donostia CF, Real Zaragoza and Hércules CF. In 1935, he started his coaching career with the second club, goingt to act as player-coach for several teams until 1943, definitely retiring as a player with Algeciras CF in the regional leagues.

wn.com/Manuel_Olivares

Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly (French pronunciation: [maʁsɛl dəsaji]; born Odenke Abbey 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana) is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He also enjoyed a distinguished career at club level with several major European clubs.
Born as Odenke Abbey to Ghanaian parents, Marcel had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra who adopted all the children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his). He arrived in France as a four-year-old and, following Adonkor's lead, began his career at FC Nantes. There, as part of the famed FC Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young Didier Deschamps, who became his closest friend. Desailly turned professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, where he reunited with Deschamps, and won the UEFA Champions League the following year. In 1994, while playing for AC Milan, he again won the Cup (scoring in the final himself), being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. During his time in Milan he won two Italian league titles, in 1994 and 1996. Although he prefers to be a central defender, he also played as a defensive midfield for some time while being at A.C. Milan.

wn.com/Marcel_Desailly

Marcelinho Paulista
Marcelo José de Souza, nicknamed Marcelinho Paulista (born 13 September 1973 in Cotia) is a Brazilian football midfielder.
He made his debut for the Brazilian national team in 1994, and played four additional matches in the run-up to the 1996 Olympic Games. At the Olympics he only played against Portugal in what would be his final international match.

wn.com/Marcelinho_Paulista

Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" van Basten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑr.koʊ̯ vɑm.ˈbɑs.tə(n)]; 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and Milan, as well as the Dutch national team, in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all time and has scored 277 goals in a high-profile career, which ended in 1995 as a result of an injury suffered two years earlier. He was later the head coach of Ajax and the Dutch national team.
Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, van Basten was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. Van Basten was voted eighth in a poll organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. In 2004, a nationwide poll was held for the 100 greatest Dutch people (De Grootste Nederlander) and van Basten was number 25, the second highest for a football player^{[citation needed]}. In March 2007, Sky Sports ranked van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short.

wn.com/Marco_van_Basten

Mariano Martín
Mariano Martín Alonso (born 20 October 1919 in Dueñas, Palencia - died 9 September 1998 in Cabrils, Barcelona) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward.
After his beginnings with Peña Font, already in Barcelona, Martín joined FC Barcelona in 1939, proceeding to become one of the club's most prolific scorers; during his nine seasons at the Camp Nou, he netted 128 times in only 150 matches, including 30 in 23 contests in his fourth season, although Barça finished in third place.
In early 1944, whilst appearing in a friendly match for Catalonia, Martín suffered a severe knee ligaments injury, from which he never full recovered; however, as he played in only 29 La Liga games in his last three seasons combined, he still managed to score on 14 occasions.
Martín closed out his career in 1951, after two years with Gimnàstic de Tarragona and one final with his second club, UE Sant Andreu. He died at almost 79, still living in Catalonia (Cabrils).
Martín gained three caps for Spain during four years. His debut came on 12 April 1942 in Milan, during a 1–1 friendly draw with Germany.

wn.com/Mariano_Martín

Marianín
Mariano "Marianin" Arias Chamorro (born 18 May 1946) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a forward in La Liga in the 1970s. He was born in Fabero, León.
After starting his career with local team CA Bembibre he moved to Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa in 1967, before a further transfer to Real Oviedo in 1972. In the 1972–73 La Liga season he was the league's top goalscorer and thus won the Pichichi Trophy, becoming the second player from Oviedo to win this award. The following season Oviedo were relegated, but he remained with them and they were promoted back to La Liga as champions in 1974-75. He left Oviedo in 1977. In total he scored 34 goals for Oviedo in La Liga in 70 appearances, and he scored 65 goals for them in all competitions.
He made a single appearance for the Spain national football team, coming on as a substitute against Turkey on 17 October 1973.

wn.com/Marianín

Mario Zagallo
Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (born August 9, 1931 in Maceió) is a Brazilian former football player and manager.

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born in Maceió, Alagoas, to a family of Lebanese heritage.
Zagallo started his football career with América in 1948, and he later played for Flamengo and Botafogo.
He won the World Cup as a player with Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
He also won the World Cup as a manager (1970), and as assistant coach (World Cup 1994), both with the Brazilian national team. He also coached his country to a fourth-place finish in the 1974 World Cup and to a second-place finish in the 1998 World Cup
Zagallo is one of only two footballers, along with West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, to have won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. .
Zagallo guided the United Arab Emirates to their first World Cup in 1990, but was dismissed from his post before the tournament. Zagallo was assistant coach (as in 1994, the main coach was Carlos Alberto Parreira) of the Brazilian team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which was eliminated by France.

wn.com/Mario_Zagallo

Martín Herrera
Martín Horacio Herrera (born 13 September 1970 in Río Cuarto, Córdoba) is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Herrera started his career with Argentine giants Club Atlético Boca Juniors in 1991 but things didn't work out for him there, and he moved to Club Atlético Atlanta of the third division three seasons after. There, he helped to the 1995 championship, as the club achieved promotion.
In 1998, Herrera moved to Mexico to play for Club Toluca but he soon returned to Argentina, representing Ferro Carril Oeste during two seasons. The following year, he signed with Spain's Deportivo Alavés, being an undisputed starter in two of his three campaigns at the Basque club, only missing two La Liga games out of 76; in his first year he was awarded the Ricardo Zamora Trophy, with only 37 goals conceded (all 38 matches played).
On 16 May 2001, Herrera was in goal during the 4–5 extra time loss against Liverpool in the season's UEFA Cup final. In 2002, no longer an automatic first-choice with Alavés, he was signed by Premier League team Fulham on a three-year contract, but he only made two appearances for the club before being loaned to Estudiantes de La Plata and eventually released.

wn.com/Martín_Herrera

Massimo Bonini
Massimo Bonini (born 13 October 1959 in San Marino) is a retired Sanmarinese footballer and coach, who played as a midfielder for Italian sides Bellaria Igea Marina, Forlì, Cesena, Juventus and Bologna.
Bonini played for Juventus between 1981 and 1988, in which he played 296 matches and scored 6 goals. He won 3 Scudetti, 1 Italian Cup, 1 European Champion Clubs' Cup, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup. He is the only Sanmarinese footballer to have won a European Cup.
Since the San Marino Football Federation was not officially recognised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) until 1990, players from San Marino were assimilated to Italian players. For this reason, Bonini was entitled to play for the Italian Football Federation and actually played for the Italian Under-21 football team. Since he always refused to give up the citizenship of San Marino, he had to wait until 1990 in order to play for San Marino’s first team, winning 19 full caps since then. He was also briefly the national coach of the San Marino national team after retirement.

wn.com/Massimo_Bonini

Mateja Kežman
Mateja Kežman (Serbian Cyrillic: Матеја Кежман, pronounced [mǎtɛja kɛ̂ʒman]; born 12 April 1979 in Belgrade) is a retired Serbian football striker.
Kežman has played top-flight football in Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Turkey, France, Russia, Hong Kong and Belarus and has won league championships in five of these countries.
At the age of 19, Kežman signed for FK Partizan. For two seasons at the club, Kežman made a name for himself as a prolific goalscorer and became a favourite among the fans of the club. He scored a total of 33 league goals in 54 appearances and has also been the top goalscorer of the national championship in the 1999–00 season. His father Zlatko Kežman was a goalkeeper for FK Zemun.
In the summer of 2000, Kežman completed his move to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. In his debut season, he was the league's top scorer, achieving 24 goals in 33 games as PSV won the title. He also picked up the nickname 'Batman', because the famous theme song was played at Philips Stadion every time he scored. He formed a successful partnership with Arjen Robben, and they gained the epithet 'Batman and Robben', a pun on Batman and Robin.

wn.com/Mateja_Kežman

Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer (born September 5, 1967 in Dresden) is a retired German football player and coach who is now working as technical director of the DFB (German Football Association). He played as a midfielder, and later in his career as a sweeper.
With Borussia Dortmund, he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1996, the year he led Germany to victory in the European Championship. Sammer retired with 74 total caps, 23 for East Germany and 51 for the unified side.
Sammer played for his hometown club Dynamo Dresden from 1987 to 1990, the club his father, Klaus had played for and managed. He was one of the first notable East German players to join a Western club after the German re-unification when he signed with VfB Stuttgart in 1990 (the first being Andreas Thom, who joined Bayer Leverkusen from BFC Dynamo). He then went on to play with Italian club Internazionale (1992–1993), and Borussia Dortmund (1993–1998). He won two East German championships with Dynamo Dresden (1989, 1990), and three German championships, (1992 with VfB Stuttgart, 1995 and 1996 with Borussia Dortmund). During his time in Dortmund he also won the UEFA Champions League in 1997. Sammer also scored the last ever goal for the East Germany football team before re-unification.

wn.com/Matthias_Sammer

Mauro Silva
Mauro da Silva Gomes (born 12 January 1968 in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo), simply Silva, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
A workhorse with incredible stamina, as well as tackling and leadership skills, he was best known for his 13-year spell with Deportivo de La Coruña, also being part of Brazil's World Cup-winning squad in 1994.
After started playing with Guarani Futebol Clube, Silva moved to Clube Atlético Bragantino in 1990, where he spent the following two seasons. Subsequently, he was snapped by Spain's Deportivo de La Coruña, for 250 million pesetas (approximately €1.6 million), arriving at the same time as countryman Bebeto.
With the Galicians, Silva was an everpresent fixture, only suspensions and injuries preventing him from being cast into the starting XI (in 1994–95 he only appeared in six league matches and, already 36, was limited to 20 in his final year), as he helped the club to one league, two cups and three supercups, adding to this the club's five participations in the UEFA Champions League, reaching the semifinals in 2003–04: after a 0–0 draw at F.C. Porto, he missed the second leg due to suspension, and Depor lost 0–1.

wn.com/Mauro_Silva

Mazinho
Iomar do Nascimento, known as Mazinho (born 8 April 1966) is a Brazilian football manager and former player, and the former head coach of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.
Mazinho played with Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras and Vitória in his homeland, with Lecce and Fiorentina in Italy, and with Valencia, Celta Vigo and Elche in Spain. Starting his career as left back, he moved to the midfield in the early nineties.
He was a three-time winner of the Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian championship) with Vasco da Gama and Palmeiras. He received the "Brazilian Silver Ball" award in 1987 and 1988.
He had 35 caps with the Brazilian national team with the first one coming in May 1989 in a friendly against Peru and the last one during the 1994 World Cup. His main achievement was winning the 1994 World Cup where he was the third member of the three men and baby celebration with Bebeto and Romário in the quarter-final win against the Netherlands. Mazinho was also a Copa América winner in 1989 at which point he was playing as a full-back for Brazil.

wn.com/Mazinho

Mia Hamm
Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born on March 17, 1972, in Selma, Alabama) is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female, in the history of U.S. soccer (158). She is the second most capped female player in soccer history behind Kristine Lilly, appearing in 275 international matches throughout her career.
Hamm was named the women's FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA's 125 best living players (as chosen by Pelé). Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon called Hamm, "Perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years."
She retired from the sport in 2004, when she played her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the U.S. women's national team's victory in the 2004 Olympics. In 2007, her first year of eligibility, she was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame by having 137 votes of the 141 ballots cast. Women's Professional Soccer, a professional soccer league that launched in 2009, features Hamm's silhouette in its logo.

wn.com/Mia_Hamm

Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976) is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He has won the German Footballer of the Year award three times – in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In his prime, Ballack was known for his passing range, scoring ability, ball skills and commanding presence in the midfield.
Ballack began his career as a youth at Chemnitz, his local team, and made his professional debut in 1995. Although the team were relegated in his first season, his performances in the Regionalliga the following season led to a transfer to Kaiserslautern in 1997. He won the Bundesliga in his first season at the club; his first major honour. He became a first team regular in 1998–99 season and also earned his first senior national cap for Germany. He moved to Bayer Leverkusen for €4.1 million in 1999. The 2002 season saw him win a slew of runners-up medals: Bayer Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga, German Cup, UEFA Champions League and Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup Final.

wn.com/Michael_Ballack

Michael Laudrup
Michael Laudrup (born 15 June 1964 in Frederiksberg) is a retired Danish footballer, who works as a manager and last coached La Liga side RCD Mallorca. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football. His most prominent run of football came with Spanish club Barcelona, with whom he won four straight La Liga championships. He famously moved to arch rivals Real Madrid in 1994, with whom he won his fifth La Liga title in a row. He made his debut for the Denmark national football team on his 18th birthday in 1982, and scored 37 goals in a total of 104 appearances for his country. From November 1994, he captained Denmark for a total of 28 matches, including the victorious 1995 Confederations Cup tournament. He retired as an active player in June 1998.
In 1999, he was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the preceding 25-year period and in April 2000 he was knighted, receiving the Order of the Dannebrog. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Denmark by the Danish Football Association; their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was officially named the best Danish footballer of all time by the Danish Football Association (DBU) in November 2006.

wn.com/Michael_Laudrup

Michael Owen
Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester) is an English professional footballer who is currently a free agent after being released by Manchester United in June 2012.
The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997. In his first full season in the Premier League he finished as joint top scorer with 18 goals. He repeated this the following year and was Liverpool's top goal scorer from 1997–2004, despite a recurring hamstring injury. In 2001, Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool.
Owen moved to Real Madrid for £8 million in mid-2004; he was frequently used as a substitute. He scored 13 goals in La Liga and had the season's highest ratio of goals scored to number of minutes played. He returned to England the following season, joining Newcastle United for £16 million. After a promising start to the 2005–06 season, injuries largely ruled him out over the next 18 months. After his return he became team captain and was the team's top scorer for the 2007–08 season. After the final season of his four-year contract, Newcastle were relegated, and Owen moved to Manchester United as a free agent.

wn.com/Michael_Owen

Michel Platini
Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a former French football player and manager, and the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2007.
During his professional footballing career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, and Juventus, and was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He also participated in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in the latter two. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the "carré magique" (French for "magic square"), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French national team throughout the 1980s.
Considered one of the best passers in football history as well as one the best free kick specialists and finishers, he holds the record for most goals (9) scored in European Championship final tournaments despite only appearing in the 1984 edition. Despite being a midfielder, he held the national team top scorer record until striker Thierry Henry surpassed the 41 goals mark in 2007.

wn.com/Michel_Platini

Michelle Akers
Michelle Akers (born February 1, 1966 in Santa Clara, California) is a former leading American association football player, who starred in the historic 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup victory by the U.S.. She won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the 1991 tournament. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Michelle Akers was born on February 1, 1966 to Robert and Anne Akers in Santa Clara, California. She grew up in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. She went to and played soccer at Shorecrest High School. She was named an All-American three times while attending that school.
Akers attended the University of Central Florida on a scholarship where she was selected as four-time NCAA All-American. She was Central Florida's Athlete of the Year in 1988-89, the all-time leading scorer in UCF history, won the Hermann Trophy in 1988, and had her #10 jersey retired by the school.
She played for the first-ever U.S. Women's National team in August 1985 on the first international trip for the US Women. Due to an ankle injury, she did not play in the first game. However, she played in the second ever international game and scored the second goal in the history of the program against Denmark, in a 2-2 tie.

wn.com/Michelle_Akers

Milene Domingues
Milene Domingues Aganzo (born 18 June 1979 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian model and former footballer.
She was signed by Rayo Vallecano but plays football for Fiamma Monza. The ex-model also holds the record for ball juggling, keeping a football off the ground with 55,198 touches. She was also the most expensive woman's player in Spain, costing over £200,000.
She is the first ex-wife of football star Ronaldo (married in April 1999, divorced in September 2003). Domingues is currently married to the Spanish footballer David Aganzo.

wn.com/Milene_Domingues

Mineiro (footballer)
Carlos Luciano da Silva, nicknamed Mineiro (born on 2 August 1975, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) is Brazilian footballer playing for German fourth division side TuS Koblenz.
His nickname "Mineiro" means somebody from the state of Minas Gerais, even though he is actually from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. This nickname was given to him because of his shy and quiet personality, typical of someone from Minas Gerais.
Mineiro scored a famous goal against Liverpool in the final of the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Yokohama, Japan, which eventually decided the title in favour São Paulo.
He won the Campeonato Paulista in 2004 and 2005, playing for São Caetano and São Paulo, respectively, and also won, playing for São Paulo, the Copa Libertadores de América and the FIFA Club World Championship in 2005.
On 3 February 2007, he had his Bundesliga debut for Hertha in a game against Hamburger SV. He was brought on for the last 20 minutes and scored his first goal for Berlin, a spectacular game-winning goal (2–1), shooting from more than 25 yards, in the last seconds of injury time.

wn.com/Mineiro_(footballer)

Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪʁoslaf ˈkloːzə] (

listen)) (Mirosław Marian Kloze IPA: [miˈrɔswaf ˈklɔzɛ]) (born 9 June 1978) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Lazio in the Serie A. Since bursting onto the international stage at the 2002 World Cup, he has become well known for his knack of scoring headers, front-flip goal celebrations, and decisive short passing.
Klose holds German nationality and has played 113 times and scored 63 goals for Germany. With five goals, he was the top scorer and Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the first German player to win the award since reunification. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup, all of which were headers. He scored four times in 2010 World Cup, giving him a total of 14 World Cup goals and putting him joint second along with Gerd Müller on the list of FIFA World Cup goalscorers.
Klose is also the only player to have scored five or more goals in consecutive World Cups, as well as the only player to have scored at least four in three different tournaments.

wn.com/Miroslav_Klose

Miroslav Đukić
Miroslav Đukić (Serbian: Мирослав Ђукић; born 19 February 1966) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a sweeper, and the current coach of Real Valladolid.
He spent 14 years of his professional career in Spain, notably at the service of Deportivo de La Coruña and Valencia, amassing La Liga totals of 368 games and 11 goals, and winning six major titles for the two clubs combined.
Đukić represented Serbia in one World Cup and one European Championship. After retiring, he embarked in a managerial career, at both club and international level.
Born in Šabac, Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Đukić began his playing career with hometown club FK Mačva Šabac, moving in 1988 to Belgrade with FK Rad, after reported interest from both national giants, FK Partizan and Red Star Belgrade.
In the 1990 summer, Đukić signed for Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain, who purchased him for 40 million pesetas in 1990. He only appeared in five league games for the Galicians in his first season, which ended in La Liga promotion, but, from there onwards, became an undisputed starter, never totalling less than 35 games and 3,000 minutes of action in five consecutive campaigns, as Super Depor was coming to fruition.

wn.com/Miroslav_Đukić

Mounir El Hamdaoui
Mounir El Hamdaoui (Arabic: منير الحمداوي‎) (born 14 July 1984 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch-Moroccan footballer. He currently plays as a forward for Ajax in the Netherlands. He previously played for Excelsior, Tottenham Hotspur, Derby County, Willem II and AZ,before joining Ajax in 2010.
Although being born in the Netherlands and having played for their Under-21 side El Hamdaoui decided to represent Morocco, for whom he made his debut in February 2009 in a match against the Czech Republic.
In the 2008–09 Eredivisie, El Hamdaoui was named Dutch Footballer of the Year and became the Eredivisie Top Scorer as AZ won their second league title in their history. He is also known by the nickname De Tovenaar van Kralingen (The Wizard of Kralingen)
El Hamdaoui went through the youth academy of SBV Excelsior, where he played together with his youth friends Robin van Persie and Saïd Boutahar. In the 2001–02 season the player made his debut for the Rotterdam side under manager Adrie Koster, scoring two goals in six appearances. El Hamdaoui played a total of 74 league matches for Excelsior, scoring 32 goals. Excelsior big brother Feyenoord was also interested in signing the player, and El Hamdaoui trained a number of times with Feyenoord's first squad, but a transfer was never realised.

wn.com/Mounir_El_Hamdaoui

Márcio Amoroso
Márcio Amoroso dos Santos (born 5 July 1974 in Brasília) is a retired Brazilian footballer. He has played his football for several teams in Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece while representing Brazil at international level.
Amoroso started his career at homeland club Guarani FC at 1992. In July 1992, he was loaned to a Japanese outfit Verdy Kawasaki (J. League Division 1), and returned to Guarani FC two years later. In 1996, he transferred to Flamengo, but he came to prominence playing in the Italian Serie A for unfashionable Udinese in the late-1990s. There he starred alongside Oliver Bierhoff in a side which played an adventurous 3–4–3 formation. When Oliver Bierhoff left the club for AC Milan, many thought Udinese Calcio would struggle to repeat their success, but that very next season Amoroso himself became the focus of the team, and was the top scorer in Serie A. A big-money move to Parma followed. The AC Parma side never quite fulfilled their potential to win the league title, and Amoroso was soon on the move again, this time to Borussia Dortmund in Germany where he won the Bundesliga title in 2001–02 and was the top scorer in the season. He helped them to the 2002 UEFA Cup Final where his goal (a penalty) could not prevent them from losing 3–2 to Feyenoord. Amoroso played for Malaga during the 2004–05 season.

wn.com/Márcio_Amoroso

Mário Jardel
Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro (born 18 September 1973) is a former Brazilian/Portuguese professional footballer.
Jardel was most noted for his positioning on the field and "being at the right place, at the right time".^{[citation needed]} With this exceptional positioning ability, Jardel was able to become one of Europe's most prolific strikers during his time at FC Porto, Galatasaray, and Sporting CP.
Jardel played first for Vasco da Gama, but moved in 1995 to Grêmio, where he won the 1995 Copa Libertadores.
In 1996, he was linked to several teams, and after failing to transfer to Benfica and Rangers (due to the strict British rules involving non-EU players), he signed with Portuguese side FC Porto, where with help from players such as Zlatko Zahovič, Sérgio Conceição, and Ljubinko Drulović, he was the top goalscorer in Europe for three years (1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02), with a goal average of slightly over one goal per match (130 goals in 125 games, avg: 1.04). Although he was top scorer three times, due to the use of coefficients based on each European league's standards, he only won twice, the 1998–99 and 2001–02 European Golden Boots. He lost out to Kevin Phillips in 1999–2000 despite Phillips having scored six fewer goals than Jardel.

wn.com/Mário_Jardel

Mário Zagallo
Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo (born August 9, 1931 in Maceió) is a Brazilian former football player and manager.

Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo was born in Maceió, Alagoas, to a family of Lebanese heritage.
Zagallo started his football career with América in 1948, and he later played for Flamengo and Botafogo.
He won the World Cup as a player with Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
He also won the World Cup as a manager (1970), and as assistant coach (World Cup 1994), both with the Brazilian national team. He also coached his country to a fourth-place finish in the 1974 World Cup and to a second-place finish in the 1998 World Cup
Zagallo is one of only two footballers, along with West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, to have won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. .
Zagallo guided the United Arab Emirates to their first World Cup in 1990, but was dismissed from his post before the tournament. Zagallo was assistant coach (as in 1994, the main coach was Carlos Alberto Parreira) of the Brazilian team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which was eliminated by France.

wn.com/Mário_Zagallo

Müller (footballer)
Luís Antônio Corrêa da Costa, nicknamed Müller, (born January 31, 1966, in Campo Grande) is a former association footballer. He played in an "old fashioned" left sided forward position (even though he is best with right foot, which is uncommon for left sided positions) with São Paulo, the Brazilian national team and Cruzeiro. His position was that of making passes, serving and assisting, but he would also work as a striker in almost every game, mostly in counter-attacks, or moving from the left side.
He was in 56 games with the Brazilian national team, from 1986 against Germany to 1998 against Yugoslavia. He participated in Football World Cup 1986, 1990 and was in the winning team of 1994.
Mike Walker once called a press conference to announce the signing of Müller for Everton, only for him to walk out on the club 30 minutes prior upon discovering he had to pay tax on his £20,000 per week wages, and would not be receiving a free house or car.
He is one of São Paulo's all-time leading scorers with 158 goals. With the club he won the Intercontinental Cup in 1993 as he scored the third goal against AC Milan in Tokyo. He retired as a footballer to become a Pastor, around 2004. He is the brother of another footballer, Cocada.

wn.com/Müller_(footballer)

Narciso dos Santos
Narciso dos Santos, or just Narciso (born 23 December 1973 in Neópolis, Sergipe) is a former Brazilian football midfielder.
He made his debut for the Brazilian national team between 1995 and played his last match in 1998. He appeared in one game at the 1996 Summer Olympics; versus Portugal.
In 2000, Narciso was diagnosed with leukemia, and all evidences pointed towards his retirement from football. However, he managed to recover and returned to his footballing activities soon thereafter, the only sportsman in the world to ever do so. [1]

wn.com/Narciso_dos_Santos

Nihat Kahveci
Nihat Kahveci (born 23 November 1979 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a former Turkish footballer. Nihat played as a Forward.
Nihat's family name, Kahveci, means "coffee maker." Many people in Turkey adopted the name of their profession as their family name in the early 20th century, suggesting that Nihat's ancestors were in the coffee business. Like most Turkish players, his shirt carries his first name, Nihat, rather than his family name, Kahveci. He married Pınar Kaşgören on 5 July 2003. Their daughter Selin was born in May 2008.
Nihat is a product of Beşiktaş's youth system and was discovered by Hürser Mustafa Cindir when Nihat played in Beşiktaş in the 1996–97 season. He joined the first team at Beşiktaş in the 1997–98 season when he was just 17, at the time John Toshack was the coach.
In January 2002, he was transferred to Real Sociedad in Spain by former Beşiktaş coach Toshack. While at Real Sociedad, Nihat scored 57 goals in 115 appearances. In the 2002–03 season, Nihat scored 23 goals making him the league's joint-second highest scorer for the season behind Roy Makaay (29 goals) and tied with Ronaldo. Real Sociedad finished 2nd in the league that season, just 2 points behind Real Madrid. He had a very fruitful strike partnership with Serbian forward Darko Kovačević, such that sports journalist Phil Ball nicknamed the pair "Little and large", in reference to the height difference between them (Nihat's height is 1.75 m and Kovačević's is 1.87 m).

wn.com/Nihat_Kahveci

Nikos Machlas
Nikolaos Machlas (Greek: Νίκος Μαχλάς) (born 16 June 1973) is a Greek retired footballer and now chairman of OFI Crete. He finished his career as a striker for Cypriot team APOEL.
He began his career with OFI Crete, where he made his debut in February 1991 against Panionios. He stayed at the club for six seasons before moving to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in 1996.
Machlas scored a disappointing 8 goals in 29 games in his first season in the Eredivisie, but in his second season he scored 34 goals in just 32 games, a feat which earned him the European Golden Boot for the 1997-1998 season. After having scored 60 goals in 92 matches for Vitesse, Machas joined Eredivisie giants Ajax Amsterdam in June 1999 for a then-club record $7.6 million.
Despite netting 38 goals in 74 Eredivisie league games spread over three seasons, Machlas' goalscoring record was not deemed prolific enough for the demanding Ajax fans and coaching staff. The team went through a transition as poor results meant Machlas had to endure three different coaches in as many years.

wn.com/Nikos_Machlas

Odvan
Odvan Gomes Silva (born 26 March 1974 in Campos dos Goytacazes) is a Brazilian football player who plays for EC São João da Barra. He formerly played for Americano,Mineiros,Mimosense,Vasco da Gama,Santos,Botafogo,Coritiba,Fluminense,D.C. United,Náutico,Estrela da Amadora,Madureira,Bangu,Rio Bananal,Ituano,Cabofriense,União Rondonópolis and Armando Zanata, as well as for the Brazilian national side.

wn.com/Odvan

Oldřich Nejedlý
Oldřich Nejedlý (26 December 1909 — 11 June 1990) was a Czech footballer, who spent his entire career at Sparta Prague as an inside-forward. He is also a former member of the Czechoslovakian national team.
Nejedlý played for Sparta Prague in his entire career. He scored 162 league goals in 187 games, winning four Czechoslovak First League championships in 1932, 1936, 1938 and 1939, adding a Mitropa Cup in 1935. He also scored 18 goals in 38 games for SK Rakovník (1943, 1944 and 1946), giving him a total of 180 league goals in 225 games.
For Czechoslovakia, Nejedlý scored 29 goals in 44 games. He was awarded the Bronze Ball in the 1934 as the third most outstanding player of the tournament and was voted into the All Star Team of the tournament. He was also top goalscorer. He would have gone on to play more games and score more goals for the Czechoslovakia had he not broken his leg in the 1938 which effectively ended his International career.
He was a participant in two World Cups, in 1934 in Italy and 1938 in France. Nejedlý was the outright top scorer in the 1934 World Cup with five goals. This has been officially recognized by FIFA since November 2006, as he was initially credited with only four, making him joint top scorer with Angelo Schiavio and Edmund Conen. He also scored two goals in 1938.

wn.com/Oldřich_Nejedlý

Oleg Blokhin
Oleh Volodymyrovych "Oleg" Blokhin (Ukrainian: Олег Володимирович Блохін) (born 5 November 1952 in Kiev) is a Ukrainian football coach and current head coach of the Ukrainian national team. Blokhin was formerly a standout striker for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet national team. In 1975 he was named European Footballer of the Year, winning the Ballon d'Or, becoming the second Soviet and the first Ukrainian player to achieve such a feat.
Blokhin was born in Kiev, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, in 1952 to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother.
Blokhin was one of the greatest strikers in the world throughout the 1970s, hitting the target regularly through a period of great success at his hometown club Dynamo Kiev and becoming the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Soviet League. Only the regime in the Soviet Union prevented him from moving abroad to play in Europe's strongest leagues.
Blokhin played during most of his career for Dynamo Kyiv, becoming the USSR national championship's all-time leader and goalscorer with 211 goals, as well as making more appearances than any other player with 432 appearances. He won the championship 8 times. He led Dynamo to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1975 and 1986, scoring a goal in each final. Blokhin is also the USSR national football team's most capped player with 112 caps, as well as their all time leading goalscorer with 42 goals; he played in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups where he scored 1 goal in each. He was one of the first Soviet players to play abroad, signing for Austria's Vorwärts Steyr in 1988, he also played in Cyprus with Aris.

wn.com/Oleg_Blokhin

Oleg Salenko
Oleg Anatolyevich Salenko (Russian: Олег Анатольевич Саленко; Ukrainian: Олег Анатолійович Саленко; Oleh Anatoliyovich Salenko born 25 October 1969 in Leningrad, Russia) is a retired Russian and Ukrainian footballer, who played as a striker. He scored a record of five goals in a group stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Shoe as joint-top tournament goalscorer.
Salenko played at Zenit Leningrad, Dynamo Kyiv, Logroñés, Córdoba, Valencia, Rangers and İstanbulspor in a club career that lasted from 1986 to 2000.
Eventually, he faded from the international soccer scene and finally had to end his career prematurely for health reasons stemming from injuries. Salenko returned to playing professional football in the 2000–01 season and signed for Pogoń Szczecin. He retired after playing a single game however due to his physical conditioning.
Salenko set a World Cup record by scoring five goals in one game, for Russia against Cameroon on 28 June 1994. Salenko finished the 1994 World Cup with six goals (scoring his sixth goal from the penalty spot against Sweden), sharing the Golden Boot with Hristo Stoichkov, a remarkable feat since Russia was knocked out in the first round, and Stoichkov's Bulgaria played another four games in the tournament. This mirrored Salenko's achievement in the 1989 U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, where he was top scorer when he scored 6 goals in the tournament. He is the only player to win the Golden Boot at both the U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.

wn.com/Oleg_Salenko

Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn (German pronunciation: [ˈɔ.lɪ.vɐ ˈkʰaːn], byname Der Titan [deɐ̯ ti.ˈtʰaːn] (the Titan); born 15 June 1969) is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team. He had his debut game in the professional squad in 1987. In 1994, he was transferred to Bayern Munich for the fee of 4,600,000 DM, where he played until the end of his career in 2008.
He is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight German championships, six German cups, the UEFA Cup (1996), the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (both 2001). His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper awards, and two German Footballer of the Year trophies. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he became the first and only goalkeeper in the tournament's history to win the Golden Ball.
From 1994 to 2006, Kahn was part of the German national team, in which he played as a starter after the retirement of Andreas Köpke. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the team reached the Finals. While the team was several times derided for their poor performance, Kahn's prowess proved to be the deciding factor in several games up until the final, where Germany lost to Brazil 0–2 and Kahn received criticism for two blunders. Nonetheless, he was named the tournament's best player and received the Golden Ball award.

wn.com/Oliver_Kahn

Ove Kindvall
Ove Kindvall (born May 16, 1943 in Norrköping, Sweden) is a former Swedish footballer (forward).
He started his career at IFK Norrköping, where he played until he joined Feyenoord in 1966 and became professional. The same year, he won the Guldbollen, as the best Swedish footballer of the year.
With Feyenoord he won two national championships as well as the 1970 European Cup. In the final against Celtic he scored the winning goal in extra time. In his five seasons with the club, Kindvall scored 129 league goals in 144 games. He returned to Sweden and Norrköping 1971, where he played for three years, until ending his career in IFK Göteborg.
He played 43 games with the national team and scored 16 goals. He participated in the 1970 and 1974 World Cup, playing a major role in the team's qualification for the former.
He is the father of former footballer Niclas Kindvall, and brother of Kaj Kindvall, a radio host.
Kindvall earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1969

wn.com/Ove_Kindvall

Owen Hargreaves
Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a Canadian-born English professional footballer. Hargreaves is known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who works tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with possession. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Hargreaves played with Calgary Foothills as a youth before beginning his professional football career in Germany with Bayern Munich. After seven years with the Munich side – during which time he won four German league titles and the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League – Hargreaves signed for Manchester United in 2007, winning the Premier League and UEFA Champions League in his first season.
However, his time at Manchester United was plagued with injuries and he was allowed to leave the club at the end of his contract in June 2011. Hargreaves posted YouTube videos in a bid to convince potential suitors of his fitness, and in August 2011, Manchester City offered a one-year contract to Hargreaves, which he accepted. As a Canadian with a Welsh mother and an English father, Hargreaves was eligible to represent Canada, Wales or England. He opted to play for the England U-21 team in 2000 and was capped by the senior squad the following year. He is the only player to have played for England without having previously lived in the United Kingdom, and only the second after Joe Baker, to have done so without having previously played in the English football league system.

wn.com/Owen_Hargreaves

Pablo Aimar
Pablo César Aimar Giordano (born 3 November 1979) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the Portuguese first division. An attacking midfielder with a vast array of skills, he also holds a Spanish passport.
He amassed La Liga totals of 215 games and 32 goals over the course of eight seasons, mainly with Valencia. He also played several years in Portugal with Benfica.
Aimar gained more than 50 caps for Argentina during one full decade, representing the nation in two World Cups and as many Copa América tournaments.
Born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Aimar began his ascent to stardom with Club Atlético River Plate, whose first team he joined for the 1997–98 season, after rejecting a place at medical school, and with whom he quickly established himself as one of the best young players in Argentina.
Valencia CF of Spain signed Aimar in January 2001, at a price of €24 million. The purchase proved justified, as Aimar helped lead the team to a first-place finish in La Liga in 2001–02 (with 33 matches and four goals), as well as to a runners-up finish in the previous seasons's UEFA Champions League, being defeated by FC Bayern Munich. Aimar also won the 2004 UEFA Cup, appearing in eight (scoreless) matches during the campaign; this included the final against Olympique de Marseille, where he replaced Francisco Rufete with 30 minutes to go.

wn.com/Pablo_Aimar

Pahiño
Manuel Fernández Fernández (born 21 January 1923, Navia, Vigo), commonly referred to as Pahiño, is a former Spanish footballer who played for Celta de Vigo, Real Madrid, Deportivo de La Coruña and Spain during the 1940s and 1950s. A prolific goalscorer, he twice won the Pichichi.
In 1947–48 Pahiño’s goals helped Celta de Vigo finish fourth in La Liga and reach the Copa del Generalísimo final. The same season he won the Pichichi for the first time. He also scored on his debut for Spain in a 3–3 with Switzerland. Among his team mates at Celta were Miguel Muñoz and the 1948–49 season saw them both join Real Madrid. Pahiño continued to score regularly at Real in 1952 he won a second Pichichi. However the arrival of Alfredo Di Stéfano saw him lose his place and he subsequently joined Deportivo de La Coruña where he played in the same team as Luis Suárez and Arsenio Iglesias. Despite his goalscoring achievements, Pahiño only played three times for Spain. He scored both goals as he made his final appearance for them in a 2–2 draw with the Republic of Ireland in 1955. He finished his playing career at Granada CF.

wn.com/Pahiño

Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini (born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender, being adept with either foot although naturally right footed. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club. During that period, he won the Champions League five times, as well as seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five European Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups. He played for 14 years for the Italian national team, making his debut in 1988 before retiring in 2002 with 126 caps and four World Cup participations.
Maldini played at a world class level for his entire career spanning 2 and a half decades, and won the Best Defender trophy at the UEFA Club Football Awards at the age of 39. He came second to George Weah for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 1995, the closest a defender had ever reached to winning the award at the time. He was also the Milan and Italy captain for many years and was considered a leader amongst leaders by fellow footballers, leading to the nickname "Il Capitano" (the Captain). Paolo's father Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan, and is a successful national U-21 manager.

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Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976 in Dakar, Senegal) is a retired French footballer of Senegalese descent who is the Football Development Executive at Manchester City in the English Premier League.
He rose to prominence during his time at Arsenal from 1996 to 2005, where he won three Premier League titles – one unbeaten – and four FA Cups, eventually becoming club captain. After leaving Arsenal in 2005, he spent one season at Juventus before joining Internazionale in 2006, following Juventus' relegation for their part in a match-fixing scandal. He has 107 caps for France, and was part of their 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000-winning sides.
In May 2010, Vieira was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He announced his retirement from professional football on 14 July 2011. Vieira is currently Football Development Executive at Manchester City with a role to oversee aspects such as youth development, commercial partners and the club's social responsibility programme, "City in the Community".

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Paul Breitner
Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951 in Kolbermoor, Bavaria) is a former German football player. One of Germany's most controversial players, he was capped 48 times for his country.
His football career lasted from 1970 until 1983, mainly playing for Bayern Munich (1970–74 and 1978–83) and Real Madrid (1974–78), with one season playing for Eintracht Braunschweig. His early success was as a free roaming left back, as likely to score from the right midfield as to stop an attacker in his own penalty area. Later in his career he moved to midfield and became one of the top midfielders through the early 1980s.
The early peak of Breitner's long and successful career was at age 21 in 1972 as part of the winning German European Championship team. This was followed two years later with victory as a member of the German World Cup squad. The final was played in Munich against the Netherlands, and Breitner scored the first German goal on a penalty kick. In the final, he, Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts formed a slick unit at the back and their water-tight defense prevented the Dutch from winning the World Cup. He moved to Real Madrid following the World Cup and quit the West German squad, remaining off the side until enticed to return by Jupp Derwall in 1981. Breitner is one of only four footballers to have achieved the feat of scoring in two different World Cup final matches, sharing that honour with Pelé, Vavá, and Zinédine Zidane. He achieved this in 1974 against the Netherlands and in 1982 against Italy.

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Paulo Nunes
Arílson de Paula Nunes, better known as Paulo Nunes (born October 30, 1971 in Pontalina, Goiás), is a former Brazilian football player.
A product of Flamengo's youth system, Paulo Nunes was part of a remarkable generation of players revealed by the Gávea team, such as Djalminha, Júnior Baiano, Marquinhos, Nélio, Marcelinho Carioca and Sávio. However, Paulo Nunes did not achieve stardom in Flamengo, and only went to achieve success in other clubs, as it was the case with his former youth team teammates. Paulo Nunes, however, won the Copa do Brasil with the Rio club, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and also the Campeonato Carioca.
Paulo Nunes left Flamengo in 1995, moving on to Grêmio, where he joined another player who had left a Rio de Janeiro club, Jardel. Alongside him, Paulo Nunes formed one of the most effective attacking duos in Grêmio history.
At Grêmio, Paulo Nunes lived the most glorious time in career, winning two Campeonato Gaúcho titles, the Copa Libertadores cup, the Campeonato Brasileiro, the Recopa Sul-Americana and the Copa do Brasil for the Porto Alegre team and being the lead scorer in the 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro and the 1997 Copa do Brasil. His good form also earned him the Bola de Prata from Placar magazine, also earning him a place in the national team squad for the 1997 Copa América.

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Paulo Roberto Falcão
Paulo Roberto Falcão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawlu ʁoˈbɛʁtu fawˈkɐ̃w̃]; born October 16, 1953) is a Brazilian head coach and former footballer, currently managing Bahia. He is widely considered one of the best players in Internacional and Roma history, and one of the most talented midfielders of all time, especially at his peak in the mid 1980s. At one stage, he was the world's highest paid footballer, earning £10,000 a week.
For the Brazil national team, he was capped 34 times between February 1976 and June 1986. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers to mark FIFA’s centennial in March 2004.
Falcão began his professional career at Sport Club Internacional of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, where he played from 1973 to 1980, winning three Brazilian National Championships(1975, 1976, 1979) and reaching the finals of the 1980 Copa Libertadores, losing to Nacional. During his time at Sport Club Internacional, he was surprisingly left out of the Brazil squad for the World Cup in Argentina in 1978, though he made the shortlisted pre-tournament 40.

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Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (name given as Edison on birth certificate, born 21 October 1940 (however, Pelé himself claims that he was born on 23 October) ), known by his nickname Pelé (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [peˈlɛ]), is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as the best football player of all time. In 1999, he was voted Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics. In the same year French weekly magazine France-Football consulted their former "Ballon D'Or" winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first place. In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named Pelé the "Athlete of the Century". In his career he scored 760 official goals. He is also the most successful Top Division goal scorer of all time with 541 League goals. In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363 games.
In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football. He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil). During his career, he became known as "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei).

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Pep Guardiola
Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛb ɡwəɾðiˈɔɫə]; born 18 January 1971) is a Spanish football manager and former player. As a player, Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career with FC Barcelona. He was part of Johan Cruyff's "dream team" that won Barcelona's first European Cup. He also played for Brescia and Roma in Italy; Al-Ahli in Qatar; and for Dorados de Sinaloa in Mexico while attending managing school. While playing in Italy, he served a four-month ban for a positive drug test although he was cleared of wrongdoing twice on appeal in 2009 before the Courts of Justice of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the Federal Anti-Doping Courts of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). As an international, he played for Spain, and in friendly matches for Catalonia.
After retiring as a player, Guardiola became coach of FC Barcelona B. On 8 May 2008, Barcelona President Joan Laporta announced that Guardiola would succeed Frank Rijkaard as the first team manager. He signed his contract on 5 June 2008. In his first season as manager, Barcelona won the treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. In doing so, Guardiola became the youngest UEFA Champions League-winning manager ever. The following season, Guardiola and Barcelona won the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup, bringing the manager's tally to the maximum of six trophies in six competitions in one year, thus completing the first ever sextuple.

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Petar Zhekov
Petar Petrov Zhekov (Bulgarian: Петър Петров Жеков, born October 10, 1944) is a former Bulgarian football player, who won the silver medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Zhekov was born in Knizhovnik, Haskovo Province, and began his career in F.C. Dimitrovgrad. Later he moved to Beroe Stara Zagora, where he twice became Bulgaria's top goalscorer. Between 1968 and 1975 Zhekov played for CSKA Sofia and scored 144 goals for the team. This makes him the club's best goalscorer of all time. He also won the European Golden Boot in 1969 and two European Bronze Boots.He has 333 appearances and a record of 253 goals in TBI A Football Group.
1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75

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Peter Schmeichel
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE (Danish pronunciation: [ped̥ɐ ˈsmɑɪ̯ˀɡ̊l̩]; born 18 November 1963) is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993. He is best remembered for his most successful years at English club Manchester United, whom he captained to the 1999 UEFA Champions League to complete the Treble, and for winning UEFA Euro 1992 with Denmark.
Born in Gladsaxe, Copenhagen, Schmeichel was famous for his intimidating physique (he is 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) tall and weighed about 105 kg (16 st 7 lb) during his playing days. He wore specially made size XXXL football shirts. Unusual for a goalkeeper, Schmeichel scored 11 goals during his career, including one for the national team. He is also the most capped player for the Denmark national team, with 129 games between 1987 and 2001. In addition to Euro 92, he played for his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and three additional European Championship tournaments. He captained the national team in 30 matches.

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Pierre Kerkhoffs
Pierre Kerkhoffs (born 26 March 1936) is a Dutch former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. Kerkhoffs played club football for SC Enschede and PSV, and was the Eredivisie top scorer in the 1962-63 season. He later played in Switzerland for Lausanne Sports.
Kekhoffs also earned five caps for the Netherlands between 1960 and 1965.

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Piet Kruiver
Piet Kruiver (5 January 1938, Koog aan de Zaan, North Holland - 18 March 1989, Amsterdam) is a former Dutch footballer who was active as a striker. Kruiver made his professional debut at PSV Eindhoven and also played for Lanerossi Vicenza, Feijenoord and DWS.

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Predrag Mijatović
Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović (Serbian: Предраг Мијатовић Пеђа) (born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrin football player and former sports director of Real Madrid. He is considered^{[by whom?]} one of Yugoslavia's best players of the 1990s. He was acclaimed as the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1997. During his career his position on the pitch was striker but was very often deployed, especially later in his career, as a midfield creator.
On the club level, Mijatović played for 6 different clubs: Budućnost Podgorica, FK Partizan, Valencia, Real Madrid, Fiorentina, and Levante. Internationally, Mijatović has been capped 73 times, scoring 28 goals (the appearances are split between the SFR Yugoslavia and the FR Yugoslavia national teams). He played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
A very technically gifted player known for his outstanding skill and vision, as well as his prolific goalscoring ability, Mijatović is well remembered for scoring impressive 28 goals in the 1995/1996 Primera División season for Valencia, which in turn led him to controversially move to Real Madrid, where he scored a goal for Real Madrid in the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final that brought the biggest European title back to Madrid after 32 years. He also had many memorable moments on the big stage, at both club and international levels.

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Quini
Enrique Castro González (born 23 September 1949), aka Quini, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
In a career totally connected with Sporting de Gijón and FC Barcelona, he was widely regarded as one of the country's best strikers, having won a total of seven Pichichi Trophy awards, five of those in La Liga.
A Spanish international for 12 years, Quini represented the nation in two World Cups and one European Championship.
Born in Oviedo, Asturias, Quini joined local Real Oviedo's neighbours Sporting de Gijón in 1968, from amateurs Ensidesa. In his first season in La Liga, 1970–71, he netted 13 goals in 30 matches and, during the following nine years, only netted once in single digits (nine) and won three Pichichi, one in division two - ironically, in the year in which he won his second, Sporting was relegated, the player's 21 goals being insufficient to avoid the last place.
In the 1980 summer, Quini signed with FC Barcelona, which had already tried to sign the player after Sporting's relegation. In his first two years combined, he scored 47 league goals, good enough for two more scoring accolades. He also helped the Catalans to the 1981 Spanish Cup, scoring twice to put away his beloved Sporting, in a 3–1 win in the final; additionally, in the 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup, he helped Barça come from behind to beat Belgium's Standard Liège 2–1, as the final was held at the Camp Nou.

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Raí
Raí Souza Vieira de Oliveira (born 15 May 1965), known as simply Raí (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁaˈi]), is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
He spent the better part of his 15-year career with São Paulo and Paris Saint-Germain, winning 15 major titles with the two teams combined, and nearing the 100-goal mark.He also was the first to do the famous Raí Flick (Rainbow flick)
Raí played with Brazil for more than one decade, helping the country win the 1994 World Cup.
Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo Raí started his career with local Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP), signing in 1986 with Associação Atlética Ponte Preta, with which he made his Série A debuts.
Raí joined São Paulo FC for the 1987 season, only making his league debut on 18 October due to injury. He only scored once in his first year but, following the arrival of Telê Santana as coach, blossomed into a prolific scorer, scoring 28 overall in the 1991 campaign (20 in the São Paulo League); he was also instrumental in the defeat of FC Barcelona in the 1992 Intercontinental Cup, netting both goals in a 2–1 win in Tokyo.

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Raúl González
Raúl González Blanco (born 27 June 1977), commonly known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who has joined the Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd as a striker in 2012.
Raúl had spent most of his career playing for Spanish club Real Madrid and is the club's all-time top goalscorer. He was known for his technique, shooting ability and creating chances for other teammates. Raúl is a three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League and has long been the competition's all-time leading goalscorer. He left Real Madrid on 25 July 2010, having scored 323 goals in 741 appearances, and joined FC Schalke 04.
He joined Al Sadd after two seasons with FC Schalke 04, following the 2011–12 Bundesliga season.
Raúl González's career began at his local team CD San Cristóbal de los Ángeles playing for their Alevín team and the Infantil the next season. He signed with Atlético Madrid's Infantil team and won a national title with the Cadete team the following season. Following Atlético's then-president Jesús Gil decision to close their youth academy as a cost-saving measure, Raúl moved on to Real Madrid's Cadete team. The following season, he was promoted to the Juvenil C team and subsequently went on to play for their Juvenil B and Juvenil A team.

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Ricardinho
Ricardinho, real name Ricardo Luis Pozzi Rodrigues (born May 23, 1976 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian manager and former football player. He was usually a deep-lying playmaker. He was best known for his accurate passing and technique.
Ricardinho has earned 23 caps for the Brazilian national team, the first on March 28, 2000 in a match against Colombia. He was called up by Luiz Felipe Scolari for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as a late replacement for Emerson who was injured before the tournament began. He appeared three matches as a substitute during the tournament as Brazil won the World Cup for the record fifth time.
On August 17, 2005, he scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Croatia, an equalizer in the 41st minute as Brazil drew 1–1 with Croatia.
He was selected by Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira among the 23 footballers to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He appeared in two matches as a substitute, against Japan and Ghana. In the latter, he made an assist to a late goal scored by midfielder Zé Roberto.

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Rivaldo
Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), commonly known as Rivaldo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiˈvawdu]), is a Brazilian professional footballer for Kabuscorp. He plays as an attacking midfielder and sometimes as a supporting striker.
He most notably played five years with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he won the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship and the 1998 Copa del Rey. Between 1993 and 2003, Rivaldo played 74 matches and scored 34 goals for the Brazil national football team and was an integral part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning Brazilian team.
In 1999, Rivaldo was honoured as FIFA World Player of the Year, Ballon d'Or winner and European Footballer of the Year. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony in 2004. He is also the president of Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube in his native Brazil.
Born in Paulista, Pernambuco, Brazil, Rivaldo had an extremely poor upbringing in the favelas of the port town of Recife. His physical appearance still marks the poverty he experienced in his childhood: malnourishment-caused bowleggedness and the loss of several teeth. Rivaldo began his professional career at the age of 16, when he signed with Paulistano, from Pernambuco, in 1989, despite the Paulistano coaches believing him too physically weak to succeed. Rivaldo's father Romildo was killed in a road accident in 1989, but Rivaldo went on to his first professional contract later that year.

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Robert Prosinečki
Robert Prosinečki (pronounced [robert prosinetʃki], born 12 January 1969) is a Croatian football manager and former football midfielder. Prosinečki is regarded by many as the player with best technique that ever played in and for Croatia. Former national squad teammate Zvonimir Boban, humbly, also agreed with this. His dribbling is considered excellent, and his ability to keep possession of the ball is very highly regarded. He is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
After retiring from active football he worked as assistant manager of the Croatia national football team between 2006 and 2010, before being appointed manager of Red Star Belgrade in December 2010.
Prosinečki was born in Schwenningen, West Germany, into a family of Yugoslav gastarbeiters of mixed ethnicity. His father Đuro was Croatian, hailing from Gornji Čemehovec village near Kraljevec na Sutli, and his mother Emilija Đoković is Serbian, originally from Ježevica village near Čačak.

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Roberto Acuña
Roberto Miguel Acuña Cabello (born 25 March 1972 in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a Paraguayan footballer who plays for Club Rubio Ñú.
Nicknamed El Toro (bull) due to his strength and dominating presence, he operated as a central midfielder. He spent several years as a professional in Spain, at Zaragoza and Deportivo de La Coruña, being very unlucky at the latter.
At a young age, Acuña migrated to Paraguay, where he started playing for Club Nacional in 1989. After five years, he decided to acquire the country's citizenship to play for the national team, eventually becoming the second most capped player in Paraguay's history, second only to central defender Carlos Gamarra.
Afterwards, Acuña played four seasons back in Argentina, with Argentinos Juniors, Club Atlético Independiente and Boca Juniors, before moving to Europe in 1997, where he signed with Spain's Real Zaragoza. With the Aragonese, he was an everpresent midfield fixture, helping the side to the 2001 domestic cup, and scoring 20 goals in five seasons, alone in La Liga.

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Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto ˈbaddʒo]; born 18 February 1967) is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of all time (4th in the Fifa internet poll; member of the Fifa World Cup Dream Team), Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time goalscorers for Italy. Baggio is known as Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail), for the hairstyle he wore for most of his career and his Buddhist background.
Baggio was born in Caldogno, Veneto, son of Matilde and Fiorindo Baggio. He has 7 brothers and sisters. As a youngster, he always had a keen interest in the sport of football and played for a local youth club over a period of nine years. After scoring 6 goals in one game, Baggio was persuaded by scout Antonio Mora to join Vicenza. Roberto Baggio is the 6th of 8 siblings. His younger brother, Eddy Baggio, was also a footballer who played 86 games in Serie B. After his serious career threatening injury in 1985, Baggio, formerly a Roman Catholic, converted to Buddhism. He married his girlfriend Andreina Fabbi in 1989, in a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony however. They have a daughter, Valentina, and two sons, Mattia and Leonardo.

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Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto manˈtʃini]; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian former football player and manager of Premier League club Manchester City. As a player Mancini was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 matches, and helped them win the Serie A league title, four Coppa Italias and the Cup Winners Cup, whilst being capped 36 times by Italy. As a player, he gained a penchant for becoming a future manager and would often give team talks at half-time and ultimately became an assistant to Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio near the end of his playing career. After his retirement, Mancini embarked on a successful managerial career.
A cup specialist, Mancini has never failed to reach a semi-final of a major national cup competition in every season he has been a manager, from 2002 to 2012. He also guided the Italian clubs he managed to a record 5 consecutive Coppa Italia finals from 2004 to 2008, with Lazio once in 2004 and with Inter in the following four seasons. Mancini's first managerial role was at a cash stricken Fiorentina at only 35 years old and managed to win a Coppa Italia, but left with Fiorentina facing bankruptcy. Months later, he took over as manager at Lazio, where again he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose a number of key players. With limited resources during his two season tenure, he still managed to win another Coppa Italia, reach a UEFA Cup semi-final, and secure a lucrative Champions League place.

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Roberto Rivelino
Roberto Rivellino (born 1 January 1946 in São Paulo) is a former Brazilian footballer.
The son of Italian immigrants from Macchiagodena (Isernia), he was famous for his large moustache, thunderous long-range free kicks, excellent long passes, quick thinking and distinct way of controlling the ball. He also invented a football move called the "flip flap", famously copied by Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years. He is widely regarded as one of the most graceful football players ever, and among the very best midfielders of his generation.
Rivellino started as a futsal player at Clube Atletico Barcelona. After that, he tried his luck with Barcelona's biggest rival in futsal, Corinthians, where he moved on to professional football and quickly became a favourite of the fans—and was therefore nicknamed "O Rei do Parque" (King of the Park) (after the club's home ground, Parque São Jorge). However, the late 60s and early 70s were one of the most troubled periods in the history of the club, which did not win a single São Paulo state league title from 1954 to 1977.

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Robinho
Robson de Souza (born 25 January 1984), more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club Milan and the Brazil national team. Robinho is known for his ball control, attacking instinct and speed.
In 1999, at only 15 years of age, Robinho was personally picked by Brazil legend Pelé as his heir apparent and went on to lead Santos FC to their first Campeonato Brasileiro title since Pelé himself played for the club. Since then, he has won another title with Santos and two more with Spanish club Real Madrid. He won the Italian Serie A title in his first season at Milan. Robinho has won one Copa América title and two Confederations Cups with the Brazilian national team.
Born in São Vicente, São Paulo State, Robinho signed his first professional contract with Santos FC in 2002 at the age of 18. He made 24 appearances in his debut season and scored one goal as Santos won the 2002 Campeonato Brasileiro. He reached the final of the 2003 Copa Libertadores with Santos, but lost in the final to Boca Juniors. In 2004, Robinho finished with 21 goals in 37 games and led Santos to win another Campeonato Brasileiro.

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Rodion Cămătaru
Rodion Gorun Cămătaru (born 22 June 1958) is a retired Romanian footballer, who played as a striker.
He was born in Strehaia and debuted in Divizia A with Universitatea Craiova in 1974. He spent twelve seasons with Universitatea, winning the league titles in 1980 and 1981. In 1986, he was transferred to Dinamo Bucureşti, where he became the Divizia A top goalscorer the first season with 44 goals in 33 games. He retired in 1993, having played in Belgium and the Netherlands since 1989. Cămătaru scored his last ever goal as a professional in the Dutch cup final, playing for Heerenveen, on 20 May 1993. The match was won by Ajax.
He controversially won the European Golden Boot as Europe's best goal scorer in 1987, after scoring 20 of his 44 goals in the last 6 games of the season. It is widely believed that this was due to manipulation, and so 20 years later, the second placed Toni Polster was also granted a Golden Boot.
Cămătaru got 75 caps and scored 22 goals for the Romanian national team, and represented his country at Euro 1984 and the 1990 World Cup.

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Rodrigo Fabri
Rodrigo Fabri (born 15 January 1976 in Santo André) is a retired football player from Brazil.

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Roger Milla
Roger Milla (born Albert Roger Mooh Miller, 20 May 1952) is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team.
He achieved international stardom at 38 years old, an age at which most forward-playing footballers have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 World Cup, the most memorable of which came in the match against Colombia when he dispossessed the showboating Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita 35 yards from goal, going on to score in the empty net with Higuita stranded. He helped the Cameroon team reach the quarter-finals.
He is also remembered for his trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and performing a dance. In the years that have followed, he has been recognised as a pioneer of the many unconventional and imaginative goal celebrations seen since then. He was named one of the 125 greatest living football players in 2004 by the legendary Brazilian football player Pelé.

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Rommel Fernández
Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez (15 January 1966 – 6 May 1993) was a Panamanian footballer who played as a striker.
The second Panamanian footballer to play in Europe, he played almost his entire professional career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 104 games and 32 goals - 162/56 both major levels combined - in representation of four different teams. In 1993, he died in a car accident, at the age of just 27.
Fernández was born in the small town of El Chorrillo. In 1987, the 21-year old signed for CD Tenerife in Spain from Alianza FC, scoring a career-best 18 goals in his second season as the Canary Islands side promoted to La Liga for the first time in its history; in the following years, he also netted in double digits as the club retained its top division status - in the 1989–90 campaign, he was named Best South American Player in the Spanish League and, the following year, was voted best Ibero-American player in the competition by news agency EFE, receiving the Trofeo EFE.
Nicknamed The Panzer, Fernández signed for Valencia CF in 1991, but was used mostly as a backup in his only season, scoring just two goals. Subsequently, he moved to Albacete Balompié on loan, helping the Castile-La Mancha side retain its first division status in its second season ever, and scoring his 50th league goal in the process, against former club Tenerife.

wn.com/Rommel_Fernández

Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre), commonly known as Ronaldinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁonawˈdʒĩɲu]) or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who is currently a free agent and plays for the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year. He won the award in both 2004 and 2005.
"Ronaldinho," the diminutive and term of endearment for "Ronaldo," is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaúcho," in order to distinguish him from fellow footballer and countryman Ronaldo, who was known as "Ronaldinho" in Brazil beforehand. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and go by the name Ronaldinho abroad.
Prior to his move to Flamengo, he played for Paris Saint-Germain F.C., FC Barcelona and A.C. Milan. With the Spanish club, he won his first Champions League in 2006 and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.

wn.com/Ronaldinho

Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (Portuguese pronunciation: [χoˈnawdu luˈiz naˈzaɾiu dʒi ˈlimɐ]; born 18 September 1976), commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. He is considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest football players of all time. In 2012, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decades" in an online poll gathering 29.55% of all votes. He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 (aged only 21) and again won the award in 2002 (26 years old). Additionally, he is one of only three men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane and Argentine striker Lionel Messi.
Considered by many as the most complete striker in the past 30 years, in 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decade" in an online poll, gathering 43.63 percent of all votes and was also included as centre forward in the "Team of the Decade". On 23 February 2010, Ronaldo announced that he would retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time. Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 98 international matches, scoring 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14. He is also the only player to have won the World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot in separate tournaments. Having suffered a string of serious injuries throughout his career, Ronaldo retired on 14 February 2011, citing pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.

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Ronaldo Guiaro
Ronaldo Guiaro (born 18 February 1974 in Piracicaba, São Paulo), known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a central defender.
Ronaldo started playing with Guarani Futebol Clube, moving to Clube Atlético Mineiro shortly after. In 1996, aged 22, he joined S.L. Benfica in Portugal, backing up Jorge Bermúdez and Hélder Cristóvão in his first season, but being first-choice afterwards, as the Lisbon and top division powerhouse failed to win any silverware.
After five seasons with Benfica, Ronaldo signed for Beşiktaş J.K. in Turkey, also being an undisputed starter for the majority of his spell. In 2002–03 season, he only missed one league match as the Istanbul outfit was crowned national champions after an eight-year wait.
Aged 31, Ronaldo returned to his country but, two years later, moved abroad again, going on to be a defensive mainstay with Aris Thessaloniki FC in the Greek first division for several seasons, helping it qualify three times to the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League.
Ronaldo represented Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics, playing in all the games for the bronze medal-winning squad.

wn.com/Ronaldo_Guiaro

Roque Júnior
José Vítor Roque Jr. (born 31 August 1976 in Santa Rita do Sapucaí) more commonly known as Roque Júnior, is a former association footballer who played defender, who last played for Ituano Futebol Clube. He has won 48 caps for Brazil and was part of the winning squad at the 2002 World Cup.
During his career, Roque Júnior has played for Santarritense, São José, Palmeiras, A.C. Milan, Leeds United F.C., A.C. Siena, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, MSV Duisburg and Qatari side Al-Rayyan. He is an iconic footballer for Palmeiras, as he played more than 200 competitive games for them. His greatest success in club football came with playing for Palmeiras, with whom he won the 1999 Copa Libertadores.
There was excitement at Elland Road when Peter Reid brought Roque to Leeds on loan, but it was short lived as the team conceded 24 times in his 7 appearances and Roque was sent off on his début against Birmingham City. However, he did score two goals in a Worthington Cup game against Manchester United (Leeds lost 3–2) but his spell at Leeds was not considered a success.

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Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic. Keane was a dominating central-midfielder, noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude which helped him excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005, having joined the club in 1993. Keane helped United achieve a sustained period of success in more than 12 years at the club. He then signed for Celtic but retired as a player less than a year later.
He played at international level for much of his career, representing the Republic of Ireland over a period of 14 years, most of which he spent as captain. He played in every Republic of Ireland game at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, although he was sent home from the 2002 World Cup after an incident with national coach Mick McCarthy.
He was appointed manager of Sunderland shortly after his retirement as a player, and took the club from 23rd position in the Football League Championship in late August to win the division title and gain promotion to the Premier League. Keane's arrival was cited as the catalyst for Sunderland's recovery. He managed to keep Sunderland from relegation in the 2007–08 season, but in his second season as a top-flight manager he left his position with Sunderland in the relegation zone. In April 2009, he was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town, but was sacked by the club in January 2011 with them 19th in the Championship.

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Roy Makaay
Rudolphus "Roy" Antonius Makaay (born 9 March 1975 in Wijchen, Gelderland) is a retired Dutch footballer. While playing for Bayern Munich he picked up the nickname Das Phantom (the Phantom), for his ability to score out of nowhere. A centre-forward, Makaay is known for his goal scoring ability which is a result of his "aerial prowess and quick drives to the net where he can put the ball away with either foot."
Makaay was the European Golden Boot winner for the 2002–03 season for being the top scorer in Europe. He was first recognized as a talented striker while playing for Vitesse in the mid 1990s and honed his skills at the Spanish First Division with Tenerife and later with Deportivo La Coruña where he scored 22 goals in 36 appearances in 1999–00, his most prolific season. His international caps for the Dutch national team have been limited due to players such as Patrick Kluivert, Dennis Bergkamp and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Makaay did, however, play for his country at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. In the latter tournament, he scored against Latvia in the first round. He played 31 times for the Dutch U-21 national team which equals a record with Arnold Bruggink.

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Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit (help·info) (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈryt ˈɣʏɫɪt], born as Ruud Dil [ˈryt ˈdɪɫ], September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam) OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. Gullit was working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid.
Gullit was born Ruud Dil in Amsterdam to George Gullit, a Suriname migrant, and Ria Dil, his buitenvrouw, from the Amsterdam Jordaan inner city district. The family lived in one split level room on the top floor of a small apartment building. Gullit's father worked as an economics teacher at a local school, his mother as a custodian at the Rijksmuseum.

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Ruud van Nistelrooy
Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooij (Dutch pronunciation: [ryt vɑn ˈnɪstəlroːi̯] (

listen); born 1 July 1976) is a retired Dutch footballer. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals. He is a three-time Champions League top scorer, as well as a top scorer in three different European domestic leagues. He was a pure goal scorer known for his shooting ability, calmness in front of goal and positioning.
Van Nistelrooy began his career with Den Bosch, before moving onto Heerenveen, eventually making a name for himself at PSV Eindhoven where he won two Dutch leagues. His goalscoring record at PSV attracted attention from Manchester United; a deal was in place in the summer of 2000, but because of injury problems his move was secured a year later for a then British record fee of £19 million. His time at United was successful, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield, along with winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year twice. Van Nistelrooy hit 150 goals in just 219 games for United, as well as being their all time European record goalscorer, but fell out of favour towards the end of his tenure. Real Madrid then secured his services in 2006. Although an injury blighted the end of his days with Madrid, he did win La Liga twice and the Supercopa de España before signing for Hamburg during the January transfer window in 2010. After a season-and-a-half with Hamburg, he moved back to Spain with Málaga in the summer of 2011. His retirement from football was announced on 14 May 2012.

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Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season. He established himself as a left winger during the 1990s, and continuing in this position well into the 2000s, though he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his latter years. Giggs is known for his tireless running, ball possession and ability to create goalscoring opportunities for those around him.
Giggs is the most decorated player in English football history. He also holds the club record for competitive appearances. During his time at United, he has won 12 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals and two Champions League winner's medals. He has two runner-up medals from the Champions League, three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of the team five times when it finished second in the Premier League. In recent years, Giggs has captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries.

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Rüştü Reçber
Rüştü Reçber (pronounced [ˈɾyʃty ˈɾetʃbeɾ]; born 10 May 1973, Korkuteli) is a Turkish international footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Beşiktaş J.K. in the Turkish Süper Lig, having previously played for Antalyaspor, Fenerbahçe and Barcelona.
He has played a key role in the success of the Turkish national squad, and it was at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where Turkey finished third, that his performances saw him selected for the tournament's all-star team. He is Turkey's record appearance holder, having earned 119 caps. He made his debut against Iceland in 1994 and his final appearance came against Armenia in 2009.
Rüştü was named the best goalkeeper in European competitions in 2002, selected for the 2002 UEFA Team Of The Year by public vote. In 2004, he was selected to FIFA 100 by Pelé as one of the 125 best living footballers in the world. Rüştü retired from international level after UEFA Euro 2008 with 120 international caps to his name but was called to play against Spain on 28 March 2009 and 1 April.

wn.com/Rüştü_Reçber

Salva Ballesta
Salvador Ballesta Vialcho, aka Salva (born 22 May 1975), is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
A goal-poacher noted for his flair and workrate, he played for seven different top division clubs, most notably Atlético Madrid, Valencia - with whom he won his sole team trophy - and Málaga.
Over the course of 11 La Liga seasons, Salva amassed totals of 235 games and 87 goals, adding 126/52 in Segunda División.
Salva was born in Zaragoza, Aragon. After making his professional debuts with Sevilla FC, he won the Pichichi Trophy in the 1999–2000 season, scoring 27 goals to lead La Liga's scoring charts for Racing de Santander. He then moved to Segunda División with Atlético de Madrid (freshly relegated) and proceeded to lead the side with 21 league goals, although the Colchoneros did not return to the top level.
In the 2001 summer, Salva joined Valencia CF, netting five goals to help the side become league champion after a 31-year drought. He was rarely used in the following season, and was subsequently briefly part of the Bolton Wanderers side which avoided Premier League relegation in 2003. He had another two loan stints from 2003–05, with Málaga CF (18 league goals) and Atlético Madrid, being subsequently released and signing with the former.

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Salvatore Schillaci
Salvatore Schillaci (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtɔre skilˈlatʃi]; born December 1, 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò is a former Italian football player. During his career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992), Internazionale (1992–1994) and Júbilo Iwata (1994–1997). He was the Golden Boot winner for the 1990 FIFA World Cup after leading the tournament with six goals.
He made an appearance in a television advert for the Irish beer Smithwick's. The ad was originally created in the mid-90's when his goal that had eliminated Ireland from Italy 90 as well as the Irish win over Italy in 1994 FIFA World Cup were still vivid memories in the beer's home country.
A champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse (see Schillaci) was named after him following his performances at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Born in Palermo, Italy, from a poor family, Schillaci, nicknamed Totò, started to play for an amateur team of his native city, Amat Palermo. He then signed in 1982 for the Sicilian club Messina, where he played till 1989 and showed his goal-scoring abilities. He then joined Juventus of Turin, and debuted in Serie A on August 27, 1989. Juventus, the "Old Lady" of Italian football was at the time suffering from the breakup of the wonder team which dominated Italian football in the 1980s and Schillaci's arrival coincided with a return to form under the direction of former goalkeeper Dino Zoff. He featured prominently, scoring 15 goals, in a very positive year for the Turinese club which ended the season winning both the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup. Due to his inventive, aggressive attack style he was then selected by head coach of Italy, Azeglio Vicini, to play in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, to be hosted by Italy itself, despite being a novice in the arena of national team competitions.

wn.com/Salvatore_Schillaci

Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils (French pronunciation: [samɥɛl eto fis]) (born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team. Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy. He also holds a Spanish passport, enabling him not to count among the "foreign players" working in the European Union.
Eto'o scored over 100 goals in five seasons with FC Barcelona, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in La Liga. In 2010, he became the first player to win two European Continental Trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Internazionale. He is the second player to have ever scored in two separate UEFA Champions League finals and the fourth player, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams. He is the most decorated African player of all time having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.

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Sepp Maier
Josef Dieter "Sepp" Maier (born 28 February 1944) is a German former professional football goalkeeper. His nickname was "Die Katze von Anzing" ("the cat from Anzing") for his fast reflexes.
Born in Metten, Bavaria, Maier has spent his entire professional career at Bayern Munich. He began playing for Bayern's youth sides in 1958. During the 1970s, he was part of the legendary Bayern team which included the likes of Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller and won three European Cups in a row, a German record. Between 1966 and 1979 he played in 442 consecutive Bundesliga matches, still a German national record.
Maier was selected in the West Germany squad for four consecutive World Cups. In 1966 in England, he was a non-playing deputy to Hans Tilkowski. At the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, he was the undisputed starter and played all games (including the legendary 3–4 semifinal loss to Italy after extra time) except the third-place match.
In the 1974 FIFA World Cup on home soil, at the top of his footballing abilities, he reached the peak of his international career as the Germans went all the way to the final with a legendary team that included the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts, Gerd Müller and Paul Breitner. The greatest triumph came when the hosts defeated a Johan Cruyff-inspired Netherlands team 2–1 in the final in Maier's own hometown Munich.

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Sergio Agüero
Sergio Leonel "Kun" Agüero del Castillo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo aˈɣweɾo]; born 2 June 1988) is an Argentine professional association football player who plays as a striker for Manchester City in England's Premier League and the Argentine national team. On 5 July 2003, he became the youngest player to debut in the Argentine First Division at 15 years and 35 days, breaking the record previously established by Diego Maradona in 1976. He plays with the shirt name Kun Aguero.
At international level, Agüero represented the Argentina under-20 team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2005 and in 2007, winning both tournaments. Agüero played at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he scored two goals in the 3–0 semi-final win against Brazil as Argentina went on to win the gold medal. Agüero was selected to represent Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 Copa América.
In 2006, Agüero moved to Europe to play for La Liga side Atlético Madrid for a fee of €23 million from Independiente. He made a name for himself, attracting attention from Europe's top clubs by scoring 101 goals in 234 appearances while winning the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. Agüero moved to Premier League club Manchester City in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £35 million. On the last day of his début season with the club, Agüero scored a 94th-minute winner against Queen's Park Rangers that earned Manchester City their first league title in 44 years.

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Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets Burgos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈserxjo βusˈkets], Catalan: [βusˈkɛts]; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as a defensive midfielder.
He was a relatively obscure player when he arrived in FC Barcelona's first team in July 2008, but eventually made a name for himself in a relatively short period of time, reaching the Spanish national team in less than one year after making his professional club debut.
Busquets was born in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia. In 2005, he joined local FC Barcelona's youth ranks, scoring seven goals in 26 matches for the Juvenil A team in his second season. Two years later, he was promoted to the B team under Josep Guardiola, and helped it achieve promotion to the third division. In that same season he would make his first-team debut, coming on as a substitute in a Catalonia Cup match.
On 13 September 2008, Busquets played his first La Liga match, 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Racing de Santander. During Barcelona's UEFA Champions League match against FC Basel at St. Jakob-Park on 22 October 2008, he scored the second goal in the 15th minute in a 5–0 group stage win. In early December, in another start, he scored his second goal with Barça in the competition, netting in the 83rd minute of a 2–3 home loss against FC Shakhtar Donetsk. On 22 December, Busquets signed a contract extension until 2013, with a buy-out clause of €80 million.

wn.com/Sergio_Busquets

Sotiris Kaiafas
Sotiris Kaiafas (born December 17, 1949 in Mia Milia, Nicosia) is a retired Cypriot footballer, who played for Omonia and Cyprus. During his career at Omonia, he won the European Golden Boot. He is considered the best footballer that Cyprus has ever produced and also one of the two best Cypriot sportpeople in 20th century.
Kaiafas played for local club mia milia, called Proodos. In 1965, he joined Omonia and in 1967, he debuted for Omonia senior team joining the youth team at the age of 16 because he was clearly a class above the rest in his age group. Soon he established himself as one of the most prolific strikers Omonia had ever employed. But it was not until the early 1970s that he served notice of his talent. In the 1971–72 season, Kaiafas became for first time leading scorer in Cyprus with 12 goals, a tally that helped Omonia to their third domestic title. It was the start of a successful partnership.
Kaiafas, like other Cypriot stars such as Andreas Stylianou, Panicos Efthymiades and Leonidas Leonidou, became a cult hero to the fans. It was a period where there was a close connection between players and watchers, at a time when football was played on gravel, not grass, and its practitioners paid only a pittance by clubs.

wn.com/Sotiris_Kaiafas

Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. Matthews' nicknames included "The Wizard of the Dribble" and "The Magician".
A near-vegetarian teetotaller, he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old. He was also the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division and the oldest player ever to represent the country. He played his final competitive game in 1985, at the age of 70. Matthews was also an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 to honour his contribution to the English game.
He spent nineteen years with Stoke City, playing for the "Potters" from 1932 to 1947, and again from 1961 to 1965. He helped Stoke to the Second Division title in 1932–33 and 1962–63. In between his two spells at Stoke he spent fourteen years with Blackpool; where he became an FA Cup winner in 1953 (known as the Matthews Final), after he was on the losing side in the 1948 and 1951 finals. Between 1937 and 1957 he won 54 caps for England, playing in the FIFA World Cup in 1950 and 1954, and winning nine British Home Championship titles.

wn.com/Stanley_Matthews

Stefan Effenberg
Stefan Effenberg (born 2 August 1968) is a retired German footballer. A central midfielder, he possessed leadership skills, powerful shooting ability, physical strength, but also a fearsome and controversial character.
In the Bundesliga alone – where he represented most notably Bayern Munich, in six seasons in two different spells – Effenberg collected 109 yellow cards, an all-time worst at the time of his retirement.
He played for Germany on more than 30 occasions – in a career which was cut short after a run-in with the management – representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship. His nickname is Der Tiger.
Born and raised in Niendorf, Hamburg, Effenberg started his professional career with Borussia Mönchengladbach, being an undisputed first-choice by age 20. This prompted the interest from Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich, and he proceeded to score 19 goals in his first two seasons combined, but the club did not win any silverware whatsoever.
After legendary Lothar Matthäus (who also represented M'gladbach) returned to Bayern in 1992, Effenberg moved to ACF Fiorentina, being relegated from Serie A in his first season, on a side that also included Dane Brian Laudrup and Argentine Gabriel Batistuta.

wn.com/Stefan_Effenberg

Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE (

/ˈdʒɛrɑrd/; born 30 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 91 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfield role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger.
Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his début in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in 2000, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two Super Cups. In 2005, Gerrard came third in voting for the Ballon d'Or.
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000 and has represented England at the Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, as well as the 2006 World Cup where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals. Gerrard first captained his country at the 2010 World Cup in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand, who missed the tournament through injury. He was named again as England captain for the Euro 2012.

wn.com/Steven_Gerrard

Susana Werner
Susana Werner (born July 20, 1977, Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian model and actress.
From 1997 to 1999, Susana Werner had a relationship with Brazilian footballer Ronaldo. Later, she married the Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César. The couple have two children, Cauet (born in 2002) and Giulia (born in 2005).

wn.com/Susana_Werner

Sándor Kocsis
Sándor Kocsis Péter (21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was a member of the Mighty Magyars. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution he moved to Spain where he became a member of the FC Barcelona team of the late 1950s.
Kocsis was a prolific goalscorer for both Budapest Honvéd and Hungary. While playing for Honvéd, he was the top goal scorer in any European league in both 1952 and 1954. He also scored 75 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary - a 1.10 goal/game average at the game's highest level. Kocsis was the top goal scorer in the 1954 World Cup with 11 goals, being the first player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup. His record 2.2 goal/game average in a single World Cup finals competition is still unbeaten as of 2010, and only Just Fontaine has scored more goals in a single World Cup.

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Sávio
Sávio Bortolini Pimentel (born 9 January 1974), simply Sávio (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsavi̯u]), is a Brazilian retired footballer. Known as "Anjo Loiro" ("Blonde Angel") and "Diabo Loiro" ("Blonde Devil"), he played most of his professional career in Spain – being a part of Real Madrid's setup during four and a half seasons and appearing in more than 300 official games with four different teams.
A Brazilian international in the mid/late 1990s, Sávio represented the nation in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Born in Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Sávio started his footballing career at the Desportiva Capixaba youth team. Still as a junior, Sávio was transferred to Rio de Janeiro's Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, where he made his professional debut. He was hailed as the new Zico by the fans and the press due to his footballing ability, but also due to his frail physique. In 1995, as part of Flamengo's centennial celebrations, he teamed up with the volatile Romário and Edmundo. After clashing against Romário, Sávio was transferred to Real Madrid in 1998, helping the La Liga powerhouse to three UEFA Champions League titles and the 2001 national championship; in 2002–03, he served a loan stint in France, at FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

wn.com/Sávio

Sócrates
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, MD (19 February 1954 – 4 December 2011), simply Sócrates, was a Brazilian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He was also a qualified doctor.
He played for Botafogo-SP before joining Corinthians in 1978. He then moved to Italy to play for Fiorentina, returning to Brazil in 1985 to end his career.
Sócrates was a technical playmaker, known for great through passes and his vision on the field, as well as his physical strength. He was also a two-footed player and a prolific goal scorer. His ability to read the game was highly valued, and his signature move was the blind heel pass. He was considered to be one of the greatest midfielders ever to play the game. Easily recognizable for his beard and headband, he became the "symbol of cool for a whole generation of football supporters".
Sócrates played for Brazil during seven years, scoring more than 20 goals and representing the nation in two World Cups, captaining the team in the 1982 edition; he also appeared in the 1979 and 1983 Copa América tournaments, and was named South American Footballer of the Year in 1983, being selected to Pelé's FIFA 100 list in 2004.

wn.com/Sócrates

Telmo Zarra
Telmo Zarraonandia Montoya (20 January 1921 – 23 February 2006), popularly known as Zarra, was a Spanish Basque football player for Athletic Bilbao from 1940 to 1955.
Signing with Athletic after playing one season for Erandio, he became a prolific goalscorer for Athletic in his 15 seasons at the club, winning The Pichichi Trophy (which is awarded to the top goal scorer of the season in the Spanish league) six times. He scored more league goals (252) than any other player in Spanish football history, and an additional 81 cup goals. He previously shared the record for most goals scored in a season: 38 times in 1950–51, which was usurped by Cristiano Ronaldo's 40 goals during the 2010–11 La Liga season.
Despite this excellent record, he only played for Spain twenty times. Even so, he still managed to score 20 goals, including four in one historic match when Spain beat Switzerland 6–3 on 18 February 1951. He also scored his country's winning goal against England in the 1950 World Cup finals as Spain reached the final four – their best performance in the competition until winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup 60 years later.

wn.com/Telmo_Zarra

Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (French pronunciation: [tjɛʁi ɑ̃ʁi]; born 17 August 1977) is a French footballer who plays as a striker for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.
Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne (a suburb of Paris) where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £11 million in 1999.
It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 228 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year twice, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the FWA Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.

wn.com/Thierry_Henry

Thomas Müller
Thomas Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈtʰoː.mas ˈmʏ.lɐ]; born 13 September 1989) is a German footballer who plays for Bayern Munich and the German national team. Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles—as an attacking midfielder, second striker, and on either wing. He has been praised for his pace, technique and composure, and has shown consistency in scoring and creating goals. A product of Bayern's youth system, he made his first-team breakthrough in the 2009–10 season after Louis van Gaal was appointed as the main coach; he played almost every game as the club won the league and cup double and reached the Champions League final. This accomplishment earned him an international call-up, and at the end of the season he was named in Germany's squad for the 2010 World Cup, where he scored five goals in six appearances as the team finished in third place. He was named as the Best Young Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, with five goals and three assists.

wn.com/Thomas_Müller

Toni Polster
Anton "Toni" Polster (born 10 March 1964 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian footballer. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for Austria and the singer of the Austrian band Achtung Liebe.
Polster came through the Austria Wien youth system to make his professional league debut in August 1982, at 18 years of age. He scored his first Bundesliga goal three weeks later and went on to win three league titles and a domestic cup before moving abroad to play a season for Serie A mid-table side Torino. He then spent the five following years at Spanish teams Sevilla, Logroñés and Rayo Vallecano, ending up with these teams in mid-table as well. In 1990, he finished runner-up in the Spanish goalscoring chart. In 1993, he moved to Germany to spend 5 years at Köln, again ending up in mid-table every season except for the last one in which he experienced relegation. That made him join Borussia Mönchengladbach next year but they got also relegated at the end of the season and Polster returned to Austria to play a final season at Austria Salzburg.

wn.com/Toni_Polster

Tostão
Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade (born 25 January 1947), aka Tostão, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a forward.
In his prime, he was considered one of the best offensive players in the world, while also contributing with many assists thanks to his passing abilities. He played most of his 11-year career with Cruzeiro.
Tostão represented Brazil in two World Cups, winning the tournament in 1970.
Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Eduardo Andrade received, like the vast majority of Brazilian footballers, a nickname early into his football career, being dubbed 'Tostão' (little coin). Legend has it that as a six-year old school boy he netted 47 goals in one game for his primary school football team.
Tostão made his professional debuts aged only 15, for local América Futebol Clube (MG), returning after two years to Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, where he had started his youth career. Not a pure striker, he was crowned the Campeonato Mineiro's topscorer on three consecutive occasions, the first in 1966, and left the club as its all-time scorer, with a total of 242 league goals.

wn.com/Tostão

Túlio Maravilha
Túlio Humberto Pereira Costa (born June 2, 1969), sometimes simply referred as Túlio or Túlio Maravilha ("Wonder Túlio") for his great creativity on the field and for his charisma, is a Brazilian international football (soccer) forward. He has scored more than 900 goals (in his own account) and intends to score the 1000th with Botafogo. He was also elected a member of his hometown municipal assembly. He was born in Goiânia and is a member of PMDB.
Túlio Costa stands at 1.78 meters tall, played for Brazilian club teams such as Goiás, Botafogo, Corinthians, Vitória, Fluminense, Cruzeiro and Vila Nova. In Europe, he played for Sion and Újpest. He played for several lower-division teams in Brazil, hoping to juggle his goal of scoring 1000 goals while fulfilling his political aspirations.
While at Botafogo, he won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 1995, the Teresa Herrera Trophy in 1996, and Torneio Rio-São Paulo in 1998 having Bebeto as a partner in the attack. Tulio's best years were while he was at Botafogo, where he was twice the Brazilian top scorer and the Brazilian champion in 1995. His image will be forever associated with Botafogo, where he plans to return to score goal number 1000 and become one of only three players in history to score a thousand goals or more. In 2006, a special edition of Placar magazine, "Meu Time dos Sonhos" ("My Dream Team"), Tulio was elected for the Botafogo's best line-up of all time by some famous supporters along with idols like Garrincha and Nilton Santos.

wn.com/Túlio_Maravilha

Ubaldo Righetti
Ubaldo Righetti (born March 1, 1963 in Sermoneta) is a retired Italian professional football player.
He played 10 seasons in the Serie A for A.S. Roma, U.S. Lecce and Delfino Pescara 1936.
He scored in a penalty shootout that Roma eventually lost to Liverpool F.C. in the 1984 European Cup Final.
He currently works as a commentator for RAI.

wn.com/Ubaldo_Righetti

Uli Stielike
Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born 15 November 1954 in Ketsch, West Germany) is a German football manager and former player.
Stielike was a West Germany youth international for hometown club SpVgg Ketsch when he got signed by UEFA Cup runner-up Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1973, first coming to action as a full back for the then two times German Bundesliga champion. Playing in defending midfield for his club, afterwards, he was part of the Mönchengladbach team that won the Bundesliga titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977, the UEFA Cup in 1975 and gained a runner-up medal in the European Cup in 1977 following a 1–3 against Liverpool F.C. in Rome.
Ahead of the 1977–78 season, Stielike moved on to join Real Madrid to become a reliable fan-favourite in his eight years with Los merengues. His first three seasons at Santiago Bernabéu all ended in Real winning La Liga. In 1980 and 1982, he was part of the side winning Copa del Rey, in 1985 he added the Copa de la Liga, and finished off his Madrid years with the UEFA Cup triumph of the same summer.

wn.com/Uli_Stielike

Uwe Seeler
Uwe Seeler (born 5 November 1936 in Hamburg) is a former German football official and retired football player. He played for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West German national team.
Seeler followed in his father's footsteps as a player for Hamburger SV, making his first team debut in 1954 in a German Cup match, aged just under 18, scoring four goals (8–2 vs. Holstein Kiel). In later years, despite tempting offers from Italian and Spanish clubs he remained loyal to Hamburg, working on a second career as a merchant besides playing football, as in those days football stars in Germany did not earn the huge salaries seen now.
Seeler was a gifted striker who, among other things, was renowned for his overhead kick. He scored 137 times in 239 Bundesliga games, 43 times in 72 international games for the German national team, and 21 times in 29 European club tournament games. He was captain of both his club team and the national team for many years. He and his club won the German championship in 1960 and the DFB-Pokal (German FA Cup) in 1963. He was top scorer of the first Bundesliga season 1963–64 and German Footballer of the Year in 1960, 1964 and 1970.

wn.com/Uwe_Seeler

Vampeta
"Vampeta", born Marcos André Batista dos Santos, (born 13 March 1974, in Nazaré) is a former Brazilian professional football player and current coach of Grêmio Osasco. He has played in midfield. He represented Brazil from 1998 until 2002, winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Vampeta, his nickname, is a fusion of the words "vampiro" (Portuguese for vampire) and "capeta" (Portuguese for devil).
Vampeta started his career in Salvador, with team Vitória, and later went to Europe with Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, who signed him alongside Ronaldo in the summer of 1994. After a difficult first season, PSV released him on loan to Fluminense, before he returned to the Netherlands as regular of the team that won the first Dutch title in 5 years in 1997.
His good performance in Eindhoven led him back to Brazil were at Corinthians he grew out to become a member of the Brazilian national team. Vampeta then joined Internazionale in summer 2000, being reunited with Ronaldo. After failing to hold down a first-team place however, he stated that he wanted to leave and went to Rio de Janeiro in December for a vacation. In January 2001, Vampeta went to PSG as part exchange for Stéphane Dalmat.

wn.com/Vampeta

Vanderlei Luxemburgo
Vanderlei Luxemburgo da Silva (born May 10, 1952, in Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro state), better known as Vanderlei Luxemburgo, is a Brazilian football manager and former football player. He holds the distinction of being the most successful manager in the history of Brazil's Série A, with 5 league titles. He currently manages Grêmio.
Luxemburgo started to be noticed as a top tier coach when he led Bragantino, a modest team from the countryside, to the title of the 1990 Campeonato Paulista (São Paulo State Championship). This gave him enough visibility to be hired by one of the top teams in the country, Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. In 1994 and 1995 he led Palmeiras to win both the São Paulo State and Brazilian championships. When he left in 1995, Palmeiras' performance was visibly affected and when he came back in 1996 the team won the São Paulo State championship again.
After a brief passage through Santos, in 1998 he went to Corinthians and won the Brazilian National League that year. He left Corinthians the next year to join the Brazilian National Team. Different from when he left Palmeiras in 1995, Corinthians still performed at a high level and the team he built won the Campeonato Paulista and the Brazilian National League in 1999 and the Fifa Club World Championship the following year.

wn.com/Vanderlei_Luxemburgo

Vavá
Vavá, real name Edvaldo Izídio Neto, (born 12 November 1934 in Recife, Brazil; died 19 January 2002 in Rio de Janeiro) was an association footballer who is widely considered one of the best strikers of his generation. His nickname was "Peito de Aço" (Steel Chest). He played as a full striker (center forward) whose only role was to score goals, which he did for Sport Club do Recife, C.R. Vasco da Gama, S.E. Palmeiras and the Brazilian national team.
Vava earned 20 caps with the Brazilian national team, scoring a total of 15 goals. He was on the side that won both the 1958 and 1962 World Cup, in which he scored 5 and 4 goals, respectively. Furthermore, he was a joint recipient of the 1962 World Cup Golden Shoe award.
Vavá scored in the final of both 1958 (twice) and 1962 (once), thus becoming the first player to score in the final of two different world cups. To this day, only four players achieved this feat, the other three being Pelé, Paul Breitner and Zinedine Zidane.

wn.com/Vavá

Viola (footballer)
Paulo Sergio Rosa, usually known as Viola (born January 1, 1969), is a Brazilian footballer that plays as a forward. Viola is famous for his strong personality on the pitch and great appearances in many teams he has defended throughout his long career. Back in 1988, during the final game of Campeonato Paulista (1st Division Championship of São Paulo State) between Corinthians and Guarani, Viola was called in by his coach to play on the last 5 minutes of the match when the game was tied in 1 - 1. 'Viola stepped into the pitch and surprisingly, not long after, he would score the goal that gave Corinthians the title of Winner of the competition. After that, Viola’s career had a great jump and many Brazilian teams wanted to sign him up. Later in 1993, Viola popularity increased so much that, he received an invitation to play for the famous Brazilian Squad right next to Romario, Zinho, Bebeto, Ronaldo, Cafu and many other brilliant players of that time to play the Copa America. Not long after, Viola and the same team would play the 1994 FIFA World Cup up held in the US. Brazil had an amazing win and brought great honor to several Brazilian fans all over the globe. In 1995, thanks to the great time Viola was passing through, he would win another 2 big titles in Brazil, the Campeonato Paulista and the Copa of Brasil (a big national competition in the country). After that, he left Brazil for an invitation to play for Valencia in Spain. He spent quite a season in Spain due to his adaptation. Soon, he came back to Brazil to play for other big teams such as Palmeiras, Santos( Pelé’s former club) and Vasco da Gama. In 1998 playing for Santos, Viola was considered as the best striker of the biggest competition in Brazil, the Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazil National Championship) scoring an amazing mark of 20 goals in 28 games. On the same year, he would also conquest the winner title of the Copa Comenbol (South American Cup). In 1999, playing for Vasco da Gama, Viola won the Torneio Rio-São Paulo (Tournament between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo States). And in 2000, he also won the Copa Mercosur (competition among the countries of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile) and one more time, the Campeonato Brasileiro. In 2001, Viola left Brazil again for another foreign team located in Turkey, Gaziantepspor where he spent three seasons. In 2004, back to Brazil Viola would defend many other teams including Guarani, Bahia, Juventus, Uberlandia, Duque de Caxias, Angra dos Reis and Resende Futebol Clube. In early 2010 Viola was hired by Brusque.

wn.com/Viola_(footballer)

Víctor Unamuno
Víctor Unamuno Ibarzabal (born May 25, 1909, date of death unknown) was a Spanish footballer who played for Real Betis. In the 1930s, Unamuno played for both Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis. He is noted for being the top goalscorer for Real Betis in their one and only championship winning season with 13 goals in the 1934-1935 season.
In the 1939/1940 Primera Division season, he earned the honor of top goalscorer, winning the Pichichi Trophy. He retired as a footballer in 1942.

wn.com/Víctor_Unamuno

Waldo Machado
Waldo Machado da Silva, Valdo (born September 9, 1934), was a Brazilian footballer who achieved notoriety playing for Fluminense and Valencia. He was arguably the top scorer for Fluminense in the club's history, reaching 314 goals in 401 matches.

wn.com/Waldo_Machado

Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.
Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003 becoming the youngest player to represent England (a record later broken by Theo Walcott). He is England's youngest ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the competition's youngest goalscorer. Rooney featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and is widely regarded as his country's best player. He has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of September 2011, he has won 73 international caps and scored 28 goals. Along with David Beckham, Rooney is the most red carded player for England, having been sent off twice.
Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. The same year, Rooney acquired the nickname "Wazza". Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League four times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups. He also holds two runner-up medals from both the Premier League and the Champions League. In April of the 2011–12 season Rooney scored his 180th goal, making him United's fourth highest goal-scorer of all time.

wn.com/Wayne_Rooney

Willy Brokamp
Willy Brokamp (Kerkrade, 25 February 1946) is a former footballplayer For MVV Maastricht in the 1960s and 1970s who recruited him from RKVV Chèvremont (in the community of Kerkrade) . His nickname was “The blond arrow”.
He ranked high in the Footballplayer of the year-classification for several times. In 1973 he shared the first place on the list of top scorers with 18 goals together with Cas Janssens.
In 1974 he made a transfer to Ajax Amsterdam, where he himself had 2 very good seasons (1974/1975, 1975/1976) (without him Ajax would have sunk deeper that period). He also played 6 games for the Dutch national team and scored 6 goals.
Brokamp was not only a footballplayer. Already during his football career he started his own bar. For many years he was manager of the bar “Aux Pays-Bas” next to the Vrijthof and several other establishments in Maastricht.
He currently lives in Kanne, Belgium near Maastricht. Since 1999, he also owns a bar there, named In Kanne en Kruike.
RKVV Chèvremont
MVV Maastricht
AFC Ajax Amsterdam

wn.com/Willy_Brokamp

Wim Kieft
Willem "Wim" Cornelis Nicolaas Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a centre forward.
A prolific goal-scorer whose main asset resided in his heading ability, he played in his country for two of the most important clubs, Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven, with equal team and individual success. He also played abroad in Italy and France.
For the Dutch national team, Kieft scored in double digits in more than one decade of play, being a very valuable member of the squad that won Euro 1988. He also represented the nation at the 1990 World Cup.
Born in Amsterdam, Kieft started his professional career with local giants AFC Ajax, making his first team debuts on 4 May 1980, at not yet 18. Amongst his youth teammates were Frank Rijkaard, John van 't Schip, Marco van Basten and Gerald Vanenburg, as in his first two full seasons he scored at an astonishing rate, especially in 1981–82, when he netted 32 goals in as many games, being crucial as the side lifted the Eredivisie title, and receiving the European Golden Boot award.

wn.com/Wim_Kieft

Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew "Zibì" Kazimierz Boniek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈzbiɡɲɛv ˈbɔɲɛk]; born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz) is a former Polish footballer and coach. He first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players. On 12 October 2009 he received a Golden Foot career award.
Boniek was transferred to Italian football giants Juventus in 1982. That same year he won a bronze medal (third place) as part of the Polish team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With Juventus he won the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1984 (scoring in the final of the former) and the European Cup in 1985.
Boniek represented Poland in 80 internationals and scored 24 goals. After finishing his professional career at A.S. Roma in 1988 he had a successful business career.
As a player, Boniek was known for his blistering pace and acceleration. He was one of the best dribblers of his time and also displayed superb technique.

wn.com/Zbigniew_Boniek

Zetti
Armelino Donizetti Quagliato, best known as Zetti (born in Porto Feliz, January 10, 1965) is a former association football goalkeeper and coach manager.
Zetti played with São Paulo from 1990 to 1996. Arguably one of the most successful goalkeepers in the clubs history he won 1 Brazilian championship, 2 Copas Libertadores and 2 Intercontinental Cups during this period. Other clubs played for include Guarani, Toledo, Londrina, Palmeiras, Santos, Fluminense and Sport.
For the Brazilian national squad he was selected for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He made 17 appearances for his country during the early 1990s.
Zetti was the manager of Esporte Clube Juventude in the Brazilian league second division. On May 7, 2009, he was hired as the manager of Paraná Clube, replacing previous coach Velloso.

wn.com/Zetti

Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane (French pronunciation: [zinedin zidan]) (born 23 June 1972) is a retired French footballer. Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.
In club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. He is one of only four players to have been FIFA World Player of the Year three or more times (Brazilian forward Marta is a five time winner (female award), while Brazilian striker Ronaldo (male award) and German striker Birgit Prinz (female award) have won three each). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.

wn.com/Zinedine_Zidane

Zinho (footballer)
Crizam César de Oliveira Filho, better known as Zinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈziɲu]; born June 17, 1967 in Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro), is a retired Brazilian footballer.
He was a member of the 1994 FIFA World Cup winning team, Brazil. He was capped 57 times between March 1989 and February 1998. On January 20, 2010 he was ranked 23rd in the USL First Division Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous decade.

wn.com/Zinho_(footballer)

Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Bosnian pronunciation: [ˈzlatan ibraˈxiːmɔʋitɕ]; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain.
Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A, benefiting from his strike partnership with David Trezeguet. In 2006, he signed with league rival Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Italian Oscar del Calcio and the Swedish Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona for €69 million, the second highest transfer fee in football history. His time at Barcelona was short lived however; moving back to Serie A football with Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world and cost the Italian club a confirmed €24 million.

wn.com/Zlatan_Ibrahimović

Zviad Endeladze
Zviad Endeladze Vitalovich (born 7 April 1966 in Adigeni) is a retired Georgian footballer. He has played for clubs such as Guria Lanchkhuti and Margveti, scoring 40 goals during the 1995–96 season, which made him the top scorer in European domestic competitions and would have won the European Golden Boot had it not been suspended in 1991. The award was reinstated a season after Endeladze's feat under new rules that would count goals scored in the Georgian Top League as one point while goals scored in Europe's top leagues are counted double. He retired from football in 2006.

wn.com/Zviad_Endeladze

Zé Elias
José Elias Moedim Júnior, (born 25 September 1976), commonly known as Zé Elias, is a retired Brazilian footballer. A defensive midfielder, he played for 12 different teams, in seven different countries.
Born in São Paulo, Elias was one of the youngest players to ever appear for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, already gaining strong interest from PSV Eindhoven during 1993–94. Upon his debut for his hometown team, he had not yet reached his seventeenth birthday.
After becoming an undisputed starter at Corinthians and first appearing for the Brazilian national team at 19, Elias went overseas, representing, with moderate individual success, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, F.C. Internazionale Milano, Bologna F.C. 1909, Olympiacos FC (winning three Greek championships in a row but playing sparingly, a maximum of 18 league appearances) and Genoa CFC.
After a return to Brazil with Santos FC, Elias had short-lived stints with FC Metalurh Donetsk, Guarani Futebol Clube, Omonia Nicosia and Londrina Esporte Clube. He retired as a player in March 2008 and assumed a scouting role in Brazil for Inter Milan. However, in June, Elias signed a contract with SC Rheindorf Altach for the 2008–09 season, before announcing his retirement again.

wn.com/Zé_Elias

Zé Roberto
José Roberto da Silva Jr. (born 6 July 1974 in Ipiranga), commonly known as Zé Roberto, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for the Brazilian Série A club Grêmio as midfielder.
Zé Roberto started the youth ranks of the Lecture of São Bernardo, however, was playing in Portuguesa in São Paulo, Brazil, where he became known throughout Brazil because of the conquest of vice in the Brasileirão 1996.
He then joined Real Madrid for a brief spell where he helped them win La Liga, before moving back to Brazil to play for Flamengo.
Zé passed by Flamengo in 1998 and served in Gávea alongside big names in football like Romário and Palhinha. He played in twenty-four league games, but failed to score. His spell at Flamengo was very short, considering that in that same year 1998, he was eventually negotiated with Bayer Leverkusen, Germany.
He joined Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 1998. It was at Leverkusen that he made a real name for himself, fast becoming a popular figure at the club. During his four year stay at the club, Bayer enjoyed its most successful period, being German Bundesliga runners-up on three occasions and reaching the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. In four years at the club Zé Roberto appeared in 113 league matches scoring 16 goals.

wn.com/Zé_Roberto

Ânderson Polga
Ânderson Corrêa Polga (born 9 February 1979 in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a central defender.
He spent most of his professional career with Sporting in Portugal, appearing in 327 official games (four goals) and winning four major titles. He started playing for Grêmio.
Polga represented Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, winning the competition.
Groomed at Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, Polga was an important defensive unit from early on, and helped the side to two trophies in 2001: the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship and the Brazilian Cup.
In 2003, he moved to Sporting Clube de Portugal, becoming the first World Cup champion ever to play in the country. He quickly became a defensive stalwart for the Lisbon-based side, helping it to the UEFA Cup final in his third year – after a run-in with then coach José Peseiro, he was an unused substitute in the decisive match, a 1–3 defeat against PFC CSKA Moscow – as well as to four consecutive league runner-up finishes.

wn.com/Ânderson_Polga

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	World Cup	Round
1.	16 June 1998	Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France	Morocco	1 – 0	3–0	1998	Group stage
2.	27 June 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	3 – 0	4–1	1998	Round of 16
3.	27 June 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	4 – 1	4–1	1998	Round of 16
4.	7 July 1998	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	Netherlands	1 – 0	1–1	1998	Semi-final
5.	3 June 2002	Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan, Korea Republic	Turkey	1 – 1	2–1	2002	Group stage
6.	8 June 2002	Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo, Korea Republic	China PR	4 – 0	4–0	2002	Group stage
7.	13 June 2002	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, Korea Republic	Costa Rica	0 – 1	2–5	2002	Group stage
8.	13 June 2002	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, Korea Republic	Costa Rica	0 – 2	2–5	2002	Group stage
9.	17 June 2002	Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe, Japan	Belgium	2 – 0	2–0	2002	Round of 16
10.	26 June 2002	Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan	Turkey	1 – 0	1–0	2002	Semi-final
11.	30 June 2002	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan	Germany	0 – 1	0–2	2002	Final
12.	30 June 2002	International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan	Germany	0 – 2	0–2	2002	Final
13.	22 June 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Japan	1 – 1	1–4	2006	Group stage
14.	22 June 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Japan	1 – 4	1–4	2006	Group stage
15.	27 June 2006	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Ghana	1 – 0	3–0	2006	Round of 16

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	June 5, 1994	McMahon Stadium, Edmonton, Canada	Canada	1 – 0	1 – 1	Friendly
2.	June 11, 1995	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	England	2 – 1	3 – 1	Friendly
3.	April 30, 1997	Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, USA	Mexico	1 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly
4.	April 30, 1997	Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, USA	Mexico	3 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly
5.	May 30, 1997	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1 – 3	2 – 4	Friendly
6.	June 8, 1997	Stagg Memorial Stadium, Stockton, USA	Honduras	1 – 0	8 – 2	Friendly
7.	June 8, 1997	Stagg Memorial Stadium, Stockton, USA	Honduras	2 – 0	8 – 2	Friendly
8.	June 8, 1997	Stagg Memorial Stadium, Stockton, USA	Honduras	3 – 0	8 – 2	Friendly
8.	June 8, 1997	Stagg Memorial Stadium, Stockton, USA	Honduras	4 – 1	8 – 2	Friendly
9.	June 8, 1997	Stagg Memorial Stadium, Stockton, USA	Honduras	6 – 1	8 – 2	Friendly
10.	June 8, 1997	Stagg Memorial Stadium, Stockton, USA	Honduras	7 – 2	8 – 2	Friendly
12.	June 13, 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Costa Rica	3 – 0	5 – 0	1997 Copa América
13.	June 13, 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Costa Rica	4 – 0	5 – 0	1997 Copa América
14.	June 22, 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Paraguay	1 – 0	2 – 0	1997 Copa América
15.	June 22, 1997	Estadio Ramón Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Paraguay	2 – 0	2 – 0	1997 Copa América
16.	June 29, 1997	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	2 – 1	3 – 1	1997 Copa América
17.	November 11, 1997	Estádio Mané Garrincha, Brasilia, Brazil	Wales	1 – 0	3 – 0	Friendly
18.	November 11, 1997	Estádio Mané Garrincha, Brasilia, Brazil	Wales	3 – 0	3 – 0	Friendly
19.	December 7, 1997	Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Africa	1 – 0	2 – 1	Friendly
20.	December 7, 1997	Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Africa	2 – 0	2 – 1	Friendly
21.	December 19, 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Czech Republic	2 – 0	2 – 0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
22.	December 21, 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Australia	1 – 0	6 – 0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
23.	December 21, 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Australia	2 – 0	6 – 0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
24.	December 21, 1997	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Australia	5 – 0	6 – 0	1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
25.	June 16, 1998	Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France	Morocco	1 – 0	3 – 0	1998 FIFA World Cup
26.	June 27, 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	3 – 0	4 – 1	1998 FIFA World Cup
27.	June 27, 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Chile	4 – 1	4 – 1	1998 FIFA World Cup
28.	July 7, 1998	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	Netherlands	1 – 0	1 – 1	1998 FIFA World Cup
29.	March 28, 1999	Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	1 – 1	2 – 1	Friendly
30.	June 30, 1999	Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Venezuela	1 – 0	7 – 0	1999 Copa América
31.	June 30, 1999	Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Venezuela	4 – 0	7 – 0	1999 Copa América
32.	July 6, 1999	Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Chile	1 – 0	1 – 0	1999 Copa América
33.	July 11, 1999	Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay	Argentina	2 – 1	2 – 1	1999 Copa América
34.	July 18, 1999	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Uruguay	3 – 0	3 – 0	1999 Copa América
35.	August 9, 2001	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Panama	3 – 0	5 – 0	Friendly
36.	August 9, 2001	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Panama	4 – 0	5 – 0	Friendly
37.	August 9, 2001	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Panama	5 – 0	5 – 0	Friendly
38.	February 6, 2002	King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	1 – 0	1 – 0	Friendly
39.	June 3, 2002	Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan, South Korea	Turkey	1 – 1	2 – 1	2002 FIFA World Cup
40.	June 8, 2002	Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo, South Korea	China PR	4 – 0	4 – 0	2002 FIFA World Cup
41.	June 13, 2002	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Costa Rica	1 – 0	5 – 2	2002 FIFA World Cup
42.	June 13, 2002	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Costa Rica	2 – 0	5 – 2	2002 FIFA World Cup
43.	June 17, 2002	Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe, Japan	Belgium	2 – 0	2 – 0	2002 FIFA World Cup
44.	June 26, 2002	Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan	Turkey	1 – 0	1 – 0	2002 FIFA World Cup
45.	June 30, 2002	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Germany	1 – 0	2 – 0	2002 FIFA World Cup
46.	June 30, 2002	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Germany	2 – 0	2 – 0	2002 FIFA World Cup
47.	June 11, 2003	Abuja Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria	Nigeria	3 – 0	3 – 0	Friendly
48.	September 7, 2003	Estadio Metropolitano, Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1 – 0	2 – 1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
49.	November 19, 2003	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Uruguay	2 – 0	3 – 3	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
50.	November 19, 2003	Pinheirão, Curitiba, Brazil	Uruguay	3 – 3	3 – 3	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
51.	February 6, 2004	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Argentina	1 – 0	3 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
52.	February 6, 2004	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Argentina	2 – 0	3 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
53.	February 6, 2004	Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil	Argentina	3 – 0	3 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
54.	August 18, 2004	Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	2 – 0	6 – 0	Friendly
55.	August 18, 2004	Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	5 – 0	6 – 0	Friendly
56.	August 18, 2004	Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti	Haiti	6 – 0	6 – 0	Friendly
57.	September 5, 2004	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Bolivia	1 – 0	3 – 1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
58.	October 9, 2004	Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	3 – 0	5 – 2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
59.	June 4, 2006	, Geneva	New Zealand	1 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly
60.	June 22, 2006	FIFA WM Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany	Japan	1 – 1	4 – 1	2006 FIFA World Cup
61.	June 22, 2006	FIFA WM Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany	Japan	4 – 1	4 – 1	2006 FIFA World Cup
62.	June 27, 2006	FIFA WM Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany	Ghana	1 – 0	3 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup

Persondata
Name	Nazário de Lima, Ronaldo Luís
Alternative names	Ronaldo
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	1976-9-22
Place of birth	Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death
Place of death

Singles
Rafael Nadal in 2012
Full name	Rafael Nadal Parera
Country	Spain
Residence	Manacor, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Born	(1986-06-03) 3 June 1986 (age 26) Manacor, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	85 kg (190 lb; 13.4 st)
Turned pro	2001
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$48,433,332
Career record	574–120 (82.71%)
Career titles	49
Highest ranking	No. 1 (18 August 2008)
Current ranking	No. 2 (28 May 2012)^[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (2009)
French Open	W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
Wimbledon	W (2008, 2010)
US Open	W (2010)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	F (2010)
Olympic Games	Gold medal (2008)
Doubles
Career record	97–59
Career titles	8
Highest ranking	No. 26 (8 August 2005)
Current ranking	No. 62 (28 May 2012)^[2]
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2004, 2005)
Wimbledon	2R (2005)
US Open	SF (2004)
Last updated on: 28 May 2012.

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Spain
Men's Tennis
Gold	2008 Beijing	Singles

Season	Club	League	League		State League		Cups		Continental		Other		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1993	Cruzeiro	Série A	14	12	2	0	-	-	4	8	1	0	21	20
1994	Cruzeiro	Série A	-	-	18	22	-	-	8	2	-	-	26	24
Total			14	12	20	22	–	–	12	10	1	0	47	44
1994–95	PSV	Eredivisie	33	30	-	-	1	2	2	3	-	-	36	35
1995–96	PSV	Eredivisie	13	12	-	-	3	1	5	6	-	-	21	19
Total			46	42	–	–	4	3	7	9	–	–	57	54
1996–97	Barcelona	La Liga	37	34	-	-	4	6	7	5	1	2	49	47
Total			37	34	–	–	4	6	7	5	1	2	49	47
1997–98	Inter Milan	Serie A	32	25	-	-	4	3	11	6	-	-	47	34
1998–99			19	14	-	-	2	0	6	1	1	0	28	15
1999–00			7	3	-	-	1	0	0	0	-	-	8	3
2000–01			0	0	-	-	0	0	0	0	-	-	0	0
2001–02			10	7	-	-	1	0	5	0	-	-	16	7
Total			68	49	–	–	8	3	22	7	1	0	99	59
2002–03	Real Madrid	La Liga	31	23	-	-	1	0	11	6	1	1	44	30
2003–04			32	24	-	-	5	2	9	4	2	1	48	31
2004–05			34	21	-	-	1	0	10	3	-	-	45	24
2005–06			23	14	-	-	2	1	2	0	-	-	27	15
2006–07			7	1	-	-	2	1	4	2	-	-	13	4
Total			127	83	–	–	11	4	36	15	3	2	177	104
2006–07	AC Milan	Serie A	14	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14	7
2007–08	AC Milan	Serie A	6	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	2
Total			20	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20	9
2009	Corinthians	Série A	20	12	10	8	8	3	-	-	-	-	38	23
2010			11	6	9	3	-	-	7	3	-	-	27	12
2011			-	-	2	0	-	-	2	0	-	-	4	0
Total			31	18	21	11	8	3	9	3	–	–	69	35
Career totals			343	247	41	44	35	34	93	89	6	8	518	352

Brazil national team

Year	Apps	Goals
1994	4	1
1995	6	3
1996	4	5
1997	20	15
1998	10	5
1999	10	7
2000	0	0
2001	0	0
2002	12	11
2003	8	3
2004	11	6
2005	5	1
2006	7	5
2007	0	0
2008	0	0
2009	0	0
2010	0	0
2011	1	0
Total	98	62

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	A	3R	4R	A	QF	SF	W	QF	QF	F	1 / 8	35–7	83.33
French Open	A	A	W	W	W	W	4R	W	W		6 / 7	45–1	97.83
Wimbledon	3R	A	2R	F	F	W	A	W	F		2 / 7	35–5	87.50
US Open	2R	2R	3R	QF	4R	SF	SF	W	F		1 / 9	34–8	80.95
Win–Loss	3–2	3–2	13–3	17–2	20–3	24–2	15–2	25–1	23–3	6–1	10 / 31	149–21	87.65

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	2005	French Open	Clay	Mariano Puerta	6–7^(6–8), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
Winner	2006	French Open (2)	Clay	Roger Federer	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6^(7–4)
Runner-up	2006	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	0–6, 6–7^(5–7), 7–6^(7–2), 3–6
Winner	2007	French Open (3)	Clay	Roger Federer	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	2007	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Roger Federer	6–7^(7–9), 6–4, 6–7^(3–7), 6–2, 2–6
Winner	2008	French Open (4)	Clay	Roger Federer	6–1, 6–3, 6–0
Winner	2008	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(8–10), 9–7
Winner	2009	Australian Open	Hard	Roger Federer	7–5, 3–6, 7–6^(7–3), 3–6, 6–2
Winner	2010	French Open (5)	Clay	Robin Söderling	6–4, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	2010	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Tomáš Berdych	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	2010	US Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	2011	French Open (6)	Clay	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–6^(7–3), 5–7, 6–1
Runner-up	2011	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Novak Djokovic	4–6, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6
Runner-up	2011	US Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	2–6, 4–6, 7–6^(7–3), 1–6
Runner-up	2012	Australian Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	7–5, 4–6, 2–6, 7–6^(7–5), 5–7

Tournament	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	SR	W–L	Win %
Year-End Championship Tournaments
YEC	A	A	A	A	SF	SF	A	RR	F	RR		0 / 5	9–10	47.37

Tournament	Since	Record accomplished	Players matched
All	1877	8 consecutive titles at any single tournament	Stands alone
Monte Carlo Masters	1897	8 men's singles titles	Stands alone
French Open	1925	6 men's singles titles	Björn Borg
Rome Masters	1930	6 men's singles titles	Stands alone
Barcelona Open	1953	7 men's singles titles	Stands alone

Time span	Selected Grand Slam tournament records	Players matched
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	Career Golden Slam	Andre Agassi
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	Career Grand Slam	Rod Laver Andre Agassi Roger Federer
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	2+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts^[144]	Mats Wilander
2005 French Open — 2010 US Open	Youngest to achieve a Career Grand Slam (24)^[144]^[145]	Stands alone
2010 French Open — 2010 US Open	Winner of Majors on clay, grass and hard court in calendar year	Stands alone
2010 French Open — 2010 US Open	Winner of three consecutive Majors in calendar year	Rod Laver
2007 French Open — 2010 US Open	4 finals reached without losing a set^[a]	Bjorn Borg
2010 French Open — 2010 US Open	Simultaneous holder of Majors on clay, grass and hard court	Roger Federer
2008 Olympics — 2010 US Open	Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Majors on clay, grass and hard court	Stands alone
2008 Wimbledon — 2008 Olympics	Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon	Stands alone
2008 French Open — 2009 Australian Open	Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and three Majors	Andre Agassi
2008 Olympics — 2010 US Open	Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and clay & hard court Majors	Andre Agassi
2011 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open	*Three consecutive runner-up finishes^[146]^[147]*	Stands alone

Grand Slam tournaments	Time Span	Records at each Grand Slam tournament	Players matched
French Open	2005–2011	6 titles overall^[148]	Björn Borg
French Open	2005–2011	6 titles in 7 years	Stands alone
French Open	2005–2008	4 consecutive titles^[148]	Björn Borg
French Open	2005–2008, 2010–2011	6 finals overall	Björn Borg
French Open	2005–2008	4 consecutive finals	Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Roger Federer
French Open	2005–2009	31 consecutive match wins^[148]	Stands alone
French Open	2005–2011	97.92% (47–1) match winning percentage	Stands alone
French Open	2008, 2010	2 wins without losing a set^[148]	Björn Borg
French Open	2005	Won title on the first attempt	Mats Wilander
French Open—Wimbledon	2008, 2010	Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year	Rod Laver Björn Borg Roger Federer

Time span	Selected Masters tournament records	Players matched
2005–2012	21 Masters 1000 titles overall^[149]	Stands alone
2005–2012	16 Masters 1000 clay court titles	Stands alone
2010	Clay Slam^[b]	Stands alone
2005–2012	8 consecutive years winning 1+ title	Stands alone
2005–2012	83.03% (230–47) winning percentage^[150]	Stands alone

Time span	Other selected records	Players matched
2005–2007	81 consecutive clay court match victories	Stands alone
2002–2012	92.91% (249–19) clay court match winning percentage^[151]	Stands alone
2002–2012	85.20% (524–91) outdoor court match winning percentage^[152]	Stands alone
2005–2012	7+ titles at 2 different tournaments^[153]	Stands alone
2005–2012	8 titles overall at a single tournament (Monte Carlo)	Guillermo Vilas
2005–2012	8 consecutive titles at a single tournament (Monte Carlo)^[154]	Stands alone

Persondata
Name	Nadal, Rafael
Alternative names
Short description	Spanish tennis player
Date of birth	3 June 1986
Place of birth	Manacor, Majorca, Spain
Date of death
Place of death

Ronaldo Filmography

Ronaldo Filmography

Famous quotes by Ronaldo:

"I am very ambitious. I want to enjoy this and then really go for it."

"I've never timed myself over 100m, but I have done a test over shorter distances, 20m or 30m, with and without the ball. What's strange is that I'm faster with the ball than without it. Some people are born for distance running and others for sprint"

"There is room for individuality, but without the strength of this Brazil group it is nothing."

"I will celebrate, but I know new goals and objectives will come and I am ready to take them."

"My life has always been a series of challenges and I'm psychologically-prepared but this is the biggest challenge of my life."

"Of course I'm flattered to be compared to Pele, but Pele only left the playing fields after scoring 1,000 goals and I'm just getting started."

"Goals are always in demand. There will always be a market for a striker who is fast, scores goals regularly and is strong. I've scored more than 100 goals and people know what they are buying."

"It will take time for us all to understand what has happened to us, but it is a joy to be surrounded by such happiness."

"I don't consider myself as the best player in the world. I'm not obsessed with individual titles. I'm much more interested in being part of a team which wins trophies."

"I love to score goals after passing all the defenders as well as the keeper. This is not my speciality, but my habit."