Lionel Messi

Adriano Correia
Adriano Correia Claro (born 26 October 1984), simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for FC Barcelona in La Liga.
One of few players in professional football who is genuinely ambidextrous, he is capable of playing as a defender or midfielder, on both sides of the pitch.
Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Adriano started professionally for his hometown club, Coritiba Foot Ball Club, making his first team debuts at not yet 18. In January 2005, he joined Sevilla FC in a four 1/2-year deal, his La Liga debut arriving on the 29th, a 0–4 home loss against eventual champions FC Barcelona. The Andalusians, however, did finish sixth and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the following seasons, Adriano continued to feature in several positions for Sevilla with equal success, as it won back-to-back UEFA Cups, with the player contributing with 25 matches and four goals in both editions combined. In the final of the latter edition, he opened the score against RCD Espanyol, in an eventual penalty shootout win; previously, in late September 2006, he had added a further five years to his link. After three years residing in the country, he was granted Spanish citizenship.

wn.com/Adriano_Correia

Agustín Orión
Agustín Ignacio Orión (born July 26, 1981) is an Argentine football goalkeeper who currently plays for Boca Juniors.
Orión was San Lorenzo's first choice goalkeeper in 2007, when he helped the club to win the Clausura tournament. On 9 December 2009, the goalkeeper left San Lorenzo for 500.000 €uro and joined Estudiantes de La Plata.
On July 2011 Orión signed with Boca Juniors.
Orión was called up to the Argentina national football team as third goalkeeper behind Roberto Abbondanzieri and Juan Pablo Carrizo for the 2007 Copa América held in Venezuela.

wn.com/Agustín_Orión

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

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Alberto Márcico
Alberto José Márcico (born May 13, 1960 in Corrientes) is a former Argentine football striker. He played club football in Argentina and France as well as representing the Argentina national football team.
Márcico made his professional debut in 1980 with Ferro Carril Oeste under manager Carlos Timoteo Griguol. In 1982 he was part of the team that won the Nacional championship without losing a single game. In 1984 he helped Ferro to win their second Nacional and was awarded the 1984 Player of the Year title.
Márcico was sold to French club Toulouse FC where he played for six years before returning to Argentina in 1992 to play for Boca Juniors where he won three titles with the club, but his career was interrupted several times with injuries. One of the highlights of his time with Boca came on June 18, 1995 when he scored a goal in a 4-2 win against fierce rivals River Plate in the superclásico derby at Estadio Monumental.
In 1996 he was offered a chance to return to Ferro, but he chose instead to rejoin former manager Griguol, who was then in charge of Gimnasia de La Plata. Márcico started his time at Gimnasia in fine form scoring 10 goals in 14 games, but then the injuries returned, eventually forcing him to quit the game in 1998.

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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

Alexis Sánchez
Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈleksis ˈsantʃes]; born 19 December 1988), is a Chilean footballer who plays as a forward for FC Barcelona and for the Chilean national team. He is well known for his excellent dribbling ability, great speed, and his unusual strength for a fast winger.
Sánchez began his career as a youth player for Cobreloa in 2003, aged 15, for then be promoted to the first adult team, two years later. His precocious talent caught the attention of Udinese, team of the Italian Serie A, and signed the 17-year-old for US$3million in May 2006, but was immediately loaned out to Colo-Colo, and then River Plate where he was able to mature in less physically demanding confines than the Italian first division.
He joined Udinese after becoming champion of the Argentine and Chilean leagues in June 2008. Sánchez made a steady progress in his first two seasons at Udinese, and in the 2010–11 season he established himself as one of the key player's that allowed Udinese to finish fourth in Serie A. On 27 February 2011, Sánchez scored four of seven goals as his team defeated Palermo 7-0, playing only the first 52 minutes of the game. This event meant he broke the record of goals scored by a Chilean player (in a single match) in the Italian Serie A, thus beating the records set by his historic countrymen Marcelo Salas and Iván Zamorano.

wn.com/Alexis_Sánchez

Alfio Basile
Alfio Basile (born 1 November 1943 in Bahía Blanca), nicknamed Coco, is an Argentine football coach and former player. He most recently coached Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Basile started his playing career at the Bella Vista club in his home city. From 1964 to 1970 he played for Racing Club, and then for Huracán, where he was a mainstay of the 1973 Metropolitano champions under coach Cesar Luis Menotti. As a player, he was most famous for being the steady anchor of the Racing Club and Huracán championship teams.
He also played for the Argentina national football team. Basile retired as a player in 1975.
After retirement as a player, Basile coached a number of Argentine teams, most notably Rosario Central, Racing Club, Huracán, Vélez Sársfield, Uruguayan Nacional, and Atlético Madrid.
His career as a coach reached its first peak in the early 1990s, when he led the Argentina national football team to two Copa America victories. The run-up to the 1994 FIFA World Cup looked smooth until a 5-0 defeat at home to Colombia. Following that traumatic event, Diego Maradona was brought back from retirement to take part in the play-off against Australia.

wn.com/Alfio_Basile

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

Andreu Fontàs
Andreu Fontàs i Prat (Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈdɾew funˈtas]; born 14 November 1989) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona, mainly as a central defender.
Born in Banyoles, Girona, Catalonia, Fontàs was a product of FC Barcelona's youth system, having previously played for amateurs CD Banyoles for 11 years. Originally a defensive midfielder, he was reconverted into central defender by the B team's coach Luis Enrique, a former Barcelona player.
Fontàs made his first team debut on 31 August 2009, replacing another La Masia graduate, Gerard Piqué, in the final six minutes of a 3–0 La Liga home win against Sporting de Gijón. Earlier into the 2009–10 season, he was called by manager Josep Guardiola to the Spanish Supercup and UEFA Super Cup games, respectively against Athletic Bilbao and FC Shakhtar Donetsk, but finally did not make the bench on either occasion. Fontàs spent the vast majority of his first senior seasons registered with the reserve team.
On 20 November 2010, Fontàs started for the first time in the league with the first team, assisting Pedro Rodríguez with a 50-meter pass for the fourth goal, as Barcelona trounced UD Almería 8–0 away. On 7 December, he made his UEFA Champions League debut, against FC Rubin Kazan: as the Catalans had already progressed to the knock-out stages as group winners, he scored in the 2–0 home win, converting a pass from fellow youth graduate Thiago Alcântara.

wn.com/Andreu_Fontàs

Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈdɾes iˈnjesta luˈxan]; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.
Iniesta came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut in 2002, aged 18. He began playing regularly during the 2004–05 season, and has remained in the side ever since. He was an integral part of the sextuple-winning Barcelona side in 2009, the only time which a club has achieved six titles in a year.
Iniesta played for Spain at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, before making his international debut in 2006. He was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, playing one game, as Spain went out in the second round. He helped Spain qualify for Euro 2008, and played an important role in the side as they went on to win the competition, playing every game and being selected in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Iniesta was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was a key member of the victorious Spanish side; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, also being named Man of the Match, and was selected in the tournament's All-Star Team. He was also the Man of the Match for two other World Cup games.

wn.com/Andrés_Iniesta

Antal Dunai
Antal Dunai, also known as Dunai II (Gara, 21 March 1943) is a former Hungarian footballer. He became a first division player at Pécsi Dózsa, but he spent the majority of his career at Újpesti Dózsa from 1965 to 1977, when he moved to Debreceni VSC. He played 31 games and scored 9 goals for the Hungary national football team. He is most famous for his participation in the gold medal winning Hungarian team on the 1968, and silver medal winning national team on the 1972 Olympics. On both tournaments he finished second top scorer. He was also a member of the Hungarian UEFA Euro 1972 team.
Dunai, being a powerful striker, won the Silver boot for being the second highest scoring player in Europe in 1968 (however in 1967, before the introduction of the award he was the unofficial top scorer of Europe). He also won the Bronze boot in 1969.
At the end of his career he became a coach at Xerez CD, Real Betis, CD Castellón, Zalaegerszegi TE, Real Murcia, Levante UD,Veszprémi LC, Debreceni VSC and the Hungarian Olympic National team.

wn.com/Antal_Dunai

Antonis Antoniadis
Antonis Antoniadis (Greek: Αντώνης Αντωνιάδης, born 1945) is one of the great goal scorers of Greek and European football in the post-war era, scoring about 187 goals in a career which spanned 22 years. He started his career playing for Xanthi before moving on to Panathinaikos. Antoniadis scored his first official goal for Panathinaikos on 27 October 1968 in a 1–0 victory over Apollon Athens. When he was playing in Xanthi, he was a goalkeeper because of his height. His nickname is "The Tall".
Antoniadis scored 187 goals in 242 matches in the Greek Championship, and was top scorer five times: 1970 (25 goals), 1972 (39 – second in Europe), 1973 (22), 1974 (26) and 1975 (20). In 1971 when Panathinaikos reached the European Cup Final at Wembley, Antoniadis was the leading scorer in the tournament with 10 goals.
During the summer of 1978 he was transferred to Olympiakos where he stayed for one season, playing in 13 games and scoring 7 goals. He later went on to play for Atromitos Athens. In 1980 before he retired and became president of PSAP he went full circle and returned to Panathinaikos. Antoniadis was a very accomplished header of the ball and possessed a strong shot. He made 21 appearances and scored 6 goals for the Greek national team between 1970 and 1977. He is the vice-president of the football team of Panathinaikos since the summer of 2008.

wn.com/Antonis_Antoniadis

Archie Stark
Archibald “Archie” Stark (December 21, 1897 in Glasgow, Scotland – May 27, 1985 in Kearny, New Jersey) was a U.S. soccer forward who became the dominant player in U.S. leagues during the 1920s and 1930s. He spent nine seasons in the National Association Football League and another twelve in the American Soccer League. He also earned two caps, scoring five goals, as a member of the U.S. national team. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1950.
Although Stark was born in Scotland, he moved to the United States with his family when he was thirteen years old. His family settled in Hudson County, New Jersey where Stark immediately began his organized soccer career with the West Hudson Juniors. Interestingly for a player who made his name as a forward, Stark began as a defender with the Juniors. Stark turned professional a year later when he signed with the Scottish-Americans of the National Association Football League for the 1912-1913 season. At the time he was only fourteen. He remained with the Scottish-Americans for four seasons. In 1915, the Scottish-Americans won the 1915 American Cup, defeating Brooklyn Celtic 1-0 on a Stark goal. The next season, the team lost the AFA championship game when Bethlehem Steel crushed them 3-0. At the end of the 1915-1916 season, Stark moved to the Bayonne, New Jersey club Babcock and Wilcox.

wn.com/Archie_Stark

Ariel Garcé
Ariel Hernán Garcé (born 14 July 1979) nicknamed Chino (Chinese), is an Argentine football defender who currently plays for Colón de Santa Fe in the Argentine Primera División. He usually plays as a central defender or as a right full-back.
Garcé started his career with River Plate in 1999. He was part of two championship winning squads before moving on loan to Monarcas Morelia in Mexico in 2003. Garcé returned to River Plate in 2004 and helped the club to win the Clausura 2004 tournament.
Garcé then had his first spell with Colón de Santa Fe, before playing for Olimpo de Bahía Blanca and Rosario Central. While at Olimpo, Garcé was banned for 6 months by the Argentine federation after he tested positive of cocaine.
In 2007 he returned for a second spell with Colón.
Garcé played two friendly matches under Marcelo Bielsa's coaching for the Argentina national football team in 2003. He then played a friendly against Haiti under Diego Maradona. On the May 19, 2010 Garcé was surprisingly selected as one of the 23 men to play for Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa though he did not feature in any matches.

wn.com/Ariel_Garcé

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

Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE (French pronunciation: [aʁsɛn vɛŋ(ɡ)ɛʁ]; born 22 October 1949) is a French former professional footballer, who is currently the manager of English Premier League side Arsenal. He is the club's longest serving manager and most successful, winning eleven major honours since 1996. Wenger is credited for revolutionising football in England in the late 1990s, primarily by introducing changes in training methods and player diets and implementing a philosophy of organising his teams to play entertaining football.

wn.com/Arsène_Wenger

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

Bent Løfqvist
Bent Løfqvist-Hansen (born 26 February 1936) is a Danish former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a striker.
Løfqvist played club football in Denmark for B 1913 and OB, and in France for FC Metz. He was top scorer of the 1962 European Cup, scoring a total of seven goals in the competition.
He also earned one cap for the Danish national side in 1961.

wn.com/Bent_Løfqvist

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

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

Bojan Krkić
Bojan Krkić Pérez (Serbian Cyrillic: Бојан Кркић Перез; pronounced Boyan Krkich Perez; born 28 August 1990) known as just Bojan, is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a forward or winger for Italian Serie A club Roma.
Born in Linyola, Lleida, Catalonia, to a Serbian father (Bojan Krkić, Sr.) who was a professional footballer for the Serbian side Red Star Belgrade and a Spanish mother (Maria Lluïsa Pérez), Bojan played for FC Barcelona's youth teams from 1999 to 2006. A quick striker with quite notable dribbling skills, it was reported that he scored over 500 goals for the youth teams in five and a half years. He then played the 2006–07 season with the FC Barcelona B team until he signed a professional contract with the Barcelona A team upon turning 17. Bojan played his first match with Barcelona on 24 April 2007, scoring a goal in a friendly match against Egyptian giants Al-Ahly.
On 16 September 2007 (at 17 years and 19 days), Bojan made his official debut for Barcelona against CA Osasuna, replacing Giovani dos Santos in the 78th minute and breaking Lionel Messi's record of the youngest Barcelona player to feature in a La Liga match. Three days later, he made his UEFA Champions League debut against Olympique Lyonnais, coming on at the 88th minute for Messi. He was, at the time, the youngest Barcelona player ever to feature in a Champions League game, at 17 years and 22 days. He made his second Champions League appearance on 2 October, coming on at the 81st minute for Ronaldinho against VfB Stuttgart. On 20 October 2007 (at 17 years and 53 days), Bojan made his first league start for Barcelona away to Villarreal CF and scored in the 25th minute. It was his first goal for the club's first team and it made him the youngest ever goalscorer for Barcelona in a league match.

wn.com/Bojan_Krkić

Borislav Cvetković
Borislav "Boro" Cvetković (Serbian Cyrillic: Бopиcлaв "Бopo" Цвeткoвић; born 30 September 1962 in Karlovac, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Croatian Serb football manager and former player.
During his club career he played for Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star Belgrade, Ascoli, Maceratese, Casertana and Borac Čačak. He earned 11 caps for the Yugoslavia national football team, and participated in UEFA Euro 1984.
Cvetković is coaching FK Sopot, an expositure of Cvetković's former club Red Star Belgrade. He coached Obilić in one short term, he worked also as assistant to Dragan Okuka in the Serbia U21 side.
Boro is the younger brother of Zvezdan Cvetković, who is the coach of Borac Banja Luka.
He was nicknamed "Lane sa Korane", by legendary sports commentator Ivan Tomić, while playing for Dinamo. When he moved to Belgrade, Tomić just switched his nickname to "Lane sa Marakane", as Red Star Belgrade stadium is colloquially known.

wn.com/Borislav_Cvetković

Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol i Saforcada (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarɫəs puˈjɔɫ]; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play on either flank, especially as a right back.
He served as a longtime team captain for his only club FC Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004, going on to appear in more than 500 official games for the team and win 18 major titles, notably five La Liga and three UEFA Champions League championships.
A Spanish international on more than 100 occasions, Puyol was part of the squads that won the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup tournaments.
Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club, as a goalkeeper. However, after injury problems with his shoulder, he switched to striker. He said that in his youth, "My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study." In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again, to play as a defensive midfielder; two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right back.

wn.com/Carles_Puyol

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 Alfaro Moreno
Carlos Alejandro "Beto" Alfaro Moreno (born 18 October 1964 in Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine football striker. He played club football in Argentina, Spain, Ecuador and Mexico as well as representing the Argentina national football team.
Alfaro Moreno started his career in 1983 with Club Atlético Platense, in 1988 he moved to Club Atlético Independiente where he played an important part in their championship winning campaign in 1988-1989. He was awarded the 1989 Player of the Year of Argentina.
Between 1989 and 1991 he played 11 games for the Argentina national team scoring 2 goals.
In 1991 Alfaro Moreno moved to Spain to play for Espanyol his time with the club was unsuccessful and he moved to Palamós also of Spain.
In 1993 he returned to Independiente, before moving on to join Barcelona Sporting Club in Ecuador. Alfaro Moreno helped the club to win the Ecuadorian championship in 1995 and in 1997. Part way through the 1997 season Alfaro Moreno was sold to Mexican team Club América, he then had a spell with Atlante before returning to Barcelona.

wn.com/Carlos_Alfaro_Moreno

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

Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez (born Carlos Alberto Martínez on 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City. He has previously played for Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United and Manchester United. He transferred to Manchester City from United in the 2009 summer transfer window, becoming the first player to move between the two rival clubs since Terry Cooke in 1999. His energy and goal scoring rate has since made him an indispensable player for the club in the eyes of fellow players and media alike.
His was promoted to captain at the beginning of the 2010–11 season by manager Roberto Mancini. In 2011, Tévez sought a transfer away from Manchester, citing family reasons and Sergio Agüero was drafted in as a replacement. However he remains a City player after his family moved back to Manchester with manager Roberto Mancini believing Tévez will stay for the foreseeable future. His career has been dogged by a long-standing relationship with Media Sports Investments, the company which owned the rights of Tévez, and several other players and coaches. This eventually resulted in West Ham United being fined over issues regarding third-party ownership. He has made 59 appearances for the Argentina national team, scoring 13 goals.

wn.com/Carlos_Tévez

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

Claudio Sulser
Claudio Sulser (born 8 October 1955 in Lugano, Switzerland) is a retired football striker.
During his club career, Sulser played for FC Mendrisio-Stabio, FC Vevey Sports 05, Grasshoppers Zürich and FC Lugano. He also represented the Swiss national team.
He is now the chairman of FIFA's ethics committee and is the head of the investigation into the voting scandal haunting the 2018 and 2022 World Cup selections.

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wn.com/Claudio_Sulser

Clemente Rodríguez
Clemente Juan Rodríguez (born July 31, 1981 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football who plays for Boca Juniors in the Argentine Primera División. He is right footed, and can play in both sides as full back.
He is a left-back who can also operate down the right. He is known for his overlapping runs down the flank.
Rodríguez made his league debut for Boca Juniors in a 2–1 away defeat to Chacarita Juniors on 10 December 2000. He went on to establish himself as an important player in the Boca Juniors team that won a host of national and international tournament in the early 2000s. In 2003 he was part of the Boca team that won the Intercontinental Cup.
In 2004 he signed for Spartak Moscow, but returned to Boca on loan for the 2007 Clausura (spring championship). For the 2007-08 season he joined Spanish side Espanyol on loan.
In August 2009 he returned to Argentina to play for Estudiantes de La Plata. Subsequently, in August 2010, he returned for a third period with Boca Juniors.
Rodríguez was part of the gold medal winning Argentine Olympic football team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and has played for the full Argentina national team on an infrequent basis since 2003. He was called by coach Diego Maradona to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

wn.com/Clemente_Rodríguez

Daniel Alves
Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), commonly known as Dani Alves, is a Brazilian footballer. He plays as an attacking right defender for FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team.
Before joining Barcelona, Alves spent a successful six year spell with Sevilla FC, winning two UEFA Cups and the Copa del Rey with the Andalusian side. He joined Barcelona for €32.5m, becoming the most expensive defender to date. Alves won the Treble in his first season with the club and a further Spanish super cup, European super cup, and FIFA Club World Cup, thus achieving the Sextuple. Also, he helped the club to clinch another Spanish super cup, two league titles, and a UEFA Champions League in the years that followed. Alves has held a Spanish passport since 2005. On Thursday, September 29, 2011, Alves was appointed as a Special Olympics Ambassador for its Global Football program, charged with promoting respect and inclusion in football for people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in the run up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

wn.com/Daniel_Alves

Daniel Díaz
Daniel Alberto 'Cata' Díaz (born 13 July 1979 in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Getafe CF in the Spanish first division.
A strong central defender with a powerful shot, he can also be adapted at right back.
Nicknamed Cata because of his origins from the province of Catamarca, Díaz started playing at youth amateur local team Juventud de Catamarca before moving in 1997 to Rosario Central, still as a youth. Three years later, he first appeared professionally.
Díaz moved to Club Deportivo Cruz Azul in 2003. After only one season with the Mexican club, he returned to Argentina to become Alfio Basile's captain in Colón de Santa Fe. Short after, he received offers to move to Argentine giants Boca Juniors and Club Atlético River Plate, but being at that time Basile Boca's coach, the player decided to move to Boca, for around $3 million.
Cata made his debut for Boca in a 4–1 victory over Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy, and was a big part in the side's 2005 Apertura-winning campaign, adding the South American Supercup (win over Once Caldas of Colombia) and the South American Cup (defeat of Mexico's UNAM Pumas).

wn.com/Daniel_Díaz

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

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 Villa
David Villa Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið ˈβiʎa]; born 3 December 1981), nicknamed El Guaje (Asturian: The Kid), is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a striker for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national football team. He can also operate as a winger.
Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career with Sporting de Gijón. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga début, winning his first senior honours—the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia CF in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to FC Barcelona for €40 million where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.
Villa made his international début in 2005. He has since participated in three major tournaments, becoming an integral member of the Spain teams that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008 and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup. He is the first Spanish player to ever reach 50 international goals and is Spain's all-time top goalscorer, having has also scored more World Cup goals than any other player in Spain's history in the process. The goals-to-games ratio he has achieved for the national team has not been matched by any player since Alfredo Di Stéfano.

wn.com/David_Villa

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.

wn.com/Deco

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 Viollet
Dennis Sydney Viollet (20 September 1933 – 6 March 1999) was an English footballer best remembered for his time with Manchester United in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Viollet joined Manchester United on 1 September 1949. He came through the junior ranks at United and turned professional in 1950. His first game for the club came against arch-rivals Newcastle United on 11 April 1953. He is generally considered as one of the most underrated strikers of all time.
He was a striker, along with Tommy Taylor for the Busby Babes of the 1950s. He was a survivor of the Munich air disaster. Viollet was a big part of the two championships that were won by United in 1956 and 1957. Dennis scored 178 goals in 291 games for United. He was a lightning quick player, who combined well with Taylor's height to form a terrific strike force. One of his finest games came on 26 September 1956, in United's European Cup preliminary round second leg tie against Belgian champions Anderlecht, in which he scored four goals in a 10-0 win at Old Trafford.

wn.com/Dennis_Viollet

Diego Buonanotte
Diego Mario Buonanotte Rende (born 19 April 1988), is an Argentine footballer who plays for Málaga CF, as a attacking midfielder or winger.
The 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) short attacking midfielder made his debut as a 17-year old on 9 April 2006, in the 3–1 win against Instituto. On 7 October 2007, only one week after his first game, he scored his first goal at senior level. Buonanotte was picked by coach Daniel Passarella to start in the derby against Boca Juniors. River Plate won 2–0, with Buonanotte playing a key role in the victory. He was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the '50 most exciting teenagers in the world game'. Buonanotte was part of the 2008 Apertura winning team.
On 21 January 2011 Buonanotte signed a five-year contract with Málaga CF, but he was loaned to River Plate until July 2011. He scored his first goal for Málaga in 21 December 2011 in a 2–2 home draw against Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey (winning 3–2 on aggregate.)
Buonanotte was selected by Sergio Batista to be one of the 18 players to represent Argentina in the 2008 Olympics. He only played in the third group-stage game against Serbia, scoring from a long-range free-kick. He won the gold medal with his national team at that tournament.

wn.com/Diego_Buonanotte

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 Pozo
Diego Raúl Pozo (born 16 February 1978) is an Argentine football goalkeeper currently playing for Colón de Santa Fe.
Pozo began his playing career with Godoy Cruz in his hometown of Mendoza in 1995. He also played for Huracán, Talleres and Instituto before joining Colón in 2008.
On May 20, 2009 Pozo made his debut with Argentina in a 3–1 friendly match victory against Panama. The Argentine team was made up of players based in the Argentine Primera División. He also played the friendlies against Ghana and Haiti, as well as the unofficial friendly against Catalonia. Pozo had a poor performance at the aforementioned unofficial friendly. Subsequently, he was called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Argentine squad as the third goalkeeper.

wn.com/Diego_Pozo

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

Dieter Hoeneß
Dieter Hoeneß (born 7 January 1953) is a retired German footballer who played as a striker.
In his playing career, he was mainly associated with Bayern Munich. After retiring, he stayed connected with football, working extensively in directorial capacities for several clubs.
Hoeneß represented West Germany at the 1986 World Cup.
Born in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, Hoeneß played on amateur level for VfB Ulm, TSG Ulm 1846 and VfR Aalen, before he moved to the professionals in 1975 with VfB Stuttgart, with the club then in the second division. After two seasons and 19 league goals, he promoted to the Bundesliga.
After the 1978–79 season, where he netted 16 goals to help Stuttgart finish in second place, Hoeneß signed with FC Bayern Munich. There, he was highly successful both individually and collectively, winning five leagues and three cups. A powerful striker whose main strength was his heading ability, he scored five times in double digits during his stint with the Bavarians, for a total of 127 goals in 288 league matches, in the German top division alone; he retired in 1987, at 34.

wn.com/Dieter_Hoeneß

Dominic Adiyiah
Dominic Adiyiah (born 29 November 1989) is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Ukrainian Premier League club Arsenal Kyiv, on loan from A.C. Milan of Italy.
Adiyiah began his career in the Feyenoord Academy, which he joined when he was only 10 years old. He spent seven years in Gomoa Fetteh, where the Academy is based, before transferring to Heart of Lions in January 2007. After making his debut in the Ghana Premier League with the club based in Kpandu, at the end of the 2007–08 season he was named Most Exciting Player of the league.
In August 2008, Adiyiah made the move to Europe, being signed by Norwegian top flight club Fredrikstad for a fee of only £100k (approx. €125k as of that date). He made his debut for the club in an away match against Aalesund, on 30 August. He went scoreless in four appearances during the 2008 season, as the team finished second in the league.
The following season he scored twice during the training camp, but has not scored in the four league matches he appeared. He also made his debut in the Europa League, in the second leg of the third qualifying round against Lech Poznań.

wn.com/Dominic_Adiyiah

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

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

Dwight Yorke
Dwight Eversley Yorke (born 3 November 1971 in Canaan, Tobago) is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player and assistant coach of the Manchester United reserve side. He played for Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland. He was the assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national team until the completion of the qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Along with Russell Latapy and Pat Jennings, Yorke holds the record number of participations in different World Cup competitions, including qualifying stages – six in total (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010). Yorke was nicknamed The Smiling Assassin because of his goal scoring abilities and his constant smile.
Yorke was first discovered by Graham Taylor, at the time the Aston Villa manager, on a tour of the West Indies in 1989. Yorke appeared in a team that played a friendly match against Aston Villa, Taylor was impressed and offered Yorke a trial at Villa. Yorke was subsequently given a permanent contract and he made his First Division debut for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace on 24 March 1990: Crystal Palace won the game 1–0. During his time with Aston Villa, from 1989 to 1998, Yorke played initially as a right winger until the 1995–96 season, he then switched to centre forward and quickly established himself as one of the Premiership's top strikers.

wn.com/Dwight_Yorke

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

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

Eduard Markarov
Eduard Artyomovich Markarov (Russian: Эдуард Артёмович Маркаров) (born on 20 June 1942 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union) is an Armenian football manager and former player of Jewish ancestry. He managed the Armenia national team in 1992-1994 period. He also played for the USSR national team, earning 3 caps and participated in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

wn.com/Eduard_Markarov

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

Emanuel Biancucchi
Emanuel Biancucchi Cuccitini (born 28 July 1988) is an Argentine-Italian football midfielder who plays for Independiente F.B.C.
A youth product of Newell's Old Boys, Biancucchi moved in Germany in 2008 to join 2.Bundesliga club 1860 München.
In January 2011, he joined Italian Serie A club Cesena for a trial period, but transferred to Girona FC in the Segunda División instead, but he still has a valid contract with 1860.
He is the cousin of FC Barcelona player Lionel Messi and brother of Maxi Biancucchi. He also has Italian citizenship, and is represented by his uncle (Lionel Messi's father).

wn.com/Emanuel_Biancucchi

Emiliano Armenteros
Emiliano Daniel Armenteros (born 18 January 1986 in Monte Grande, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Rayo Vallecano on loan from Sevilla FC in Spain, as a left midfielder.
Armenteros started playing professionally for Club Atlético Banfield, making his top division debuts at only 17. In 2005, he was sold to Club Atlético Independiente for roughly $1 million.
During his two-season spell with Los Diablos Rojos, Armenteros was an undisputed starter in spite of his young age.
Armenteros joined Sevilla FC in 2007, on loan, with the La Liga club having an option to buy for €2 millions at the season's end. He played almost exclusively with the reserves in Segunda División in his beginnings, only missing two league games in 42 in his first season and scoring seven goals, as the team retained its recently acquired division status.
Armenteros made his Spanish top flight debut on 19 October 2008, playing 15 minutes in a 1–0 away win against UD Almería. He collected a further three substitute appearances over the course of the season, netting in a 2–0 success at CD Numancia.

wn.com/Emiliano_Armenteros

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

Emílio Peixe
Emílio Manuel Delgado Peixe (born 16 January 1973 in Nazaré) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.
A member of the dubbed Golden Generation who hailed from the Portugal youth teams, Peixe was one of the few to have represented all three major clubs in the country.
Peixe emerged from Sporting Clube de Portugal's prolific youth ranks, making his first-team debuts shortly after another club great, Luís Figo. In the 1991 summer, already firmly established in the starting XI, he was essential in helping the nation's U20 win the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Lisbon, where he also received the Golden Ball.
After helping Sporting, with Figo, to the 1995 Portuguese Cup, Peixe moved abroad to Sevilla FC, accompanying coach Toni. However, grossly unsettled, he left in the immediate winter transfer window, returning to the Lions, but never regained his previous form.
Peixe then played five seasons at F.C. Porto, with a six-month loan spell with F.C. Alverca in between. He retired in June 2004, after unassuming one-season stints with Sport Lisboa e Benfica and União de Leiria, amassing Portuguese top division totals of 172 games and four goals.

wn.com/Emílio_Peixe

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

Esteban Cambiasso
Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (born 18 August 1980), nicknamed "Cuchu" (Rioplatense Spanish: Old man), is an Argentine football midfielder who plays for Internazionale in the Italian Serie A.
During his professional career, Cambiasso has won 23 official titles (as of the end of 2011), being the Argentine footballer with most honours in history, one more than Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Cambiasso started his professional career with Argentinos Juniors in 1995, moving to Real Madrid in 1996. In 1998, he moved back to Argentina, where he played for three years with Independiente and one with River Plate. During this time, he earned his nickname "Egg in a bun." With some good experience under his belt, he returned to Real Madrid in 2002. He helped Los Blancos win the UEFA Super Cup, La Liga, and the Intercontinental Cup in 2002 and the Spanish SuperCup in 2003.
In July 2004, Cambiasso signed with Internazionale in Milan after his contract with Real Madrid expired in June 2004. He helped Internazionale win the Italian Cup in his first season with the club, playing regularly as a defensive midfielder, partnered in the middle of Inter's midfield with fellow Argentine Juan Sebastián Verón. In Italy, he became known as one of the outstanding players of the 2004–05 season, along with Milan's Kaká.

wn.com/Esteban_Cambiasso

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

Ezequiel Garay
Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González (born 10 October 1986 in Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine footballer who plays for S.L. Benfica in Portugal and for Argentina, as a central defender.
At the early age of 18, Garay made his professional debut for hometown club Newell's Old Boys, in the Argentine top division. His first match was against Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, as the Rosario side eventually clinched the Apertura championship.
Garay made another 12 league appearances for Newell's, scoring his first and only goal for the club in the local derby against Rosario Central, a 2–1 win.
In December 2005, Garay joined La Liga side Racing de Santander, helping with seven complete matches as the Cantabria side barely avoided relegation (17th). His first full season was nothing short of spectacular, as he netted nine league goals in 31 matches, being the second top scorer in his position in Europe's major leagues, only behind F.C. Internazionale Milano's Marco Materazzi (ten); against Real Madrid only, he found the net three times - 2–1 home win (both through penalties, as well as five other goals) and 1–3 away loss, as Racing eventually finished 10th, the club's best since returning to the top flight in 2002.

wn.com/Ezequiel_Garay

Ezequiel Lavezzi
Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi (Italian pronunciation: [laˈvɛttsi]; born 3 May 1985) is an Argentine football midfielder who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Napoli and the Argentine national team.
The media, as they tend to do to many promising young Argentine players who appear in Italy, have been quick to dub Lavezzi the "New Maradona". Lavezzi himself, however, plays this down, instead comparing himself to another young Argentine player, Carlos Tévez.
As a youngster, Lavezzi had a very keen interest in football and supported his local side Rosario Central; he would later get their badge tattooed on his back.
From a very young age, the footballing talent of Lavezzi was recognised, as he played in the youth squads of Rosario Central. After being rejected in Boca Juniors. Lavezzi moved to the youth side of Estudiantes (BA) in 2003, where over one season, he played 39 games and scored 17 goals.
Known as el Pocho or the Chubby One, he was bought by Italian side Genoa in 2004 for €1 million, but was loaned out straight-away to Argentina side San Lorenzo. Here at the age of 19, he competed in the Apertura 2004 tournament scoring eight goals in total over the course of the season; which saw him finish as 4th top scorer.

wn.com/Ezequiel_Lavezzi

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

Fabricio Coloccini
Fabricio Coloccini (locally: [faˈβ̞risjo koloˈtʃini]; Italian: [kolotˈtʃini]; born 22 January 1982) is an Argentine football defender who currently captains Premier League club Newcastle United, and plays for the Argentine national team. At the age of 30, Coloccini has already represented numerous football clubs, however it was his successful spell at Deportivo La Coruña where he earned his reputation as a top-level defender. After beginning his career at Boca Juniors in his native Argentina, Coloccini attracted the attention of AC Milan. He failed to establish himself there however and subsequently went on loan to four different clubs. In July 2011, he was promoted to club captain of Newcastle United after proving himself as one of the Premier League's most reliable and strong central defenders. In April 2012 he was named in the PFA team of the year due do his influence in their impressive season. Coloccini also holds an Italian passport due to his Italian ancestry.
Born in Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Coloccini started his career in the youth team of Argentinos Juniors, but made his professional debut in 1998 with Boca Juniors. He made two league appearances, both from the bench, in his one and only season with Boca. He scored in his second (and final) match, leveling the scores in a 2–2 draw with Newell's Old Boys.

wn.com/Fabricio_Coloccini

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 Gago
Fernando Rubén Gago (born 10 April 1986 in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Madrid C.F. and the Argentine national team. His Real Madrid profile describes Gago as a "very dynamic footballer who predicates his game on ball movement. He is also capable of reaching the opponent's box, possesses tremendous vision for the game, can cover lots of ground and knows how to protect the ball.
Gago came from the youth divisions of Boca Juniors, made his professional debut with Boca in the 1–0 victory over Quilmes on 5 December 2004. Despite his youth, he quickly became an essential part of the Boca midfield, and attracted attention from European clubs such as Real Madrid and Barcelona.
On 15 November 2006, Real Madrid President confirmed the signings of Gago as well as compatriot Gonzalo Higuaín of River Plate, as part of his policy to sign younger players to gradually replace the older stars in the squad.^{[citation needed]} However, news of Higuaín's departure to Madrid was premature as River Plate rejected a €10 million bid for the striker, stating they would prefer him remain until at least June 2007.^{[citation needed]} During the 2006 South American transfer saga, Gago's name was also linked with AC Milan. However, Ariedo Braida, Milan's top transfer guru, was quoted as saying, "They [Gago and Higuaín] only want to go to Madrid".^{[citation needed]} The transfer was finally agreed on 19 December 2006 for €20.4 million. Since the move, he has been very impressive in the defensive midfield position, which led to comparisons to former Argentina "number 5" Fernando Redondo from Jorge Valdano and many other pundits.

wn.com/Fernando_Gago

Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes Sánchez (born 5 April 1976) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
His main asset was his aerial and strong goalscoring abilities. He played for a number of clubs during his career, including Real Madrid, AS Monaco, Liverpool, and Valencia CF. In La Liga, he scored 124 goals in 337 games, over the course of 15 seasons.
Morientes scored 27 goals in 47 appearances for the Spanish national team, representing the country in two World Cups (totalling five goals) and one European Championship.
Born in Cáceres, Extremadura, Morientes moved to Sonseca, Toledo, at the age of four. He began his professional career at Albacete Balompié, making his La Liga debut in 1993–94, spending two seasons at the club and scoring five goals in 22 matches (nine starts and 13 substitute appearances). Morientes transferred to Real Zaragoza in 1995, where he spent another two seasons, often being partnered up front by Dani, a Real Madrid youth graduate.
Morientes' performances for Zaragoza caught the eye of Spanish giants Real Madrid, which bought the player in the summer of 1997 for approximately €6.6 million. Initially backing up established Predrag Mijatović and Davor Šuker, he finished as starter, and managed 12 goals in his debut season in 33 matches, squad-best (with the two players who fought with him for a starting berth netting 10 apiece, as youth system prodigy Raúl). Real finished fourth in the league, but won the season's UEFA Champions League.

wn.com/Fernando_Morientes

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

Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [ferˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Kid in Spanish), is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker.
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system to the first team squad. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his time at the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División for Atlético Madrid, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007 after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player since Robbie Fowler in the 1995–96 season to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals after scoring against Aston Villa in December 2009. He left the club in January 2011 to join Chelsea for a record British transfer fee of £50 million, which also made him the most expensive Spanish player in history.

wn.com/Fernando_Torres

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 Cucinotta
Franco Cucinotta (born 22 June 1952) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
While playing for Swiss club FC Zürich, Cucinotta was top scorer of the 1977 European Cup, scoring a total of five goals in the competition.
Cucinotta also played in Switzerland for FC Lausanne-Sport, FC Sion, FC Chiasso and Servette FC.

wn.com/Franco_Cucinotta

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

Fredy Guarín
Fredy Alejandro Guarín Vásquez (born 30 June 1986 in Puerto Boyacá) is a Colombian footballer who plays for F.C. Internazionale Milano. A versatile player, he is comfortable in the central or right side of midfield.
He represented Colombia at all youth levels.
In 2005, already a regular for Envigado Fútbol Club and the Colombian U20 national team, Guarín was taken on loan by Boca Juniors of Argentina, where he spent the first six months in the youth team, with only two league appearances. Upon completion of his loan, the Buenos Aires-based club attempted to sign him on a permanent basis, but he instead chose to go on loan at France's AS Saint-Étienne, in August 2006.
Guarín made his debuts for ASSE scoring twice in a friendly against Spain's RCD Espanyol, and gradually fought his way into the starting lineup as the season closed. He made his Ligue 1 debut on 14 October 2006 against Olympique Lyonnais, and scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory against Troyes AC; in late April 2007, the deal was made permanent, for four years.

wn.com/Fredy_Guarín

Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Iván Heinze (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈeinse]; born 19 April 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for A.S. Roma in Italy. A combative defender with timing and impressive aerial ability, which makes him a useful asset in either penalty box, he can operate as either a left and centre back.
Nicknamed Gringo ("Blonde" in Argentine-Spanish slang), he made a name for himself at Paris Saint-Germain, moving in 2004 to Manchester United, and subsequently to Real Madrid, winning three major titles with the latter two.
Heinze played more than 70 times with Argentina, representing the nation at two World Cups and as many Copa América tournaments.
Heinze was born in Crespo, Entre Ríos to a German father and an Italian mother, thus also holding both nationalities. He began his career in his home country with Newell's Old Boys. Following attention from various European clubs, the 19-year old signed for Real Valladolid in Spain, not managing one single La Liga appearance in his first season, and also being loaned to Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 1998 summer.

wn.com/Gabriel_Heinze

Gabriel Milito
Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Club Atlético Independiente as a central defender.
He spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing two different teams – Real Zaragoza and FC Barcelona – also appearing with the Argentine national team in three major tournaments, including the 2006 World Cup.
Born in Bernal, Buenos Aires Province, Milito started playing professionally with first division side Club Atlético Independiente in 1997. During that time, he often faced his older brother Diego, who played for Independiente's arch-rivals Racing Club de Avellaneda.
In July 2003, Milito was due to be transferred to Real Madrid, but the Spanish team rejected the player after medical results showed, according to the club, a not-fully-recovered knee injury. To many, it was a political move against Madrid's football director Jorge Valdano, who wanted the player on the team. Milito decided to stay in Spain and signed for Real Zaragoza.

wn.com/Gabriel_Milito

Gabriel Paletta
Gabriel Alejandro Paletta (born 15 February 1986 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine central defender who currently plays for Parma in Italy's Serie A.
Paletta came through the youth divisions of Club Atlético Banfield and reached the first team in 2005. When Banfield qualified for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores, they altered their 25 man squad for the event to include Paletta and immediately threw him into action against the Colombian team Independiente Medellín. Paletta played well and Banfield progressed, but Paletta was to play no further part in the tournament after being called up to the Argentina Under-20 team to participate in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

wn.com/Gabriel_Paletta

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

Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒəˈɾar piˈke]; born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a central defender for FC Barcelona.
A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping the club become the first ever to complete The Sextuple. Piqué is one of four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.
Piqué has also represented the Spanish national team, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role in the Spain team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Piqué started his career in FC Barcelona's youth teams as a defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to join Manchester United. The Premier League side did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to have a professional contract.

wn.com/Gerard_Piqué

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

Gonzalo Higuaín
Gonzalo Gerardo "El Pipita" Higuaín (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡonˈsalo iɰwaˈjin], born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer. He was born in France, attaining Argentine citizenship in 2007, and now holding dual nationality. He currently plays as a striker for Real Madrid and the Argentina national football team.
Able to play as a striker or a right winger, Higuaín "is known for his speed in the last third of the pitch, his great striking ability, and his precision passing."
Higuaín was born in Brest, France, the son of the Argentine former footballer Jorge Higuaín, who was playing for Stade Brestois 29 as an expatriate. Therefore, he holds dual French-Argentine nationality. Having left the country at the age of 10 months, he did not return to France until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Even though he does not speak French, he holds a French passport because his father was naturalized in France. He successfully applied for Argentine nationality in January 2007.
Higuaín has two older brothers, Nicolas and Federico and one younger brother, Lautaro.

wn.com/Gonzalo_Higuaín

Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (

/ˈsuːnɨs/; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.
Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough and Sampdoria in a long career. Following his retirement from playing he managed Rangers, Liverpool, Southampton, Benfica, Galatasaray, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Souness now does media work and divides his time working as a pundit for RTÉ, ESPN, Sky Sports and Al Jazeera Sports.
Souness was brought up in the Saughton Mains area of Edinburgh, and supported local side Hearts and Rangers. As a teenager Souness played for local boys' club North Merchiston.
Souness's career began as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur under Bill Nicholson. He signed professional forms as a 15 year-old in 1968. Frustrated at a lack of first team opportunities, the teenage Souness reputedly informed Nicholson that he was the best player at the club. Souness made one solitary appearance for Spurs in the UEFA cup as a substitute.

wn.com/Graeme_Souness

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

Gustavo Cabral
Gustavo Daniel Cabral (born 14 October 1985 in Isidro Casanova) is an Argentine football defender currently on loan at Levante from Arsenal de Sarandí.
Cabral made his first team debut in 2003 for Racing Club. He played 112 games for Racing until 2008, when he joined River Plate. Cabral was a first team regular in River's defense during the Torneo Clausura 2008 won by the club.
In 2005 Cabral was part of the Argentina U20 team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. In 2007 Cabral was called up to the national team for a friendly against Chile but did not feature in the match.

wn.com/Gustavo_Cabral

Gustavo Oberman
Gustavo Andrés Oberman (born 25 March 1985 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football player who is on loan to Argentinos Juniors from Romanian side CFR Cluj.
Nicknamed Cachete, Oberman began his career at Argentinos Juniors in 2003, after the 2005 Clausura tournament he was transferred to River Plate, but he only spent one season there before returning to Argentinos Juniors in summer 2006. In June 2008 he was transferred from CD Castellón to the CFR Cluj of Romania for 500.000 $.
Since joining CFR Cluj Oberman has been loaned out to Córdoba CF of Spain in 2009 and then back to his first club Argentinos Juniors between 2009 and 2010 where he was an important member of the team that won the Clausura 2010 championship. He played in 16 of the clubs 19 games during the championship winning campaign.
He has also played with the Argentina Under-20 team, winning the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.
His father is Enrique Pablo Oberman, a retired football player.
Argentina U-20
Argentinos Juniors

wn.com/Gustavo_Oberman

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

Heinz Strehl
Heinz Strehl (20 July 1938 – 11 August 1986) was a German football player.
A Bundesliga title-winner with 1. FC Nuremberg in 1968, Heinz Strehl was one of the proven goalscorers in West Germany in the 1960s and able to cap his West Germany debut against Yugoslavia on 30 September 1962, with a hat-trick in between the 23rd and the 62nd minute. An effort that still lists Strehl among the fastest fifteen hat-trick outputs in West German football history. Thanks to Strehl's goals West Germany came out 3–2 winner in Zagreb that day.
Beforehand, Strehl had already been part of Sepp Herberger's squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, not making any appearance. He added a fourth goal to his West German tally in spring 1965 against Cyprus (5–0) in a World Cup qualifier that remained his final match for West Germany.
Nominally a center forward, Strehl's international career was hindered by Uwe Seeler, who played in the same position, which meant that Strehl would only get first team action when Seeler was not available. As a player, he was resilient and great at heading but also technically sound. Oftentimes he was used as an inside forward due to his good passing skills and vision. Apart from winning the Bundesliga in 1968, Strehl also won the West German football championship in 1961 and the West German Cup in 1962.

wn.com/Heinz_Strehl

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

Henry Zambrano
Henry Zambrano Sandoval (born August 7, 1973 in Soledad, Colombia) is a soccer player who played for Colombian national team. He first made his name at the 1993 World Youth Cup where he was the Golden Shoe winner—the award for the best player in the tournament. He later moved onward to senior national team, where he played between 1994 and 1999. For his club career, he played for Atlético Nacional, MetroStars, DC United, Colorado Rapids and Deportes Quindío.

wn.com/Henry_Zambrano

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

Hugo Gatti
Hugo Orlando Gatti, Loco Gatti (born August 19, 1944) is a former Argentine professional football goalkeeper who played in the Argentine First Division for 26 seasons and set a record of 765 appearances. He won three national championships, two Copa Libertadores tournaments, and one Intercontinental Cup with Boca Juniors, and played professionally until the age of 44.
Gatti, nicknamed El Loco (The Madman) was recognized for his charisma, his innovative playing style for his position and his eccentricity. He developed himself into a goalkeeper who relied on positional play rather than on his reflexes. He would frequently leave the penalty area to function as an additional field player, and join his teammates in defense – and many times in attack. Unlike most goalkeepers of his era, he made extensive use of his feet, head, and chest to control or strike the ball. He was one of the pioneers of the achique, the goalkeeping technique of running out to challenge an oncoming opposing player. He was also notable at facing penalty kicks, saving 26 of them throughout his career, tied for the most ever in Primera División with contemporary goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol.

wn.com/Hugo_Gatti

Hugo Ibarra
Hugo Benjamín Ibarra (born April 1, 1974 in El Colorado, Formosa) is a retired Argentine professional football player. He is an icon at Boca Juniors where he has played over 200 games in three separate stints at the club and won 15 titles.
Born in Pirané Department, northern province of Formosa, Ibarra went to Santa Fe Province to start playing in Colón de Santa Fe. It was a second division team when he started playing professionally in 1993, but 2 years later the team got promoted to first division. His performance called Boca Juniors' attention, and he was transferred to the club he would late refer to as "my home".
After 3 successful seasons in Boca, Ibarra moved to Europe. Because he did not have a European passport, Ibarra was loaned back to Boca Juniors after playing his first season in Portuguese FC Porto. Porto loaned him to French Monaco FC a year later, and then to Spanish RCD Espanyol.
El Negro played 6 matches for Argentina national football team, including Copa América 1999. While in Monaco, the team reached UEFA Champions League finals, beating in its way such teams as Real Madrid and Chelsea F.C., to later lose 3-0 to his former club Porto, club that owned him at that moment.

wn.com/Hugo_Ibarra

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 Scotta
Héctor Horacio Scotta is a retired Argentine football striker. He was born on September 27, 1950, in the city of San Justo in the Santa Fe Province of Argentina. Scotta is most famous for his feat of scoring 60 goals in 1975.
Scotta started his career in 1970 with Unión de Santa Fe but after only one season he moved to Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro where he was part of the Nacional winning team of 1974. In 1975 Scotta was the topscorer of the Nacional championship with 28 goals and Metropolitano champion with 32 goals, this made him the topscorer in South America and in world football for 1975. Scotta was awarded the Olimpia de Plata as the Argentine sports writer's footballer of the year. Only two players managed to score more goals than him in one season: Archie Stark and Ferenc Deák (both of them with 58 goals). Nevertheless, Scotta remains the footballer who scored more goals in a single year, ever.
Scotta's goalscoring achievements of 1975 attracted the attention of a number of foreign clubs, the team that managed to sign him was Grêmio in Brazil, where he helped them to win the Campeonato Gaúcho in 1977.

wn.com/Héctor_Scotta

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

Ibrahim Afellay
Ibrahim Afellay (born 2 April 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for FC Barcelona as an attacking midfielder or winger. He is described as a powerful and dynamic player with great ball skills and the ability to speed up action on the pitch.
He has played for the Dutch national youth team and is now part of the senior Dutch national team, which he represented at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the latter of which saw them reach the final.
Previously he played for and captained PSV Eindhoven with whom he won four national titles and during which time he was named Best Young Player in The Netherlands (2007).
Born in Utrecht, in 1986. Afellay switched to the youth academy of PSV Eindhoven. Afellay's official debut for PSV Eindhoven was on 4 February 2004 during a cup match against NAC Breda at the age of 17. His debut in the competition was on 14 February, against Twente. In the 2003–04 seasons he played three official games, and seven more in the 2004–05 season.
On 15 May 2005, PSV Eindhoven played a game against Feyenoord. Afellay was a part of the starting lineup, and made a great impression with five goals in 4 matches.

wn.com/Ibrahim_Afellay

Idriss Carlos Kameni
Idriss Carlos Kameni (born 18 February 1984 in Douala) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays for Málaga CF in La Liga, as a goalkeeper.
Kameni was first spotted when, aged 16, he became the youngest footballer to win an Olympic gold medal, in 2000. This earned him a move to French club Le Havre AC but he was unable to break into the first team, and remained a reserve throughout his four-year stay, also being loaned to AS Saint-Étienne, and also failing to gain any playing time there.
Kameni almost moved to Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan for 2003–04, but the deal collapsed after he was not granted a UK work permit.
Aged 20, Kameni left for Spanish side RCD Espanyol in July 2004, for $600,000, and became first-choice in his second year, winning the Copa del Rey as second-choice to Gorka Iraizoz, who started in La Liga. In 2006–07, the opposite: Kameni was the undisputed starter, so Iraizoz was picked for the Catalans' UEFA Cup runner-up campaign; early in 2006, the club suspended two fans for racist abuse towards the player.

wn.com/Idriss_Carlos_Kameni

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

Isaac Cuenca
Juan Isaac Cuenca López (born 27 April 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for FC Barcelona as a forward or winger.
Born in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Cuenca joined FC Barcelona's La Masia in 2003, aged just 12. Halfway through his third youth year, however, he returned home and joined local CF Reus Deportiu.
Cuenca finished his formation with CF Damm and Barcelona, rejoining the latter in 2009. He made his senior debuts in the 2010–11 season, being loaned to another Catalonia club, CE Sabadell FC in the third division. He made an immediate impact, starting in 24 of his appearances and totalling 2,288 minutes as the Arlequinats returned to the second division after an 18-year absence.
In June 2011, Cuenca returned to Barcelona and joined its B team, alongside Martí Riverola. Shortly after, he was called by first-team manager Josep Guardiola to the pre-season, and made his debut on 23 July against HNK Hajduk Split.
Cuenca made his official debut for Barça B on 4 September 2011, playing the last 29 minutes in a 4–0 away win against FC Cartagena, and scoring the last goal of the match. On 19 October, he made his first official appearance for the main squad, replacing David Villa in the dying minutes of a 2–0 home success against FC Viktoria Plzeň, for the season's UEFA Champions League.

wn.com/Isaac_Cuenca

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

Ismail Matar
Ismail Matar Ibrahim Khamis Al Mukhaini Al Junaibi (Arabic: إسماعيل مطر‎; born 7 April 1983 in Abu Dhabi), is an Emirati footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Al Wahda and the UAE national team.
Matar was awarded the Golden Ball at the 2003 World Youth Championships after being voted the tournament's best player even though the UAE only reached the quarter finals. He is best known for leading the UAE to their first ever trophy, the 2007 Gulf Cup of Nations, which was held in Abu Dhabi. Matar scored 5 goals in 5 games, and was named player of the tournament and the top scorer.
Ismail Matar belongs to the Al Mukhaini family where his origins can be traced from the Sur city in Oman, he has a close relationship with the midfielder of Oman national football team and Al Ittihad Club Ahmed Hadid as they are cousins. Ismail has two footballer brothers. They are Ahmed (retired) and Yasser Matar (born in 1987, playing for Al-Jazira since 2009). Matar is married to the daughter of Adel Khalifa Al Shamsi, they married in Abu Dhabi on 13 July 2007, they have two Children Alia (4 December 2008) and Ali (November 2010). His father died on 2 January 2009 and Matar was in the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations in Oman, he did not participate with the national team and instead left to the UAE to attend the funeral of his father.

wn.com/Ismail_Matar

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

Iñaki Muñoz
Iñaki Muñoz Oroz (born 2 July 1978 in Pamplona, Navarre) is a Spanish footballer who plays for UD Salamanca mainly as a defensive midfielder.
Except for a season-long loan to CD Toledo, in the third division, Muñoz played ten professional seasons with hometown's CA Osasuna. He made his La Liga debut on 23 December 2001, in a 0–1 home loss against Athletic de Bilbao.
Muñoz went on to become an important first-team member with the Navarrese, appearing in 30 games during 2005–06 as the club finished fourth in the league, achieving UEFA Champions League qualification honours, while scoring five goals in as many wins (notably the winners at Deportivo de La Coruña and Atlético de Madrid). In the previous season's Copa del Rey, he netted five times in eight games to help Osasuna reach the final of the competition, notably once in a 3–1 quarterfinal home win against Sevilla FC (4–3 on aggregate).
For 2007–08, Muñoz switched west, moving to Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao, appearing sparingly during his first season, and even less in the second and third campaigns (his 2009–10 output consisted of 30 minutes against Deportivo, in the last matchday).

wn.com/Iñaki_Muñoz

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 Mascherano
Javier Alejandro Mascherano (Spanish pronunciation: [ma(s)tʃeˈɾano], Italian: [maskeˈraːno]; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona. He can also play as a central defender. Mascherano began his career at River Plate. He earned his first senior honours in 2003–04, winning the Primera División Argentina. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina in the Athens Games and finished runner up in the Copa América 2004. He moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005, winning the Brazilian Série A in his first season. Mascherano moved to Europe, signing for Premier League side West Ham United. However, unusual contract terms with Media Sports Investments blighted his brief time at the club and at the beginning of 2007 he joined Liverpool on loan.
He was runner up in the UEFA Champions League in his first season on Merseyside and again finished runner up in the Copa América with Argentina. He officially signed for Liverpool in February 2008 for £18.6 million, parting ways with Media Sports Investments. He won a second Olympic gold medal with Argentina in the Beijing 2008 Games, the first male footballer to achieve this since 1928. He was considered a key part of the national side by past coach Diego Maradona who appointed him captain and stated that his team was just Jonás, Mascherano, Messi and eight more.

wn.com/Javier_Mascherano

Javier Portillo
Javier García Portillo (born 30 March 1982 in Aranjuez, Community of Madrid) is a Spanish footballer who plays for UD Las Palmas as a forward.
In 1994, aged 12, Portillo entered Real Madrid's youth system. During seven seasons he was a prolific scorer, netting 150 goals and breaking a record previously held by Raúl. In 2002, he signed his first professional contract, running until 2007, with a release clause of €35 million.
On 6 October 2002, Portillo made his first main squad appearance, starting in a 5–2 home win against Deportivo Alavés, ending that season with five goals in only 10 outings. He also scored a vital last-minute equaliser against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League second group stage, a goal which ultimately proved to be crucial in Real Madrid making it into the knockout stages.
In July 2004, Portillo was loaned to Serie A club ACF Fiorentina, but was recalled by new boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who arrived midway through 2004–05. However, the same coach deemed him surplus to requirements and another loan ensued, to Belgian League's Club Brugge KV.

wn.com/Javier_Portillo

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

Jean-Marc Ferreri
Jean-Marc Ferreri (born 26 December 1962 in Charlieu) is a former French footballer of Italian origin, who earned 37 caps and scored 3 goals for the France national football team. He played in the 1984 UEFA European Football Championship, where France won the title, and the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where France finished third.

wn.com/Jean-Marc_Ferreri

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.

wn.com/John_Wark

Jonás Gutiérrez
Jonás Manuel Gutiérrez (locally: [xoˈnaz ɣuˈtjeres]; born 5 July 1983) is an Argentine footballer who plays for English Premier League side Newcastle United, and for the Argentinian national team, as a winger. He acquired his nickname "Spider-Man" or "Spider-Mag" (referencing Newcastle's nickname; the Magpies) during his time at RCD Mallorca, where he celebrated a goal by putting on a Spider-Man mask. He also calls himself "el galgo" meaning "The Greyhound" in Spanish.
He was considered a key part of the Argentine national side by former coach Diego Maradona, who stated that his team was "Mascherano, Messi, Jonás, and eight more." He appeared for Argentina in the 2010 World Cup.
Born in Sáenz Peña, Buenos Aires, Gutiérrez played for Vélez Sársfield in Argentina between 2001 and 2005. The highlight of his Vélez career was being part of the team that won the Primera División Argentina Clausura Tournament in 2005.
After winning the title in 2005 he signed with RCD Mallorca.
On 1 July 2008, Gutiérrez unilaterally rescinded his contract with the Spanish side, after invoking FIFA's Article 17 (commonly known as the Webster ruling). As a result, the club was thought to be investigating a €15 million compensation claim against the player and his new club.

wn.com/Jonás_Gutiérrez

Jorge Molina Vidal
Jorge Molina Vidal (born 22 April 1982 in Alcoy, Alicante) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Betis as a centre forward.
Until the age of 23, Molina only played in Tercera División, representing CD Alcoyano, Benidorm CF and CF Gandía. In 2005, he re-joined the second, now one level above in the third.
Molina made his professional debuts in 2007–08, playing in division two with Polideportivo Ejido. It would be a short-lived experience, as his five goals (team best, tied with three other players) in 30 matches were not enough to prevent relegation, as last. On 29 October 2008, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win against Villarreal CF for the season's Copa del Rey (6–1 on aggregate).
In the 2009 summer, Molina, alongside teammate Juli, signed with another club in the second level, Elche CF. His debut season was nothing short of spectacular, as he led the scoring charts at 26; on 19 June 2010, even though none of the clubs played for anything in the last round, he scored all of the Valencian's goals in a 4–1 home win against champions Real Sociedad.

wn.com/Jorge_Molina_Vidal

Joseba Etxeberria
Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi (born 5 September 1977) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as a winger.
After starting his professional career at only 17, with Real Sociedad, he quickly switched to Basque neighbours Athletic de Bilbao, going on to spend the rest of his extensive career there.
Exteberria gained more than 50 caps for Spain, representing the nation in one World Cup and two European Championships.
Born in Elgoibar, Gipuzkoa, Etxeberria began his career with Real Sociedad. He made his La Liga debut at only 17, in a 2–0 home win against RCD Español on 29 January 1995. That summer, he moved to neighbouring Basque outfit Athletic Bilbao, in a controversial transfer that cost over €3 million. At the time, it was the highest transfer fee paid for an under-18 player in Spanish football.
In 1997–98, Etxeberria scored 11 league goals as Athletic finished second, achieving a career-best 14 five seasons later, while he was also eventually awarded club captaincy. In his first 12 years, he never appeared in less than 28 league games, his lowest scoring output being three in 2004–05 and 2006–07.

wn.com/Joseba_Etxeberria

Josep 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.

wn.com/Josep_Guardiola

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 Altafini
José João Altafini, (also known as "Mazzola" in Brazil) (born August 24, 1938) is an Italian Brazilian former footballer. He is the joint-third highest scorer in Italian Serie A history (along with Giuseppe Meazza) with 216 goals. He currently holds, together with Lionel Messi, the record for the highest no. of goals scored by any individual in a single Champions league/European Champion Clubs' Cup season with 14 goals.
He is currently a well-known football pundit on Italian TV SKY Italia and a speaker on Italian radio RTL 102.5. He's also the second speaker on Pro Evolution Soccer video games in Italy.
Altafini played for Palmeiras in Brazil, before he began his career in Italy with AC Milan in 1958. He made his debut on September 21, 1958, and, in his first season, played 32 games and scored 28 goals, winning the title along the way. His first league goal came on October 5 in a win against Bari. Milan won the title again in 1962, when Altafini was the league's joint top scorer with 22 goals in 33 games.

wn.com/José_Altafini

José Augusto Torres
José Augusto da Costa Séneca Torres (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ ˈtoʁɨʃ]; 8 September 1938 – 3 September 2010) was a Portuguese football centre forward and coach.
Nicknamed O Bom Gigante (The Kind Giant), most of his 21-year senior career was spent at Benfica, with great individual and team success (13 major titles). With the Portuguese national team, he participated in two World Cups separated by 20 years, one as player and the other as manager.
Born in Torres Novas, Santarém District, Torres signed with national powerhouse S.L. Benfica in 1959, from local side Clube Desportivo de Torres Novas. Even though he appeared rarely in his first three seasons combined, he managed to score six league goals in as many matches, paving the way for a bright future at the Reds.
In the 1962–63 season, in only 21 games, Torres was crowned the competition's top scorer, netting 26 goals, whilst also helping champions Benfica to the domestic cup final. It was also during this decade that he would be an instrumental figure as the club reached three European Cup finals - losing all - alongside offensive partners José Augusto, Mário Coluna, Eusébio and António Simões.

wn.com/José_Augusto_Torres

José Ernesto Sosa
José Ernesto Sosa (born 19 June 1985) is an Argentine football attacking midfielder who plays for Ukrainian club Metalist Kharkiv.
Sosa played for Estudiantes between 2002 and 2007. He was a favorite of interim coach Carlos Bilardo, and together with Marcelo Carrusca started helping the team improve their standing in the Argentine league.
The highlight of his tenure with Estudiantes was being a key piece in the 7–0 defeat of derby rivals Gimnasia on 15 October 2006, and then his role in helping the team win their first league title since 1983 by scoring the equalizing goal from a free kick against Boca Juniors in the 2006 Apertura final playoff game.
On 24 February 2007, a deal was announced between Estudiantes and Bayern Munich, and four days later, details of the transfer were disclosed. Estudiantes received €6 million plus ten percent of any future transfer. Sosa stayed with Estudiantes for the remainder of the Clausura 2007 tournament.
On 29 October 2009, Bayern Munich announced that the Argentine midfielder will be loaned to his former club Estudiantes for the remainder of the season, even though he was not registered to play the 2009 World Club Championship finals. By the end of his loan deal, on 30 August 2010, Sosa joined Italian side Napoli for an undisclosed fee signing a four-year deal.

wn.com/José_Ernesto_Sosa

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 Luis Chilavert
José Luis Félix Chilavert González (born 27 July 1965 in Luque, Departamento Central) is a Paraguayan former football player who played as a goalkeeper. He was a three-time IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award winner.
Chilavert was also known for his skills as a free kick specialist, and often took penalties. He scored 62 goals in his professional career, many of them crucial, including eight in international matches. Four of his international goals were scored during Paraguay's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. His pioneering of this expertise in his position made him the highest scoring professional goalkeeper ever, until surpassed by Brazilian keeper Rogerio Ceni.
Chilavert was also known for his eccentricity and at times fiery temper, which brought him his fair share of controversies; most notorious among them was his being sent off in 1997 for brawling with Colombian striker Faustino Asprilla.
Chilavert made his debut as a football player at the age of 17, with the team Sportivo Luqueño, who were a second division team at that time. He was trained by Modesto Sandoval. In 1989, he played for the Paraguayan national team for the first time. By then he had already reached division one football, with Argentina's San Lorenzo de Almagro.

wn.com/José_Luis_Chilavert

José Manuel Pinto
José Manuel Pinto Colorado (born 8 November 1975) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona as a goalkeeper.
Born in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Andalusia, Pinto, a product of Real Betis' youth system, moved up to the first team and made his La Liga debut for the club during the 1997–98 campaign (one match as a second-half substitute against Racing de Santander).
Unable to dislodge Toni Prats at Betis, Pinto switched to Celta de Vigo a year later. He went on to win the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the 2005–06 season, after allowing just 29 goals in 37 matches, a goals per match ratio of 0.78. He was also eventually awarded the captain's armband, appearing in 125 games in the first division and 56 in the second, as well as competing in the UEFA Champions League (in 2003–04, although backing up Pablo Cavallero in the domestic league, he would appear in five group stage matches, as Celta proggressed to the round-of-16 game) and in the UEFA Cup.
Pinto signed on loan for FC Barcelona on 18 January 2008. He arrived as cover for the injured Albert Jorquera after the latter damaged knee ligaments during the festive break. He made his debut on 26 April, in a match against Deportivo de La Coruña, which Barcelona lost 2–0. His second match also ended in defeat, as Barcelona lost 3–2 (despite being 2–0 up) at home to RCD Mallorca.

wn.com/José_Manuel_Pinto

José Omar Pastoriza
José Omar Pastoriza (born on 23 May 1942 in Rosario - died on 2 August 2004 in Buenos Aires) was a football midfielder for Independiente, AS Monaco, and the Argentina national football team, as well as manager for many teams including the Venezuelan national team.
El Pato ("The Duck") Pastoriza started his career in Rosario Central, but gained renown with Colón de Santa Fe. He moved to Racing Club, but was transferred to rival Independiente after 53 matches due to a poor team performance and the precarious economical situation. He stayed 6 years with Independiente, winning 3 first division tournaments and a Copa Libertadores. In 1971 he was awarded the Olimpia de Oro, which is given to the Argentine footballer of the year.
After the 1972 season he transferred to French AS Monaco, where he retired as a player.
Having good relations with players, El Pato Patoriza coached the a number of clubs in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Spain, as well as the national teams of El Salvador and Venezuela. Pastoriza began his managerial career in 1976 with Independiente, a club he would return to many times over the next three decades. He also worked as the manager of Talleres de Córdoba on many occasions. He had a single stint as manager of several Argentine clubs such as Racing Club, Boca Juniors and Argentinos Juniors.

wn.com/José_Omar_Pastoriza

José Pekerman
José Néstor Pékerman (born September 3, 1949 in Villa Domínguez, Entre Ríos) is an Argentine football coach and an ex-football player. He become famous as a youth level coach for Argentina, winning the FIFA World Youth Championship three times, and the U-20 South American Youth Championship twice. He coached the Argentina national football team in the 2006 World Cup and became coach of the Colombian national football team officially in the beginning of 2012.
Pékerman's career as a footballer was uneventful. A midfielder, he played from 1970 to 1974 for Argentinos Juniors scoring 12 goals in 134 matches. He was transferred to Independiente Medellín, in Colombia, where he scored 15 goals in 101 matches.
His career as a player ended at age 28 with a serious knee injury. Pékerman was then forced to support himself and his family with various odd jobs, including a stint as a taxi driver.
Back in Argentina, he worked as a youth coach for Chacarita Juniors and then occupied the same position with Argentinos Juniors. He then moved to Chile to coach Colo-Colo's youth divisions.

wn.com/José_Pekerman

José Águas
José Pinto de Carvalho Santos Águas (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ ˈaɡwɐʃ]; 9 November 1930 – 10 December 2000) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker.
He endured a lengthy professional spell with Benfica, never scoring less than 18 goals in his first division seasons.
Born in Luanda, Portuguese Angola, Portuguese Empire, from a white colonial family, Águas started his footballing career with local team Lusitano do Lobito, before moving to S.L. Benfica in 1950, where he played until 1963, where he gained legendary status.
With Benfica, he won the league five times (1955, 1957, 1960, 1961 and 1963), the domestic cup seven times, also being crowned national league's top scorer on five occasions. In the years previous to Eusébio's explosion at the Lisbon side, he was also instrumental in Benfica's back-to-back European Cup conquests, in 1961 against FC Barcelona (3–2), and the next season against Real Madrid (5–3), scoring his team's first goal on both occasions, and being club captain; he failed to complete a hat-trick of wins in the competition, after the 1–2 defeat to A.C. Milan in the 1963 final (he did not play).

wn.com/José_Águas

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 Manuel Martínez
Juan Manuel Martínez (born October 25, 1985), nicknamed el Burrito (in English "Little Donkey"), is an Argentine football forward. He currently plays for Vélez Sársfield in the Argentine Primera División.
Martínez made his professional debut for Vélez Sársfield on October 1, 2003, in a 2–1 win over Talleres de Córdoba, for the Clausura tournament. Later, he was part of the 2005 Clausura winning squad, playing 13 games and scoring 1 goal. The goal he scored was Vélez's first in that championship, in the fourth match day victory over Lanús (2–1).
After his first period at Vélez, Martínez was loaned to Argentinos Juniors. With his new team, he played 10 games during the 2005 Apertura, suffering a knee injury in the 11th fixture that left him out for almost the entire rest of the season. He returned for the last game of the 2006 Clausura, coming on as a substitute on a 1–0 victory over Colón.
In 2007, after a half-a-year period back at Vélez, Martínez was loaned to Colombian club Cúcuta Deportivo. With the team, he was part of the Copa Libertadores semifinalist campaign. Subsequently, he spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Al-Shabab Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

wn.com/Juan_Manuel_Martínez

Juan Manuel Torres
Juan Manuel Torres (born 20 June 1985 in Puerto Vilelas, Chaco) is an Argentine football midfielder who plays in Ukraine for Metalist Kharkiv.
Torres made his professional debut in 2002 for Racing Club, he went on to make over 100 appearances for the club before leaving at the end of 2006.
In 2005 Torres was part of the Argentina U-20 team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

wn.com/Juan_Manuel_Torres

Juan Pablo Sorín
Juan Pablo Sorín (born May 5, 1976) is an Argentine footballer. He was born in Buenos Aires. He is a much-travelled player, having spent time in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. He was captain of the Argentine team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
He is a versatile left defender who can play anywhere on the wing. He has an eccentric style of play and, despite being played in defensive roles, is often found up front attacking, using his technical and heading skill to great effect.
Sorin's extremely long-hair made him stand out on the pitch, as well as his aggressive heading ability.
Juampi, as he is known in Argentina, began his career playing in the lower-reaches of the Argentine league for Argentinos Juniors, a Buenos Aires football club. He broke into the first team in 1994 and in 1995–96 after he captained the Argentina Under-20 Side who won the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship played in Qatar his contract was bought by Juventus of Italy but he did not fit in an already established first team so soon returned to Argentina.

wn.com/Juan_Pablo_Sorín

Juan Roman 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_Roman_Riquelme

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

Julio Barroso
Julio Alberto Barroso (born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine football defender currently playing for O'Higgins. He was born in San Martín.
Barroso has played for a number of teams in his early years, including a spell in Spain with Lorca.
Barroso was part of the Argentina under-20 team that won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 2005.

wn.com/Julio_Barroso

Julio Ricardo Cruz
Julio Ricardo Cruz (born 10 October 1974) is a former Argentine footballer.
A tall, physical striker at 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in), Cruz started his career with Banfield in 1993. He moved to River Plate in 1996.
In 1997, he moved to Europe, being signed by Feyenoord, and showing a great potential in terms of scoring proficiency. He then moved in 2000 to Bologna.
At Bologna, under the management of Francesco Guidolin, Cruz was mainly used as a lone striker. While he was often derided by fans and the media alike for his lack of goalscoring proficiency, he did prove to be extremely apt at holding the ball up in order to bring the other attackers into the game. In 2001–02, he played an integral part in Bologna's 7th-placed finish in Serie A, and while he only netted ten goals in the league, he earnt back the respect of his critics for his intelligent and passionate football.
In 2003, Cruz left Bologna and signed for Internazionale.
With the Nerazzurri, Cruz rarely played regularly in the first team, finding some playing time usually just when the leading strikers were unavailable, and often being used as a substitute, thus scoring 12 league goals in his first two seasons with Internazionale. He scored his first goal for Internazionale in the 3–0 victory over Arsenal at Highbury Stadium on 17 September 2003 in the Champions League. In a Champions League match against Porto on 1 November 2005, he scored twice in thirty minutes after being sent in to replace striker Adriano, turning a 0-1 into a 2–1 victory.

wn.com/Julio_Ricardo_Cruz

Jupp Heynckes
Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (born 9 May 1945 in Mönchengladbach) is a former football player and manager currently the manager of Bayern Munich of the Fußball-Bundesliga. As player he belonged to the core of the team of Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and 1970s where he won many national championships and the Cup as well as the UEFA Cup. He was a member of the West German national squad that won the European Championship and the World Cup in the first half of the 1970s. As manager he won two German championships with Bayern Munich and the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, their first title in the competition in more than thirty years.
Heynckes played 369 matches in the German Bundesliga, scoring 220 goals. His tally is the third highest in this league, after Gerd Müller's 365 goals and Klaus Fischer's 268 goals.
He started his playing career in 1964 with Borussia Mönchengladbach who were in the second division. In 1965 the club, managed by the legendary Hennes Weisweiler, achieved promotion to the Bundesliga. Heynckes stayed on for two more years and then left for Hannover 96, where he spent three years.

wn.com/Jupp_Heynckes

Justo Tejada
Justo Tejada Martínez (born 6 January 1933 in Barcelona) is a former Spanish footballer. He was capped by Spain 8 games scoring 4 goals.

wn.com/Justo_Tejada

Jürgen Piepenburg
Jürgen Piepenburg (born June 10, 1941) is a German former footballer who played as a forward. He spent his entire top level career with ASV Vorwärts, the team of the East German Army, playing for Vorwärts Berlin from 1963 to 1971, and continuing with the club for another four years after it had moved to Frankfurt (Oder). In total he made 236 appearances in the DDR-Oberliga, scoring 88 times, and scored 11 goals in 22 appearances in the European Cup, a record for an East German player. He was the competition's joint top scorer in 1966–67, along with Paul van Himst, with six goals.

wn.com/Jürgen_Piepenburg

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

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

Lautaro Acosta
Lautaro Germán Acosta (born 14 March 1988 in Glew, Buenos Aires, Almirante Brown Partido) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Racing de Santander on loan from Sevilla FC in La Liga, as a forward.
Acosta came through the youth system at Club Atlético Lanús, making his senior debuts at the age of 18. As the club was often forced to sell its best players, he quickly became an important part of the first team.
Acosta was part of the Lanús squad that won the 2007 Apertura tournament, the clubs first ever top division title. In May 2007, he suffered a serious cheekbone injury, and had to wear a specially-fitted face mask for two months.
On 29 May 2008, aged 20, Acosta signed for La Liga team Sevilla FC on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of €7 million, subject to a medical. Shortly after his arrival in Andalusia, he suffered a serious injury, and never fully recovered, his best output with the club being 10 league games in 2010–11 (267 minutes, only two starts).
On 4 February 2009, Acosta scored his first - and only - goal for Sevilla, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, a 2–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao (eventually 2–4 aggregate loss). In July 2011, he was loaned to fellow top divisioner Racing de Santander, joining compatriots Ariel Nahuelpan and Héctor Cúper (manager); he started and scored on his official debut for the Cantabrians, in a 3–4 away loss against Valencia CF.

wn.com/Lautaro_Acosta

Leandro Cufré
Leandro Damián Cufré (born 9 May 1978 in La Plata, Argentina) is an Argentinian footballer. He is playing as a defender for Club Atlas.
Cufré began his professional career at Gimnasia La Plata U-19 before being promoted to the first-team squad in January 1996. He went on to play 129 games, scoring 4 goals in the progress.
Cufré moved to Roma in January 2002. During his time at the Italian giants, he played 80 games, scored two goals and received the award for Best Defender in Italy. He was also loaned out to fellow Italian side Siena, where he played 35 times.
Cufré moved to France in Summer 2006, joining Ligue 1 side AS Monaco During his time at the club, he made 61 appearances and managed to score three goals. Cufré was a regular starter and, eventually, vice-captain of the team.
On 29 January 2009, Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin announced that they had loaned Cufré from AS Monaco until the end of the 2008–09 season. He returned to Monaco in June 2008.
On 18 July 2009, Cufré returned to Gimnasia La Plata after eight years in Europe. On 16 August 2009, after a mini "soap opera," the Argentine wingback asked for – and was granted – his release due to a conflictive relation with Leonardo Madelón, the head coach at the time (though, personal reasons were officially cited).

wn.com/Leandro_Cufré

Leo Franco
Leonardo "Leo" Neoren Franco (born 20 May 1977 in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires) is a professional Argentine footballer who plays for Real Zaragoza as a goalkeeper.
Franco started his career at Club Atlético Independiente, moving at the age of 20 to Spain, with CP Mérida, where he did not appear in La Liga, barred by Colombian Carlos Navarro Montoya, and suffering team relegation. In the following year, he joined RCD Mallorca, spending his first season with the B team, again dropping down a level, now in the second division.
Franco would be however promoted to the Balearic Islands outfit's main squad, going on to establish himself as the starter, replacing compatriot Carlos Roa in the pecking order. In the 2000–01 season, he appeared in 27 games as Mallorca finished in a best-ever third position, and helped the club win the Copa del Rey two years after.
Franco was signed by Atlético Madrid in 2004, being first-choice from the beginning. Until the end of 2007–08, he saved seven penalties, including two against Sevilla FC on 23 March 2006 (0–1 home loss), and two more at Real Betis on December 2 (1–0 win). Precisely during that season, he was challenged by newly-signed Christian Abbiati (loaned by A.C. Milan), but regained his starting status in 2008–09, relegating French veteran Grégory Coupet to the bench.

wn.com/Leo_Franco

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

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

Lionel Scaloni
Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (born 16 May 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for S.S. Lazio in the Italian first division. A player of wide range, he can appear as both a right defender or midfielder.
He spent most of his professional career with Deportivo de La Coruña in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 258 games and 15 goals over the course of 12 seasons (three teams represented). He also spent several years in Italy with Lazio.
Scaloni appeared with Argentina at the 2006 World Cup.
Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Scaloni began his career in the Argentine league with local Newell's Old Boys and then Estudiantes de La Plata, before joining Spain's Deportivo de La Coruña in March 1998, for 405 million pesetas.
Regularly used with the Galicians over a eight 1/2-years stint, he competed with Manuel Pablo and Víctor for both starting spots on the right flank. However, due to injury, he could only appear in 14 La Liga contests as Depor managed its first league title.
After falling out with then manager Joaquín Caparrós, Scaloni joined Premier League team West Ham United on loan, on 31 January 2006, the final day of the transfer window, in an attempt to heighten his options to attend the upcoming FIFA World Cup. He took the #2 shirt from the departed Tomáš Řepka, and made his league debut for the East Londoners against Sunderland, on 4 February, while also helping the side reach the season's FA Cup final, a penalty shootout loss to Liverpool.

wn.com/Lionel_Scaloni

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

Lou Macari
Luigi "Lou" Macari (born 4 June 1949 in Largs, North Ayrshire) is a Scottish former footballer and football manager of Italian descent.
After a promising start to his playing career with Celtic, he moved south of the border in 1973 for £200,000 to sign for Manchester United, where he would spend the bulk of his playing career.
During his time with Celtic he had scored 57 goals in 100 appearances since making his first team debut in 1970.
His first game for Manchester United came in January 1973 against West Ham United in which he scored a point-saving goal in a 2–2 draw. In 1977, his deflected shot off team mate Jimmy Greenhoff won Manchester United the FA Cup final against Liverpool (and ultimately denied Liverpool the European treble). He made 400 appearances for the club, scoring 98 goals.
Macari's early career at Old Trafford was spent trying to lead an attack that struggled to achieve anything. Relegation to the Second division in 1974 was the low point but Macari blossomed as a midfielder in the following seasons under Tommy Docherty, as United began to win back a large following with superb attacking football in which Macari enjoyed popularity alongside players such as Gordon Hill, Steve Coppell and the Greenhoff brothers.

wn.com/Lou_Macari

Lucas Biglia
Lucas Rodrigo Biglia (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlukas βiʎa]; born 30 January 1986) is an Argentine footballer, who currently plays for Anderlecht and the Argentina national team. He has been capped for the Argentina national football team and the Argentina U-20 national team, where he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Biglia started his career at Argentinos Juniors. In 2005, he moved to Independiente for an undisclosed fee.
In July 2006, after one and a half-season in Independiente, Biglia signed with Belgian Pro League giants R.S.C. Anderlecht.

wn.com/Lucas_Biglia

Lucho González
Luis Óscar "Lucho" González (born 19 January 1981 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who plays for F.C. Porto in Portugal.
A versatile midfielder who is able to play in different positions, but mainly in the centre, he is well known for his fierce shot, passing skills and hardworking style, being affectionately known as El Comandante (the commander) due to his leadership skills.
An Argentine international on 44 occasions, González represented his country in the 2006 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments.
González began his career at Club Atlético Huracán, at the age of 14, making his first division debut on 29 April 1999, in a 1–2 home loss against Racing Club de Avellaneda. Three years later, he transferred to another side in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Club Atlético River Plate, where he was a very important first-team member in the conquest of back-to-back Clausura tournaments, contributing with 56 games and nine goals combined.
González's performances at River earned him a deal with Portugal's F.C. Porto in 2005, signing a five-year contract. In his first season, he scored 10 goals in 30 games, including braces against Académica de Coimbra (5–1), F.C. Penafiel (3–1) and Vitória de Guimarães (3–1), helping the northerners to the first of their four consecutive league titles.

wn.com/Lucho_González

Luciana Aymar
Luciana Paula Aymar (born August 10, 1977) is an Argentine field hockey midfielder. She is the only player in history to receive the International Hockey Federation World Player of the Year award seven times.
Aymar is known for her ability to beat opposing players using her dribbling skills, for which she has been compared with Argentine football idol Diego Maradona. That is way she received the nickname "La Maga", "El Diego" o "La Maradona del hockey".
Aymar started playing at age seven for Club Atlético Fisherton, in her native Rosario. She moved to Jockey Club de Rosario six years later. Eventually, she began training with the junior national team, for which she had to travel every day to Buenos Aires. In 1997 she was part of the national team that won the Pan American Games Junior Championship, and a year later she debuted with the senior national team, finishing fourth at the World Cup. She was also the youngest Argentinian to be accepted into the squad, at just 16.
Aymar is part of a generation in Argentine field hockey that has won several international tournaments from the 1999 Pan American Games on, including an Olympic silver medal, and three Champions Trophies. Nicknamed La Maga ("The Magician"), her outstanding performances have driven her to be chosen as the FIH player of the year seven times. She carried the flag for her country at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

wn.com/Luciana_Aymar

Luciana Salazar
Luciana Salazar Ortega (born November 7, 1980, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a glamour model, singer and actress.
Salazar began as a model at 4 years old, when she recorded her first television commercial.
In her adolescence she began to work as a model in Buenos Aires and began to take classes of dance and song. Slowly she won a place in the media and on the covers of magazines and pages in newspapers in Argentina, Spain, United States and Europe.
Then she charged to fame with her appearance as an actress in the comedy show Poné a Francella. Though the political fact that she was a niece of Argentine singer and then governor, Palito Ortega helped her into the acting world, it was by her own conditions that she began a successful career. Also she appeared on Chilean television, invited by Televisión Nacional de Chile on the program De Pé a Pá on October 24, 2004. She took part in the erotic television series Luli in Love on Playboy TV. During the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 campaign, Salazar was voted the national football team's representative, a role which many called "Godmother". On December 2, 2006 the model was presented in the 2006 Telethon of Chile to host a segment called vedetón.

wn.com/Luciana_Salazar

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

Luis Islas
Luis Alberto Islas Ranieri (born December 22, 1965 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a former football goalkeeper. He played for the Argentina national team, Independiente, Estudiantes de La Plata and León.
Islas started his career as a goalkeeper in Chacarita Juniors in the early 1980s. He started making a name for himself as the goalkeeper of Argentina's Youth Football Team that finished runner-up at the 1983 Football World Youth Championship. He earned his nickname el loco ("crazy") because of his flair and temperament.
In late 1982 Islas was transferred to Estudiantes, which had just sold goalkeeper Juan Carlos Delmenico. There, he alternated with Carlos Bertero in the team that won the 1983 Nacional championship title.
Islas was the substitute goalkeeper during the 1986 World Cup, which Argentina won. Angry that he was still a substitute for Nery Pumpido, he resigned the national team just before the 1990 World Cup. Ironically, Pumpido was injured in the second match during that cup, so third goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea was put to the fore, and was selected the best goalkeeper of the tournament. After the cup, Islas returned to the national team under new coach Alfio Basile. Because Goycochea has some weak matches during the qualifiers to the 1994 World Cup, Islas was the starting goalkeeper for Argentina during the 1994 World Cup. But his performance was not very positive, since he conceded 6 goals in four matches, including the three goals Romania scored to eliminate Argentina in the second round.

wn.com/Luis_Islas

Luís Fabiano
Luís Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980), commonly known as Luís Fabiano, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for São Paulo as a striker.
Luís Fabiano enjoyed great success during two spells with Brazilian side São Paulo FC, with a disappointing period at French side Rennes sandwiched in between. His strength on the ball, accurate finishing, and pace made him a vital part of the side that fell in the semi-finals of the 2004 Copa Libertadores de América. Luís Fabiano was labeled the "bad boy" of Brazilian football when playing for São Paulo after a number of brawls. During a 2003 Copa Sudamericana match for São Paulo against River Plate of Argentina, a fight between the players broke out. Luís Fabiano ran behind a River player and kicked him just below the neck. While being escorted off the field, Luís Fabiano said that he "would rather fight than take a penalty." He was given a three-match ban from all competitions.
Luís Fabiano moved to Portugal to play for FC Porto in 2004 for a €1.875 million transfer fee; Porto, however, only bought 25% of his rights, the other 75% belonging to Global Soccer Investments (later renamed to Rio Football Services). There, Luís Fabiano was reunited with his international teammate Diego, who he played with on the Copa América 2004. He had a troublesome season, however, scoring only three goals in 22 matches. This led to Luís Fabiano being transferred to La Liga side Sevilla FC. Sevilla signed 25% economic right from Porto and later signed a further 10% from Rio Football Services for €1.2 million, with a pre-set price of remains 65% rights for €7.15 million to be excised on or before 15 April 2007, however it was never excised.

wn.com/Luís_Fabiano

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

László Kubala
László Kubala Stecz (10 June 1927 – 17 May 2002), also referred to as Ladislav Kubala, Ladislao Kubala, was a footballer, who played as a forward with, among others, Ferencvárosi TC, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Vasas SC, FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. He also played for three different national teams, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Spain, as well as a Europe XI and the Catalan XI. During the 1950s he was a leading member of the successful FC Barcelona team. During his playing career with that club he scored 194 goals in 256 appearances. In 1999, during the club's centenary celebrations, a fan's poll declared him the best player ever to play for the club. After retiring as a player he began a career as coach. He had two spells as coach of FC Barcelona and he also coached both the senior Spain national team and the Spain Olympic Team.
A striker with great passing qualities, Kubala also had an uncommon dribbling ability, combining pace and skill. Kubala's composure in finishing, and power when striking for goal were also highly renowned. Also, he was one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy.

wn.com/László_Kubala

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

Marcelo Salas
José Marcelo Salas Melinao (born December 24, 1974 in Temuco), better known as El Matador, Shileno or simply Marcelo Salas, is a former football player from Chile. He, along with Elías Figueroa and Iván Zamorano, has been one of Chile's most prestigious footballers. He has played in Chile, Argentina and Italy where he has won titles for every team he has played for. He has a deft touch with his left foot, which has led to some spectacular goals all around the globe, including two in a historical 2-0 win for Chile in Michael Owen's debut for England in Wembley Stadium right before the 1998 World Cup.
Salas was a youth product of the Deportes Temuco youth team until his father took him to Santiago de Chile to be incorporated into Universidad de Chile, the chilean club with the highest average attendance in the country.
Salas made his debut playing for Universidad de Chile in 1993 and became a starter on January 4, 1994 against Cobreloa where he would also score a goal. Salas helped the team win back to back titles in 1994 and 1995 leaving a trail of 74 goals which included a strong 1996 campaign in Copa Libertadores.

wn.com/Marcelo_Salas

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

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 Andújar
Mariano Gonzalo Andújar (born 30 July 1983 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football goalkeeper who currently plays for Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata, on loan from Serie A side, Calcio Catania.
Andújar started his career with Club Atlético Huracán in 2001, at the mere age of 18. In his first season with the club, the young shot-stopper played within the team's youth squad, and in his second season, he was promoted to the senior squad and racked up 7 first team appearances. Two years after his arrival, the club was relegated to the Argentine 2nd division but he decided to stay with the club, and in his third season with the team, Andujar managed to make 17 league appearances. Andujar then broke into the team's starting line-up for the 2004–2005 Argentine season, and made 36 starting appearances in the league alone. His impressive league form led to speculation of a transfer to bigger Argentine clubs, or a move abroad, as a host of European clubs scouted the young keeper.
In the summer of 2005 Andújar was signed on loan by Italian Serie A club U.S. Città di Palermo. Upon his arrival, he was initially supposed to be the third goalkeeper behind Matteo Guardalben and Nicola Santoni, however, the Sicilian side, underwent hefty changes in the goalkeeping position over the January transfer window. After making just 11 and 7 appearances in all competitions respectively, Santoni and Guardalben were both sold during the winter market. Federico Agliardi and Cristiano Lupatelli were brought in as replacements, with the former making 17 appearances and the latter 16 appearances in all competitions. With all this, Andújar played a total of 11 league matches, 7 UEFA Cup matches and had 3 Coppa Italia matches, and Palermo sported 5 different starting goalkeepers over the course of the season. Despite a decent first season in Serie A, the Argentine keeper, returned to Club Atlético Huracán, but was sold instantly to Estudiantes de La Plata.

wn.com/Mariano_Andújar

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 Balotelli
Mario Barwuah Balotelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmaːrjo baloˈtɛlli]; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent who plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Italian national team. He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new head coach José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.
His problems deepened in March 2010 when he came under heavy criticism by Inter fans after he appeared on the Italian TV show Striscia la notizia, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey. This damaged the prospect of him having a long career at Inter, but he did make several appearances after that. With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini at Manchester City gave Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities have continued to be controversial and enigmatic. Balotelli earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010, in a friendly match against the Côte d'Ivoire thus making him the first black player to play for the Italian national football team.

wn.com/Mario_Balotelli

Mario Bolatti
Mario Ariel Bolatti (born 17 February 1985 in La Para, Córdoba Province) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Brazilian Serie A club Internacional and the Argentine national team.
He began his career in 2003 at Club Atlético Belgrano.
In 2006 he won promotion to the Primera Division Argentina with Belgrano de Córdoba, but the club were relegated after only one season in the top flight and Bolatti was transferred to Portugal's FC Porto in July 2007, signed a 4-year contract. Porto holds 60% economic rights for future transfer fees the club received and a unnamed parties holds the remain 40%.
He moved on a six month loan to Huracán for the Clausura 2009 upon recommendation from Porto teammate Lucho Gonzalez.^{[citation needed]} He was selected as the best player in Clausura 2009 by Argentine sports daily Olé and was a key player in Huracán's championship bid, which was thwarted by Vélez Sarsfield in the last day.
In July 2009, Porto sold all the economic rights (later changed to 40%) to Natland Financieringsmaatschappij B.V. in order to acquire Radamel Falcao's remain registration rights from the Dutch company. The transaction Porto announced that worth €1.5 million (should be €1M if 40%), made him worth €2.5 million in total. Porto later retained 20% economic rights, which worth €232,360 (as a financial asset instead of intangible asset, latter "weathered" by time), the portion of the residual (un-amortized) value of the acquire cost that Porto paid in 2007. Porto retained the economic rights and the non-dividable registration rights to make Porto the entity to receive transfer fee for Natland and arrange loan deal for the company. Bolatti had also played for Huracán until Apertura 2009.

wn.com/Mario_Bolatti

Martín Demichelis
Martín Gastón Demichelis (Spanish pronunciation: [maɾˈtin demiˈt͡ʃelis]; born 20 December 1980) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Málaga CF in Spain, mainly as a central defender – he can operate as a defensive midfielder on occasion. His FIFA World Cup 2010 profile describes him as a commanding presence who is "strong in the air and also possesses the ability to time covering tackles to perfection"
A tough-tackler, Demichelis spent most of his professional career with Bayern Munich in Germany (seven and a half years), winning 11 major titles with the team. He also competed in his country - with River Plate - and Spain.
Born in Justiniano Posse, Córdoba, Demichelis started playing professionally in 2001, with Buenos Aires-based Club Atlético River Plate, having arrived at the club's youth system three years earlier.
He made his first-team - and first division - debut on 2 September 2001, in a game against Estudiantes de La Plata, scoring his only goal for the team against Rosario Central.

wn.com/Martín_Demichelis

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

Martín Palermo
Martín Palermo (born 7 November 1973) is an Argentine retired footballer who formerly played for Boca Juniors of Argentina, and the Argentina national team. Nicknamed Loco (crazy) or Titán (titan), he has also played in Argentina for Estudiantes de La Plata as well as in Spain for Villarreal, Real Betis, and Alavés.
Born in La Plata, Palermo began his career at Estudiantes de La Plata; it was not until he transferred to Boca Juniors that he won international recognition due to his impressive goal average, and his excellent performances in international matches, because of this success at least three European teams (Lazio, Real Betis and Milan) had him in their sights. But on November 13, 1999 on a game against Colón, he had a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee, before he left the game and without him knowing the seriousness of the injury, he managed to score his 100th goal in the Argentine First Division. The injury required a six-month recovery period.
On May 24, 2000, he returned to football after more than six months of inactivity after his first major injury. He played the last fifteen minutes of the quarterfinal match of the Copa Libertadores against River Plate, and scored the goal that sealed the victory with what he called "the most emotional goal of my career," leaving the score at 3–0 to Boca Juniors (the first match ended 1–2).

wn.com/Martín_Palermo

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

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

Maxi Biancucchi
Maximiliano Daniel Biancucchi Cuccitini, usually known as Maxi Biancucchi (born September 15, 1984), is an Argentine football forward who plays for Olimpia of Paraguay.
He started his career playing for San Lorenzo of Argentina. He also played for Paraguayan clubs, including Sportivo Luqueño, where he won the 2006–07 Apertura Championship of the Liga Paraguaya, before joining Brazilian club Flamengo, in July 2007.
He played his first match as a Flamengo player on August 5, 2007, a Brazilian Série A match against Santos at Estádio Vila Belmiro, in which he came on as a substitute for Roger. And scored his first goal in a 1-0 win over rivals Fluminense in the 2007 Brazilian Série A.
Maxi ranks sixteenth in number of appearances by a foreigner for Flamengo in the club's history.
He joined Cruz Azul of Mexico in 2010. Maxi scored his first goal for Cruz Azul against Deportivo Toluca. After he scored another goal against Tigres. He later scored 2 goals for Cruz Azul on the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League.

wn.com/Maxi_Biancucchi

Maxi Rodríguez
Maximiliano Rubén "Maxi" Rodríguez (born 2 January 1981 in Rosario, Santa Fe) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Liverpool. Nicknamed La Fiera, he is commonly used as a right winger or a left winger, but can also operate as an attacking midfielder.
Rodríguez arrived in Spain in his early 20s, and went on to spend the bulk of his professional career there, playing for RCD Espanyol and Atlético Madrid and amassing La Liga totals of 232 games and 58 goals, over the course of eight seasons.
Rodríguez came through the youth set-up at Newell's Old Boys in the Argentine first division, and played for the club for three seasons before moving to Spain.
In 2002, Rodríguez moved to La Liga with RCD Espanyol, his league debut coming on 2 September in a 0–2 loss against Real Madrid.
He played 37 matches in every campaign with the Catalans, scoring 15 times during his last season, including the club's 2000th Spanish league goal.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Rodríguez moved to Atlético Madrid for a transfer fee of €5 million, where he continued to post consistent numbers. In his second year, he suffered, alongside teammate (and winger) Martin Petrov, a serious knee injury (ACL), which limited him to only 10 appearances.

wn.com/Maxi_Rodríguez

Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the England national team. He has made more than 300 Premier League appearances and played in 50 UEFA Champions League games as of April 2011. Carrick primarily plays as a centre midfielder and at the time of his move to Manchester United distinctive features of his play included his inventive distribution of the ball along with his passing and crossing abilities.
Carrick began his career at West Ham United, joining the youth team in 1997 and winning the FA Youth Cup two years later. He was sent on loan twice during his debut season, to Swindon Town and Birmingham City, before securing a place in the first team by the 2000–01 season. He experienced relegation in the 2002–03 season and was voted into the PFA First Division Team of the Year in the following campaign. He made more than 150 appearances for the Hammers, however, in 2004, he moved to rival London club Tottenham Hotspur for a fee believed to be £3.5 million. He was ever-present during his Spurs career, scoring twice in 75 appearances, before moving to Manchester United in 2006 for £18 million.

wn.com/Michael_Carrick

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

Milinko Pantić
Milinko Pantić (Serbian Cyrillic: Mилинкo Пaнтић, born September 5, 1966 in Loznica) is a former Serbian footballer.
Pantić spent the first six seasons of his professional career with FK Partizan between 1985 and 1991.
He then moved on to Greek Alpha Ethniki league where he played until 1995 for Athens side Panionios FC.
At almost 29 years of age, he was brought to Atlético de Madrid by their new coach Radomir Antić who knew Pantić well from his Partizan days. The move turned out to be a hit as Pantić's creative midfield presence provided the extra edge to Atletico side that won the La Liga/Copa del Rey double in the 1995/96 season. Pantić contributed with 10 goals in 41 appearances, and countless assists. He spent two more seasons in Madrid with a total of 18 goals in 106 matches in his career there, before moving on to Le Havre AC during summer 1998 for a season. In the summer of 1999, Pantić transferred back to Panionios where he spent the last two years of his playing career.
He earned 2 caps for the FR Yugoslavia national football team in 1996.

wn.com/Milinko_Pantić

Miloš Milutinović
Miloš Milutinović (Serbian: Милош Милутиновић) (born 5 February 1933 in Bajina Bašta, Serbia; died 28 January 2003 in Belgrade, Serbia) was a Serbian football player and manager. He is regarded as one of the most talented players in Yugoslavia's history and one of the most talented wingers/forwards of all time.
During his club career he played for FK Bor, FK Partizan, OFK Beograd, FC Bayern Munich, RCF Paris, and Stade Français Paris. In the 1955-56 season, he scored 2 goals in the first ever European Champion Clubs' Cup match, a 3-3 draw between FK Partizan and Sporting Clube de Portugal, then scored 4 goals in the return leg which Partizan won 5-2 in Belgrade. In the quarter-finals second leg, he scored 2 goals in a 3-0 win over eventual champions Real Madrid, but that was not enough to overcome Real Madrid's 4-0 win in the first leg.
In total, he played 213 matches and scored 231 goals for FK Partizan, winning 2 national cup (1954 and 1957). He then moved to OFK Beograd and later to Bayern Munich. In 1959, he underwent surgery for his ongoing lung problems. He stayed one year in Germany before playing in Paris.

wn.com/Miloš_Milutinović

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

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

Míchel (footballer)
José Miguel González Martín del Campo, aka Míchel (born 23 March 1963 in Madrid), is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a right midfielder, and a current coach.
He was most noted for his stellar crossing ability, also contributing with a fair share of goals. During his career, he mainly represented Real Madrid - over a decade - achieving great team and individual success, and subsequently becoming a coach.
Míchel gained nearly 70 caps for Spain during the 80's/90's, and represented the nation in two World Cups (scoring four goals in the 1990 edition) and one European Championship.
The son of a footballer who had to retire from the game at 27 after a road accident, Míchel joined Real Madrid at the age of thirteen, his technique and physicality on the pitch quickly standing out, and he moved quickly through the ranks to the first team, appearing - and scoring - once in 1981–82 (at CD Castellón, on 11 April 1982).
A member of the renowned Quinta del Buitre, which also featured Emilio Butragueño, Miguel Pardeza, Rafael Martín Vázquez and Manuel Sanchís, Míchel never played less than 31 La Liga contests from 1985–94. After helping Castilla CF to the second division title in 1984, he was instrumental in the capital side's conquests, which included six leagues and two consecutive UEFA Cups (he opened the score in the 1985 edition, against Videoton FC).

wn.com/Míchel_(footballer)

Nereo Champagne
Nereo Champagne (born 20 January 1985 in Salto) is an Argentine football goalkeeper currently playing for Ferro in the Argentine second division, on loan from San Lorenzo.
Champagne made his league debut for San Lorenzo in a 4-1 win to Gimnasia de Jujuy on December 9, 2007. In 2010, after only 3 games played in 3 years, Champagne was loaned to second division side Ferro.
Champagne was a part of the Argentine squad for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

wn.com/Nereo_Champagne

Nicolás Burdisso
Nicolás Andrés Burdisso (born 12 April 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a central or right defender for A.S. Roma. He also holds European Union nationality.
Burdisso is the product of Argentine club Boca Juniors's youth system. He began his professional career with them in 1999 at age 18. With Boca Juniors, he won two Argentine Championships (2000 Apertura and 2003 Apertura), three Copa Libertadores (2000, 2001, 2003), and two Intercontinental Cups (2000, 2003).
In 2004, he moved to Internazionale, signing a four-year contract. However, he missed almost all of the 2004–05 season with Inter helping his daughter to fight leukemia. Returning to the squad in mid-2005, he won the 2006 Coppa Italia. On 31 August 2006, he extended his contract until 2009. During 2006, when Giacinto Facchetti died, Burdisso was given the number 16 jersey for the retirement of Facchetti's beloved number 3 jersey. In spite of being a defender, he has scored a number of goals, including two goals scored with headers on 29 November 2006 in the 4–0 victory against Messina. He again scored twice on 24 January 2007, in the 3–0 victory against Sampdoria. He has scored many goals from headers off of corner-kicks.

wn.com/Nicolás_Burdisso

Nicolás Olivera
Andrés Nicolás 'Nico' Olivera (born 30 May 1978 in Montevideo) is an Uruguayan footballer who plays for Defensor Sporting Club as a forward.
After excelling as a youngster at his first professional club, Defensor Sporting Club, Olivera moved to Spain and joined Valencia CF, in January 1998. He was rarely used by the Che during his five-month spell, but went on to spend the vast majority of the following seven years in the country, starting off with Sevilla FC, with which he achieved two La Liga promotions, in 1999 and 2001, scoring 21 goals in 56 games in those seasons combined.
In 2002, Olivera left Andalusia and joined top flight fellow side Real Valladolid. After one single season, he returned to Segunda División and signed for Córdoba CF, returning to his first club Defensor afterwards.
Olivera then played five months with another Spanish outfit, Albacete Balompié (only four games, top division relegation), returning subsequently to his previous team. In 2006, the 28-year old moved to Mexico, going on to represent five teams in the country, including Puebla F.C. twice.

wn.com/Nicolás_Olivera

Nicolás Otamendi
Nicolás Hernán Gonzalo Otamendi (born 12 February 1988) is an Argentine football centre back who plays for F.C. Porto in the Portuguese Liga.
Otamendi made his debut for Vélez Sársfield on May 10, 2008 on a 2-1 home victory against Rosario Central for the 2008 Clausura tournament, under the guidance of head coach Hugo Tocalli. During Tocalli's time, Otamendi was the fifth choice as central defender, behind Mariano Uglessich, Waldo Ponce, Fernando Tobio and Marco Torsiglieri. However, his role in the first team changed during Ricardo Gareca's first season as the club's head coach, the 2009 Clausura. Otamendi replaced Waldo Ponce as the team's centre back for the third game of the tournament, after the Chilean footballer was injured while playing for his national team. Otamendi won a place as a regular starter along Sebastián Domínguez in the defense. He ended up playing 17 of the 19 games in Vélez' 2009 Clausura winning campaign.
The defender scored his first professional goal during the 2009 Apertura, in Vélez' 3-1 victory over Arsenal de Sarandí. During that season, he also debuted on an international club competition, playing the Copa Sudamericana. In recognition of his performances throughout 2009, he was chosen for the South American Team of the Year, in a traditional continent-wide journalists' poll conducted by the newspaper El País.

wn.com/Nicolás_Otamendi

Nicolás Pareja
Nicolás Martín Pareja (born January 19, 1984 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football defender and an Olympic gold medalist who plays for FC Spartak Moscow. Previously he played for Argentinos Juniors, RSC Anderlecht and RCD Espanyol.
Pareja was bought for €2 million by Anderlecht in 2006 as a replacement for Vincent Kompany. Despite some injury problems, Pareja became a reliable force in the central defence of Anderlecht, alongside Roland Juhasz. He won the Belgian Jupiler League with Anderlecht in 2007. His performances resulted in a call up for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing where Argentina won the tournament with Pareja in the central defense.
His outstanding play at the tournament resulted in interest from the big European leagues, as Espanyol and Tottenham Hotspur were reported to have put an offer for Pareja at Anderlecht. Espanyol won the struggle for Pareja, as Anderlecht and Espanyol agreed a fee of €4.5 million for the player. He has been called up to the national team by Diego Maradona for a friendly against Russia as well as for World Cup Qualifiers against Brazil and Paraguay.

wn.com/Nicolás_Pareja

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

Néstor Fabbri
Néstor Ariel Fabbri (born April 29, 1968 in Buenos Aires) is a former football (soccer) defender from Argentina.
Fabbri started playing at the young division of All Boys in 1984, he made his debut for the first team during the 1984-85 season in the Argentine 2nd division. In 1986 he joined first division Racing Club. In 1987 Fabbri was named Player of the Year of Argentina.
After six seasons with Racing, Fabbri spent the 1992 season with Colombian América de Cali, and the 1993 season back to Argentina for Club Atlético Lanús, before moving to Boca Juniors in 1994. Fabbri played with Boca until 1998, when he was transferred to French first division FC Nantes Atlantique. With Nantes Fabbri won the 1999 and 2000 French Cups, the 1999 and 2001 Champion's Trophies, and the 2001 French Championship.
In 2002, Fabbri moved to En Avant Guingamp, at that time in the French first division. He played one season for Guingamp with teammates like Didier Drogba or Florent Malouda and the team finished in seventh place. He returned to Argentina, first to play for Estudiantes in 2003, and then in 2004 to his first team All Boys, where he retired.

wn.com/Néstor_Fabbri

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

Oscar Ustari
Oscar Alfredo Ustari (born 3 July 1986 in América, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Getafe CF in Spain, as a goalkeeper.
Ustari arrived in Club Atlético Independiente's youth system at the age of 14. The untimely deaths of club players Emiliano Molina and Lucas Molina (both playing in his position) propelled him to the first team sooner than expected, and he made his first division debut on 5 October 2005, in a 2–0 win against Newell's Old Boys, remaining first-choice with the Avellaneda side in the following tournaments, under both Jorge Burruchaga and Miguel Ángel Santoro (both former players with the club, the latter also a goalkeeper).
On 10 June 2007, Ustari scored from a penalty kick against Quilmes Atlético Club, also leaving the pitch injured and going on to miss the year's Copa América. One month later, he signed for Getafe CF in La Liga for €8 million, teaming up with compatriot - and goalkeeper - Roberto Abbondanzieri; his official debut came on 26 September 2007, in a 1–2 loss at Valencia CF.

wn.com/Oscar_Ustari

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

Pablo Couñago
Pablo González Couñago (born 9 August 1979) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker.
After having played in 35 La Liga matches for Celta and Málaga scoring three goals (75/11 both major levels of Spanish football combined) – he spent the bulk of his professional career in England with Ipswich Town, where he scored a total of 65 official goals.
Couñago represented Spain in the 1999 World Youth Championship, winning the tournament.
Born in Redondela, Province of Pontevedra, Galicia, and a product of local Celta de Vigo's youth ranks, Couñago made his professional debuts in the second division, loaned to CD Numancia, but returned in January 1999 to his first club, failing to appear in La Liga in his first spell.
In 1999–2000 he returned to the second level, yet on loan, now with Recreativo de Huelva, after which he returned to Vigo, still with no impact (all of his league appearances were made from the bench).
After impressing in a Spanish under-21 4–0 win over England at Birmingham City's ground, Couñago was signed by Ipswich Town in the late spring of 2001, as manager George Burley had been in the stands watching his performance. The player, who was out of contract, signed a four-year deal.

wn.com/Pablo_Couñago

Pablo Vitti
Pablo Vitti (born July 9, 1985 in Rosario) is an Argentine footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Querétaro F.C. in the Mexican Primera División. He is known for his dribbling and playmaking ability.
Vitti started his career at hometown club Rosario Central. He made his breakthrough into the canallas first team in 2004, where he was a consistent goal scorer and was rewarded with the number 10 shirt. Vitti was considered one of the most promising youngsters in the Argentine First Division, but his progression has been halted slightly in recent seasons. He left his hometomwn club in 2006 to go to Banfield, but he only made fifteen appearances for Banfield without scoring a single goal.
After moving to Independiente he was quickly loaned to Ukrainian Premier League club Chornomorets Odessa. His stay in Odessa was brief, and on February 9, 2009, it was announced that Toronto FC of Major League Soccer had signed Vitti on a loan.
Pablo Vitti scored his first goal for Toronto FC on June 24, 2009 vs. New York Red Bulls. Vitti wore the captain's armband for Toronto FC in an international friendly vs. his fellow countrymen from River Plate at BMO Field on July 22, 2009. He scored 2 goals in 26 MLS games for Toronto in 2009, and returned to Independiente at the end of the season.

wn.com/Pablo_Vitti

Pablo Zabaleta
Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a right-back for Manchester City and the Argentina national football team. Zabaleta can operate on both sides of the pitch either as a defender or defensive midfielder, but is predominantly a right sided player. Zabaleta also holds a Spanish passport. He has garnered a reputation for being a tenacious player and his overlapping runs from full back position and he contests the current right-back position with Micah Richards.
Born in Buenos Aires, Zabaleta was raised in Arrecifes, Argentina. He began his career at Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro in 2002 after progressing through their youth ranks, having been signed at the age of 12 from local club Obras Sanitarias. He started playing as a defensive midfielder but eventually moved to the right side of midfield
Zabaleta was transferred to RCD Espanyol in 2005 for €3 million after being Argentina under-20's captain in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, which Argentina won.

wn.com/Pablo_Zabaleta

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.

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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.

wn.com/Paolo_Maldini

Patricio Pérez
Patricio Pablo Pérez (born June 27, 1985, in Ciudadela) is an Argentine football midfielder who is currently playing for Boca Unidos in the second division.
Pérez began his career at Vélez Sársfield in 2002. In 2005 he moved on loan to Mexican club León, but returned to Argentina shortly afterward. In 2007 he was loaned to Chilean side Everton. After another two loans at Chacarita and San Martín de Tucumán respectively, Pérez left Vélez Sársfield and signed permanently for Defensa y Justicia in the second division.
In June 2010, Pérez signed a 2-year deal with Australian A-League club, Central Coast Mariners. Perez made his first start for the club in a pre-season friendly against A-League rivals Melbourne Victory.
His competitive debut came on 28 August in an A-league match against local rivals Sydney FC. His performance was impressive, with Perez winning and converting an equalizing penalty. His debut was marred by allegations of diving and a controversial two-match ban.
On 23 March 2011, Central Coast Mariners agreed to release Perez from the final year of his contract on compassionate grounds. It was revealed by both the player and the club that his exit was due to homesickness.

wn.com/Patricio_Pérez

Paul Van Himst
Paul van Himst (born in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, 2 October 1943) is a former talented Belgian football midfielder and a football manager. Now retired, he still supports R.S.C. Anderlecht, his former team. He was nicknamed Polle Gazon (Polle is Paul in Brussels dialect, and Gazon means lawn in French) due to the large number of fouls committed on him. In 1964, he played in the Belgium-Netherlands match alongside 10 Anderlecht players after the substitution of goalkeeper Delhasse by Jean Trappeniers.
Van Himst won the Belgian championship 8 times, all of them with Anderlecht, a club for which he started playing his first professional season in 1959-60. With Anderlecht, he scored 233 goals in 457 matches (16 seasons). He then played for RWDM (another Brussels club) in 1975-76 and for Eendracht Aalst (then in second division) in the following season.
Between 1960 and 1974, "Polle Gazon" scored 30 goals (in 81 matches) for the Belgian national team. This performance made him Belgium's topscorer—along with Bernard Voorhoof -- and the fifth most capped player for his country. He made his debut on 19 October 1960 in a match against Sweden and he was part of Belgium's team which qualified for the 1970 World Cup. Van Himst then helped Belgium reach third place at the Euro 1972. He also holds the record of Golden Shoe, awarded to him four times.

wn.com/Paul_Van_Himst

Paulo Silas
Paulo Silas do Prado Pereira, best known as Silas (born August 27, 1965 in Campinas) is a Brazilian football (soccer) manager and former player.
During his playing career from 1985 to 2003 he played in Brazil, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, Japan and Italy at São Paulo, Sport Club Internacional, Vasco da Gama, Atlético Paranaense, Rio Branco (SP), Ituano, América (MG), Portuguesa, Internacional de Limeira, Sporting Lisbon, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Central Español, Kyoto Purple Sanga, A.C. Cesena and U.C. Sampdoria.
With the Brazilian Youth Team, Silas won the Adidas Golden Ball at 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship, and with the senior team he played 38 matches (34 official), from March 1986 to December 1992, and participated in the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups.
On December 7, 2009 chairman Duda Kroeff introduced the 44-year-old as the new manager of Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense. According to club director Luis Onofre Meira, "Silas is the manager we need for our team - young, but still an expert with many victories in his career. In fact, he was the best manager in 2009. On March 19, 2012 46 year old Paulo Silas has replaced Bruno Metsu as Al Gharafa new coach.

wn.com/Paulo_Silas

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).

wn.com/Pelé

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.

wn.com/Pep_Guardiola

Petar Novák
Petar Novák is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a striker.
While playing for Sparta Prague, Novák was top scorer of the 1988 European Cup, scoring a total of four goals in the competition.
After retiring as a player, Novák qualified as a doctor, and has worked as the team physician for former club Sparta Prague.

wn.com/Petar_Novák

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

wn.com/Petar_Zhekov

Peter Pacult
Peter Pacult (born 28 October 1959 in Vienna) is an Austrian former international football player who is now manager of RB Leipzig.
A prolific striker, however not for the national team, Pacult started his career at Vienna side Floridsdorfer AC before turning professional with Wiener SC. He joined Austrian giants Rapid Wien four years later, losing the UEFA Cup Winners Cup Final in 1985 against Everton. He moved on to and won two league titles with FC Tirol Innsbruck, with whom he was the top goal scorer in the 1990–91 European Cup alongside Jean-Pierre Papin.
In 1993 he moved abroad to help 1860 München win promotion to the German Bundesliga. He finished his career at the other big Vienna club, Austria, in 1996.
He made his debut for Austria in October 1982 against Northern Ireland but was not considered for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He earned 24 caps, scoring one goal. His last international was a November 1993 World Cup qualification match against Sweden.

wn.com/Peter_Pacult

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.

wn.com/Predrag_Mijatović

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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Rabah Madjer
Mustapha Rabah Madjer (Arabic: رابح ماجر‎; born 15 December 1958 in Hussein Dey, Algiers) is a retired Algerian footballer.
A skilled striker, he reached stardom as an F.C. Porto player during the 1980s, and is widely regarded as one of the best Algerian football players of all time. He is widely remembered for scoring on 77 minutes, an audacious back-heeled equaliser in FC Porto's first European Cup final, against Bayern Munich in Vienna. He went on to create the late winner, four minutes after his equaliser, setting up substitute Filho Juary. The scoreline ended 2-1 in FC Porto's favour, winning their very first European Cup.
One of the most prolific Algerian internationals in number of games and goals, Madjer played in two World Cups with his national team, helping it to its first ever participation in 1982. Having taken up coaching immediately after retiring, he managed several clubs, and also had several spells with the Algerian team.
Born in Hussein Dey, Algiers, Madjer started his European career in 1983–84, moving to RCF Paris from NA Hussein Dey. He stayed there during one 1/2 seasons, finishing the 1984–85 campaign with another French side, Tours FC.

wn.com/Rabah_Madjer

Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəˈfɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə]; Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]) (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. As of 28 May 2012, he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time; his success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay", and has prompted many experts to regard him as the greatest clay court player of all time.
Nadal has won ten Grand Slam singles titles, including a record six French Open titles (tied with Bjorn Borg), the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 21 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and also was part of the Spain Davis Cup team that won the finals in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011. He completed the Career Grand Slam by winning the 2010 US Open, being the seventh player in history, and the youngest in the open era, to achieve it. He is the second male player to complete the Career Golden Slam (winner of the four grand slams and the Olympic Gold medal) after only Andre Agassi.

wn.com/Rafael_Nadal

Rafael van der Vaart
Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈraːfa.ɛl vɑn dɛr ˈvaːrt] (

listen)) (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Dutch national team. His preferred position is as an attacking midfielder; he can, however, also operate in other positions, such as second striker. Van der Vaart began his career at AFC Ajax' famous youth academy and worked his way into the first team, debuting as a 17-year-old. So stunning was his impact he was hailed as the new Johan Cruyff. He was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and became the first recipient of the Golden Boy Award while at the club.
He moved to German Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, then to Real Madrid, then on to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the 2010–11 Premier League summer transfer window. Van der Vaart is well known for his passing, deadly finishing and the capacity to use both feet well. Following his performances in the Premier League in the 2010-11 season with Tottenham Hotspur, van der Vaart was nominated for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, along with team-mate and eventual winner, Gareth Bale.

wn.com/Rafael_van_der_Vaart

Ramón Díaz
Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959 in La Rioja), is a former Argentine football player. For most of his career, he played for, and later coached, Club Atlético River Plate. He is also known by the nickname of El Pelado ("Baldy").
Díaz won the World Youth Cup in 1979 with the Argentina Under-20 team alongside Diego Maradona. He also played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and scored against Brazil in Argentina's 3-1 defeat. It had been rumoured that he and Maradona were involved in a feud which prevented Diaz from playing for Argentina in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. However, this was denied by Maradona in his autobiography "El Diego", claiming that he had told the then-Argentina manager, Carlos Bilardo, that he wanted Diaz in both the 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads.
Diaz played in River Plate's youth system under Norberto "El Pacha" Yacono, who recommended Diaz to his "Maquina" Teammate Angel Labruna who was coaching the senior side.
Díaz played as a forward. His opening game in the Argentine First Division was on 1978-08-13, a game where River Plate beat Colón de Santa Fe by 1–0. He scored his first goal on 30 August of that year, playing against Quilmes Atlético Club. His last game was on 1993-03-13.

wn.com/Ramón_Díaz

Ramón Medina Bello
Ramón Ismael Medina Bello, nicknamed El Mencho (born April 29, 1966 in Gualeguay, Entre Rios) is a former Argentine football striker who has played at club level in Argentina and Japan.
He began his professional football career in 1986 with Racing Club de Avellaneda. In 1989 he was transferred to River Plate, where he played until 1993. By that time he was part of the Argentinian national team, he won the Copa America 1991 in Chile. He was also part of the national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Medina Bello went to play in Japan for the Yokohama Marinos until 1996 when he returned to River Plate. He retired in 1999 in Talleres de Córdoba and after 2 years of retirement surprinsingly appeared playing for Sportivo Dock Sud in the Argentine Soccer League Fourth Division. In 2005 he played for Juventud Unida where he retired for good.

He appeared in 2 games during 1994 World Cup.

wn.com/Ramón_Medina_Bello

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.

wn.com/Raúl_González

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.

wn.com/Rivaldo

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.

wn.com/Robert_Prosinečki

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.

wn.com/Roberto_Acuña

Roberto Ayala
Roberto Fabián Ayala (born 14 April 1973), nicknamed el Ratón (in English: "the Mouse"), is a former Argentine football centre back and current manager of Racing Club de Avellaneda.
Regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation, Ayala captained the Argentine national team for more matches (63) than anyone else. He played in three World Cups and made a total 115 international appearances, with only Javier Zanetti getting more caps for Argentina. Roberto inherited the nickname of Ratón from Argentine 1974 World Cup player Rubén Ayala, though they are not related.
Ayala began his career in his native Argentina, playing for Ferro Carril Oeste. After three seasons, he moved to River Plate where his good form atrracted the attention of clubs in Europe.
Italian club Parma FC brought the Argentine defender to Europe. However the club, having already used their quota of three non-EU players, loaned him to Napoli, who bought up half of his contract on a co-ownership deal. Ayala was bought by AC Milan at the end of the 1997-98 season and played there for two seasons until Valencia CF bought him for £6.25 Million.

wn.com/Roberto_Ayala

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.

wn.com/Roberto_Baggio

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.

wn.com/Rodion_Cămătaru

Rodrigo Archubi
Rodrigo Archubi (born 6 June 1985 in Remedios de Escalada) is an Argentine football winger.
Archubi began his playing career in 2003 with Club Atlético Lanús. He made his debut in a 0-1 home defeat to Arsenal de Sarandí on 29 June 2003. He made his international club debut for the club in the 2006 Copa Sudamericana where he scored 4 goals in 6 appearances.
In 2007 he joined Greek side Olympiacos but did not settle and returned to Argentina in January 2008 to play for River Plate. He won the Greek Super Cup in October 2007.
He made his Copa Libertadores debut in 2008 for River Plate and was part of the squad that won the Clausura 2008 tournament.
Following a 2-2 draw with Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, Archubi failed a doping test which could have resulted in a 2 year ban from football, but he received only a 3 month suspension beginning in January 2010 as he was found to have taken "recreational drugs" (Cannabis) rather than "medically prohibited drugs". Archubi was subsequently released by River Plate.

wn.com/Rodrigo_Archubi

Rodrigo Palacio
Rodrigo Sebastián Palacio (born 5 February 1982 in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer of Spanish descent currently playing for Serie A club Internazionale. He plays as a second striker and winger. One of his greatest skills is his speed, which he utilizes very effectively down the flanks. He is son of José Ramón Palacio, a historic player of Olimpo de Bahia Blanca in the 80's. Palacio holds a Spanish passport.
While a boy, Palacio started playing in local Bella Vista de Bahía Blanca and then moved to Huracán de Tres Arroyos in 2002, but he would debut professionally shortly thereafter with Banfield, who had been promoted to Argentina's Premier League after winning the 2000–2001 Second Division, in mid 2003. In early 2004 Palacio underwent a 15 day trial for Spain's, Real Betis. He eventually met the expectations of the club and was asked to return in June that same year. However, Palacio continued with his contract at Banfield and did not return to Spain. Palacio was a part of Banfield with his future Boca Juniors team mates; Jesús Dátolo and Gabriel Paletta.

wn.com/Rodrigo_Palacio

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.

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Romulus Gabor
Romulus Gabor (born 14 October 1961) is a retired Romanian footballer, who earned 35 caps for the Romania national football team, and participated in UEFA Euro 1984. He won the Golden Ball at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship and he was declared the best player of the competition. He retired in 1997 at Viitorul Oradea third league division.

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Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈroʊ̯.nɑɫt ˈku.mɑn], born 21 March 1963 in Zaandam, Noord-Holland) is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. He was renowned for his long-range accuracy, especially in free kicks.
In 1980 Koeman started his professional career at Groningen. After playing for Ajax, PSV and FC Barcelona, he finished his career in Feyenoord. During his career he won two UEFA European Cup titles, five Dutch championships, three Dutch Cups, four Spanish championships, one Spanish Cup and he was also in the winning Dutch national team at the UEFA Euro 1988.
Besides being a defender at the centreback position, Koeman was also known for his powerful right-footed freekicks and deadball ability where he scored many vital goals for the team, and it was from a free kick that he scored Barcelona's winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final. His nickname while playing for Barcelona was Floquet de Neu, after the famous albino gorilla in the Barcelona Zoo. Ronald Koeman currently holds the record for 25 consecutive successful penalty conversions in La Liga.

wn.com/Ronald_Koeman

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.

wn.com/Ronaldo

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.

wn.com/Roy_Makaay

Rubén Paz
Ruben Wálter Paz Márquez (born August 8, 1959 in Artigas) was a Uruguayan football midfield player, who retired in 2006 at the age of 47. Paz played at two FIFA World Cups for Uruguay and was also South American Footballer of the Year in 1988. He's currently Peñarol's assistant coach.
Ruben Paz began his career at the age of 17 when he joined the Club Atlético Peñarol Montevideo in 1977. He played in Peñarol until 1981, where he obtained important achievements, winning 3 consecutive championships Uruguayans (1978-79-80).
In 1982 he emigrated to the Brazilian League, specifically the Rio Grande do Sul team Internacional where he won three consecutive championships Gauchos (1982-83-84).
In 1986 makes the leap to Europe, specifically to Matra Racing Paris (now the Racing Club de France) of the Ligue 1 of the French Football League, where he highlighted alongside his compatriot Enzo Francescoli.
The following year he was transferred to Racing Club de Avellaneda in the Argentine league, where he becomes the team leader and an idol for the fans of the squad that conquered the South American Super Cup and Super Cup Inter in 1988. He was one of the few players in the Argentinian football was respected by all supporters. That same year he was awarded the trophy as the Best Player of South America.

wn.com/Rubén_Paz

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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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.

wn.com/Ruud_Van_Nistelrooy

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.

wn.com/Ryan_Giggs

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.

wn.com/Salva_Ballesta

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.

wn.com/Samuel_Eto'o

Sandro Mazzola
Alessandro ("Sandro") Mazzola (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsandro matˈtsɔla]; born 8 November 1942 in Turin, Piedmont) is an Italian former football player. He is the son of Valentino Mazzola, who was killed in the Superga air disaster in 1949, and the most renowned Italian football player of the 1940s. Sandro played for the Internazionale team known as La Grande Inter. He was an inside-right or offensive midfielder blessed with creative instincts, helped by his passing range, vision and close control. He was also a prolific goalscorer.
With the entire career of seventeen seasons played only for the club, he holds the honor of being a one-club man.
Alessandro Mazzola was born in Turin, Italy a few weeks after his father joined Torino FC from Venezia A.C.. His younger brother, Ferruccio, who was named after the president's Torino FC, was born two years later. His parents divorced in 1946, but his mother gained custody of Sandro Mazzola. He was 6 years old when his father died.

wn.com/Sandro_Mazzola

Sebastián Losada
Sebastián Losada Bestard (born 3 September 1967 in Madrid) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.
He amassed La Liga totals of 131 games and 34 goals in nine seasons, in representation of five teams, starting his career with Real Madrid.
A Real Madrid youth graduate, Losada made his first team debut on 9 September 1984 in a 1–1 away draw against Sporting de Gijón, but would not have a successful period with the capital side. He did, however, score eight La Liga goals in just 16 appearances in 1989–90, with Real crowned champions, adding the club's goal number 400 in the European Cup, in a 2–2 draw at FC Tirol Innsbruck on 7 November 1990.
In 1987–88, Losada served a loan stint with RCD Español, and netted eight top division goals during the season, also helping the Catalans reach the UEFA Cup final: he scored twice in the first leg (3–0), but missed his penalty shootout attempt in the eventual loss against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Subsequently, Losada played for Atlético de Madrid (frequently feuding with then club president Jesús Gil), Sevilla FC (where he coincided with Diego Maradona) and Real Club Celta de Vigo (reaching the national team, for a cap on 16 January 1995 against Uruguay, in A Coruña).

wn.com/Sebastián_Losada

Sergei Yuran
Sergei Nikolayevich Yuran (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Юран, Ukrainian: Сергій Миколайович Юран Serhij Mykolajovyč Juran; born June 11, 1969 in Luhansk, Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian association football coach and a former striker who represented the USSR and Russia at international level.
At club level he played in six different countries. After his playing career abruptly ended in 2001 following a skull injury, he became a manager.
His first experience in coaching was assistant manager position under Andrey Chernyshov in Spartak Moscow, 2003. After three months, Chernyshov and his assistants were fired from Spartak. In 2004 Yuran managed Dynamo Stavropol. After a brief spell with Latvian side FC Ditton from January to May 2006, Yuran was appointed as manager of Estonian champions FC TVMK in July 2006, but in December he unexpectedly left the team. Soon, he took charge at the First Division side Shinnik Yaroslavl, aiming to win promotion to the Premier League. Since summer of 2008 Sergey Yuran was head coach of FC Khimki, he was fired on December 2, 2008, despite the fact that the club managed to stay in Russian Football Premier League.

wn.com/Sergei_Yuran

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 Batista
Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista (born 9 November 1962) is an Argentine football manager and former footballer. He played as a midfielder, and represented his national team 39 times between 1985 and 1990. He was head coach of Argentina national football team from July 2010 to July 2011.
Batista played youth football in Argentinos Juniors, and debuted with the first team in 1981. With Argentinos, he won the 1984 Metropolitano and 1985 Nacional of the Argentine Primera División, as well as the 1985 Copa Libertadores.
In 1988, Batista moved to River Plate, helping the team to win the 1989–90 league title. Before retiring as a player, Batista played for Nueva Chicago and All Boys in Argentina, as well as Tosu Futures in Japan.
As part of the Argentina national football team, Batista won the 1986 FIFA World Cup and was runner-up of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Batista started his managerial career with Uruguayan club Bella Vista in 2000. He then had two spells with Argentinos Juniors, one with Talleres de Córdoba and another with Nueva Chicago. Between 2005 and 2006, he was assistant to Oscar Ruggeri in San Lorenzo.

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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

Sergio Romero
Sergio Germán Romero (born February 22, 1987 in Bernardo de Irigoyen, Misiones) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie B club Sampdoria and the Argentina national team.
Sergio Romero grew up in a very poor family, during the economic crisis in Argentina. It is the Benjamin of a family of three boys. Romero is also the smallest in size, his two brothers Fernando and Diego are players of basketball and are very large, hence its nickname chiquito "the tiny". He grew up with his parents and brothers in the village of Benardo Irigoyen in the region of Misiones and saw soccer as a passion from an early age. Sergio will show that it is eight years since he chooses to position itself as a goalkeeper with the advice of his older brother Diego. When moving in the Argentine capital, he joins the club of Racing and begins a friendship with two young sisters, and Argentine actress, and Anissa Nadia Sabura. He climbs the level in Buenos Aires and signed his first professional contract in 2006 at the age of 19.

wn.com/Sergio_Romero

Serhiy Scherbakov
Serhiy Gennadievich Scherbakov (Russian: Сергей Геннадиевич Щербаков born 15 August 1971 in Donetsk) was a former highly promising Ukrainian football (soccer) midfielder.
He capped for USSR U-20 team at the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship. He shared the golden shoe with Pedro Pineda in that tournament as the highest scorer with 4 goals.
Scherbakov had been brought to Sporting CP by Bobby Robson in 1993, but following their Uefa Cup exit against Casino Salzburg Robson was sacked. The players hosted a dinner party for him, but afterwards Serhiy was involved in a serious car accident that left him paralysed from the waist down, and had used a wheelchair ever since. The Resident newspaper reported that he had been "over the legal alcohol limit" at the time and had jumped a red light. The accident fractured Scherbakov's skull and his spinal column in three places. During rehabilitation he vowed he would once again don the Sporting jersey on the pitch someday but he never regained use of his legs. After the crash, Sir Bobby Robson said that had the crash not happened, Scherbakov would have gone on to become one of the best midfielders in Europe. He was only 22.

wn.com/Serhiy_Scherbakov

Silvester Takač
Silvester Takač (born November 8, 1940 in Đurđevo village near Žabalj, Danube Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is a Serbian former football forward and manager.

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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

Søren Lerby
Søren Lerby (born 1 February 1958) is a Danish former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent the bulk of his career in Dutch football, winning five Eredivisie championships with Ajax Amsterdam as well as the 1988 European Cup and two further Eredivise titles with PSV Eindhoven. He also won two Fußball-Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, and played one season for AS Monaco in France. He played 67 matches for the Denmark national football team from 1978 to 1989, and represented Denmark at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and two European Championship tournaments.
A left-footed midfielder, Lerby was a player who was always committed and a leader of the team. His commitment is testamented by the fact he chose to play two competitive matches in two different countries on a single day on 13 November 1985. First in the afternoon a World Cup qualifier with Denmark in Republic of Ireland, later in the evening a DFB-Pokal match with Bayern Munich against VfL Bochum.
Lerby always played with his "socks down" – short socks or long socks rolled down but always without shin pads. This was quite uncommon of the day and would be illegal today.

wn.com/Søren_Lerby

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

Terry McDermott
Terence "Terry" McDermott (born 8 December 1951 in Liverpool) is a former football midfielder and coach. He is the father of Newcastle United player Greg McDermott and Marsaxlokk player Neale McDermott
McDermott joined Bury as a youngster in 1969. He made a total of 90 appearances and eight goals before joining Newcastle United in 1973.
Manager Joe Harvey gave McDermott his Newcastle debut on 17 March 1973, at Old Trafford, with a match against Manchester United. He came off the bench but could not do anything to prevent Newcastle losing 2-1.
McDermott reached the FA Cup Final in 1974 against Liverpool. However, Newcastle lost the match 3-0.
Liverpool boss Bob Paisley, in his first season in charge after replacing Bill Shankly, brought McDermott to Merseyside in November 1974. He made his Liverpool debut, along with Phil Neal, on 16 November, in a Merseyside derby with fierce rivals Everton at Goodison Park. Neither side could break the deadlock with both sides sharing the points. McDermott's first goal came in a 1-1 league draw with Burnley at Turf Moor on 8 March 1975.

wn.com/Terry_McDermott

Thiago Alcântara
Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento (born 11 April 1991), known simply as Thiago, is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for FC Barcelona. His vision, ball control and passing abilities have made him one of the most promising young players in Europe.
Thiago was born in San Pietro Vernotico, Italy and grew up in Spain. His father is former Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho. He started at the lower levels of Flamengo and at the age of five, he moved to Spain with his father and his cousin Rachid Boulawane, and started playing with Galician team Ureca in Nigrán. In 2001 he played with Kelme CF when his father played with Elche CF. He returned to Flamengo aged 10 and, in 2005, once again moved back to Spain, signing with FC Barcelona, where his cousin Patrick was also playing for Barça.
On 17 May 2009, aged 18 years old, Thiago made his debut with the first team when he came on as a substitute for Eiður Guðjohnsen in the 63rd minute against RCD Mallorca. On 20 February 2010, after coming on as a substitute for Yaya Touré in the 76th minute, Thiago scored his first goal for Barcelona's first team in a 4–0 win against Racing de Santander at the Camp Nou. His second goal came in a game against UD Almería on 9 April 2011, to make the score 2–1. He scored his third goal against Real Sociedad in a start. He ended the 2010–11 season with 17 games, three goals, and three assists under his belt. On 29 June 2011, Thiago signed a contract renewal keeping him at Barcelona until 30 June 2015, with a buyout clause of €30 million.

wn.com/Thiago_Alcântara

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

Time 100
Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.
The list was started with a debate at a symposium in Washington, D.C., on February 1, 1998, with panel participants CBS news anchor Dan Rather, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, then–political science professor Condoleezza Rice, neoconservative publisher Irving Kristol and Time managing editor Walter Isaacson.
The list was first published in 1999, when Time magazine named the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Based on the popularity of the installment, in 2004 Time magazine decided to make it an annual issue, listing the 100 people most influencing the world. Making the list is frequently mistaken as an honor; however, Time makes it very clear that people are recognized for changing the world, for better or for worse. Those recognized fall in one of five categories: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Builders & Titans, Artists & Entertainers, Scientists & Thinkers, and Heroes & Icons. Within each category, the 20 most influential people (sometimes pairs or small groups) are selected, for a grand total of 100 each year.

wn.com/Time_100

Tito Vilanova
Francesc "Tito" Vilanova i Bayó (born 17 September 1969) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central midfielder, and the current manager of FC Barcelona.
After an unassuming professional career - only played 26 La Liga games in three years combined - he went on to work with FC Barcelona (his first club) as an assistant coach under Josep Guardiola, being part of the squads which won 14 major titles.
Vilanova was born in Bellcaire d'Empordà, Girona, Catalonia. After emerging in the youth ranks of local FC Barcelona, he left the La Liga giants in 1990, unable to break through into the first team. His next club was also in his native region, UE Figueres, with the player helping the team to its best ever second division classification, in the 1991–92 season (third place); the club would eventually face Cádiz CF in the promotion playoffs, losing 1–3 on aggregate.
Subsequently, Vilanova moved to the top level with Celta de Vigo, but appeared rarely over the course of three full seasons, returned to division two in 1995, and representing CD Badajoz, RCD Mallorca - contributing with ten games as the Balearic Islands side promoted to the top flight - UE Lleida and Elche CF, retiring at nearly 34 with lowly UDA Gramenet, in his native region.

wn.com/Tito_Vilanova

Tomáš Ujfaluši
Tomáš Ujfaluši (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈʊjfaˌlʊʃɪ]; born 24 March 1978) is a Czech footballer who plays for Galatasaray SK in Turkey. He can operate as either a central or right defender.
Other than in his country, he played professionally in Germany (four years), Italy (four) and Spain (three).
Ujfaluši played 78 times for the Czech Republic, representing the nation at the 2006 World Cup and two European Championships.
Born in Rýmařov, Czechoslovakia, Ujfaluši made his professional debuts with SK Sigma Olomouc, at the age of 18. In December 2000, he moved abroad and signed with German outfit Hamburger SV: his debut came on the 10th, playing 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win against FC Energie Cottbus, and 16 of his 17 appearances in that season were complete, but the club could only rank 13th, and 11th the following campaign, with respectively 58 and 57 goals conceded.
In the 2002–03 season, Ujfaluši helped Hamburger finish in fourth position, but the team fared worse in the following season (again conceding in the region of 50 Bundesliga goals). Subsequently he signed with ACF Fiorentina, freshly returned to Serie A after successfully emerging from a bankruptcy situation.

wn.com/Tomáš_Ujfaluši

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

Ubaldo Fillol
Ubaldo Matildo Fillol (born 21 July 1950), nicknamed el Pato (in English: "the Duck"), is an Argentine football coach and former goalkeeper. He took part in the 1974, 1978 (where he won the championship with his team and was voted Best Goalkeeper) and 1982 World Cups representing the Argentine national team. He also played in the South American qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup, but he was finally not chosen for the final team that played (and won) in Mexico.
In 1977 Fillol was awarded the Footballer of the Year of Argentina award, being the first goalkeeper ever to receive the distinction.
At the 1978 World Cup, Fillol wore the number 5 jersey, instead of 1 which is the standard for goalkeepers. This happened because Argentina, at that time, gave players their numbers alphabetically. The number 1 jersey was worn by Norberto Alonso. For the same reason, Fillol wore the number 7 jersey at the 1982 tournament while Osvaldo Ardiles wore the number 1. This practice was last permitted in 1986.

wn.com/Ubaldo_Fillol

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

Vilmos Vanczák
Vilmos Vanczák (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈvilmoʃ ˈvɒnt͡saːk]; born 20 June 1983) is a Hungarian footballer who currently plays as a centre back or full back for FC Sion.
Vanczák started to play football in his hometown's club, Diósgyőri VTK, and made his first-team debut at the age of 15. He spent the following season in the youth team of Vasas and joined Újpest FC in 2001. He spent the autumn of 2002 in Újpest's second league 'B' team, Újpest FC-Fót on loan, and joined again the first team of Újpest in 2003.
After his debut in the national team of Hungary, he joined Belgian team Sint-Truiden. In 2007 he returned from loan and joined Újpest FC for the third time.
On 17 July 2007 Vanczák signed a four-year contract with FC Sion. Vanczák has been playing for FC Sion in the Swiss Super League since 2007.
On 3 March 2010 Vanczák scored his first international goal against Russia in a friendly match in Győr at the ETO Park. The match finished 1-1. On 6 September Vanczák scored the first goal in the Euro 2012 qualifier against Moldova at the Zimbru Stadium in Chişinău which secured the victory. Hungary won by 2-0.

wn.com/Vilmos_Vanczák

Vincent Enyeama
Vincent Enyeama (born 29 August 1982) is a Nigerian football goalkeeper. Since 2002, he has played for the national team of Nigeria. He currently plays for Lille, who he signed for in June 2011.
During his spell with Enyimba he won the CAF Champions League twice, with one noteworthy mention: He was always substituted before penalty shootouts.
"I don't know why I was substituted before penalties, but it worked," he said in an interview back in 2006. "In Israel I stopped many penalties and now everyone knows that I can handle penalties." After three seasons with Enyimba and one with FC Heartland, Enyeama moved to a minor club in Israel, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv. He had a fantastic first season, showing amazing physical and athletic skills. In his first season with Bnei Yehuda, the team qualified for the final of the Israel State Cup and achieved fourth place in the Israeli Premier League, which qualified the team for the 2006 UEFA Cup. Enyeama has played for Hapoel Tel Aviv since 2007. Hapoel Tel Aviv endured a poor season in 2007/2008, but Enyeama just kept on improving. He proved to be a real leader helping the team to avoid relegation and reach the state cup final. This included an emotional letter he wrote to his fellow players, encouraging them to fight together for the club. Slowly he started to feel that he belonged to the club, Enyeama has been performing extremely well in recent seasons, showing steady improvement from year to year. On 18 August 2010 he scored his first goal of the 2010-11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers. In June 2011 he moved to French side Lille for an undisclosed fee on a three year contract. He made his debut on the 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 UEFA Champions League group stage, where Inter managed a 1-0 victory

wn.com/Vincent_Enyeama

Vladica Kovačević
For the Serbian soldier, see Vladimir Kovačević
Vladimir "Vladica" Kovačević (Serbian Cyrillic: Bлaдимиp "Bлaдицa" Koвaчeвић )(born January 7, 1940) is a Serbian striker who played at FIFA World Cup 1962 for SFR Yugoslavia. He had a successful playing career in both SFR Yugoslavia with FK Partizan, reaching the 1966 European Cup Final and in France with FC Nantes and Angers SCO. He later coached Olympique Lyonnais.

wn.com/Vladica_Kovačević

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

Víctor Valdés
Víctor Valdés i Arribas (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈbiktoɾ balˈdes i aˈribas]; born 14 January 1982) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who currently plays for FC Barcelona in La Liga.
He is regarded to be one of Barcelona's better goalkeepers in franchise history, having won a total of 19 titles including five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, and two Copa del Rey titles. He also has won the Zamora Trophy a record five times. He currently holds the club records as goalkeeper with most appearances in the league and in official competition, breaking Andoni Zubizarreta's records during the 2011–12 season. Before joining the full team in 2002–03 season, Valdés played for the youth teams and FC Barcelona B. Currently, he has a contract with Barcelona until 2014.
Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, to José Manuel Valdés and Agueda Arribas and has two brothers, elder Ricardo and younger Álvaro, Valdés started his career with FC Barcelona's youth team when he joined from Peña Cinco Copas on 1 July 1992. But in September, he moved with his family to Tenerife and had to leave the club, rejoining only three years later. After returning, he made quick progress through the youth teams.

wn.com/Víctor_Valdés

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

Walter Samuel
Walter Adrián Luján Samuel (born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Internazionale. Throughout his career he has been regarded as one of football's toughest defenders, with team-mate and Inter captain Javier Zanetti referring to him as the "hardest player" he has played with.
Having been gifted with natural power and pace, Samuel's game has developed and at Inter a new level of maturity has been evident. He played a key role in Inter's treble success under José Mourinho and is a regular fixture in the Argentinian national side. His strong, uncompromising style of play has earnt him the nickname Il Muro ("The Wall").
Samuel started playing professionally in 1996 in Argentina for Newell's Old Boys, and a year later moved to Boca Juniors where he played 103 matches and scored 5 goals in all competitions until 2000. In that year, Roma bought his contract for 40.265 billion Italian lire (about €20M). He gained fame as one of the best defenders in the Italian league and gained a nickname to match. His quality attracted interest from Spanish team Real Madrid.

wn.com/Walter_Samuel

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

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

Wynton Rufer
Wynton Alan Whai Rufer, CNZM, (born 29 December 1962), is a retired New Zealand footballer, who played as a striker. He spent most of his professional career in Germany with Werder Bremen, winning a total of six titles. He also appeared for the New Zealand national team in its first FIFA World Cup participation, in 1982. He was named the Oceania Footballer of the Century by the Oceania Football Confederation.
Rufer was born in Wellington to a Swiss father and a mother of Māori descent. After leaving the city's Rongotai College, he played his first football for Wellington Diamond United, Stop Out and Miramar Rangers.
After being voted New Zealand's Young Player of the Year in 1981 and 1982, Rufer attracted the attention of Norwich City manager Ken Brown, who invited the player and his older brother Shane Rufer to Norfolk for a trial. He impressed and signed a professional contract on 23 October 1981, becoming the first Kiwi to do so. However, he was denied a work permit to play in England, so he joined Fussballclub Zürich in May of the following year.

wn.com/Wynton_Rufer

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

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

Ángel Bargas
Ángel Bargas (born 29 October 1946) is an Argentine former football defender. He represented Argentina at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
Bargas, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, started his career at Racing Club in 1965 but he moved to Chacarita Juniors in 1966. He was part of the team that won Chacarita's only Primera division title in 1969.
In 1970 Bargas was awarded the Olimpia de Plata, which is given to the player of the year in Argentine football.
Bargas moved to France in 1972 to play for FC Nantes, he stayed in France for the rest of his career, he moved on to FC Metz in 1979, CS Louhans-Cuiseaux in 1981 and FC Le Puy in 1984.
Bargas retired in 1985, but he had a brief comeback at the age of 41 in 1988 with AS Angoulême.
Bargas played 30 games for the Argentina national team between 1971 and 1974 scoring 1 goal.

wn.com/Ángel_Bargas

Ángel di María
Ángel Fabián di María Hernández (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays as a winger for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Argentine national team. He is nicknamed El Angelito, Di Magia, El Flaco, El Pibito and Fideo, the Spanish word for noodle.
Di María started his professional football career in 2005 when he made his debut for Rosario Central. He originally lived in Malta where he was raised until the age of nine. In January 2007, he had an opportunity to play in the Russian Premier League when Rubin Kazan offered him a contract. At first, he agreed, but soon afterwards, he changed his mind and turned down the offer. After putting up a remarkable performance in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing for Argentina, di María caught the eye of several European teams and in the end, SL Benfica of Portugal signed him.
Di María was transferred to Portuguese side Benfica in July 2007 where he played as a midfielder. Benfica paid Rosario Central €6 million for 80% of his sports rights and 50% of sports right of Andrés Díaz. Later, in August 2008, the Portuguese club paid an extra €2 million for the remaining 20%,, but re-sold 10% to GestiFute.

wn.com/Ángel_di_María

Éric Abidal
Éric Sylvain Abidal (French pronunciation: [eʁik abidal]; born 11 September 1979) is a retired French footballer who last played as a left or central defender for FC Barcelona and the France national team.
Abidal was trained at Lyon-Duchère, a team playing in the suburbs of Lyon. He started his professional career with Monaco on 16 September 2000, where he made 25 first-team appearances. He moved to Lille OSC where he was reunited with his former manager Claude Puel and earned 62 first-team appearances. At the end of 2004, he returned to his native region by joining Olympique Lyonnais, which had just won its second successive Ligue 1 championship. During his time in France he was considered "one of the best fullbacks in the Ligue 1", self confidence of this title was shown when Lyon played Manchester United: "As a defender, my aim is to infuriate the opponent," Abidal explained. "I want him to be so sick of the sight of me that he has to move somewhere else on the pitch to get away." In the Lyon defence, he played alongside other French internationals (Grégory Coupet, François Clerc, and Anthony Réveillère) and two Brazilian internationals (Cris and Caçapa).

wn.com/Éric_Abidal

Club	Season	League^[190]
Club	Season	Apps	Goals
Barcelona C	2003–04 3ª	8	5
Barcelona B	2003–04 2ªB	5	0
Barcelona B	2004–05 2ªB	17	6
Total		30	11

Professional career totals
Teams	Apps	Goals	Goals per game
Clubs	329	253	0.77
National team	068	022	0.32
Olympic final	05	02	0.4
Total	402	277	0.69

Persondata
Name	Messi, Lionel Andrés
Alternative names
Short description	Association footballer
Date of birth	24 June 1987
Place of birth	Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Date of death
Place of death

National team	Year	Apps	Goals	Assists
Argentina U20	2005	16	11	3
Total		16	11	3
Argentina U23	2008	5	2	2
Total		5	2	2
Argentina	2005	5	0	0
	2006	7	2	2
	2007	14	6	3
	2008	8	2	1
	2009	10	3	2
	2010	10	2	2
	2011	13	4	10
	2012	1	3	0
Total		68	22	20

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 January 2005	Estadio Centanario, Armenia, Colombia	Vénézuela	2–0	3–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
2.	15 January 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Bolivia	2–0	4–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
3.	15 January 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Bolivia	3–0	4–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
4.	21 January 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Peru	5–0	6–0	2005 South American Youth Championship
5.	6 February 2005	Estadio Palogrande, Manizales, Ecuador	Brazil	2–1	2–1	2005 South American Youth Championship
6.	14 June 2005	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands	Egypt	1–0	2–0	2005 World Youth Championship
7.	22 June 2005	Univé Stadion, Emmen, Netherlands	Colombia	1–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
8.	24 June 2005	Arke Stadion, Enschede, Netherlands	Spain	3–1	3–1	2005 World Youth Championship
9.	28 June 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Brazil	1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
10.	2 July 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	1–0	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship
11.	2 July 2005	Galgenwaard Stadion, Utrecht, Netherlands	Nigeria	2–1	2–1	2005 World Youth Championship

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	7 August 2008	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	Côte d'Ivoire	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics
2.	16 August 2008	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	Netherlands	1–0	2–1	2008 Summer Olympics

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 March 2006	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Croatia	2–1	2–3	Friendly
2.	16 June 2006	WM-Stadion Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	6–0	6–0	2006 World Cup
3.	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	2–2	4–3	Friendly
4.	5 June 2007	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Algeria	4–2	4–3	Friendly
5.	8 July 2007	Metropolitano de Fútbol de Lara, Barquisimeto, Venezuela	Peru	2–0	4–0	2007 Copa América
6.	11 July 2007	Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Mexico	2–0	3–0	2007 Copa América
7.	16 October 2007	José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification
8.	20 November 2007	Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia	Colombia	1–0	1–2	2010 World Cup qualification
9.	4 June 2008	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States	Mexico	2–0	4–1	Friendly
10.	11 October 2008	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Uruguay	1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualification
11.	11 February 2009	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	France	2–0	2–0	Friendly
12.	28 March 2009	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
13.	14 November 2009	Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain	Spain	1–1	1–2	Friendly
14.	7 September 2010	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Spain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
15.	17 November 2010	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Brazil	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16.	9 February 2011	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Portugal	2–1	2–1	Friendly
17.	20 June 2011	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Albania	2–0	4–0	Friendly
18.	7 October 2011	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	2–0	4–1	2014 World Cup qualification
19.	15 November 2011	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia	Colombia	1–1	2–1	2014 World Cup qualification
20.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	3–1	Friendly
21.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	2–1	3–1	Friendly
22.	29 February 2012	Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland	Switzerland	3–1	3–1	Friendly

Famous quotes by Lionel Messi:

"I rushed to get back before it was time."

"I want to avoid comparisons because for me there has never been anyone quite like him."

"Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win."

"We can't be overconfident. It happened to us when we were leading 2-1 in last year's game. Chelsea has players who can score two goals at any moment and we have to realize we have achieved nothing yet."

"It was obvious from his first attack on me that he went in to kick me on the knee. It meant the second time he came in really hard, he was going over the ball with the intention of hurting me. That was why I jumped and that is the only reason he did not do real damage."

"This defeat hurts because of the way it happened and because it broke our record of victories."

"This is a re-debut. The first one was a bit short."

"We cannot allow that to happen again. I am sure Argentina has a very strong team and the players have the will to win the title. ... We would like to avoid playing against one of those strong teams in the first round."