Khalid Boulahrouz (born 28 December 1981, in Maassluis, Netherlands) is a Dutch footballer of Berber Moroccan Rif descent, who plays for the Netherlands and VfB Stuttgart. His nickname is "Khalid the Cannibal" for his ability to "eat up" the opposition. He is noted for his tackling and versatility in the back.

Boulahrouz was born into a Rifi Berber Moroccan family living in the Netherlands. He has eight siblings. As a youngster he went to the youth academies of Ajax and Haarlem. When he was sixteen his father died and he had to take responsibility for his family.

While Boulahrouz was in Switzerland preparing for the Euro 2008 quarter finals against Russia, his wife Sabia gave birth to a prematurely born daughter Anissa who died in a Lausanne hospital. He opted to play against Russia a few days later, during which the Dutch team wore black armbands in his daughter's memory.

A second daughter, Amaya, was born in March 2010.

In his youth Boulahrouz played consecutively for Excelsior Maassluis, DSOV, Ajax, Haarlem and AZ.

Bastian Schweinsteiger (pronounced [ˈbasti̯an ˈʃvaɪnʃtaɪɡɐ] ( listen)) (born 1 August 1984 in Kolbermoor, West Germany) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bayern Munich and the German national team. A right-footed player, he is capable of playing out wide or in a more central role.

Schweinsteiger has won many awards in his club and international careers, including five Bundesliga titles, five German Cups, and two League Cups. As of January 2011, he is the Bayern Munich vice-captain to long-time teammate Philipp Lahm.

Schweinsteiger signed with Bayern Munich as a youth team player on 1 July 1998 and rose through the club's youth sides. A talented youth ski racer, he had to decide between pursuing a professional career in skiing or one in football. Having won the German youth championship in July 2002, Schweinsteiger quickly earned a place in the reserves, producing a string of solid third division displays. He initially earned a reputation for being a rebel off the pitch, making headlines for the wrong reasons but has since settled down.

Thomas Frank (born March 21, 1965) is an American author, journalist and columnist for Harper's Magazine. He is a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal, authoring "The Tilting Yard" from 2008 to 2010.

Frank is a historian of culture and ideas and analyzes trends in American electoral politics and propaganda, advertising, popular culture, mainstream journalism and economics. With his writing, he explores the rhetoric and impact of the 'Culture Wars' in American political life, and the relationship between politics and culture in the United States.

Frank had started his political journey as a College Republican, but has come to be highly critical of conservatism, especially the presidency of George W. Bush. Frank summarized his book, The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule, as "Bad government is the natural product of rule by those who believe government is bad."

Frank is the founder and editor of The Baffler and the author of several books. Other writings include essays for Harper's Magazine, Le Monde diplomatique, Bookforum, and the Financial Times. His book What's the Matter with Kansas?, published in 2004, earned him nationwide and international recognition.

Robert David "Robbie" Keane (Irish: Roibeárd Ó Catháin; born 8 July 1980) is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy and captains the Republic of Ireland national football team.

Keane has scored 53 goals for his national side making him the all-time record Irish goalscorer, having become the first Irish player to score 50 international goals in June 2011. He is ranked the 25th highest international scorer in the world. Keane was Ireland's top scorer at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, with three goals plus a converted penalty in the shoot-out with Spain. With 115 full caps, he is Ireland's second most capped player of all time and is a member of the FIFA Century Club. He is the eleventh highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League with 125 goals (as of 21 January 2012), (Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is tenth with 127) and is the ninth highest goalscorer in Tottenham Hotspur history.