Aitor 'Txiki' Begiristain Mújica (born 12 August 1964 in Olaberria, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) is a retired Spanish footballer who played professionally during the 1980s and 1990s.

Mainly a left winger who could also operate as a forward with equal success, he is best known for his spells at Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona.

Begiristain represented the Spanish national team in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Begiristain began his professional career with Real Sociedad in 1982, at just 18, and subsequently played 187 games and scored 23 goals in La Liga for the club. After a slow start, with 16 matches in his first season, he became an essential member of the side that was then coached by John Toshack, also including Luis Arconada, Roberto López Ufarte, José Mari Bakero and Luis López Rekarte. The highlights of his career at Real included scoring the second goal in the 1987 Spanish Cup final against Atlético Madrid, which was eventually won on penalties after the 2–2 draw.

In 1987–88, Begiristain helped Real finish runners-up in both league and cup, losing in both competitions to FC Barcelona; within a month of the latter he, along with Bakero and López Rekarte, signed for the Catalonian club.

Albert Ferrer i Llopis (Catalan pronunciation: [əɫˈβɛr fəˈre]; born 6 June 1970) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right defender, and a current coach.

Having represented local FC Barcelona for almost a decade, he went on to appear for England's Chelsea until his retirement. During his spell in his country he was nicknamed Chapi.

A Spanish international on more than 30 occasions, Ferrer represented the nation in two World Cups.

A pacy and tough-tackling defender, Ferrer was born in Barcelona, Catalonia. He began his professional career with FC Barcelona B, then served a loan with CD Tenerife in 1989–90, with whom he made his La Liga debuts at the age of 19.

Ferrer returned to the main squad the following summer, and became the club's first-choice right-back, remaining as such for the following eight years, in which he scored once; he often partnered another club graduate, Sergi Barjuán, in the defensive wings.

Ferrer was a key member of the famous Dream Team and, during his time with the Blaugrana, won five leagues, a European Cup, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two domestic cups, four Supercups and two UEFA Super Cups.

Roberto Mancini (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto manˈtʃini]; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian former football player and manager of Premier League club Manchester City. As a player Mancini was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 matches, and helped them win the Serie A league title, four Coppa Italias and the Cup Winners Cup, whilst being capped 36 times by Italy. As a player, he gained a penchant for becoming a future manager and would often give team talks at half-time and ultimately became an assistant to Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio near the end of his playing career. After his retirement, Mancini embarked on a successful managerial career.

A cup specialist, Mancini has never failed to reach a semi-final of a major national cup competition in every season he has been a manager, from 2002 to 2012. He also guided the Italian clubs he managed to a record 5 consecutive Coppa Italia finals from 2004 to 2008, with Lazio once in 2004 and with Inter in the following four seasons. Mancini's first managerial role was at a cash stricken Fiorentina at only 35 years old and managed to win a Coppa Italia, but left with Fiorentina facing bankruptcy. Months later, he took over as manager at Lazio, where again he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose a number of key players. With limited resources during his two season tenure, he still managed to win another Coppa Italia, reach a UEFA Cup semi-final, and secure a lucrative Champions League place.