Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-division clubs around Europe. He began his senior career in 2002 at the Italian Serie A club Inter Milan, before moving to the English Premier League club Newcastle in 2006, and then the German Bundesliga club Wolfsburg in 2009. Having joined Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in July 2010, they loaned him to Birmingham City in January 2011.

In club football, Martins has won the Italian Serie A title, the Italian Cup (twice), and the Super Cup, all with Inter. With Birmingham he scored the winning goal in the 2011 Football League Cup Final. He has played European football with Inter, Newcastle and Wolfsburg, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Newcastle. His highest scoring league seasons so far have seen him score 11 goals in both the 2004–05 Serie A, and 2006–07 English Premier League. In international football, Martins has been in the Nigerian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and for the FIFA World Cup in 2010.

Clinton Drew "Clint" Dempsey (born March 9, 1983) is an American association football player who plays for Fulham and the United States national team. He usually plays as a deep-lying forward.

Growing up in Nacogdoches, Texas, Dempsey played for one of the top youth soccer clubs in the state, the Dallas Texans, before playing for Furman University's men's soccer team. In 2004, Dempsey was drafted by Major League Soccer club New England Revolution, where he quickly integrated himself into the starting lineup. Hindered initially by a jaw injury, he would eventually score 25 goals in 71 appearances with the Revolution. Since 2007, Dempsey has played for Premier League team Fulham and has earned the club record for goals scored in Premier League matches.

Dempsey first represented the United States at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates. He made his first appearance with the senior team on November 17, 2004, against Jamaica; he was then named to the squad for the 2006 World Cup and scored the team's only goal of the tournament. Dempsey recorded the fastest goal in U.S. World Cup qualifying history by scoring after 53 seconds of an eventual 8–0 defeat of Barbados. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Dempsey scored against England, becoming the second American, after Brian McBride to score goals in multiple World Cup tournaments. Dempsey became the first American player to score a hat-trick in the English Premier League in the 5–2 win over Newcastle United in January 2012.