Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976) is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He has won the German Footballer of the Year award three times – in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In his prime, Ballack was known for his passing range, scoring ability, ball skills and commanding presence in the midfield.

Ballack began his career as a youth at Chemnitz, his local team, and made his professional debut in 1995. Although the team were relegated in his first season, his performances in the Regionalliga the following season led to a transfer to Kaiserslautern in 1997. He won the Bundesliga in his first season at the club; his first major honour. He became a first team regular in 1998–99 season and also earned his first senior national cap for Germany. He moved to Bayer Leverkusen for €4.1 million in 1999. The 2002 season saw him win a slew of runners-up medals: Bayer Leverkusen finished second in the Bundesliga, German Cup, UEFA Champions League and Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup Final.

James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher (born 28 January 1978) is an English footballer of Irish descent, who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool. He is the current vice-captain and is one of the club's longest-serving players; he made his 666th appearance for Liverpool in all competitions on 9 May 2011, thus placing him second on the club's all time appearance list.

Carragher started his career with the Liverpool youth team. He made his professional debut in the 1996–97 season and became a first team regular the following season. He gained his first senior honours in 2001, winning a cup treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Having initially played as a full back, the arrival of manager Rafael Benítez in 2004 saw Carragher move to the centre back position and that season he won his greatest honour to date—the UEFA Champions League. In the next season, he won the FA Cup and was selected in the PFA Team of the Year. Carragher set a record for the most appearances in European competition for Liverpool in 2007.

Jamie Frank Redknapp (born 25 June 1973, in Barton on Sea, Hampshire) is a retired English footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is now a football pundit with Sky Sports, and an editorial columnist with the Daily Mail.

A midfielder, Redknapp played for England 17 times between 1995 and 1999. At club level, he scored 34 goals from 314 appearances in the domestic leagues. He won one major trophy during his career – the 1995 League Cup with Liverpool. He also picked up winner's medals in the FA Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup in 2001 (though he was an unused substitute in both games).

In a career that was blighted by a succession of injuries, Redknapp was as famous for his media profile off the field as much as on it. He married the pop singer Louise in 1998.

Redknapp comes from a well-known footballing family. His father, Harry Redknapp, is the manager of Tottenham Hotspur. He is also a cousin of the Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, and a nephew of former West Ham United coach Frank Lampard Senior.

John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League. He was also captain of the England national football team, holding the post from August 2006 to February 2010, and from March 2011 to February 2012.

Terry was named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009.PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005, and was included in the FIFPro World XI for four consecutive seasons, from 2005 to 2008. He was also named in the all-star squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the only English player to make the team. He wears the number 26 shirt for Chelsea.

Terry is Chelsea's most successful captain, having led them to three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups since 2004. He is one of five players to have made over 500 appearances for Chelsea and is also the club's all-time highest scoring defender. In 2007, he became the first captain to lift the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium in Chelsea's 1–0 win over Manchester United, and also the first player to score an international goal there, scoring a header in England's 1–1 draw with Brazil.

Jürgen Norbert 'Kloppo' Klopp (born 16 June 1967) is a German former footballer and the current manager of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

Klopp played his entire senior career for 1. FSV Mainz 05 from 1990 to 2001. He originally played as a striker, before switching to play as a defender in 1995.

Upon his retirement from playing for Mainz 05, Klopp was appointed as the club's manager. He remained as manager for seven years, during which time he led the team to its first appearance in the Bundesliga, and qualification for the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Mainz 05 were relegated, but Klopp chose to remain with the club. However, due to the fact that they were not able to achieve promotion, he resigned at the end of the 2007–08 season.

In May 2008, Klopp was approached to become the new manager of Borussia Dortmund, eventually signing a two-year contract at the club, which had finished in a disappointing 13th place under previous manager Thomas Doll. In his first season in charge, Klopp guided Borussia Dortmund to win the DFB-Supercup, defeating German champions Bayern Munich. Klopp took the club to a sixth place finish in his first season in charge, and a fifth place finish in the season after that, before leading the club to successive Bundesliga titles in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. During the 2011-2012 season, the 81 points accrued by Borussia Dortmund was the greatest points tally ever amassed in Bundesliga history and the 47 points earned in the second half of the season also set a new record. Borussia Dortmund's 25 league wins equalled Bayern Munich's 1972/73 milestone while their 28-league match unbeaten sequence was the best ever recorded in a single German top-flight season. On 12 May 2012, Klopp made Borussia Dortmund history by sealing the club's first ever domestic double, by defeating Bayern Munich 5–2 to win the DFB-Pokal. Klopp described the double as being "better than (he) could have imagined".