Jordi Alba Ramos (born 21 March 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Valencia CF in La Liga mainly as a left defender - he can operate as a left midfielder.
Alba was born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia. He started his career in the youth ranks of FC Barcelona, but was released by the club in 2005. He then joined neighbouring UE Cornellà and, after almost two years, departed in a €6,000 deal to Valencia CF, where he finished his football education. After helping the reserves earn promotion from the fourth division in 2007–08, he made his professional debut the following season, playing on loan at second level outfit Gimnàstic de Tarragona, where he performed consistently (24 starts).
After returning to Los Che, Alba made his La Liga debut on 13 September 2009, in a 4–2 win at Real Valladolid. He then started in two consecutive UEFA Europa League group stage contests, against Lille OSC and SK Slavia Prague (both 1–1 draws, respectively away and home). Due to continuing injuries in Valencia's defensive sector, he played much of the 2009–10 season as a left back, posting overall good performances; in that position, on 11 April 2010, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–3 away loss against RCD Mallorca.
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.
Speedy Gonzales (also known as Speedy) is an animated caricature of a mouse in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast and speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent. He usually wears an oversized yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, similar to that of a reveler in the San Fermin festival. To date there have been 46 cartoons made either starring or featuring this character.
Speedy debuted in 1953's Cat-Tails for Two, directed by Robert McKimson. This early Speedy was a meaner, skinnier, rattier-looking creation with a sizable gold front tooth. The cartoon featured him outwitting a smart-and-stupid pair of cats, George and Benny (parodies of George and Lenny), aboard a ship. Later on this original version of Speedy is used as an unnamed background character a couple of times. Though he was created by McKimson, the majority of the cartoons with him were directed by Friz Freleng.
David Olatukunbo Alaba (born 24 June 1992 in Vienna) is an Austrian international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich. He has played a multitude of roles, including central midfielder, right and left winger, but has as of spring 2012 blossomed as a left back, a role Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has stated he sees Alaba continuing in.
Alaba began his career with SV Aspern, his local club in Aspern, in the 22nd district, Donaustadt, before joining the youth setup of Austrian giants Austria Vienna at age 10. He rose through the ranks quickly, and in April 2008 he was named on the first-team substitutes' bench for a Bundesliga match. He also played five times for Austria Vienna's reserve team, before leaving in summer 2008 to join German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich.
He started out in Bayern's youth system, playing for the U-17 and U-19 teams, before being promoted to the reserve team for the 2009–10 season. He made his debut in a 3. Liga match against Dynamo Dresden in August 2009 and scored his first professional goal for FC Bayern Munich II on 29 August 2009. He was named in Bayern Munich's squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, where he was assigned the shirt number 27. In January 2010, it was announced that Alaba would train with the first team for the rest of the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mates Diego Contento and Mehmet Ekici.
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.