Marcel Desailly (French pronunciation: [maʁsɛl dəsaji]; born Odenke Abbey 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana) is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He also enjoyed a distinguished career at club level with several major European clubs.

Born as Odenke Abbey to Ghanaian parents, Marcel had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra who adopted all the children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his). He arrived in France as a four-year-old and, following Adonkor's lead, began his career at FC Nantes. There, as part of the famed FC Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young Didier Deschamps, who became his closest friend. Desailly turned professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, where he reunited with Deschamps, and won the UEFA Champions League the following year. In 1994, while playing for AC Milan, he again won the Cup (scoring in the final himself), being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. During his time in Milan he won two Italian league titles, in 1994 and 1996. Although he prefers to be a central defender, he also played as a defensive midfield for some time while being at A.C. Milan.

Asamoah Gyan (born 22 November 1985 in Accra) is a Ghanaian professional footballer and a part-time rapper, who plays as a striker for Sunderland of the Premier League.

Gyan shot to prominence after scoring three goals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and also missing a crucial penalty kick in the last minute of extra-time in Ghana's quarter-final defeat by Uruguay.

Having signed for Udinese in 2003 from Ghanaian club Liberty Professionals located in his hometown of Accra, Gyan spent two years on loan at Serie B club Modena to gain match experience. Following some excellent displays during the 2006 World Cup, he attracted interest from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. Gyan returned to Udinese at the start of 2006, but on 17 February 2007, Udinese pulled out of a deal to sell him in the January transfer window. The striker was on the verge of signing a 3-year deal with Russian Club Lokomotiv Moscow for US$10.5m, the fourth largest transfer fee in Russian football history. "The striker Udinese targeted to replace me did not sign for them," Gyan told BBC Sport. "I've been told I will now have to stay in Italy for the rest of the season."

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born 14 August 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Okocha is due to play in the newly formed Indian Soccer League in March 2012 and is up for auction for £351,000. He is known for his stepovers, skill, technique, and being 'so good that they named him twice' (a line immortalised in a terrace chant while Okocha played for Bolton Wanderers). While playing at Süper Lig team Fenerbahçe, he became a Turkish citizen as "Muhammet Yavuz".

Okocha's "Jay-Jay" name was actually passed down from his older brother James, who started playing football first. His immediate older brother Emmanuel was also called Emma Jay-jay, but the name stuck with Augustine. Okocha first began playing football on the street just like many other football stars, usually with a makeshift ball. Jay Jay Okocha was born in Enugu, Nigeria to Mr. & Mrs Okocha of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Nigeria. In an interview with BBC Sport he said "as far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was amazing!" Known for making the move,"Sombrero Flick." In 1990 he joined Enugu Rangers. In his time at the club he produced many spectacular displays including one where he rounded off and scored a goal, against experienced Nigerian goalkeeper William Okpara in a match against BCC Lions. Later he travelled to Germany to meet a friend, where he was asked to train with his team after impressing in training, and landed a deal with German Third Division side Borussia Neunkirchen.

Ronald Ernest Atkinson, (born 18 March 1939) commonly known as "Big Ron" and (earlier in his managerial career) "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits. He is perhaps most famous for his idiosyncratic turn of phrase: his utterances have become known as "Big-Ronisms" or "Ronglish".

Ron Atkinson, who was born in Liverpool but moved to Birmingham a few weeks after his birth, did not achieve great heights in his playing career. He was originally signed by Aston Villa at the age of 17, but never played a first-team match for them. He still refers to then Villa coach Jimmy Hogan as his biggest influence.

He transferred to Oxford United (then called Headington United) in the close season of 1959 on a free transfer. There he played with his younger brother Graham Atkinson. He went on to make over 500 appearances in all competitions as a wing-half for the club, earning the nickname "The Tank", and scoring a total of 14 goals. He was United's captain through their rise from the Southern League to the Second Division, achieved in only six years from 1962 to 1968, an impressive achievement. He was the first ever footballer to captain a club from the Southern League through three divisions of the Football League.

Fernando Morientes Sánchez (born 5 April 1976) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.

His main asset was his aerial and strong goalscoring abilities. He played for a number of clubs during his career, including Real Madrid, AS Monaco, Liverpool, and Valencia CF. In La Liga, he scored 124 goals in 337 games, over the course of 15 seasons.

Morientes scored 27 goals in 47 appearances for the Spanish national team, representing the country in two World Cups (totalling five goals) and one European Championship.

Born in Cáceres, Extremadura, Morientes moved to Sonseca, Toledo, at the age of four. He began his professional career at Albacete Balompié, making his La Liga debut in 1993–94, spending two seasons at the club and scoring five goals in 22 matches (nine starts and 13 substitute appearances). Morientes transferred to Real Zaragoza in 1995, where he spent another two seasons, often being partnered up front by Dani, a Real Madrid youth graduate.

Morientes' performances for Zaragoza caught the eye of Spanish giants Real Madrid, which bought the player in the summer of 1997 for approximately €6.6 million. Initially backing up established Predrag Mijatović and Davor Šuker, he finished as starter, and managed 12 goals in his debut season in 33 matches, squad-best (with the two players who fought with him for a starting berth netting 10 apiece, as youth system prodigy Raúl). Real finished fourth in the league, but won the season's UEFA Champions League.