Tomáš Ujfaluši

Tomáš Ujfaluši (Hungarian: Újfalusi Tamás, Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈʊjfaˌlʊʃɪ]; born 24 March 1978) is a Czech retired footballer. He operated as either a central defender or a right back.

Other than in his country he played professionally in Germany (four years), Italy (four), Spain (three) and Turkey (two), winning six major titles between Hamburg, Atlético Madrid and Galatasaray. He started his career in 1996 with Sigma Olomouc.

Ujfaluši played 78 times for the Czech Republic, representing the nation at the 2006 World Cup and two European Championships.

Club career

Early years / Hamburg / Fiorentina

Born in Rýmařov, Czechoslovakia of Hungarian roots – the Hungarian version of his name, Tamás Újfalusi, meaning Thomas the New-Villager– Ujfaluši made his professional debut with SK Sigma Olomouc, at the age of 18. In December 2000, he moved abroad and signed with German club Hamburger SV: his debut came on 10 December by playing 90 minutes in a 2–1 home win against FC Energie Cottbus, and 16 of his 17 appearances in that season were complete, but the team could only rank 13th and 11th the following campaign, with respectively 58 and 57 goals conceded.

Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and rated by many in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the only football player in history to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or five times, four of which he won consecutively, and the first player to win three European Golden Shoes. With Barcelona he has won seven La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, as well as three Copa del Rey titles. A prolific goalscorer, Messi holds the records for most goals scored in La Liga (299), a La Liga season (50), a calendar year (91), a Champions League match (five), and most Champions League seasons (five).

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelona's youth academy, Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despite being injury-prone during his early career, he established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalist for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, a feat he repeated the following year. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008–09 season, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins.