soccer gladiator

Lionel Messi

2008-01-27T16:57:00.000-08:00

Lionel Andrés Messi (born 24 June 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine international footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona in the Primera División, and for the Argentine national team. He has drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, and indeed Maradona himself named Messi his "successor".

Career

Beginnings

Lionel Messi was born in Santa Fe Province on 24 June 1987. At the age of five, he started playing football for Grandoli, a club coached by his father. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys.At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for the treatment of the illness that cost over £500 a month, as Argentina's economy was collapsing.[citation needed] Carles Rexach, the sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi's talent, and Barcelona signed him after watching him play,offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to start a new life in Spain.His family moved with the young player to Europe and he starred in the club’s youth teams

FC Barcelona

Messi made his unofficial debut for the first team against FC Porto on 16 November 2003. Less than a year later he made his official debut against Espanyol on 16 October 2004, becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for FC Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga (a record broken by teammate Bojan Krkic in September 2007).When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on 1 May 2005, Messi was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for FC Barcelona until 2007 when Bojan Krkic broke this record, a goal assisted by Messi.

Argentina Under-20

In June 2004, he got his chance, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay.In June 2005, Messi played in the Under-20 team that won the Football World Youth Championship in Netherlands, picking up the Golden Boot as top scorer with 6 goals, and the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. Despite his youth, Lionel was already being compared to Diego Maradona, one of the greatest football players of all time. On June 27, FC Barcelona renewed his contract until 2010, establishing a selling clause of €150 million (30 million more than his Barcelona team mate, Ronaldinho)

International career

On 4 August 2005, José Pekerman called Messi up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his debut on 17 August 2005 against Hungary, but it was a forgettable occasion. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off after just 40 seconds, because the referee Markus Merk found he had elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt, and left the pitch in tears. The decision was heavily contested as Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated.Messi then had his first international start on 3 September in Argentina's 0-1 World Cup qualifier away loss against Paraguay playing the last eight minutes of the match. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-début. The first one was a bit short"

Michael Owen

2007-06-24T00:40:00.000-07:00

Michael James Owen (born December 14, 1979, in Chester, Cheshire is an English football player currently with Newcastle United. He has also played for Liverpool (1996–2004) and Real Madrid (2004-05). He plays as a striker and has enjoyed a hugely successful and high-profile career at both club and international level and was the European Footballer of the Year in 2001. Owen is currently England's 4th highest scorer of all time, with 37 goals in 82 games for his country, with him being England's leading competitive goalscorer on 23 goals.

Pace and clinical finishing were Owen's greatest assets early in his career, though some consider he has since lost some pace due to injuries. Owen has recently returned from a year and a half of recurrent injuries sustained since December 2005.

Early life

When Michael was only seven his father, Terry, persuaded the manager of Mold Alexandra to let Michael into his team of ten-year-olds. Michael was quite a bit younger than most, and very much smaller, but he was soon showing off his "flair" and started in most games becoming known as the club's 'secret weapon'. He also played for his primary school team in Hawarden, Wales, breaking all local scoring records in his first season. He then attended Hawarden High School, where he also played for the school team.

His records and ability attracted much attention from top English teams, but as a Junior School boy, the school had the final say and it was a policy not to allow pupils to sign contracts at such a young age.

Liverpool F.C.
At age 11, when Owen had joined Hawarden High, he became available to sign "School Boy" forms with a club. He held talks with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, before he eventually signed for Liverpool. The club who persuaded him to attend the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall in Shropshire from age 14. Throughout this time, he studied at Idsall School, Shifnal, Shropshire, and achieved ten GCSEs.

Liverpool signed Owen after he graduated from Lilleshall at 16, and joined the club on the Youth Training Scheme. With Owen's help, Liverpool's youth team won the FA Youth Cup in 1996. After four months, he signed professional forms for the senior team just after his seventeenth birthday in December 1996.

He made his debut for Liverpool against Wimbledon in May 1997, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal. With an injury to Robbie Fowler, he was thrust immediately into action as a first team regular alongside the likes of newcomer Paul Ince and playmaker Steve McManaman in the following 1997-98 season. Owen ended that season as a joint top scorer in the Premier League with Chris Sutton and Dion Dublin, scoring eighteen goals, and was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year by fellow professionals.

Personal life

Owen is married to Louise Bonsall. They married on 24 June 2005, at the Carden Park Hotel in Wales, having been engaged since 14 February 2004.They had known each other since starting primary school in 1984. They became parents on 1 May 2003 when their daughter, Gemma Rose Owen, was born. Their son, James Michael Owen, was born on 6 February 2006. The couple had initially planned to get married at their home, Lower Soughton Hall, but changed plans when they were informed that if a licence was granted for a marriage ceremony the venue must be made available for other weddings for three years, so opted to marry in a registry office in informal clothing and have a lavish reception the next day in the grounds of their home.

Owen also bought an entire street for his extended family (Austen Close, Ewloe), which is in an area close to where he used to live. In 2004, Owen's sister Karen was assaulted by two youths, who attempted to kidnap her. When she revealed that she was pregnant, they fled.

Alessandro Nesta

2007-03-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere (born March 19, 1976 in Rome), is an Italian footballer. He plays centre back for AC Milan in Serie A. He has previously played for S.S. Lazio,and is widely considered one of the best defenders in the world. Nesta transferred to A.C. Milan from Lazio in 2002 for approximately €30 million paid over three years, after being valued at over £50 million by Lazio a year earlier.

Playing career

Nesta had a happy childhood growing up in the Cinecittà area of Rome. He attended "Margherita Bosco" primary school where he first started playing football. Fernando, Alessandro's older brother, was advised to play a sport because of a back problem, and enrolled at the local football club. Young Alessandro threw a tantrum till his father gave in and he was enrolled as well, thus marking the beginning of his career. Alessandro Nesta was first discovered by Francesco Rocca (Currently U-17 coach for Italy) a scout for A.S. Roma, but Nesta's father, a Lazio fan turned down the offer

In 1985, he joined Lazio's youth academy, where he rose through the ranks playing in various positions, including striker and midfielder before settling in defence. His international career first showed signs of growth when he played for the Italian national Under-15 and Under-16 sides. In 1993, he joined Lazio's first-team squad.

In 1996, Nesta was a member of the Italian Under-21 team that defeated Spain to win the European Under-21 Championship, picking up the award for best defender in the tournament along the way. He made his full international debut for Italy against Moldova on October 5, 1996. In 1997, he was given the captaincy of Lazio. It was in the 1997-98 season that Lazio won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup), beating A.C. Milan in the final, with Nesta amongst the goal-scorers. In May 1998 he lost the UEFA Cup final with Lazio against Inter. This was followed however by a series of trophy wins including a Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup in 1999 and a rare Championship and Italian Cup double in 2000, not to mention two Italian Super Cup victories.

Just before the 2002-03 season Lazio was forced to sell Nesta because of serious financial problems to A.C. Milan. His sale didn't stop Lazio from going bankrupt. With Milan, Nesta has won the Scudetto (Italian Championship), Coppa Italia, Champions League and the European Super Cup.

Nesta has appeared over 70 times for the Italian national team and has been a mainstay in it since the late 1990s. He played for his country in Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. On the June 7, 2006, edition of Pardon the Interruption, ESPN analyst Tommy Smyth proclaimed Nesta as the top defender and one of the top five players for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Other players in Smith's top five included Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Petr Cech, and Thierry Henry.

He was injured early on in the 2006 World Cup, in the group match against the Czech Republic, and played no further part in Italy's eventual triumph. This made it three times unlucky for Nesta, since he ruptured a knee ligament against Austria during France 1998 and had to sit out Italy's final game in Japan/Korea 2002 with an injured foot. Fortunately, he can now add the World Cup to his list of titles.

Also Unoficially Nicknamed "Birds Nest"

Personal

Nesta's fiancée is Gabriela Pagnozzi (daughter of Raffaelle Pagnozzi, General Secretary of CONI).

She is a specialist in economics and was working for "Casa Italia", the headquarters of the Azzurri, during the 1998 World Cup at France.

He was injured after the World Cup game against Austria, Gabriela took care of him, and this is how this love story began. "I can say, I got the injury and her in France then. And the injury has gone, she has stayed with me." The two of them live together in Milan. Their daughter, Sofia, was born on October 19, 2006.

Francesco Totti

2007-03-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Francesco Totti, Cavaliere (September 27, 1976, Rome) is an Italian football player, who currently plays for A.S. Roma in Serie A and for the Italian national team.

Francesco Totti's position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack. He is also Roma's first choice to take free kicks, having scored a number of goals from dead-ball situations.

Totti is widely recognised as the symbol of Roma, having never left the team despite the possibility of playing in stronger and richer clubs, and being the number one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history

Childhood

Totti was born and raised in Rome, in the Porta Metronia city neighborhood. His parents are Enzo and Fiorella Totti. Unlike other children his age who preferred to watch cartoons, Totti was always more interested in watching football matches instead. Totti constantly played football with older boys. His mother refused a big deal for her son from A.C. Milan while waiting for a deal from his favourite club A.S. Roma. His mother intended to never let her son step foot out of the "Eternal City". Totti finally joined the A.S. Roma junior team in 1989.

National team

Totti scored in Italy's 4-1 defeat by Spain in the final of the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in July 1995. In the final of the Under-21 competition in 1996, Totti opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw against the Spanish before triumphing on penalties.

Totti made his senior Azzurri debut in the Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998. He played in the finals tournament and scored against Romania and Belgium and played in the final; losing to the France. Although he was on the losing side, Totti was named Man of the Match in the final and described by many footballing legends, including Michael Platini (France), as the best player of the tournament.

Disappointment followed at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off as Italy lost to the South Korea in the second round, when he controversially received a second yellow card for alleged diving in the penalty area by referee Byron Moreno.

At Euro 2004, Totti garnered negative media attention when he spat at Christian Poulsen, a midfielder for the Denmark. Totti was subsequently banned until the semi-finals, but did not play in the tournament again, as Italy failed to qualify for the next round. In Totti's defence, Poulsen has developed a reputation for being a dirty player. The Danish defender was described as "a coward" by A.C. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti during the 05-06 season, for his continuous provocation of Kakà with the ball far away. [1], Sporting Life.

Personal life
Totti is married to Ilary Blasi, a former showgirl, who currently works as commentator and host on several RAI TV programs. The couple had their first baby, named Christian, on November 6, 2005. Ilary is pregnant again with their second child.

Totti also runs a football school, named Number Ten, and owns a motorcycle racing team called "Totti Top Sport".

His best friend is his brother, Riccardo. However, Totti always says that his brother was the better player when they were kids, but he was unlucky on his way. Totti had a strong bond with Riccardo so today, Riccardo is Totti's agent.

He also had a bad relationship with his previous coach Fabio Capello, who is currently coach of Real Madrid. Totti accused Capello of being a traitor for leaving Roma suddenly without a warning, and left the Roman team in a very bad shape which had them almost relegated to the second division in 2004-05 season. This rift started on Capello's last days with Roma: according to Totti, his behaviour to most of the players changed, and once advised the younger players not take Totti as their role model player, but to take Brazilian Emerson as an idol for his hard work. Several months later, Capello, Emerson and Frenchman Jonathan Zebina all left AS Roma for rivals Juventus suddenly.

His close friendship with former teammate Antonio Cassano was ended as well when Cassano created a ton of problems for AS Roma before moving off to join Real Madrid where he was later joined by Capello and Emerson. Currently Totti and Cassano are not on talking terms. In a public bust up with Capello, Cassano claimed that he was wrong to leave Roma and he hopes that Roma and Totti will forgive him.

2007-03-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Íker Casillas Fernández (born May 20, 1981 in Móstoles, Madrid) is a Spanish football goalkeeper. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is also the first vice-captain of Spain, as well as one of the vice-captains of Real Madrid.

National team

Casillas was a member of the Spanish teams which won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999. Following his full international debut against Sweden, Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000.

2002 World Cup He was the first choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan later that year, and enjoyed hero status after Spain knocked out the Republic of Ireland in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the quarter-finals. After the FIFA World Cup and his performances against the Republic of Ireland and South Korea, he was finally the leading goal keeper in the national team.

Euro 2004 Casillas played in all eight Group 6 fixtures during Euro 2004 qualifying, conceding just four goals. He then kept goal in both legs of the play-off victory against Norway, keeping a clean sheet in Oslo. He then backstopped his country at the Euro 2004 finals.

2006 World Cup Casillas was his country's first-choice goalkeeper during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain was beaten by France 3-1 which marked the end of the 2006 campaign.

Trivia

Because he was too young to have a driver's license, Casillas was the only Madrid player to use public transport to get to training sessions in the 1999/00 season.

He was previously dating Spanish Miss Spain 2003 and model Eva González. She came from Seville and has appeared in TV programmes and done numerous photo shoots for magazines. She was recently voted the prettiest footballers' partner in Spain. They split up in November 2006.

Iker Casillas Video Compilation

Del Piero

2007-03-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

Alessandro Del Piero, Cavaliere (born November 9, 1974 in Conegliano) is an Italian football player. He is the captain of Juventus and a member of the Italian national side. He was a part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup winning side. Usually, Del Piero plays as a support-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers (in the hole), known in Italy as the "Trequartista" position. He is not the tallest of forwards, but is certainly one of the most creative forwards in the world, rather than being a "goal poacher."

Del Piero is renowned for his deadly finishing, and the ease in which he dribbles past defenders. He is an expert in dead-ball situations as he is among the world's best in taking freekicks and penalty kicks. Particularly famous for inside-curling, dipping shot that he takes in the area that is up to 10 yards outside the penalty box, which is known as "La Zona Del Piero" meaning "The Del Piero Zone."

Biography

Alessandro was born in Conegliano, to Bruna, a housekeeper and Gino Del Piero, who was an electrician. Along with his brother Stefano, the family lived at a rural home. He would often play football in the backyard with two friends, Nelso and Pierpaolo. The three of them wanted to become footballers, but only Alessandro would eventually manage to do so.

While growing up, Del Piero recalls that as a youngster there was never any money for travelling abroad and that he wanted to be a lorry driver so he could see places. Later, as a professional football player he was eventually able to travel all around the world.

Club Football

Del Piero was first spotted playing for hometown San Vendemiano — he left home at the age of 16 to start his professional career in 1991 with Padova of Italian Serie B. In 1993, he transferred to Juventus, and has been there ever since.

Del Piero made his Serie A debut against Foggia in September 1993, scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana after appearing as a substitute, and then grabbed a hat-trick against Parma on his first start. Juventus claimed their first Scudetto in eight years in his first season and success continued to follow. With the Turin club, he won the Serie A championship six times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005), the Champions League (1996), and the Intercontinental Cup (1996). His best season was in 1997-98, when he scored 21 goals in Serie A and finished top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 10 goals, which included a peach of a freekick against Monaco in the semi finals.

Del Piero struggled for form at the beginning of the 1998-99 season, whilst doping allegations were aimed at Juventus (they were later found innocent). In October he picked up a serious knee injury in the 2-2 draw with Udinese. This kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. Juventus struggled without him and limped home to a lowly 6th place in Serie A. It is claimed by some that Del Piero has never fully recovered from this injury, and therefore never quite fulfilled the potential he had shown at a very young age.

His nickname is Pinturicchio, in reference to a joke by Gianni Agnelli when he compared the emerging Del Piero to Roberto Baggio in a parallel between the student Pinturicchio from Perugia and the teacher Caravaggio. He's also been nicknamed by the fans "Il Fenomeno Vero" meaning the true, the real "Phenomenon". One of Del Piero's greatest strengths as a footballer is his versatility, which allows him to play in a variety of attacking positions. While he started his club career playing as a full-fledged striker, he settled into a more deeper role as a support-striker. Because of his great technical ability, accurate passing skills and impressive vision, he has also been positioned as a playmaker; in the central slot behind the forwards.

In any zone surrounding the penalty area, his prowess as a creator of goals came to the fore. Under Marcello Lippi's reign as Juventus coach, Del Piero's creative abilities were on display whatever the coach's formation was. Del Piero showed his class in the lethal "trident-attack" formation along with veterans Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli. After that, he took a leading role in a creative combination with Zinedine Zidane behind Filippo Inzaghi.

As Juve's playing style changed in Lippi's second stint with Juventus starting 2001, Del Piero was still vital as his partnerships with Pavel Nedvěd in midfield and David Trézéguet upfront has contributed enormously to Juve's continued success in Italy and Europe. Del Piero is currently the all-time top scorer for Juventus F.C. Del Piero also made is 500th appearance with Juventus in January '07. International: World Cup Winner Despite huge success on the club level, Del Piero in the past has somewhat disappointed playing for the Italian national team, although he is currently the national teams all-time 4th topscorer. Coming into the 1998 FIFA World Cup with huge expectations, he competed with fan favorite Roberto Baggio for a spot, and had some troubles because of a recent injury he picked up during the Champions' League final whilst playing for Juventus.

Two years later Del Piero became one of the culprits for Italy's last minute loss in Euro 2000 final, missing 2 chances, which could have killed France off. However, he returned to the international scene in the 2002 FIFA World Cup on the back of a very impressive season in Serie A, in which he led Juventus to the title. Del Piero scored the decisive goal against Hungary which qualified the Azzurri to the World Cup. In the tournament he scored a goal against Mexico with his first touch of the game seconds within coming on as a substitute to send Italy through to the second round, but they would get no further.

After Euro 2004, Del Piero faced another tough moment after Juventus replaced their Coach Marcello Lippi with Fabio Capello. Capello was not convinced of Del Piero's abilities and favoured the new signing from Ajax, Zlatan Ibrahimović. However, the Juve captain fought back and scored 14 goals in Serie A that season helping Juventus to their 28th Scudetto. Most memorable perhaps was his bicycle-kick assist against AC Milan. Although a strong fan favourite, the Juventus captain found himself starting on the bench for most of Italy’s matches in the World Cup 2006. During all of the group stage matches, Del Piero started on the bench, coming on twice; first as a substitute late in game in the first match with Ghana.

Then in the following match he came on as a substitute at the 54th minute in the match against the United States. Del Piero was more active for Italy during the knockout stages; starting in the last sixteen clash with Australia. On July 4, 2006 while facing host nation Germany in the semifinals of the competition, Del Piero, after coming on as a substitute towards the end of the game, scored Italy's second goal. On a fast break while Germany were on the ascendancy, Alessandro Del Piero scored that goal for Italy with Alberto Gilardino perfectly backheeling the ball into Del Piero's path. Del Piero confidently stroked the ball over Jens Lehmann. In doing so, he ended hopes of a last minute comeback by Germany. This goal was chosen as one of the best in the tournament.

In the final, Del Piero scored the fourth penalty kick of the World Cup 2006, helping Italy to win the World Championship for the 4th time in its history. Italy managed to score all five penalties. Del Piero admitted subsequently that winning the World Cup was his childhood dream.

Apart from being Juventus' captain, Del Piero occasionally captained Italy in the absence of the current captain at that time. As of 2006, Del Piero has captained Italy 5 times. He also had the honour of wearing the number ten for the Italian National Team. He later gave the jersey to Francesco Totti, who is still using that number although recently under manager Roberto Donadoni it's been used by other players including Antonio Cassano and Daniele De Rossi. Del Piero switched to the Azzurri shirt number of 7 for sentimental reasons since this was the first number in which he ever played professional football.

Trivia

* His brother Stefano, who is nine years older and briefly played football for Sampdoria before injury struck him. Alessandro's father Gino, died in February 2001.

* He once said that he used to play as a goalkeeper because he could play a lot more football that way. His mother thought it would be better for him if he played as a goalkeeper, since he wouldn't sweat and the possibility of him getting injured was smaller. But one day, Stefano told their mother: "Don't you see that Alex is good in the attack?"

* Sonia Amoruso is Del Piero's wife. Alex and Sonia have been together since 1999 and eventually married in 2005.

* Del Piero was once the world's best paid player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue. [25]

* Del Piero is into other sports and also into music. He has even released some music CDs himself.

* Del Piero is regarded also for his character off and on the pitch. He has won several awards such as the "'Coppa d'Argento' Premio Speciale Gentleman" , the "San Siro Gentleman Serie A TIM". and the Associazione Soomaaliya Special Award for Fairness which is assigned to the persons who with their silence have not been arrogant, aggressive or violent

* Del Piero is known for his sense of humour. He once joked that if Lippi does not convoke him to the World Cup in Germany, he will "run him over with his car and sink his damn boat".

* Pelé named Del Piero in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. He was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll.

* Del Piero was rated 10/10 in 1996 after leading Juventus to the championship title UEFA Champions League and the Italian Championship title.

* Del Piero was a 2006 Winter Olympics Torchbearer in Turin.

* He is considered to have a strong bond with the fans; "I'm proud to be a Juventino, to be a "bandiera", like you define me to be often, in reality I'm just a small part of a big black & white "bandiera" (flag) that grows with the years and if you look closely your name is part of it... To continue making this "bandiera" grow we need everybody: let's stay united."

* Del Piero is an Oasis fan and has a good relationship with Noel Gallagher. In fact, Del Piero claimed Gallagher was Italy's lucky mascot in their 2006 World Cup success and invited him to the final and the team hotel after victory.

* He appeared in a Rolling Stones Concert in Milan in 2006 together with Marco Materazzi, following Italy's World Cup victory.

* Famous sport icons such as NBA star Steve Nash and cycling legend Eddy Merckx stated that they are fans of Del Piero.

* In November 2006 Del Piero received the Airc prize "Believe in Research" for having done a great deal to promote and support the research in the cure for cancer.

Ronaldinho

2007-02-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian footballer, commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho (due to his being from the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil), or simply Ronaldinho. He became a naturalized Spanish citizen in January 2007.

Portuguese for "little Ronaldo", was originally devised as a means of distinguishing between himself and fellow Brazilian football star

Ronaldo, with the additional title Gaúcho being used when the current Ronaldo was also known as Ronaldinho. Among his many achievements and accolades, Ronaldinho has been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), as well as the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award twice (2005, 2006).[1] He has downplayed suggestions that he is the best footballer in the world, telling FourFourTwo magazine, "I don't even
feel I'm the best at Barça."

Early life

Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre, a city in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. Ronaldinho's mother Miguelina is a former salesperson who later studied to become a nurse. His father João was a shipyard worker and footballer for Cruzeiro.

The family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre when Ronaldinho's older brother Roberto signed to play professional football for Grêmio. João died when Ronaldinho was eight, after suffering a heart attack while swimming in the family's pool. This house was given to Roberto Assis as a present from Gremio to convince him to stay at the club.

At the time, Torino were interested in him. Injuries ended Roberto's career prematurely, and he now manages Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho's sister Deisi works as his press coordinator. Ronaldinho's son, named João after his father, was born on February 25, 2005. João's mother is Janaína Nattielle Viana Mendes, a former dancer on the Brazilian television show Domingão do Faustão.
Janaina Nattiella Viana Mendes

In his childhood, Ronaldinho's skill in football began to blossom due to his particular interest in futsal and beach football, which later developed into a fondness for more standardised football. His first brush with the media came after he scored all 23 goals in a 23-0 victory against a local team, at just 13 years of age.

His reputation as a footballer was built up through his childhood, particularly since he was identified as a rising star at the Egypt 1997 under-17 world championship. He scored two goals in the tournament, both penalty kicks.

Club career

Grêmio

Ronaldinho's career began in the youth team at Porto Alegre club Grêmio, under head coach Celso Roth, who only played him due to immense
pressure from the Gremio supporters. His first senior appearance came in the 1998 Libertadores Cup, and his penchant for goalscoring was quickly displayed, his career soon generating interest due to his
phenomenal ball control and ability to score. This was followed by his introduction into the Brazilian national team in 1999.

Towards the end of his career at Grêmio, in 2001, many clubs from all over the world, particularly Premiership teams in England such as Arsenal who tried but failed, were eager to sign him as an attempt to attain a player who was both a "big name" and was also performing well. Despite several generous bids from Premiership teams (who would not have been able to sign him due to work permit restrictions) and several requests from Grêmio (they offered £ 7000-a-week), Ronaldinho signed a
five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC, to which he moved at the beginning of the following season.

Paris Saint-Germain

In 2001 Ronaldinho left Grêmio to play European football. Despite bids from much larger clubs,[citation needed] he opted to play for PSG. During his time at PSG, the manager, Luis Fernandez, claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than on his
football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil would always drag on and never end at the scheduled times.

After the 2002 World Cup, having shown his worth on the international scene, there was no shortage of interest from bigger clubs. In 2003, Ronaldinho made it clear he wanted to leave PSG after they failed to qualify for any European competitions. Ronaldinho's desire to leave set off a bidding war among the top European clubs (Manchester United and FC Barcelona the notable examples) for his services. The club that ended up winning the battle for his services was FC Barcelona. Manchester United also wanted him, but he rejected it.

Barcelona

On July 19, 2003, FC Barcelona acquired Ronaldinho for £20 million.Originally, Barcelona chairman Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to Real Madrid,
Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and beat Manchester United to his signature. It was thought that a failure on the part of the English and French clubs to agree on a fee was the reason Manchester United's deal fell through. Ronaldinho is also said to have signed with Barcelona instead of Manchester United because of his friendship with former Nike executive in Brazil and Barcelona's then vice-president in
charge of sports, Sandro Rosell.[9] Ronaldinho's signing with Barcelona follows in the footsteps of a number of illustrious fellow countrymenwho enjoyed successful careers with the club, including Romário,Ronaldo and Rivaldo.

International career

Ronaldinho is one of few players to play at every footballing level,for he has played at under 15, under 17, under 20, under 23, and senior level. He made his first ever appearance for Brazil playing against Scotland on the 7th of March 1995 in an under 15s match, Brazil lost the game 1-0.

Under 17 championship Egypt 1997

Ronaldinho was part of the first ever Brazilian team to win the Under 17s championship. His first goal was scored from a penalty against Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7-0, and eventually went on to finish top of their group. In the quarter-finals Brazil beat Argentina 2-0, in which Ronaldinho was named the Man of the match after setting up his teammate Fabio Pinto and creating numerous scoring chances. In the semi-finals Brazil had there first game against a
European team, they had to play Germany, Brazil won the match 4-0 and Ronaldinho scored the fourth goal with a penalty. In the final Brazil had to play reigning champions Ghana, the game went 1-0 up for Ghana just before the half time break, only for Brazil to win the game 2-1with the second goal being scored in the 87th minute. During the six matches of the tournament Brazil conceded only 2 goals and scored 21.

Ronaldinho was named one of the best players of the tournament,receiving the Bronze Ball award. After the under 17's championship, he debuted for the Brazilian national team on June 26, 1999 against Latvia in a game which Brazil won 3-0.

Copa America 1999

Ronaldinho first tournament participation with the Brazilian national team came in when he was included in the Brazilian squad that won the

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup

Ronaldinho was both top player and scorer in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. He scored in all of the games of the tournament including a hat-trick against Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals to give
Brazil a 8-2 win.

2002 World Cup

Ronaldinho played a part in Brazil's successful 2002 campaign to win the World Cup, forming the famed "3 R's" with Ronaldo and Rivaldo. He scored two goals in the tournament. One of the highlights was an unconventional 30-yard free kick he scored against England in the quarter-finals in Shizuoka. The ball lobbed over the English keeper David Seaman, who was out of position as he expected a pass into the penalty area, to make the score line 2-1 for Brazil.

2005 Confederations Cup

On June 29, 2005, he played a pivotal role as the captain of the Brazilian squad that won its second FIFA Confederations Cup title, and was named Man of the Match in a 4–1 victory over Argentina in the final.

2006 World Cup

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldinho was a starting player for all of Brazil's five matches, but his performances were considered disappointing by both fans and commentators. He scored no goals and
made only one assist (for Gilberto's goal in a 4-1 victory over Japan). When Brazil were eliminated by France 1-0 in the quarterfinal, he failed to make an impression.

Immediately after the World Cup disappointment, the team was criticized by many Brazilians, and vandals immolated and destroyed a 7.5-meter (23-foot) tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in the Brazilian city of Chapecó.The statue had been erected in 2004 to celebrate his first election as FIFA World Player of the Year.

Two days after the loss, Ronaldinho, joined by Adriano, returned to Barcelona and held a party at his home, which was continued into the early morning hours at a nightclub. This increased the feeling of Brazilian fans that they were betrayed by the lack of effort from their national team.This reaction contrasted with other players such as Rogerio Ceni, who was ashamed of the game and said but we lost in "somedefeats are marked by struggle, an infelicitous way, that wasn't what we had
hoped for"and Zé Roberto, who cried and said that i"the unity that we had outside the pitch, lackednside it".

Business and trivia

He is a fan of Brazilian music, and occasionally plays the drumsand sings with friends in Barcelona.

In December 2005, Ronaldinho and Mauricio de Sousa, a famousBrazilian comic book author, announced the creation of cartoon characters based on Ronaldinho, his brother and his mother. In the UK,the comic is published exclusively in children's football magazine,KiCK!, while in Spain it is being published by Panini Comics and in Greece by Compupress.

Ronaldinho appears in advertising campaigns for international companies Nike, Pepsi, ASPIRE, and Lenovo, as well as at least eight brands in Brazil, including Kibon.

Ronaldinho appears on the front cover of Electronic Arts games FIFA Soccer 06, FIFA 07 along with Wayne Rooney. He was also on the front cover of FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup on the Xbox 360.

He has surpassed David Beckham as the most marketable player in the world, generating $57.8m (£30.8m) annually, though still trails Beckham in estimated yearly income.

After playing a friendly match in Stockholm, Ronaldinho received a trophy rating him as the best Brazilian Player in history, according to a survey by Swedish television.

Ronaldinho played in the largest friendly soccer match hosted in the United States when his Barcelona team played Chivas Guadalajara at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Ronaldinho newly presented his new series of clothing; R10. He has created different clothing and a new boot.

Ronaldinho shares his birthday with a fellow heroic Brazilian,the late Ayrton Senna

He has endorsements with PepsiCo, Unilever, Nike, Grupo Santander and American Express.

He broke a window in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in 2004 while filming a commercial.

He has been voted into the all-time favourite Gremio team in a survey conducted by the brazilian Placar magazine at the end of 2006.

Fernando Morientes

2007-02-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

PROFILE
Date Of Birth: April, 05, 1976

Place: Ceceres Spain

Height: 186 cm Weight: 79 Kg Zodiac: Aries Nickname: Moro Marital Status: Married with Vitoria , has two children: Fernando andLucia
Team: Real Madrid - SpainOfficial

PERSONAL'S DROPS
Singer: Queen

Movie: "The last of the Mohicans"

Car: BMW and Cherokee

Favorite Dish: pasta and traditional Spanish kitchen

Book: " El Quijote " and some police books

Playing Style

Morientes plays as a striker, and is generally considered to be a natural target man. His primary strength is his heading ability, which, combined with his height (1.86 metres) and high natural spring, make him an excellent header of the ball. Although lacking in pace, Morientes is skilled with both feet and is also a good finisher. He plays best when partnered with a quicker strike partner such as Raúl González, with whom he played for the Spanish national team and Real Madrid.

Early Career

At the age of 17, Morientes began his top-flight career at Albacete in 1993. He spent two seasons at the club, scoring 5 goals in 22 appearances. Morientes transferred to Real Zaragoza in 1995, where he spent two seasons. He scored goals regularly, and in his time at Zaragoza managed 30 goals in 66 appearances for the club.

Real Madrid

Morientes' performances for Zaragoza caught the eye of Spanish giants Real Madrid. He transferred to the club in the summer of 1997 for approximately €6.6 million. Morientes made 33 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals. He formed a successful strike partnership with Raúl González. Real Madrid also won the Champions League in this season. In the 1998/99 season, he performed very well, scoring 19 goals in the league and 25 goals in 38 appearances overall. He continued to perform well in the 1999/00 season, scoring 19 goals and finishing as Real's top scorer in a year where he also helped Real to their second Champions League title in 3 seasons, scoring in the 3-0 win over Valencia in an all-Spanish final. In the next season, Morientes won the first of two La Liga titles with Real Madrid in an all star squad consisting of Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Steve McManaman, Fernando Hierro and Raul Gonzalez, scoring 10 goals overall which included 4 in 8 appearances in the Champions League as Real lost in the semifinals to eventual winners Bayern Munich. He missed the tail-end of the La Liga season due to injury.

In the 2001/02 season in La Liga, Real failed to win the league, losing out to Valencia. However, Morientes continued his scoring form, scoring 18 league goals in only 25 starts, with 6 substitute appearances. He finished second in the topscorers list for the season, tied with Patrick Kluivert and behind Diego Tristán. Real were successful in winning the Champions League after beating Bayer Leverkusen. Morientes played in the final and received a third Champions League winners medal.

In the summer of 2002, Real Madrid signed Brazilian superstar Ronaldo from Inter Milan. This fuelled rumours that Morientes would soon be leaving the club, with Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly interested. Barcelona were reportedly on the verge of signing Morientes for around €22 million, but the move fell through due to Barca's reluctance to match Morientes' wage demands. Eventually, Morientes decided to stay at Madrid, but as predicted he did not feature as much in the side after the arrival of Ronald, who was preferred to Morientes in the starting lineup along with Raul. Morientes also had a highly publicised spat with the then Real manager Vicente Del Bosque during a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund in early 2003.

In the January transfer window, despite continuous rumours of moves to Tottenham, Real Zaragoza,A.S. Roma and A.C. Milan, Morientes remained at the club for the remainder of the season. Real would go on to win the league and Morientes earned his second La Liga medal, making a total of 15 appearances (with 3 starts) and scoring 5 goals.

On Loan to Monaco

It was now clear that Morientes was not part of the first team at Real Madrid. At the start of the 2003-04 season, after further speculation regarding his future, he was loaned to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco. Here, he performed very well, scoring 10 goals in 28 appearances in the league. However, it was in the Champions League that he really made an impact. Monaco reached the final of the competition, eventually losing in the final to FC Porto. Morientes finished as the top scorer, scoring 9 goals. Ironically, Monaco met Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Morientes scored a vital away goal for Monaco in the first leg, which Real Madrid won 4-2. He was applauded by the Real Madrid fans after he scored. In the second leg, he scored again as Monaco won 3-1, taking the aggregate score to 5-5. Monaco went through on away goals. He also scored in their semifinal victory over Chelsea, but could not prevent Monaco from losing 0-3 in the final to Porto. Morientes' form resulted in him winning the 2004 European Striker of the Year award.

Liverpool

After returning to Real Madrid at the start of the 2004/05 season, Morientes' hopes of forcing his way into the Real squad were further dampened with the arrival of Michael Owen from Liverpool. It was clear that Morientes was surplus to Real's requirements. As a result, he transferred to Liverpool in January 2005 for a fee of £6.3m, after making only 13 substitute appearances for Real in the first half of the season. He made his debut for the club against rivals Manchester United and scored his first Liverpool goal on February 1, 2005 against Charlton. He was cuptied for Liverpool's Champions League campaign and did not feature in their victory against AC Milan in the final of the competition.

Although Morientes came to Liverpool with a very good reputation, his transfer to Merseyside was followed by a large dip in form. He scored only 3 goals in the 2004-05 season. The start of the new season did not see a large improvement, although Morientes did score a few important goals and ended 2005 on a high note with a recall to the Spanish national team. However, his form did not fluctuate for the remainder of the season as he failed to replicate his Real and Monaco form. He was often played in a deep-lying striker's position instead of his favoured target man role, and failed to adapt to this new role, as well as the faster style of the Premiership At the end of the 2005-06 season, he was sold to Valencia. During his time at Liverpool, he managed only 12 goals in 61 appearances, although he was part of the squad that won the 2006 FA Cup.

Valencia

Morientes joined Valencia for a fee of £3m in May 2006 on a three-year deal after failing to impress at Anfield. He was assigned the number 9 shirt, which he previously wore at Real Madrid, and for Spain at the 2002 World Cup.
Morientes made his unofficial debut for Valencia on 29 July 2006, in a friendly against Charlton Athletic. Morientes scored Valencia's first goal in the match, which Valencia won 3-1. He made his league debut on 27 August 2006 against Real Betis, and also scored the first goal of the season for Valencia.

Morientes returned to form following his return to La Liga, forming a successful strike partnership with fellow Spaniard David Villa. Morientes finished 2006 with 6 league goals in 11 appearances.

In 19 games for Valencia in the first half of the 2006/07 season, Morientes scored 12 goals in all competitions, which is equal to the total amount of goals he scored in 61 matches during his time at Liverpool.

National Team

Morientes has been a regular for his national team since 1998, when he scored twice in the first five minutes of his debut against Sweden. As of June 22, 2006, Morientes is third on the Spanish all-time topscorer's list with 26 goals in 44 appearances, behind former Real Madrid teammates Raúl (44 goals in 102 caps) and defender Fernando Hierro (who took the majority of Spain's free kicks and penalty kicks during his international career) (29 goals in 89 caps), although his goals-to-games ratio is higher than both Raúl and Hierro.

Morientes was picked in the Spanish squad for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, where he scored 1 and 3 goals respectively. In the 2002 World Cup, he had a goal wrongly disallowed in Spain's quarterfinal defeat to South Korea.

He was a surprise omission at Euro 2000, but played at Euro 2004 where he scored 1 of only two goals that Spain could manage.

Morientes played for the Spanish squad during the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup. However, due to his poor form for Liverpool in 2005/06 (he scored only 5 goals), he was not chosen by Spanish national team coach Luis Aragonés in the final squad for the tournament, although he was part of a 31-man initial squad named by Aragonés.

Following his return to form after moving to Valencia, Morientes has since been recalled to the national side for friendly matches against Romania and England

Trivia

Morientes has scored on his debut for Albacete, Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Valencia, Spain Under-21s and the full national side.
Morientes is married to Maria Victoria López Marín and has three children; Fernandito, Lucía and Gabriela.
Morientes once scored 5 goals in one league match for Real Madrid, against Las Palmas. He had the chance to score a sixth with a penalty kick, but missed.
Morientes' best friend is his former Real Madrid teammate Raul. Raul was often spotted at Anfield Road in the 2005/2006 English Premiership season while he was sidelined with an injury, watching Morientes play for Liverpool.

Nicolas Anelka

2007-02-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

Nicolas Sebastian Anelka (born 14 March 1979 in Versailles) is a French professional football player in the forward position, who plays for English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers. Previous clubs he has played for include Paris Saint-Germain (1996-97, 2000-02), Arsenal (1997-99), Real Madrid (1999-2000), Liverpool (2002), Manchester City (2002-2005) and Fenerbahçe (2005-2006). He won the 1998-99 PFA Young Player of the Year award.At the end of the year 2006, of the 2006-07 premiership season, Anelka is currently Bolton Wanderers leading goal-scorer.

Anelka is the son of two parents from Martinique, Marguerite and Jean-Philippe, who emigrated to Metropolitan France in 1974. He converted to Islam in 2004 and took the Muslim name Abdul-Salam Bilal.

Club career

Anelka started out at Paris Saint-Germain as a youth player. In November 1996, at the age of 17, he joined English club Arsenal for a fee of £500,000, under newly appointed Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. His first team opportunities were limited in the 1996-97 season, but in the 1997-98 season he broke into the first team, after a long-term injury to striker Ian Wright. Anelka was a key player in Arsenal's "The Double" win, of both Premier League championship and FA Cup trophy that season. Anelka scored the second goal in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Newcastle United in that season's FA Cup final.

A player with exceptional pace and finishing ability, he won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award in the 1998-99 season, but Arsenal failed to defend their Premiership title and made little progress in the UEFA Champions League. In addition, Anelka made it clear he wanted a better salary than the one Arsenal were offering him. Rumors of his older brothers, who were his agents, galvanizing his career decisions also emerged as the star was renowned for his temperaments with his clubs, forcing him to be left with the unenviable nickname of the Incredible Sulk. He was eventually transferred to Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer of 1999, for £22.3m. In all he made 90 appearances for Arsenal (including 17 as a substitute), scoring 28 goals and establishing himself as a top class striker.

Anelka spent just one season at Real Madrid, and played in the side that won the UEFA Champions League final, beating Valencia 3-0. However, his form was remarkably worse than it had been at Arsenal – scoring only four goals in 29 appearances – and his inability to mix with his teammates (with the exception of good friend Steve McManaman) as well as to cope with media attention led to him leaving in the summer of 2000. He began his second spell at Paris St-Germain, in a transfer deal worth £20 million.

After one season at Paris St-Germain, Anelka returned to the English Premiership, signing a one-year loan deal with Liverpool. He failed to hold down a regular first team place and manager Gérard Houllier decided not to offer him a permanent deal after the end of the season. Nevertheless, he placed 96th in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop. Anelka opted to join newly promoted Manchester City and the £12 million fee paid by manager Kevin Keegan was a club record.

In his three seasons at Manchester City, although scoring freely, the addition of Anelka to the club's squad hardly made a drastic difference to its playing fortunes. They finished ninth in 2002-03 season, 16th in 2003-04 season and midway through the 2004-05 season they were looking set for a mid-table finish at best. There was increasing speculation as to whether Anelka was going to be transferred to a bigger club.

On January 27, 2005, the speculation ended when Manchester City announced that it had agreed a £7 million fee for Anelka's transfer to Turkish team Fenerbahçe. Anelka helped the Turkish club win the league title in 2005. In August of that same year, there was considerable speculation in the press that Anelka was being courted by Newcastle United for a return to English football, although the transfer never came about. Anelka stayed on at the Turkish club where he played with them in the UEFA Champions League, but they finished bottom of their group. They also fell short in the title race in 2006, as rivals Galatasaray won the title on the season's final day.

During the summer transfer window of 2006, press reports once again linked Anelka with a return to English football. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was allegedly willing to either pay £8.2 million to bring the striker to Fratton Park, or take him on a season long loan. However, Bolton Wanderers swooped in and on August 25 2006, manager Sam Allardyce announced that he had signed Anelka on a four year deal for a club record of £8m. This brought his total combined transfer fees to approximately £69.8 million.

Anelka took time to settle in at Bolton, and took until 25 November 2006 to score his first goal for the club. Ironically this came in the form of a brace against Arsenal, the club that introduced him to the Premiership. In this game against Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium, he managed to score a goal in both the first and second halves of the game. The first goal,was quite remarkable, winning November's Goal of the Month award on Match of the Day.

Anelka celebrates his goals by making a butterfly sign. Interlocking his two hands and creating a flicking movement, On the 30 December 2006 Anelka Revealed to English paper The Daily Mail that the celebration was "something between me and my friends in France" it is thus assumed a celebration he wishes to keep personal.

On December 23, 2006 Anelka scored two goals against his former club Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium

On January 22, 2007 Anelka stated on French Network Telefoot and on ITV.COM/SPORT that he would happily leave Bolton Wanderers for a return to former club Arsenal.

International career

At junior level, Anelka played for the French junior team in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Anelka had made his senior team debut for France in a goalless draw with Sweden on April 21, 1998 but was overlooked for the 1998 World Cup. He was part of France's Euro 2000 and 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup squads. However, in 2002, he again was left out of the 2002 World Cup. After France's disastrous defense of their title in Japan & Korea, manager Roger Lemerre was replaced by Jacques Santini.

Anelka was not called up for international duty between 2002 and 2005, after a fallout with Santini, when he snubbed a call up for a friendly match, due to an injury. However he enjoyed a revival of sorts, as Santini's replacement Raymond Domenech recalled him to the squad for a round of friendly matches in November 2005, culminating in him scoring his first international goal for over three years in a 3-2 win over Costa Rica on the island of Martinique. As of March 2006, he has won 31 caps for France, scoring seven goals.

He was not selected for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and even when striker Djibril Cissé was forced out of the tournament due to injury, Olympique Lyonnais' striker Sidney Govou was called up as Cissé's replacement rather than Anelka, who declared in response, "My absence is a real shame. I was completely available and ready to play in this World Cup. I think I could have helped France."

Fabio Cannavaro

2007-02-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

Fabio Cannavaro, Cavaliere OMRI (born September 13, 1973, Naples, Italy) is a professional Italian footballer, currently playing for Real Madrid. He is captain of the Italian national team, with which he won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, part of the FIFPro World XI 2006 team, and
also the current European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player
of the Year.

Technical, mental and physical abilityAs a defender, Fabio Cannavaro is famous for his anticipation,
concentration and reading of the game, abilities which allow him to make well-timed interceptions and precise slide-tackles. These characteristics have contributed with other factors, including his
fitness and stamina, to the widespread recognition of him being one of the best outright defenders ever,allowing him to join a long line of world-class Italian defenders. Cannavaro, although not particularly tall, has a noteworthy leaping ability that allows him to compete seemingly unhindered in the air, both when defending and attacking Club careerBorn in Naples, Cannavaro has played for his hometown club S.S.C. Napoli (1992-95), Parma F.C. (1995-2002), F.C. Internazionale Milano
(2002-04) and Juventus FC (2004-2006) during his career in Serie A, before moving to Real Madrid in the Spanish Primera Divisiòn. Cannavaro's talent was quickly spotted by scouts from local club
Napoli, who were enjoying the most successful period of their history. The team which included Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara had just won the Scudetto. Cannavaro started out as a ball boy at the Stadio San Paolo and his progress was such that he became a member of the first
team alongside some of his childhood idols.

Cannavaro's Serie A debut came on 7 March 1993, at Turin’s Stadio Delle
Alpi against Juventus. Unfortunately, post-Maradona Napoli were in
desperate need of funds and were soon forced to sell Cannavaro to Parma
F.C.. At Parma, Cannavaro initially began to win plaudits from a wider
audience and establish himself as an extremely talented defender.
Together with his defensive partner Lilian Thuram and goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon, Gialloblù became renowned as the team with one of the
best defences in Serie A. Under the guidance of coach Carlo Ancelotti,
they helped the club to its best ever league finish in 1997, finishing
second, a point behind the champions Juventus. In 1998-99, Parma won
the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia amongst other trophies. Fabio's
individual prowess was recognised in the form of the Albo d'Oro (or
Oscar del Calcio: Migliore difensore): literally the oscar for best
defender in Italy award. Cannavaro was named runner-up 3 years in a row
(2000, 2001, 2002) as the Migliore difensore. Note that Fabio would
later win this award in 2005.

In the summer of 2002, Cannavaro joined Internazionale for a fee of €32 million. After a two year stint at the Nerazzurri, he signed for Juventus. Here he re-joined his ex-Parma partners Lilian Thuram and Gigi Buffon, to reform one of the most successful defensive line-ups in Serie A, and enabling Cannavaro to win his first scudetto with Juventus in 2005 and a second the following season in 2006. Cannavaro won l'Oscar del Calcio: Migliore difensore, the Football Oscar, for his
exceptional debut season at the Turin giants. After the 2006 World Cup, the Calciopoli trial verdicts relegated Juventus FC to Serie B and stripped the club of its 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 Scudetti. Cannavaro, mindful of his age and the imminent prospect of two years of the club not being able to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, decided to leave La Vecchia Signora. Cannavaro
said that "Even if I know this may be hard to believe, I would have stayed at Juventus had they remained in Serie A – even with a 30-point deduction. He accompanied one of his team mates, Emerson and in doing so re-joined his former Juve coach Fabio Capello at the Estadio
Santiago Bernabéu, the home of Real Madrid. Although no fee was confirmed by either club, press speculation has often set the combined transfer's worth at roughly 20 million euros.
On July 25, Fabio Cannavaro officially became a Real Madrid player, with a three year contract and the number 5 jersey, which previously belonged to Manuel Sanchís and Zinedine Zidane. He scored his first goal for the club on August 18, 2006 in a friendly match against Real Betis. On his 33rd birthday, Real Madrid played against Olympique

On December 20, 2006, shortly after being awarded the Fifa World Player of the Year award, Cannavaro was badly at fault for the opening goal and produced a poor performance as Real Madrid suffered an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to Recreativo Huelva. International careerFabio Cannavaro's first taste of international success came over a Decade ago under coach Cesare Maldini with Italy's U-21 side, winning consecutive European Under-21 Football Championship titles in 1992-1994 and 1994-1996. In 1996, he participated in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

In the national team, Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta have combined very effectively to form the basis of the Italian central defence. He has played for his country in the 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Cups, as well as Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. Cannavaro made his international debut in
January 1997 against Northern Ireland and has since earned 105 caps. Only Paolo Maldini (126 caps) and Dino Zoff (112 caps) have appeared in more games for Italy.

Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 FIFA World Cup under his mentor Paolo Maldini, and the squad was coached by Maldini's father Cesare. Italy went out in the quarter-finals to hosts and eventual champions France; Cannavaro suffered a scar on his forehead from an elbow by Stephane Guivarc'h during the match. The match was decided by a penalty shoot-out after the teams were tied 0-0. In Euro 2000, it was Les Bleus who once again shattered Italy's dreams.
Cannavaro had a strong tournament and the Azzurri reached the final, where they led the then world champions 1-0 going into injury time.

Near the end of regular time, Sylvain Wiltord found the equalizer, and an extra-time golden goal from David Trézéguet gave France the title. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup he was credited with holding the defence together, almost single-handedly after Alessandro Nesta was injured against Croatia. Italy however went out amidst a refereeing controversy losing to co-hosts South Korea in the second round, again to a golden goal.

Cannavaro had a hard act to follow when he took over as captain from Maldini after the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly won the team over with his constant smile, laid-back Neapolitan approach and inspiring performances. After Maldini's international retirement he first captained Italy in a match at Napoli and received a standing ovation on the pitch where he sported the local side's colours between 1991 and 1995.

Euro 2004 which was hosted by Portugal turned out to be a disappointment. Cannavaro picked up yellow cards during the two draws with Denmark (0-0) and Sweden (1-1), forcing him to sit out the final group game. Italy defeated Bulgaria 2-1, but failed to advance on goal
difference. Cannavaro's only international goal was scored on May 30, 2004 against
Tunisia, Italy won 4-0. 2006 World CupCannavaro captained Italy throughout their 2006 World Cup campaign. Though forwards Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, and Christian Vieri had received the most attention in past international tournaments, Cannavaro was considered one of the top Italian players in Germany.

His performance against Germany in the World Cup Semi-Finals 2006 was earmarked as one of the finest individual performance ever seen in football by many pundits, including Eamon Dunphy.
He earned a spot on the All-Star Team at the end of the competition - awarded by FIFA's Technical Study Group - alongside six other Italian teammates, Gianluigi Buffon, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Luca Toni, Francesco Totti and Gianluca Zambrotta. After victories in the 2006
World Cup, the Azzurri celebrated to the soundtrack of traditional Italian songs on Cannavaro's iPod.

He was runner up in the race for the Golden Ball, finishing runner-up to French captain Zinedine Zidane. Those who voted for Cannavaro felt that he had played immaculately throughout the tournament, while Zidane only shone in the knockout phase of the competition; it was a close
contest with Zidane polling 2012 points to Cannavaro's 1977. However, Zidane was arguably the most dominant player on his squad, compared to Cannavaro who faced competition from his teammates; notably Buffon who was named the tournament's best goalkeeper and outpolled Zidane and Cannavaro in Golden Ball Internet voting, and Pirlo who won the Bronze Ball.

His crowning moment was lifting the World Cup on July 9, 2006, the night of his 100th cap. Notably, Cannavaro never received a single yellow or red card throughout the 690 minutes he played in the
tournament. The Italian defence conceded only two goals throughout the entire tournament, an own-goal and a penalty. PersonalHe is regarded as a sex symbol in his native Italy and was recently
voted "sexiest player" of the 2006 World Cup.

Family

He is married to Daniela, whom he first met at the age of 16. They had a romantic courtship, as Fabio proclaimed his love for Daniela by writing her love notes on walls. They have two sons, Christian (b. July 17, 1999) and Andrea (b. October 20, 2004), and a daughter, Martina (b. December 22, 2001).

He idolizes Ciro Ferrara and Diego Maradona heroes of his native Naples. His first experience of the World Cup came at Italia '90, where the home team was playing Argentina in the semi-finals. He was a ball boy at the Stadio San Paolo along with his fellow Napoli youth team members, who witnessed his native club's star Diego Maradona help defeat Italy.

Cannavaro is revered by fans of Italian football because of his character, his determination and his humility. He is nearly always photographed with his famous engaging smile. Together with his fellow
Napoletano Ciro Ferrara, Fabio has helped establish a charity foundation, "FCF Fondazione Cannavaro Ferrara", specialising in the procurement of cancer research equipment and surgery for special cases of cancer for a hospital in their native Naples. He has many tattoos. On the inside of his upper right arm, is "Andrea" (one of his sons) and on the outside, a tattoo of a warrior. On his
right forearm, is a tattoo saying "Daniela" (his wife) and on his upper back, is a tattoo with Chinese characters (It's his daughter's name in chinese)while on the lower back, is a tattoo of "Christian" (his other son). Also, on his right leg, he has a tattoo of a sun. His younger brother, Paolo Cannavaro, is also a defender, and plays for Napoli. The two brothers played alongside each other at Parma from 2000 until 2002, when Fabio left for Inter. Cannavaro has expressed his desire to play for his native club Napoli after his stint at Real Madrid.

FIFA World Player of the YearOn 18th December 2006 Fabio Cannavaro won the FIFA World Player of the Year award. He was quoted as saying, 'It is not normal for a defender to be sitting between Zinedine Zidane (Three times winner) and Ronaldinho (Twice winner).' [1]. Fabio Cannavaro is the only defender in football history to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year and
he is also the oldest recipient of the coveted award

Interesting Facts

Fabio and Daniela met when he was 16 and she was 15, but they were both engaged to somebody else. (It's quite common in the south of Italy to get engaged before you're 18)
Fabio does not drink alcohol and is against any kind of drug.
During his years in Parma F.C., Fabio went to every single school in
town to talk to kids and tell them not to get involved with drugs in any way
He collects action figures from the show Lupin the 3rd
Fabio loves to cook and is good at it
Fabio has said if he wasn't a soccer player he'd be a pizzabaker
Pizza, mozzarella, and sweets are his favorite foods
His favorite movie is Braveheart
Fabio's favorite music is R&B, Rap, and Pop music.
His favorite singer is Pino Daniele and Daniele's song "Napul'è'"
Fabio shaves his legs and his chest, he actually shaves everything,
although he's not a hairy person
He enjoys the sea, sailing, and can also conduct a boat
Fabio loves Armani perfume and has a bottle in every car
He use to share a room with his sister Renata during his childhood but
had to move to the living room once she was expecting a baby

Montella

2007-02-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

Vincenzo Montella (born June 18, 1974 in Pomigliano d'Arco, Campania) is an Italian football (soccer) player who currently plays for Fulham of the English FA Premier League on a six month loan from A.S. Roma.

Montella began his club career in Serie C at Empoli F.C. in 1990 before moving to Serie B club Genoa in 1996, where he scored 21 goals in his only season with the club. He then moved up to Serie A to U.C. Sampdoria. When Sampdoria were relegated in 1999, Montella moved to Roma in a €25m transfer, where he won a Scudetto in 2001.

He has a knack for performing well in the Rome derby against S.S. Lazio, scoring a brace in his first derby in 1999, and four goals in a 5-1 win in March 2002. His 2003-04 season was plagued with injuries.

He scored 21 goals, a career high for Roma in 2004-05 season, and earned a new contract last unit June 30, 2010. His 2005-06 season was plagued with injuries, as he underwent surgery on both his back and shoulder, limiting him to twelve games.

He joined Fulham on loan on 4 January, 2007 on a six month deal wearing the number 11 shirt. He scored twice against Leicester City on his home debut in the FA Cup. He scored again on 27 January in the same competition against Stoke City.

On January 13, 2007 he made his Premier League debut against West Ham United.

On January 20, 2007 against Tottenham at Craven Cottage, he scored his first Premiership goal with a penalty kick.

Montella is already hugely popular with the Fulham fans and has showed his gratitude for making him feel at home at Craven Cottage. He has already scored 4 goals in 4 games (in all competitions) for Fulham.

Montella's nickname is L'Aeroplanino ("The Little Aeroplane"), in a reference to his short stature and trademark goal celebration.

Cristiano Ronaldo

2007-02-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,

( born 5 February 1985), better known as
Cristiano Ronaldo, is a professional Portuguese footballer, who plays
for Manchester United F.C. and Portugal. He is considered to be one of
the most talented players in the modern game.

Biography

was born in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, to his mother
Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and his father José Dinis Aveiro. He
grew up with a brother, Hugo, and two sisters, Elma and Katia. His
second name ("Ronaldo") is relatively rare in Portugal. His parents
named him after former US president Ronald Reagan because he was his
father's favourite actor, and not for political reasons.

Early career

He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His favourite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join their rival, Sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha,
where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By
1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was
growing in Portugal. Madeira's top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD
Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger
team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos manager of Andorinha,
and as a result Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning
campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting
who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.

Sporting Clube de Portugal Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the
Alcochete, the club's "football factory," where he received first-class instruction. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and arranged for his mother to join him. He made his debut for Sporting against Moreirense and scored 2 goals. He also featured for Portugal in
the UEFA Under 17 Championships.

His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16. However,Liverpool later declined him because he was too young and needed some
time to develop into a top footballer. However he came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester United 3–1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. Ronaldo demonstrated his ability to play on both wings.
After the match, United's players spoke enthusiastically of the young talent that they had just played against, saying they would rather have him in their team than play against him in the future.

Manchester United Ferguson decided that he wanted the youngster for his team, who were in
the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Cristiano was signed for a fee of £12.24 million. He made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute
substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford. United were then 1-0 up but with just minutes on the pitch, Ronaldo won a penalty which Ruud van Nistelrooy saw saved by Jussi Jääskeläinen. However, this did not affect the eventual outcome as the match ended in a 4-0 win to
Manchester United and Ronaldo's contributions were hyped everywhere,with certain British tabloids running headlines such as Seven Heaven.He has played primarily as a winger for United and can play on either wing.

However for all his skill and pace, Ronaldo supposedly did not want the pressure of living up to expectations with this number, and so initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting.Preferring a free role, he has often been accused of being selfish. A row between him and Ruud van Nistelrooy at the Carrington training ground intensified speculation about their
roles at the club.Ferguson has however put his faith with Ronaldo,who signed a new deal with United that will last through 2010. Ronaldo is also quoted in the Manchester Evening News as saying "United have stood by me and been there for me and I want to repay that.

Ronaldo has occasionally had problems with his temper during games, he was sent off in a game against Manchester City and received a one-match ban imposed by UEFA for a "one-fingered gesture" towards Benfica fans in a UEFA Champions League match in December 2005.[5] While playing for Portugal in a friendly against Luxembourg he was given a yellow card for pushing Jeff Strasser in the throat in retaliation after Strasser tackled him. Felipe Scolari warned Ronaldo to keep his temper in check during the World Cup.

On the 29 October 2005 Ronaldo scored Manchester United's 1000th Premiership goal, in a 4–1 loss at the hands of Middlesbrough. He bagged a double double in February, with two goals at home to Fulham and another pair at Fratton Park, and also scored in the following Premiership game against Wigan taking his tally to 8 Premiership goals.On 26 February 2006, Ronaldo played in the Carling Cup Final against Wigan in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff, and scored a goal - taking
his season's tally to 10 goals.He was named FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year 2005, the only
award to be voted for by fans. He also ranked 20th in the FIFA Player of the Year 2005 standings.

Despite the World Cup incident, Ronaldo remained popular with the majority of Manchester United fans when he played (and scored) in his first Premiership match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United fans could clearly be heard chanting "there's only one Ronaldo" at
various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C. Since then, a BBC report stated that Ronaldo has said he no longer wishes to leave Manchester United, and is happy to remain at the club. He won the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006. During a match with Middlesbrough F.C, he was criticised for diving by rival manager Gareth Southgate.

By December 2006, Ronaldo had become one of United's most influential players, scoring six goals in 3 league games to bring his overall tally up to 12 goals. He came on at half-time as a substitute against Wigan Athletic and immediately stamped his influence on the match with 2
goals in the space of a few minutes. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson concedes he would lose his wager with the Portugese in his current form after setting a target of 15 goals for the season. The Scot remarked that he was "pleased for him because he works hard at his game. He's still learning the game. His ability to pass the ball has helped him this season. His passing has been very good. That just shows he is maturing. He's been fantastic, and he's getting better all the
time."

In January 2007, Ronaldo was awarded the Barclays Player of the Month
Award for the second sucessive month, becoming the third ever player in
the Premiership to do so (after Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and
Robbie Fowler in 1996). On February 4, 2007 in a match against
Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Ronaldo was caught in yet another diving
controversy, after winning United a controversial penalty despite
seeming to receive little or no contact from Tottenham's Steed
Malbranque

International careerRonaldo made his international debut in August 2003, against
Kazakhstan. He scored Portugal's only goal in their 2–1 loss to Greece
in the opening match of Euro 2004 and the first goal of the semi final
against the Netherlands, which Portugal won 2–1. The final saw a
rematch of the opening game of the tournament, and again, Greece
emerged victorious.

Ronaldo represented Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and was the
second highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification in the European
zone with 7 goals. As of 17 June 2005, he has scored 11 goals in 25
appearances for his country.
Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal against Iran with a penalty
kick.In the Round of 16, he left Portugal's 1-0 win over Netherlands injured
after a high tackle by Khalid Boulahrouz.

Ronaldo was named the national team captain for the first time in a
friendly match against Brazil on February 6, 2007, a day after his 22nd
birthday. This move was in honor of Carlos Silva, the Portuguese
Football Federation president who had died two days before. Scolari
explained, "Mr Silva asked me to make him captain as a gesture. He
thought the English fans would give him a difficult time and this was a
response. He is too young to be captain, but Mr Silva asked me, and now
he is no longer with us."

World Cup incidentOn 8 July 2006, after the sending off of United team-mate Wayne Rooney
in the Quarter Final of the 2006 World Cup between England and
Portugal, and after much speculation in the English media that he had
influenced Rooney's red card, Ronaldo told reporters that he thought he
"should get out of Manchester as the circumstances are not right to
keep playing there."

"I have told my agent I am prepared to leave. I want to do it in the
best manner possible. I want to play for Real Madrid and dream of doing
so," Ronaldo allegedly told the Spanish sports daily Marca.
On 9 July, he also told SIC, a Portuguese television channel, he cannot
understand all verbal violence and pejorative speculation about him.
Ronaldo declared he did not behave wrongly when Portugal defeated
England and so cannot be blamed for defending his home country colours.
He added that he cannot live and work in a place where people do not
like him, so he would be glad to move out of England.

After England's elimination Ronaldo was attacked by the English
tabloids. The Sun made a dart board with a picture of his wink in a
similar fashion to the one made after the 1998 World Cup for David
Beckham by The Daily Mirror, another English tabloid.
Ronaldo has said that Rooney was a friend, and that he was not trying
to get Rooney a red card. Rooney said, "I bear no ill feeling to
Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved."
Wayne Rooney was investigated by FIFA's disciplinary committee after
being sent off during England's World Cup quarter-final defeat against
Portugal, banned for two competitive matches and fined 5,000 Swiss
francs (£2,207).

After the match Ronaldo admitted reports that Real Madrid were interested in him were correct, and was now more likely to go to the Spanish club or elsewhere over the summer transfer period.
On July 5, in the semi-final against France, which Portugal lost 1-0,Ronaldo was loudly booed each time he had possession of the ball, by French and English fans alike. Though generally considered the best player on the pitch during the match, several reports accused Ronaldo (and other members of his side) of trying to influence the referee by diving.There have been similar accusations in the
past, and Ronaldo has been booked for the offence more than once in the English Premiership.Shortly after he dropped back to second place in the online voting for Best Young Player, it was
reported by BBC Sport that this was partly because of an email campaign by an England supporter urging people to vote for Luis Valencia, who was the second place player to prevent Ronaldo from winning the award.Though the online vote only affected the nomination process,FIFA Technical Study Group awarded the honours to Germany's Lukas Podolski, citing Ronaldo's behaviour as a factor.

On July 12, United released a statement saying "The club can confirmthere is no possibility of Cristiano being sold. Cristiano recently signed a new contract until 2010 and the club fully expects him to honour that contract. The club will not listen to any offers for Cristiano," and on July 17, Sir Alex Ferguson said, "Cristiano will be coming back," while Chelsea manager José Mourinho said, "If he stays in England, I think he can turn things around." In addition, Sir Alex Ferguson sent assistant boss Carlos Queiroz to Portugal, hoping to change the young player's mind, and Rooney pleaded with Ronaldo not to leave the team, and to let their differences rest.Ultimately,Ronaldo stayed at Manchester United for the 2006-07 season.Private lifeHis father, Dinis Aveiro died on September 7, 2005. Ronaldo played in a World Cup qualifier against Russia only hours after receiving the
news. He was also granted compassionate leave by Sir Alex Ferguson and missed the Manchester derby against Manchester City on September 10. However, he declared himself available for Manchester United's next match in the UEFA Champions League, against Villarreal CF.

In October 2005, Ronaldo and another man were questioned by police for an alleged sexual assault. Ronaldo denied the accusation and the Crown Prosecution Service stated there was insufficient evidence to press charges.

Private Life

Cristiano was previously linked with Merche Romero (an Andorran TV
anchorwoman working in Portugal. She is adivorcee, 9-years older than Ronaldo, she confirmed (see Portuguese magazine Lux of August 2006)
the relationship in the Portuguese press, although Ronaldo has never confirmed or denied the relationship, as he chooses to keep his
personal life private and separated from his professional life. More recently, the Portuguese media have reported that the relationship has
ended. Neither Cristiano nor Merche were available to comment on the reports; however, a friend of the presenter told Spanish reporters that
the relationship is over and that Merche is devastated. On September 20, 2006 it was confirmed, by Merche, that she and Cristiano had indeed broken up.

In the past, Ronaldo has dated the model Jordana Jardel and has dated
Merche Romero. During the time he was dating the two, he didn't deny
his relationships nor did he support them. Recently Gemma Atkinson (Soapstar Superstar and Hollyoaks: In the City star claimed that she and Ronaldo have been dating, after the two met
at a party. But in a recent interview, the soap star revealed she and
Ronaldo were not dating.

Contribution to society

Ronaldo has done charity work, as well as flying out Martunis, an
11-year-old Indonesian tsunami survivor and his father to attend one of
their World Cup qualifiers in June 2005; covering all their expenses.
Subsequently all the players contributed money to buy them a house in
Indonesia.

After the two World Cup qualifiers, Ronaldo flew to Indonesia to visit
the areas affected by the tsunami and to raise funds. He met the Vice
President of the Indonesian Republic Jusuf Kalla and the President of
East Timor Xanana Gusmão, and raised £66,000 (about $120,000 USD) by
auctioning off his personal sports gear in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ronaldo currently has a £2 million house in Woodford, Greater
Manchester.

Luis Figo

2007-02-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

Luis Figo

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH (pron. IPA [lu'i 'figu]) (born November 4, 1972 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese footballer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of recent years.

He plays as a midfielder and winger, currently for Inter Milan. Luís Figo will join the Saudi club Al-Ittihad on 1st July 2007. The sum paid for his services was undisclosed but it is the largest fee ever paid in the Arabic world.

He is widely considered one of Portugal's best players. Figo was known as the original Golden Boy (a name which now belongs to his friend Cristiano Ronaldo, a teammate of Figo's from the Portugal national football team and played alongside him as a winger during the 2006 FIFA
World Cup). He was also known as the main footballer behind Portugal's prominent Golden Generation that consisted of fellow legends like Rui Costa, and was the reason why the term came into use.

Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named amongst the FIFA 100. Known for his exceptional trickery and dribbling skills on either wing (though he predominantly plays on the right), Figo is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Figo started his career at Sporting Clube de Portugal, a club which developed many other great Portuguese players. He won his first senior international cap in 1991. Prior to that, he won the Under-20 World Championships and Under-16 European Championships with Portugal junior sides, alongside compatriot Rui Costa and a significant part of his nation's so called 'golden generation' in football. In 1995, Figo looked poised to join one of the big clubs of Europe, but a dispute
between Italian clubs Juventus F.C. and Parma, Figo having signed contracts with both clubs, resulted in an Italian 2-year transfer ban on Figo, effectively stopping any moves to Italy. However, the situation was eventually resolved for Figo, with a move to Spanish club FC Barcelona, under coach Johan Cruijff, and within four years he became a fan-favourite, captain and symbol of the Catalan side.

In 2000, his switch to Barcelona's arch-rival Real Madrid, for a then world transfer record £38.7 million at the time, only intensified the great animosity between the two clubs. The move was hurtful to Barcelona supporters especially after he spent the summer swearing he would not transfer to Madrid.He went from being one of the most cherished players in Catalonia to being the most hated one. There was a short-lived website, AntiFigo.com, devoted to insult "Judas Figo". He missed his highly anticipated first return to the Nou Camp due to injury; in 2002, Barcelona's ground was almost closed after objects (including a pig's head, whiskey bottles, etc.) were thrown at Figo, while massive chants calling him Pesetero (which can be roughly translated to mercenary) echoed in the stadium; and finally, during the final match of Euro 2004 between Greece and Portugal, a Barça fan known as Jimmy Jump ran across the field and threw a FC Barcelona flag at Figo in an apparent act of defiance.

Despite the niggling detractors and all the critics' cries that he was a vastly 'overrated' player, Figo played out some of the best attacking football ever seen in both an individual and in his Real Madrid team.It was not hard to see why though, given that Figo was one of the linchpins at the heart of an ever increasing star studded squad that included Zinedine Zidane, Steve McManaman, Fernando Hierro, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, and Raúl González, and dubbed the 'Greatest Club in the World' first, and then, officially crowned as the 'Club of the Century' by FIFA in the year he joined. Alongside his equally illustrious team mates, Real Madrid with Figo at the core swept the titles for the next three years under coach Vicente Del Bosque.On August 18, 2004, Figo announced that he would "take a break" from international football. In April 2005 he announced to be ready to return, as he was sidelined in Real Madrid, and the next month Luiz Felipe Scolari announced he would talk to him about his return. He agreed to return on 13 May and resumed his international career in the match between Portugal and Slovakia on June 4. This received mixed feelings from Portuguese fans: some saw his return as fixing something that should not have happened, others were fearful of the "concessions"
Scolari made to bring him back.

Figo captained the squad during the 2006 World Cup, leading the team to the semi-finals, its furthest advance in the tournament since 1966.However, France eliminated them 1-0. Ricardo Carvalho made the doubtful penalty, which French captain Zinedine Zidane promptly scored; it stood as the winning goal. Figo himself had a chance to tie the game off of Fabien Barthez's fumble, but he headed the ball over the net. At the end of the match, Zidane and Figo, formerly teammates on Real Madrid
during the club's glory years, swapped shirts and hugged. The third place playoff caused some controversy as Figo did not start; Pauleta captained the team in his place. However, Portugal fell behind 0-2 to hosts Germany and Figo replaced Pauleta in the 77th minute, regaining his captaincy during the substitution. Although Germany scored another goal shortly after Figo's entrance, he ended his final cap for his country on a high note as he set up Nuno Gomes's goal in the 88th
minute to help Portugal claw back a marker.

Career overviewThe leader of Portugal's 'golden generation', Figo won a FIFA World Youth Championship in 1991, the same year he made his senior debut against Luxembourg, at 16 October 1991, in a friendly match, that ended 1-1, when he was only 18 years old. He has performed at the highest level ever since, gracing Euro 96, Euro 2000, and the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. He announced his retirement from international football following the UEFA EURO 2004™ final defeat by Greece, having won 117 caps and scored 31 goals. However, in June 2005 he reversed his
decision and returned for 2006 World Cup qualifying wins against Slovakia and Estonia. He again vowed to retire from international football after the 2006 World Cup and made a cameo appearance (played around 10 minutes at the end of the game) in Portugal's last game of the tournament, the third-place play-off, in which he set up Portugal's only goal for Nuno Gomes.

It was with FC Barcelona from 1995 that the career of the 'Lion King' really took off: Figo won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996/97,successive Primera División titles and went on to appear 172 times for
the Blaugrana, scoring 30 goals. Figo was able to garner many plaudits while at the Nou Camp, such as Sir Alex Ferguson, who it has been later claimed almost brought him to Manchester United before Euro 2000 in a swap deal with David Beckham.

In 2000 came his controversial, world-record transfer to Real Madrid CF. The move caused outrage among Barcelona fans and many others baulked at the €65m fee. Yet Figo justified the investment by helping Madrid to the Primera División title and UEFA Champions League semi-finals as well as winning the FIFA World Footballer of the Year award. In 2001/02, he went one better, playing through injury against Bayer Leverkusen as Madrid prevailed 2-1. Figo also occupied a major role as Madrid won the 2003 Spanish title, scoring ten times. The success made up for the disappointment of a Champions League semi-final loss to Juventus F.C., but the next season, despite Figo's nine league
goals, Madrid finished fourth and lost in the Champions League last eight and Copa del Rey final.

He struck four goals in the Champions League group stage in 2004/2005 but it was another mixed campaign for Madrid, Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo had a falling-out with Figo after he relegated the Portugal international to the bench for the second half of the 2004/2005 Primera Liga season and David Beckham was moved to the right. It was widely believed that Figo would leave Los Merengues for first-team football elsewhere. During the off-season, he was linked with a move to the English Premiership with Liverpool or to Serie A's Inter Milan. Given permission to leave by Madrid, on August 5, 2005,Figo moved to Inter on a free transfer and a two-year deal worth £6
million.

In December 2006, Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad reported Figo would transfer to the club in January 2007. Figo traveled to Saudi Arabia to sign a contract, but after talks with Inter Milan owner and
President Massimo Moratti, Figo remained in the club and renewed his contract until the end of the 2007-08 season. Thus, a statement made on January 3, 2007, on the official Inter website declaring: "There are no negotiations for the transfer of Luis Figo to another club. The recent news of a possible transfer of the Portuguese midfielder is,therefore, completely groundless." (Inter.it) Despite this statement,on January 5th, 2007, it was announed on the website of La Gazzetta dello Sport, that Figo had signed a contract in Saudi Arabia, starting on July 1st, 2007.

Away from football

Along with his countryman, football manager Carlos Queiroz, Figo was briefly joint seat holder for A1 Team Portugal, in A1 Grand Prix,during the 2005-06 season (A1 Team Portugal stopped competing after the first season, despite a reasonable amount of success).Luís Figo is nowadays one of the main Portuguese symbols and ambassadors.

Family Life

Luís Figo is married to Swedish model Helen Svedin. The two met on a television show and are now married with three daughters, Daniela (born in March 1999), Martina (born in April 2002), and Stella (born December 9, 2004).

Like several of his Real Madrid colleagues at the time like Steve McManaman and Roberto Carlos, Luís is a devout Catholic, and met the Pope with those team mates in 2002.

Paolo Maldini

2007-02-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini (born June 26, 1968 in Milan) is an Italian football player.

He is the son of Cesare Maldini, former player of A.C. Milan and ex-coach of the Italian national football team. Maldini plays as a defender and predominantly plays the position of left back (even though he is naturally right footed), although he sometimes plays at centreback, his original position in the team. Throughout his long career, he has remained a one club man with A.C. Milan, where he holds the current captaincy, and has currently made more appearances for the club (as well as any player in Serie A) after having passed Franco Baresi's record of 512.

Maldini is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders to have ever played the game, and was arguably the best at the peak of his career. He is well known for his influential captaincy, ice-cool
temperament, his outstanding ability to play with both feet and flawless defending. He is still playing at the very highest level, which is confirmed by his inclusion in the FIFPro World XI in 2005, his
nomination to the UEFA Champions League 2004-2005 most valuable defender title, second place in Golden Foot nominations in 2005, and a top-ten finish in the voting for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year.

Maldini's Serie A debut came on January 20, 1985 against Udinese. He has had a glittering career to date, winning many trophies with Milan (as of 2005, those include seven Serie A titles and four European Cups). Maldini was also part of AC Milan's undefeated Dream Team in the late 1980s to early 1990s.

Maldini is Italy's most capped player and captained the national team for more than half of his international career. However, he never managed to win a trophy at the international level despite playing in the 1994 World Cup final and the 2000 European Championship Final. He retired from the national team after 2002 World Cup finishing his successful career with 126 caps and 7 goals (64 caps as captain).Maldini also played in the 1990 and 1998 World Cups (coached by his father Cesare), Euro 88, and Euro 96.

Maldini also set two new records in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final by scoring after only 51 seconds against Liverpool F.C. in Istanbul and also by being the oldest to score in a Champions League Final. Paolo's father, Cesare, also captained A.C. Milan in the 1960s,lifting the European Cup in 1963. There was a public appeal in Italy,as well as an appeal from then national team coach Giovanni Trapattoni,for Maldini to come out of international retirement for the 2004
European Championship, but Maldini refused for "personal reasons".Maldini recently broke Dino Zoff's Serie A appearance record, making his 571st appearance against Treviso F.B.C.. He also recently played his 800th game in all competitions for Milan. In November 2005, he announced plans to retire from playing professional football at the end of the 2006/07 season, however he might re-consider it should he still be able to maintain his superb defensive skills. His contract with Milan ends in 2008.

When he retires from playing professional football no other player will wear the Number 3 shirt for AC Milan. Only if one of his sons will play professional football in the future at AC Milan they will get this
Number.

Maldini was the first defender to win the World Soccer's World Player of the Year Award, which puts him in the same class of Michel Platini,Paolo Rossi, and Zico. On receiving his award, Maldini said: "It's a great honor for me to know that so many people consider me so highly.It's a particular matter of pride because defenders generally receive so much less attention from fans and the media than goalscorers. We aremore in the engine room rather than taking the glory.

"I must admit that, for me, 1994 was the peak of my career so far. For any player to win the Champions Cup or to play in the World Cup Final would be enormous single matter of pride...but I was fortunate enough to be able to experience both those pinnacles of the game within a
matter of weeks. Of course, whatever success I may have achieved is not merely down to my own credit. There are other people and influences on my career it would be only fair to acknowledge. Everyone always asks me about my father, Cesare, who captained Milan to their first Champions
Cup victory in 1963 and is now our national under-21 coach. But I don't really remember him as a player. I played under his instructions in Milan youth teams when I was a boy but really I learned more from him about being a man, about a correct attitude to the game, than from a
technical point of view."Then, there has been my captain and colleague Franco Baresi. In my
opinion he has received far too little recognition for his influence within the club and within Italian and international football. He is the man of few words but 'talks' instead through his deeds out on the pitch. He really deserves to receive the sort of award I have received from World Soccer. But...thank you again!"

Gabriel Batistuta

2007-02-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born 1 February 1969), nicknamed Batigol, is a former professional footballer. The prolific Argentine striker played
most of his club football at ACF Fiorentina in Italy, and he is the eighth top scorer of all time in the Italian Serie A league, with 184
goals in 318 matches between 1991 and 2003. On the international level,he is the all-time highest scorer for Argentina's national team, with
56 goals in 78 national team matches, and he represented his country at three FIFA World Cups. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the "125 Greatest Living Footballers".

When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistutastayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league twoyears later. A hero in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected alife-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of hisperformances for Fiorentina. He never won the Italian league with

Fiorentina, but when he moved to AS Roma in 2000, he finally won the Serie A championship to crown his career in Italy. He played his last in season in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005.
Currently he works as a commentator having worked for Televisa Deportes during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and for the show "La jugada".

Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969, to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Batistuta, in the town of Avellaneda, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, but grew up in the near city of Reconquista. He has three younger sisters, named Elisa,
Alejandra, and Gabriela.

At age 16, he met Irina Fernández, his future wife, on her quinceañera,a rite of passage on her 15th birthday. She is reported to have ignoredhim But five years later, on December 28, 1990, they were married atSaint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and ayear later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentine

national team, Batistuta gained fame and respect. He filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man.

In 1996, during Fiorentina's 2-1 victory at A.C. Milan, he celebrated scoring the match's decisive goal by saying Te amo, Irina ('I love you,Irina', to his wife) for the cameras. The mix of sex appeal and
faithfulness cemented Batistuta's heart-throb reputation among Argentine and Italian women. In 1997, Batistuta's second son, Lucas,was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. In 2000, the Batistuta family moved to Rome and two years later to Milan, following Batistuta's changes of team. In 2002, after more than 10 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi. Batistuta ended his career at Al-Arabi, retiring in March 2005, after a series of injuries that prevented him from playing. Soon afterwards he moved to Perth, Australia. In April 2006, the city's established A-league franchise, Perth Glory was put up for sale and it was reported that Batistuta was among the bidders.

Beginnings As a child Batistuta preferred other sports to football. Thanks to his height he played basketball, but after Argentina's victory in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in which he was particularly impressed by the skills of Mario Kempes, he devoted himself to football. After playing with
friends on the streets and in the small Grupo Alegria club, he joined the local Platense junior team. While with Platense he was selected for the Reconquista team that won the provincial championship by beating Newell's Old Boys from Rosario. His 2 goals drew the attention of the opposition team, and he signed for them in 1988.

ProfessionalBatistuta signed professional forms with Newell's Old Boys Club, whose coach was Marcelo Bielsa, who would later become Batistuta's coach with the Argentine national team. Things did not come easily for Batistuta during his first year with the club. He was away from home, his family,and his girlfriend Irina, sleeping in a room at the stadium, and had aweight problem that slowed him down. At the end of that year he was loaned to a smaller team, Deportivo Italiano, of Buenos Aires, with whom he participated in the Carnevale Cup in Italy, ending as top scorer with 3 goals.

In mid-1989, Batistuta made the leap to one of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate, where he scored 17 goals. However, all did not run smoothly. He had numerous run-ins with coach Daniel Passarella (with whom he had later confrontations on the national squad) and he was dropped from the squad in the middle of the season.In 1990, Batistuta signed for River's arch-rivals, Boca Juniors. Having gone so long without playing, he inititally found it hard to find his best form. However, at the beginning of 1991 Oscar Tabárez became Boca's coach, and he gave Batistuta the support and confidence to become the league's top scorer that season as Boca won the championship.

InternationalIn 1991, Batistuta was selected to play for Argentina in the Copa América held in Chile, where he finished the tournament as top scorer with 6 goals as Argentina romped to victory. During the Copa América competition, the vice-president of Fiorentina was impressed by Batistuta's skills and signed him for the Italian club. However, the following season Fiorentina were relegated to the Serie B division,despite Batistuta's 13 season goals. The club returned to Serie A two years later, with the contribution of 16 Batistuta goals and managed by Claudio Ranieri.

In 1993, Batistuta played in his second Copa América, this time held in Ecuador, which Argentina again won. The 1994 FIFA World Cup, held in USA, was a disappointment: after a promising start Argentina were beaten by Romania in the last 16. The morale of the team was seriously affected by Diego Maradona's doping suspension. Despite the disappointing Argentine exit, Batistuta scored 4 goals in as many games.

On his return to Fiorentina, Batistuta found his best form. He was the top scorer of the 1994-95 season with 26 goals, and he broke Ezio Pascutti's 30-year-old record by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season. In the 1995-96 season Fiorentina won the Italian Cup and Super Coppa.

During the qualification matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup (with former River Plate manager Passarella now coaching the Argentinean national team) Batistuta was left out of the majority of the games after falling out with the coach. Playing in the World Cup finals themselves, he scored 5 goals in that competition, before Argentina lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. In the game against Jamaica, he recorded the second hat trick of his World Cup career, becoming the 4th player to achieve this (the others were Sándor Kocsis,Just Fontaine, and Gerd Müller) and the first to score a hat trick in 2 World Cups.

After failure to win the Italian championship with Fiorentina,Batistuta started considering a transfer to a bigger team. In an effort to keep Batistuta, Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as coach and
promised to do everything to win the Scudetto. After an excellent start to the season, Batistuta suffered an injury that kept him out of action for more than a month. Losing momentum, Fiorentina lost the lead and finished the season in third place, which gave them the chance to participate in the Champions League in the following season.

"Good-bye to Fiorentina".Batistuta stayed at Fiorentina for the 1999-00 season, tempted by the chance of winning both the Scudetto and the Champions League. After a promising start in both competitions, the team only reached seventh in the league and were eliminated in the second round group phase. The following season, he was transferred to A.S. Roma in a deal worth 35 million US dollars. Although a knee injury restricted his number of appearances, he scored 20 goals for A.S. Roma in his first season. He finally realized his dream of winning a major trophy as Roma clinched
the Scudetto for the first time since 1983. The following season with A.S. Roma he changed his shirt number to "20" in reference to the number of goals he had scored during the Scudetto winning campaign. He also wore his age on the back of his Roma jersey in 2002.

After a good series of performances by Argentina in the qualification matches for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hopes were high that the South Americans - now managed by Marcelo Bielsa - could win the trophy, and Batistuta announced that he planned to quit the national team at the end of the tournament, which Argentina aimed to win. But Argentina's "group of death" saw the team fall at the first hurdle, as poor results against Nigeria, England, and Sweden meant that the team was knocked
out in the opening round for the first time since 1962.

Back in Italy, Batistuta failed to find form with Roma and was loaned out to Internazionale; however, he failed to make an impression and departed for Qatar. In Qatar, he broke the recored of most goals scored that was held by Qatari Legend Mansour Mouftah with an amazing 24 goals. He was awarded for being the top scorer in all Arab leagues in 2004 with a Golden Boot.

He has also been linked to the Argentina national football team job with Diego Maradona

Hernan Crespo

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Hernan Crespo

Hernán Jorge Crespo (born July 5, 1975 in Florida, Argentina) is an
Argentine international football player currently playing in the Italian Serie A for Internazionale, having signed from English Premier League champions Chelsea on a 2 year loan deal on 7 August 2006,although Chelsea have an option to recall him after one season. He is famed for his powerful aerial ability, which allows him to score goals from considerable distances. He is also renowned for being one of the most effective goal poachers in the game, due to his anticipatory off-the-ball movement.

Crespo was included in the FIFA 100 list comprising the best
footballers in the world at present.

Crespo was born in Buenos Aires Province, in the Florida neighbourhood of the Vicente López Partido, Greater Buenos Aires, next to the Buenos Aires city. He made his debut for River Plate during the 1993/94 season, scoring 13 goals in 25 league appearances (an early sign of what was to come). He helped River Plate win the Apertura league title, the second of two championships held in Argentina in the year. He helped River win the Apertura title again in 1994. In 1996, Crespo helped River to win the Copa Libertadores, the South American club championship, scoring twice in the home leg of the final in Buenos Aires.

He left River for Parma in Italy in August 1996 after he won the silver medal with Argentina in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing the tournament as top scorer with six goals. In May 1997, coached by Carlo Ancelotti (current manager of A.C. Milan), Crespo helped Parma finish runners-up in Serie A, scoring 12 goals in 27 matches. In 1999, with Parma he won both the Italian Cup and the UEFA Cup (in the final against Olympique de Marseille, held in Moscow, Crespo scored the
opening goal in Parma's 3-0 victory). In 2000, after four successful years with Parma, Lazio broke the world transfer record (at that time) by paying £35,500 000 for Crespo. He ended his first season in Lazio as top scorer in Serie A with 26 goals.

In September 2002, Crespo signed with Inter Milan as replacement for the departed Ronaldo, for €40 million. In his only season at the club,he scored 7 goals in 18 appearances in Italian Serie A and 9 goals in 12 appearances in the Champions League. A bad injury sustained in early 2003 kept him out for 4 months and many people have claimed he has never been the same since that injury.

Crespo was transferred to English Premiership club Chelsea on 26 August 2003, for £16,800 000. However, he had a disappointing season in London, making only 31 appearances (19 League starts) in all competitions and scoring 12 goals as he never really settled and Ranieri's constant tinkering of the team meant Crespo never got a good run in the side. After José Mourinho took over as Chelsea manager in the 2004 off-season, Crespo became surplus to Chelsea's plans and was loaned out for the 2004-05 season to AC Milan, as requested by his former coach Carlo Ancelotti. With Milan he reacquired his form by scoring 10 goals. Crespo scored two of Milan's three goals in the 2004/05 Champions League final against Liverpool before an inspired Liverpool comeback.

After speculation involving Crespo and a return to Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea's failed attempts to land a big name striker during the summer of 05, José Mourinho decided to bring back Crespo from A.C. Milan.Despite Crespo making his desire to stay at Milan well known, Chelsea needed competition for striker Didier Drogba, and José Mourinho convinced him that he had a future in the FA Premier League.Unlike his first season in England, Crespo seemed to have finally adapted. He made his first appearance back at Chelsea in the 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the FA Community Shield. He scored his first league goal of 2005 against Wigan in Chelsea's first game of the season at the JJB Stadium, his second came soon after in his fourth league game, a powerful header against Charlton. Crespo then opened his account in the season's Champion's League campaign with a header against Real Betis. He has since scored against Anderlecht, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Fulham, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Liverpool (in fact scoring twice, only to be incorrectly ruled offside for his
second), and West Ham.

In July 2006, Crespo stated his intention to return to play in Italy,particularly his former club AC Milan, as he still owns a residence in the suburbs of Milan.However, Chelsea released a club statement on its website stating that Crespo will remain a Chelsea player unless theclub accepted a suitable offer for him.

On the 7th August 2006, Crespo signed for Inter Milan on a two-year loan from Chelsea, in a similar deal to that agreed on for Juan Sebastián Verón. Chelsea have the option to bring Crespo back after one season, and Inter will pay almost all of Crespo's wages during his loanperiod. In all competitions, he scored 26 goals for Chelsea. 14 of these came in his last season at the West London club, the other 12 were scored during his first spell before going on loan.On December 2nd 2006, Crespo scored his 125th Serie A goal against Siena.

In February 1995, Crespo won his first cap for Argentina national team,in a friendly against Bulgaria in Mendoza, but he had to wait 16 months for his second cap and more than two years for his first goal. He played for his country in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He has 57 caps for Argentina, and has scored 31 goals. A ratio of more than one goal every other game makes Crespo a formidable forward at all levels. In June 2005, and as part of his comeback of the 2004/05 season, Crespo
scored two goals in Argentina's 3:1 World Cup Qualifying triumph over their arch-rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires. This win ensured Argentina's participation in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. These last two goals against Brazil turned him into the all-time top scorer for Argentina in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Fans used to call Crespo "Valdanito" because his looks, build and running style recall 1986 FIFA World Cup winning forward Jorge Valdano.Hernán Crespo was several times compared to Gabriel Batistuta. At the very least, he is considered a great replacement. Former Argentine coach José Pekerman (he resigned on 1st July 2006) saw Crespo as the leader for the strikeforce important for Argentine success in 2006 FIFA World Cup, even though younger players such as Javier Saviola, Lionel
Messi, Carlos Tévez had been gaining the coach's attention.Crespo has scored three World Cup goals; against Sweden in 2002 and against Côte d'Ivoire, and Serbia and Montenegro. He was the 2006 FIFA Silver Shoe Award winner.

Hernán Crespo, along with Argentine team mate Juan Sebastián Verón, is one of the world's most expensive players of all time, the most expensive being Zinedine Zidane. He has never been sold for less than £16,000,000 since joining Parma in 1996 from River Plate and has a combined transfer fee of £68,000,000 - over half of which was down to one move, from Parma to Lazio for £37,000,000 (the most expensive transfer fee was that of Zinedine Zidane in 2001 for €66 million). Crespo scored the opening goal in the Argentina national football teams 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign against the Ivory Coast national football team. He is the second player after Ecuadorian goalkeeper Cristian Mora
to receive a yellow card for wasting time. Crespo added a goal and two assists in the Argentina national football teams 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro national football team. He received a yellow card after a (dubious) offside call for apparently shooting on goal after the whistle blew. Crespo added his 3rd goal in the Argentina national football team's 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign against the Mexico national football team in the Round of 16.

Crespo is the only player who managed to score for five different teams in the UEFA Champions League: Parma F.C. (2 goals in 9 games;1997-2000), S.S. Lazio (5 goals in 13 games; 2000-2002), Inter Milan (10 goals in 15 games; 2002-2003 and 2006-2007), Chelsea F.C. (4 goals
in 15 games; 2003-2004 and 2005-2006) and A.C. Milan (6 goals in 10 games; 2004-2005).

Diego Maradona

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Diego Armando Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona (born October 30, 1960), is a former Argentine football player and he is regarded by many as the greatest football player of all time.

Maradona won various trophies with Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli over the course of his career.

During an international career that included 91 caps and 34 goals, he played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, leading the Argentina national team to its victory over West Germany in 1986, in which he collected the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. His second goal against England -- a spectacular 60-meter weave through six England players -- is commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century."

He was also considered one of the sport's most controversial figures. Maradona was suspended for 15 months in 1991 after a failed doping test for cocaine in Italy, and then again for ephedrine during the 1994 World Cup.

After retirement from soccer on October 30, 1997,[3] he suffered ill health and weight gain, along with ongoing cocaine abuse. However, a stomach-stapling operation helped control his weight gain. Since overcoming his cocaine addiction, he has become a TV host in Argentina.

History

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The origins of the great game

Many different cultures have played a sport similar to the modern game of soccer but no one can really say with any certainty when or where soccer began but it is known that the earlier variations of what later became soccer were played almost 3000 years ago.

One of the earliest forms of soccer in which players kicked a ball around on a small field has been traced as far back to 1004 B.C. in Japan. The Munich Ethnological Museum in Germany has a Chinese text from approximately 50 B.C. that mentions games very similar to soccer that were played between teams from Japan and China. The Chinese kicked a leather ball ( hair-filled ) and it is known with certainty that a soccer game was played in 611 A.D. in the then Japanese capital, Kyoto.

The Romans played a game that somewhat resembled modern soccer. The early Olympic games in Rome featured twenty-seven men on a side who completed so vigorously that two-thirds of them had to be hospitalized after a fifty-minute game.

While historians kept records of events such as wars and religious movements they had very little interest in preserving the various origins of soccer or many other sports, so no one can say how soccer seems to have spread from Asia to Europe.