John Arne Riise (born 24 September 1980 in Ålesund) is a Norwegian association football player for A.S. Roma in the Italian Serie A. He was most famous for his seven year career with Liverpool F.C. He is the older brother of Bjørn Helge Riise.
* Commonwealth of Independent States Cup Top Scorer: 1997 * Ukrainian Premier League Top Scorer: 1998-99 * UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 1998-99 * Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2000 * Serie A Top Scorer: 1999-00, 2003-04 * FIFA 100 * Ballon D'or: 2004 * FIFPro World XI: 2004-05 * Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 * UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 1998-99, 2000-01, 2005-06 * Ukraine national team top all-time scorer * Fourth all-time scorer in the history of European club competitions * A.C. Milan second all-time scorer
Michael Kojo Essien or Mickaël Essien (born December 3, 1982 in Accra) is a Ghanaian footballer nicknamed 'The Bison' due to his formidable strength, competitiveness and combativeness in the midfield area. He currently plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League. He is a central midfielder and plays as a deep-lying playmaker for the Black Stars, the Ghana national football team but is employed all over the pitch at Chelsea due to his versatility. He is the most expensive African footballer of all-time.
Tony Yeboah Anthony "Tony" Yeboah (born June 6, 1966 in Kumasi, Ghana) is a Ghanaian former footballer who is most noted for his time at European clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds United and Hamburger SV during the 1990s and is currently chairman from Bechem Chelsea.
Kuba Błaszczykowski born 14 December 1985 in Częstochowa), is a Polish football midfielder who plays for Borussia Dortmund and the Polish national team, usually as a right-winger.
He is the nephew of Jerzy Brzęczek, a former captain of the Polish national football team.
* Supercopa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1993-94 * Campeonato Mineiro Top Scorer: 1993-94 * Campeonato Mineiro Team of The Year: 1994 * Eredivisie Top Scorer: 1994-95 * La Liga Top Scorer: 1996-97 * European Golden Boot: 1996-97 * La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1996-97 * Copa América Final Most Valuable Player: 1997 * Copa América Most Valuable Player: 1997 * Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 1997 * Cup Winners Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1997 * IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year: 1997 * UEFA Most Valuable Player: 1997-98 * Serie A Player of the Year: 1997-98 * Serie A Foreign Player of the Year: 1997-98 * UEFA Best Forward: 1997-98 * Bravo Award : 1997, 1998 * FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1998 * UEFA Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1998 * Copa América Top Scorer: 1999 * Copa América All-Star Team: 1997, 1999 * FIFA World Player of the Year: 1996, 1997, 2002 * Ballon D'or: 1997, 2002 * Onze d'Or: 1997, 2002 * FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2002 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2002 * FIFA World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2002 * FIFA World Cup Top Scorer: 2002 * Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002 * UEFA Team of The Year: 2002 * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 2002 * La Liga South American Player of the Year: 1996-97, 2002-03 * La Liga Top Scorer: 2003-04 * Golden Foot: 2006 * FIFA World Cup all-time scoring leader
Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima born September 18, 1976), referred to simply as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays for Campeonato Brasileiro club SC Corinthians Paulista. His nickname is O Fenômeno ("The Phenomenon").
Having begun his professional career at Brazilian side Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, Ronaldo signed with PSV Eindhoven in 1994, and after that he had tenures with FC Barcelona, F.C. Internazionale Milano, Real Madrid C.F., and A.C. Milan.
A former member of the Brazil national football team, Ronaldo has played 97 international matches, and was part of the Brazilian squads that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. He is the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with 15 goals, having surpassed Gerd Müller's previous record of 14 at the 2006 tournament.
Ronaldo is a two-time Ballon D'or winner, and is one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with Zinedine Zidane.
Hidetoshi Nakata born January 22, 1977 in Yamanashi Prefecture), is a Japanese former football player. He was one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation.
Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with A.S. Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006) and played in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was made the Knight of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of the Italy's highest honours, for improving the country's image overseas. Nakata is known as a fashion icon, regularly attending runway shows and wearing designer fashion.
Nakata announced his retirement at age 29 on July 3, 2006 after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premiership.
Pelé named Nakata in his 125 Top Living Footballers in March 2004.
Andrij Shevchenko born 29 September 1976 in Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian football striker who plays for A.C. Milan and the Ukraine national team. He is the fourth-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 61 goals, behind Filippo Inzaghi, Raul and Gerd Müller.
Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos amassed 125 caps, scoring 11 goals for the Brazilian national team. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he played seven matches, including the final loss to France. After a qualifying game for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert spat on Roberto Carlos, an action which caused FIFA to give Chilavert a three-match suspension and forced him to watch the first game of the World Cup from the stands. Roberto Carlos also played seven matches in the finals, scoring a goal from a free kick against China. He also was a starter in the final against Germany, with Brazil winning 2-0.
He is especially famous for a free kick against France on June 3, 1997, where he shot from 35 m (110 ft) from the centre-right channel, and scored. The ball spun so much that the ballboy 10 yards to the right ducked instinctively, thinking that the ball would hit him. Instead, it eventually curled back on target.
After the elimination by France in the quarterfinal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football. Against France, he was widely criticised for fixing his socks during a Zinedine Zidane free kick which resulted in a goal from Thierry Henry.
Marco Van Basten On 22 July 2006 he again returned for testimonial football to celebrate the 11-year Arsenal playing career of Dennis Bergkamp, in the first game at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium. He played a fair part of the second half for the AFC Ajax legends team, appearing as part of a double substitution that also introduced Johan Cruijff.
During March 2007, Sky Sports named Marco Van Basten the number 1 on their list of the great players who had their career cut short.
Francesco Totti born September 27, 1976 in Rome) is a World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Italian club A.S. Roma.
His position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as a second striker. He is best known for his brilliant technique, goalscoring and range of passing.
Totti, who has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history.
Andres Vasquez Andrés Javier Vasquez Rueda Pinto (born July 16, 1987 in Lima, Peru) (often misspelled Vasques) is a Peruvian-Swedish professional footballer, who plays in Swiss Super League, for FC Zürich. He plays the position of midfielder. He also has a younger brother, Salvador Vasquez, who plays football for JK Nõmme Kalju.
Michel Platini (born June 21, 1955 in Jœuf, France) is a French former football player, manager and current president of the Union of European Football Associations.
Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was voted the best player and top goalscorer. He participated in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in the latter two. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the "carré magique" (French for "magic square"), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French national team throughout the 1980s. He is also widely regarded as one the best passers in football history as well as one of history's greatest free kick specialists and finishers. He holds the record for most goals scored in European Championship final tournaments despite only appearing in one such tournament (1984).
Platini was named Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour on April 29, 1985 and became Officier (Officer) in 1988. He was the French national team coach for four years, and was the co-organizer of the 1998 World Cup in France. He has also been the chairman of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee, and vice-president of the French Football Federation.
Gianfranco Zola (born 5 July 1966 in Oliena, Sardinia) is a retired Italian footballer and, since 11 September 2008, manager of English Premier League side West Ham United, having been assistant coach of the Italy national under-21 football team under Pierluigi Casiraghi. He spent the first decade of his career playing in Italy, most notably with Napoli, alongside the legendary Argentinian Diego Maradona and Brazilian striker Careca, and at Parma, before moving to English side Chelsea, where he was voted Football Writers' Player of the Year in 1997 and Chelsea's greatest ever player. He was capped 35 times for Italy.
Alessandro Del Piero (born November 9, 1974 in Conegliano Veneto) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, generally considered one of the best footballers of all times. He currently plays for Juventus in Italy.
Marco Van Basten Marcel "Marco" van Basten (31 October 1964 in Oog in Al, Utrecht) is a Dutch football manager, currently in charge of AFC Ajax, having stepped down as coach of the Dutch national team upon their exit from Euro 2008. Previously, he was a football player who played for Ajax Amsterdam and A.C. Milan in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the finest forwards of all time and scored 277 goals in a career cut short by injury. Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. Van Basten was voted eighth in a poll organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon D'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.
Manuel Negrete (born March 11, 1959 in Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero) is Mexican coach and former football midfielder, who became famous for scoring one of the most spectacular goals of the 1986 World Cup. He is currently the manager of Club León in the Primera Division A.
Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (born May 10, 1969 in Amsterdam) is a retired Dutch professional footballer. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, Arsenal and also represented the Netherlands at international level. Bergkamp played most of his best games as a support striker, where his tactical awareness and deft passes made him a great exponent of the game from the 'hole'.
He was selected by Pelé as one of the FIFA 125 greatest living players and is widely regarded as one of the English Premier League's all-time greatest players. In 2007 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, the first and thus far only Dutch player ever to receive the honour. He has also finished third in the FIFA Player of the Year award twice.
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born April 19, 1972 in Paulista, Pernambuco), commonly known as Rivaldo, is regarded as one of the best Brazilian professional football players of all time, currently playing for FC Bunyodkor, on a multi-million dollar contract, in the Uzbek League. He most notably played five years with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he won the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship and the 1998 Copa del Rey. He was honoured as FIFA World Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year in 1999. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony in 2004.
Between 1993 and 2003, Rivaldo played 86 matches and scored 36 goals for the Brazil national football team (A Seleção), and he was a very influential part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning Brazilian team. An attacking midfielder, he is known for his play-making capabilities, as well as his technique and goalscoring ability. He is also known for his bicycle kicks.
Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born April 10, 1973, Garça, São Paulo), better known simply as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian football player who currently plays for Turkish club Fenerbahçe S.K.,[ normally as a wingback. Carlos was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups, helping the team reach the final in the 1998 edition and win the 2002 tournament. He is also known for his trademark and sometimes seemingly impossible free kicks and explosive shots.
Before joining Fenerbahçe, he played for Spanish club Real Madrid for eleven years, winning four leagues, three UEFA Champions League trophies, and two Intercontinental Cups. He is also one of only six players to have played more than one hundred matches in the Champions League, as of February 2008. He finished second to countryman Ronaldo in the 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year award poll and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica heralds Roberto Carlos as an excellent exponent of the wingback position.
Steven Reid (born March 10, 1981 in Kingston, London) is an English born Irish football player who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers and the Republic of Ireland, primarily as a midfielder.
Zinedine Zidane At the 2006 World Cup, he wore special Adidas Golden Predator football boots, made as a tribute as this World Cup contained his last matches as a football player. After being suspended on yellow cards from the final match of the group stage,Zidane set up a goal for Patrick Vieira and scored one himself in the 91st minute of the second round match against Spain. As France held Brazil to just one shot on goal in the rematch of the 1998 WC finalists, Zidane's free kick led to Thierry Henry's deciding goal, sealing a 1-0 win. Zidane was named Man of the Match by FIFA.
After scoring a seventh-minute penalty in the final, Zidane became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score in two different finals, along with Pelé, Paul Breitner, and Vavá, in addition to being tied for first place with Vavá, Pelé and Geoff Hurst with three WC final goals apiece. However, he was sent off in the 110th minute with the match tied 1-1, and did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Italy won 5-3. Despite his red card and the controversy that followed, Zidane was nonetheless awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro( born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for English Premier League club Manchester United and the Portuguese national team.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player at C.D. Nacional and his successes with the team led to a move to Sporting two seasons afterwards. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. He earned his first cap for the Portuguese national team around the same time. He won his first club honour, the FA Cup, the following season and reached the final of the UEFA Euro 2004 with Portugal, scoring his first international goal in the process.
The next three years saw Ronaldo rising to global prominence, scoring frequently at both club and international level and receiving various awards for his accomplishments. The 2006–07 season brought him his first Premier League title. The following season at Manchester United, 2007–08, was his best yet as he retained the Premier League and won his first UEFA Champions League, the highest European club honour. Additionally, he was the Premier League's top scorer, won the European Golden Shoe, and was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year 2008. On 2 December, Ronaldo was awarded the 2008 Ballon d'Or.
Johan Cruijff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Individual: * Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2005 * Guldbollen: 2005, 2007, 2008 * Jerringpriset (Sweden's Sports Personality of the Year): 2007 * Swedish Male Athlete of the Year: 2007 * UEFA Team of the Year: 2007
Robert Lewandowski (born August 21, 1988 in Warsaw) is a Polish footballer who plays as a striker for Lech Poznań.
In 2006/07 Lewandowski was the Polish third division's top goal scorer with 15 goals, helping Znicz Pruszków win promotion.[1] The next season he was the top scorer in the Polish second division with 21 goals.[1]
In June 2008 Lech Poznań signed him from Znicz for 1.5 million złotych. He made his debut for Lech on July 17, 2008, coming on as a sub in a first round UEFA Cup qualifier against FK Khazar Lenkoran in Azerbaijan and scoring the only goal of the match (Khazar 0:1 Lech). He also scored on his debut in the Ekstraklasa on August 8, 2008.
Lewandowski has appeared once for Poland's U21 team, as a sub in a friendly against England in March 2008. His debut for the senior national team came on September 10, 2008 coming on as a sub against San Marino and scoring one goal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (born October 3, 1981 in Malmö) is a Swedish football striker of Croatian and Bosnian[3] descent who plays for Italian Serie A club Inter Milan and the Swedish national team.
Henry Edson Quinteros Sánchez (born October 19, 1977 in Lima) is a football midfielder from Peru, who made his debut for the national team on February 16, 2000. Nicknamed El Pato (The Duck) and/or Kwinto. Lately he has played in central midfield for Lech Poznań. He left Lech Poznań in August ,2008 due personal problems and returned to Alianza Lima. In Peru, he played also for Sporting Cristal.
José Manuel Rey (born May 20, 1975 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan football central defender currently playing for Caracas FC and for Venezuela's national team. He is also Venezuela's all-time cap leader with 100 international caps.[1]. He is known in Venezuela as Tetero, Gallego, and Autobus. He became the first Venezuelan caps centurion on Saturday 6th September, in the FIFA World Cup qualifier with Peru played in the Estadio Monumental in Lima.
As of October 2007 he has played for several clubs in Europe and South America: C.S. Marítimo de Venezuela, Atlético Nacional, Caracas Fútbol Club, Emelec, Pontevedra, and Dundee F.C.. In 2007 he was sold to AEK Larnaca FC.
On October 13th 2007 Rey became a national hero when he scored a spectacular free kick from 45 meters in the 1-0 win over Ecuador during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament video link. The win signalled Ecuador's first defeat in Quito for six years.
Robin Van Persie (born 6 August 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer who plays for English Premier League club Arsenal F.C. and the Dutch national team. The son of two artists, Van Persie was encouraged to follow in his parents' footsteps, but he instead preferred football and joined SBV Excelsior's youth squad in 2001. He made his breakthrough at hometown club Feyenoord, where he spent three seasons and won the 2002 UEFA Cup. In 2004, he moved to England and signed with Arsenal, with whom he promptly won the FA Community Shield, and the FA Cup. Van Persie has 32 caps and ten goals with the Netherlands, and participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2008 UEFA European Championships.
Dejan Savićević (born September 15, 1966 in Titograd, Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia), is a Montenegrin former football player and the current president of the Montenegro FA [1]. His close control and vision have won him many admirers. For his play for Red Star Belgrade, AC Milan, and his European Footballer of the Year Award, he is considered one of the great footballers of his time.
Roberto Mancini (born November 27, 1964 in Jesi, Ancona) is an Italian football coach and former player. His last job was as head coach of Internazionale in Serie A. One of the most talented players of his age, Mancini debuted in Italian Serie A for Bologna on September 12, 1981. The following year he was bought by Sampdoria, for which he played until 1997. Later he played for Lazio (1997–2000) and Leicester City (2001).
With Sampdoria, he formed a dynamic strike partnership with Gianluca Vialli, and led the club to its only scudetto in 1991, four Coppa Italias (1985, 1988, 1989 and 1994) and a Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. He also lost the final of the 1991–1992 European Cup against Barcelona. With Lazio he won his second scudetto (2000) and Cup Winners' Cup titles (1999) as well as two more Coppa Italias (1998 and 2000).
He finished his career with English club Leicester City where he was signed on a lucrative contract, but played just four times before retiring.
Youri Djorkaeff (born March 9, 1968 in Lyon) is a former French football (soccer) player, who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. He had fantastic technique, pace and fancy and effective dribbling. With the French national team, Djorkaeff won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. Djorkaeff won the Cup Winners' Cup with PSG in 1996 and the UEFA Cup with Inter in 1998. He accumulated 82 caps and scored 28 goals for France. Other than the two major tournament wins already mentioned, Djorkaeff also played for his country in Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. For his country he won the World Cup, European Championship & Confederation Cup.
(born July 9, 1968) is a retired Italian footballer. Di Canio was born in Rome, in the district of Quarticciolo. He signed for Lazio, in 1985; here he remained until 1990, moving to another of Italy's biggest clubs, Juventus. He stayed there until 1993 and successive seasons saw him join first Napoli and then A.C. Milan. In 1996 he joined Celtic in Scotland, and his successful season in Glasgow (scoring 15 goals in 37 appearances) saw him make a move to the English Premiership as he joined Sheffield Wednesday for a sum of around £4.2m. Whilst in Sheffield, Di Canio was the club's leading goal scorer for the 1997–98 season with 14 goals and he became a favourite of the fans.
Diego Maradona (born 30 October 1960) is a former Argentine football player, and current coach of the Argentine national side. He finished first in a FIFA internet poll on the best player of the 20th century. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona, and, most distinguishedly, SSC Napoli. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 World Cup where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarter-final round he scored two remarkable goals in a 2-1 victory over England which instantly cemented his fame. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal was a spectacular 60-metre weave through six England players, commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century".
For various reasons, Maradona is considered one of the sport's most controversial and newsworthy figure. He was suspended from football for 15 months in 1991 after failing a doping test for cocaine in Italy, and he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA for using ephedrine.
After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997,[4] he increasingly suffered ill health and weight gain, hardly helped by ongoing cocaine abuse. In 2005 a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain. After overcoming his cocaine addiction, he became a popular TV host in Argentina.[5]
In October 2008, in a move which surprised many, Maradona was named as the new head coach of the Argentina national football team. He took control of the team in November, in the team's victory over Scotland by 1-0.
Track: 10. Dr.Dre feat Snoop Dogg - STILL DRE 9. 50cent - Get Up 8. Ying Yang feat Pitbull - Shake 7. Pitbull feat Sean Paul - Culo [remix] 6. Pitbull feat Jim Jones - Sticky Icky 5. 50 cent - P.I.M.P 4. Ying Yang fest Wyclef - Dangerous 3. Dj Laz - Move Shae Drop [remix] 2. Pitbull feat. Lil Jon - Krazy 1. Jim Jones - We Fly High [Ballin]
