Top Greatest Player Football

Michael Laudrup One in ballTop Greatest Player Football

2009-07-31T05:01:00.000-07:00

Michael Laudrup One in Top Greatest Player Football

Michael Laudrup Greatest Footballers

Michael Laudrup Photo

Best Image of Michael Owen

2009-03-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Best Image of Michael Owen

Best Photo of Michael Owen

Michael Owen Celebrate Goal

Didier Deschamps Popular French Football Players

2009-03-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Didier Deschamps Popular French Football Players

Didier Deschamps Legend Players Football

Didier Deschamps The Victory

Giuseppe Bergomi Legend of Internazionale

2009-03-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Giuseppe Bergomi Legend of Internazionale

Giuseppe Bergomi Greatest Defender of Italy Team

Giuseppe Bergomi Famous Football Players

Alan Shearer Top Striker in the World

2009-03-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

Alan Shearer Top Striker in the World

Alan Shearer Top Player Football

Alan Shearer Famous Football

Paul Gascoigne Greatest English Players

2009-03-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

Paul Gascoigne Greatest English Players

The Clown Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne Photo

Robbie Fowler Top Greatest Player Football

2009-03-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

Robbie Fowler Top Greatest Player Football

Robbie Fowler Celebrate Goals

Robbie Fowler Wallpaper

Francesco Totti Famous Italy Player Football

2009-03-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI (born September 27, 1976 in Rome), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Italian Serie A club Roma. His position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as a second striker. Totti, who has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history.
Totti was born and raised in Rome's Porta Metronia neighborhood. He idolized ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini, and regularly played football with older boys. His mother refused a lucrative offer from Milan, and he joined the Roma youth squad in 1989. Totti is known for his dazzling footwork and improvisation.
Roma's new coach for the 2005-06 season, Luciano Spalletti, went with a 4-2-3-1 formation, during which Totti would not remain forward waiting for crosses or passes, instead going back to take the ball, and thus creating spaces for the attacking midfielders. In this new position Totti began to score more frequently than the past, and he scored fifteen goals in 24 matches, during which the team won eleven consecutive games.
On February 19, 2006, Totti suffered a fracture of his left fibula and ligament damage during a match against Empoli after being fouled by Richard Vanigli. Totti risked missing the 2006 World Cup, but returned to the side on May 11, 2006 as a substitute in Roma's 3-1 Coppa Italia final defeat to Inter. A metal plate had been attached to his ankle during surgery, but doctors decided not to operate again and remove it following Totti's return, after concurring that it would not affect his gameplay.

The 2006-07 season was a personal high for Totti, as he finished as Serie A's top scorer with 26 goals as Roma finished runners-up to Inter but exacted revenge on the Nerazzurri as they took home the 2007 Coppa Italia. Totti also was the recipient of the ESM European Golden Shoe award as the top European goalscorer. Despite being the highest active goalscorer in Serie A, he was not among the finalists for the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year due to his national team absence, though he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, finishing tenth in the voting.
Totti scored his 200th goal with Roma in a 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Torino on January 16, 2008. He was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for the fifth time in his career on January 28. He suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee during a 1-1 draw with Livorno on April 19. Tests revealed a tear of his ACL that required surgery, and he is expected to miss up to four months.
Roma won their ninth Coppa Italia with a 2-1 victory over Internazionale on May 24. Though Totti did not play, he was still allowed to lift the cup as the team's captain. He said, "Winning the Coppa at home gives us immense satisfaction, because our fans deserve this. This victory shows that now we're really competitive." With this win, Totti also became the most successful captain in team history.
Totti first came into international prominence while playing in the UEFA youth tournaments and won the UEFA under-21 championships in 1996. After starring with the Azzurrini in Italy's Under-19 and Under-21 sides, he earned his first cap for Italy during a Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on October 10, 1998. Though Italy lost to France in the final, Totti was named the man of the match.
Disappointment followed at the 2002 World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off during Italy's second-round loss to South Korea after being handed a second yellow card by Byron Moreno.
Totti acquired a measure of infamy at Euro 2004 after he spat at Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen in a goalless draw on June 14, 2004. He was subsequently banned until the semifinals, but never made it back to action and finished the competition scoreless due to Italy's elimination in the first round.(wikipedia)

Francesco Totti Famous Italy Player Football

Francesco Totti One of Legend Player Football

Michael Ballack Top Germany Football Players

2009-02-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

Michael Ballack (born 26 September 1976 in Görlitz, Saxony) is a German footballer. A midfielder, he is the current captain of the German national team, and plays club football for Chelsea in the English Premier League. In all the teams he has played in, he has always possessed the number 13 shirt.
On 26 March 1996, Ballack debuted for the national U21 team's encounter with Denmark, shortly after signing for Chemnitz. In all, he played 19 matches for this side, scoring four goals. Then, following his move to Kaiserslautern, national coach Berti Vogts called him up to the senior team.
Ballack's first appearance, however, did not come until 28 April 1999, when he came on as a substitute for Dietmar Hamann in a match against Scotland.
Ballack only played 63 minutes at Euro 2000. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup he scored in matches against USA and South Korea during the knock-out rounds as Germany reached the final. However he was booked for a tactical foul during the semifinal match against South Korea and was suspended for the final; Germany went on to lose 2-0 to Brazil.
Following Euro 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann replaced Rudi Völler at the helm of the national team and made Ballack the side's captain.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup he was unable to start in Germany's first game against Costa Rica due to a calf strain, but appeared in the following five matches. Germany were eliminated in the semi-finals, but they managed to clinch 3rd place. He was named Man of the Match in the games against Ecuador and Argentina,[9] and was included in FIFA's World Cup All Star Team.
On 6 February 2008, Ballack played his first match since returning from injury in a 3-0 friendly win over Austria.
Ballack started and captained Germany's first game of the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament against Poland. He scored a free kick against Austria to secure Germany a 1-0 win and a place in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals he scored a header against Portugal to make the score 3-1 in their 3-2 win after feed by Bastian Schweinsteiger free kick in 60th minute, helping Germany to advance to the semi-finals. After Germany beat Turkey 3-2, he captained them in the final, losing 1-0 to Spain. He was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
Ballack can boast that Germany have never lost a game when he has scored all the way dating back to December 2004.(wikipedia)

Michael Ballack Top Germany Football Players

Michael Ballack Top Germany Player Soccer

Michael Ballack for Chelsea

Javier Saviola Argentine Professional Football

2009-02-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

Javier Pedro Saviola (born December 11, 1981 in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine professional football player, who plays for Real Madrid. His usual position is as striker. He is known for his speed and ability to score from almost any position. He has scored 12 goals in 44 games for the Argentina national team, and represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2005, he was the youngest named on the FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living footballers. Saviola also holds Spanish nationality.
Saviola starred in the 2001 edition of the World Youth Cup, held in Argentina. He was top scorer and was voted player of the tournament, as the Argentine youth national team won the competition. With 11 goals in seven games, he became the record goal-scorer in World Youth Cup history. His vintage performance earned himself an offer from the European clubs, but surprisingly, he failed to get a call up of the Argentina national football team to take part in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Two years later, Saviola played in the 2004 Olympic Games and won the Olympic Gold Medal with the Argentine squad. Under coach Marcelo Bielsa, Saviola was given few playing opportunities for Argentina, but after Bielsa's resignation in 2004, new coach José Pekerman, who was the Argentine youth national team in 2001, gave Saviola more chance to play for the national team.
Saviola was called up to represent Argentina at the 2006 FIFA World Cup by José Pekerman. Striker Luciano Figueroa and winger Luciano Galletti were in contention for a place on the roster, but Saviola's excellent form for Sevilla, scoring a handy 20 goals in 55 games and winning UEFA Cup with the Andalusian team, secured his place in the squad. Saviola made his presence felt at the tournament, as he scored a goal against Côte d'Ivoire in Argentina's opening game, and made two assists in the 6-0 victory against Serbia and Montenegro.(wikipedia)

Javier Saviola Argentine Professional Football

Javier Saviola Football Star

Hernán Crespo Top Argentine Footballer

2009-02-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

Hernán Jorge Crespo (born July 5, 1975 in Florida, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine footballer who is currently playing for Internazionale.
Crespo has 66 caps and 35 goals with Argentina. He won his first cap in a friendly match against Bulgaria in February 1995, but then had to wait sixteen months for his second cap and more than two years for his first goal. He was called up to the final roster for the 1998, 2002, and 2006 FIFA World Cups. In June 2005, Crespo scored twice in Argentina's 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over archrivals Brazil in Buenos Aires, which made him Argentina's career scoring leader in World Cup qualifiers. He finished the 2006 competition as the Silver Shoe Award winner.
On June 28, 2007, he scored twice in Argentina's 4-1 victory over the United States in their 2007 Copa América Group C opener, tying Diego Maradona's team scoring record. He finished with a total of three goals.(wikipedia)

Hernán Crespo Top Argentine Footballer

Hernán Crespo Top Footballer

Hernán Crespo Soccer Star

Alessandro Del Piero Top Greatest Living Footballers

2009-02-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

Alessandro Del Piero, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI (born November 9, 1974 in Conegliano Veneto) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He currently plays for Juventus in Italy.
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 while Brazilian star Ronaldinho proclaimed that Del Piero is his idol. Del Piero was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In the year 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue. Currently, Del Piero is still the highest earning Italian Player.
Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality and playing ability.
Del Piero usually plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers, known in Italy as the "Trequartista" position. Although he is not very tall, Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching." His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded.[11] Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special " Del Piero Zone", approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal.

In terms of goalscoring, Del Piero holds the all-time record at Juventus. On April 6th, 2008, Alessandro Del Piero became the all-time highest-capped Juventus player, ahead of Juve legend Gaetano Scirea. He is in sixth place in the UEFA Champions League all-time goalscorer records. Within the Italian national team, he is currently joint fourth with Roberto Baggio in the all-time scoring records.
In 1993, he transferred to Juventus F.C., 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 seven times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006), 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 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 the league.
His nickname is Pinturicchio, in reference to a joke by Gianni Agnelli when he compared the emerging Del Piero to Baggio in a parallel between the student Pinturicchio from Perugia and the teacher Perugino. He's also been nicknamed by the fans "Il Fenomeno Vero" meaning "The Real Phenomenon", in a sort of comparison with Ronaldo, who was nicknamed "Il Fenomeno" by rival supporters of Internazionale.
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 deeper role as a support-striker. He has also been positioned as a playmaker in the central slot behind the forwards. Under Marcello Lippi's reign as Juventus coach Del Piero played in the "trident-attack" formation along with veterans Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli. After that, he took a role in a combination with Zinedine Zidane behind Filippo Inzaghi. As Juve's playing style changed in Lippi's second stint with Juventus starting 2001, Del Piero partnered with Zidane's replacement Pavel Nedvěd in midfield and David Trezeguet upfront.

Del Piero is currently the all-time top scorer for Juventus scoring 254 goals, in all competitions he has also made over 580 appearances in official matches for the club breaking the record of Gaetano Scirea who has 552 appearances for Juventus. Alessandro is still Juventus' main strike force.
On May 17, 2008, against Sampdoria in the final round of the season, Del Piero at last clinched his first Serie A golden boot by scoring his 20th and 21st.
On October 21, 2008, he scored in Juve's Champions League match at home against Real Madrid. In the 5th minute, he knicked in the ball giving Casillas no chance, with Amauri scoring the second in the first few minutes of the second half.
In the return fixture on November 5, he scored two goals, the latter of which was a sublimetrademark free-kick, which looped over the heads of the crumbling wall-of-defenders to nestle in the corner of Iker Casillas' goal. In this occasion the Real Madrid's fan granted to Del Piero a standing ovation for his performance. This fine display put Juventus through to the next round of the UEFA Champions League with 10 Points, and leave Real Madrid fighting it out with Zenit St. Petersburg and BATE for the final qualifying spot.
Del Piero scored his 250th goal for Juventus during a match against Reggina on November 29, 2008.
Del Piero is currently the team's fourth all-time leading scorer. His tournament debut was Euro 96, but made his only appearance in the first half of a match against Russia before being substituted at halftime. Del Piero competed with fan favorite Roberto Baggio for a spot on the 1998 FIFA World Cup final roster while struggling to recover from injury suffered during the 1998 Champions League final with Juventus. He also missed two chances in Italy's 2-1 loss to France in the Euro 2000 final.

He returned to the international scene in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, after a season in Serie A in which Juventus won the Scudetto. Del Piero scored the decisive goal against Hungary, which sealed the Azzurri's qualification for the finals. He instantly scored against Mexico after coming on as a substitute to send Italy through to the second round, where they were eliminated. After Euro 2004, Marcello Lippi was replaced by Fabio Capello as Juventus coach. Capello was not convinced of Del Piero's abilities and frequently benched him in favor of new signing Zlatan Ibrahimović, but Del Piero still managed to score 14 goals as Juventus won their 28th league title thanks to his spectacular overhead assist to teammate David Trezeguet which proved decisive in a crunch match against AC Milan at San Siro.
Del Piero began the 2006 World Cup on the bench, appearing in two out of three group stage matches, and made his first start of the competition in a 1-0 round-of-16 win over Australia on June 26. On July 4, Del Piero entered as a substitute near the end of regulation and scored Italy's second goal in a 2-0 semifinal win over host Germany. In the final against France, which ended 1-1 after extra time, Del Piero scored a penalty in the shootout as Italy won the tournament for the fourth time. He admitted afterwards that winning the World Cup was his childhood dream.
As of 2008, Del Piero has captained Italy seven times (including the world cup in 2006 and Euro 2008) . He also regularly wore the number 10, but later gave it to Francesco Totti and switched to the number 7, as it was the first number he wore at the start of his career. Even though the number 10 was vacated after Totti retired from the national team in July 2007, Del Piero denied any interest in taking back the number, saying he was satisfied with the number 7. On May he was recalled by popular demand to Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 squad after nine-month absence from international duty, and thus became the second Italian player to participate in 7 major international tournaments (EURO 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; World Cup 1998, 2002, 2006).
Del Piero was called up to Italy's squad for the UEFA Euro 2008 Championship in Austria and Switzerland. On June starts just one game at UEFA Euro 2008 as Italy go out in quarter-finals. Italy qualified through the group stage in second-place behind Holland, eliminating Romania and France. In the quarter-final against Spain, Del Piero made a substitute appearance during extra-time, and with the game ending in a 0-0 draw, it was decided by a penalty shootout. Spain won 4-2. On 20 August 2008 wins 90th cap for Italy in friendly against Austria - only fifth Azzurri player to reach this landmark and after few days announces that he will carry on playing until he is 40 years old. Due to his great playing and record number of appearances and goals he is referred to as "The Old Master" and "Il Padrino".(wikipedia)

Alessandro Del Piero Top Greatest Living Footballers

Alessandro Del Piero Poster

David Beckham Top English Soccer

2009-01-17T20:27:00.001-08:00

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English football midfielder currently playing for Milan (on loan from Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy) and the England national team. Beckham's stint with Milan is a two-month loan, which began 7 January 2009, in order to retain his fitness levels during the MLS offseason. Beckham earned his much-publicised hundredth cap for England against France on 26 March 2008.
He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004. Such global recognition has made him an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon. Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, however, continued to make contributions for the England national team in competitions after this.
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons.[15] While at Madrid, Beckham became the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches. In his final season, Real clinched the 2006–07 La Liga championship title—Beckham's only major trophy with the club—in the final game of the season on 17 June. In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beckham's contract with Los Angeles Galaxy became effective on 1 July 2007 and gave him the highest player salary in MLS history.[18] He debuted for the team on 21 July in a friendly versus Chelsea at The Home Depot Center,[19] and on 15 August, he had his first start with the team, scoring his first goal in the 2007 SuperLiga semi-final.[20] His first league start then came on 18 August in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.
Beckham is married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. The couple have three sons and currently reside in Beverly Hills, California.
Beckham made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova. He became an automatic first-choice player at United during the 1996–97 season, helping them to retain the Premier League championship, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.
Beckham had played in all of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France, but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament, and he did not start in either of England's first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia and scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England.
In the second round (last 16) of that competition, he received a red card in England's match against Argentina.[71] Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone whilst lying on the floor, striking him on the calf. Simeone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, urging the referee to send Beckham off. The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed him for England's elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a picture of him centred on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats after the World Cup.

The abuse that Beckham was receiving from English supporters peaked during England's 3–2 defeat by Portugal in Euro 2000, a match where Beckham set up two goals, when a group of England supporters taunted him throughout the match. Beckham responded with a one-fingered gesture and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers to stop abusing him.[75]
On 15 November 2000, following Kevin Keegan's resignation as England manager in October, Beckham was promoted to team captain by the caretaker manager Peter Taylor, and then kept the role under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He helped England to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Finals, with their performances including an impressive 5–1 victory over Germany in Munich. The final step in Beckham's conversion from villain to hero happened in England's 2–2 draw against Greece on 6 October 2001. England needed to win or draw the match in order to qualify outright for the World Cup, but were losing 2–1 with little time remaining. When Teddy Sheringham was fouled eight yards (7 m) outside the Greek penalty area, England were awarded a free-kick and Beckham ensured England's qualification with a curling strike of the kind that had become his trademark. Shortly afterwards, he was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2001. He once again finished runner-up, to Luís Figo of Portugal, for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
He was partially fit by the time of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played in the first match against Sweden. Beckham scored the winning goal of the match against Argentina with a penalty, causing Argentina to fail to qualify for the knockout stage. England were knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil. The following month, at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Beckham escorted Kirsty Howard as she presented the Jubilee Baton to the Queen.

Beckham played in all of England's matches at Euro 2004, but the tournament was a disappointment for him. He had a penalty saved in England's 2–1 defeat to France and missed another in a penalty shootout in the quarter final against Portugal. England lost the shootout and went out of the competition.
Beckham became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in January 2005 and was involved in promoting London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.[76] In October 2005, Beckham's sending off against Austria made him the first ever England captain to be sent off and the first (and only) player to be sent off twice while playing for England. He captained England for the 50th time in a friendly international against Argentina the following month.
In England's opening game at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, against Paraguay on 10 June 2006, Beckham's free kick led to an own-goal by Carlos Gamarra, and England won 1–0. In England's next match, played against Trinidad and Tobago on 15 June 2006, Beckham's cross in the 83rd minute led to Peter Crouch's goal, which put England into the lead 1–0. Beckham gave another assist to Steven Gerrard. In the end they won 2–0. He was named Man-of-the-Match by tournament sponsor Budweiser for this game.
During England's second round match against Ecuador, Beckham scored from a free kick in the 59th minute, becoming the first ever English player to score in three World Cups, and giving England a 1–0 victory and a place in the quarter-finals. He was sick before the game and vomited several times as a result of dehydration and illness after he scored the winning goal.
In the quarter-final against Portugal, Beckham was substituted following an injury shortly after half time and the England team went on to lose the match on penalties (3-1), the score having been 0–0 after extra time. After his substitution, Beckham was visibly shaken and emotional for not being able to play, being in tears at one point.
A day after England were knocked out of the World Cup, an emotional Beckham made a statement in a news conference saying that he had stepped down as England captain,[78] saying, "It has been an honour and privilege to captain my country but, having been captain for 58 of my 95[79] games, I feel the time is right to pass on the armband as we enter a new era under Steve McClaren". (Beckham had actually won 94 caps up to that point.) He was succeeded by Chelsea captain John Terry.
Having stepped down as captain after the World Cup, Beckham was dropped completely from the England national team selected by new coach Steve McClaren on 11 August 2006. McClaren claimed that he was "looking to go in a different direction" with the team, and that Beckham "wasn't included within that". McClaren said Beckham could be recalled in future. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kieran Richardson and the World Cup alternative to Beckham, Aaron Lennon, were all included, although McClaren eventually opted to employ Steven Gerrard in that role.
Beckham takes the free kick against Brazil from which John Terry scored.
On 26 May 2007, Steve McClaren announced that Beckham would be recalled to the England squad for the first time since stepping down as their captain. Beckham started against Brazil in England's first match at the new Wembley Stadium and put in a positive performance. In the second half he set up England's goal converted by captain John Terry. It looked as though England would claim victory over Brazil, but newcomer Diego equalised in the dying seconds. In England's next match, a Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia, Beckham sent two trademark assists for Michael Owen and Peter Crouch, helping England to prevail 3-0.

Beckham had assisted in three of England's four total goals in those two games, and he stated his desire to continue to play for England after his move to the MLS.
On 22 August 2007, Beckham played in a friendly for England against Germany, becoming the first ever to play for England while with a non-European club team. On 21 November 2007, Beckham earned his 99th cap against Croatia, setting up a goal for Peter Crouch to tie the game at 2–2. Following the 2–3 loss, England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals. Despite this, Beckham said that he has no plans to retire from international football and wanted to continue playing for the national team. After being passed over by new England coach and Beckham's former manager at Real Madrid, Fabio Capello, for a friendly against Switzerland which would have given him his hundredth cap, Beckham admitted that he was not in shape at the time, as he had not played a competitive match in three months.
On 20 March 2008, Beckham was recalled to the England squad by Capello for the friendly against France in Paris on 26 March. Beckham became only the fifth Englishman to win 100 caps. Capello had hinted on 25 March 2008 that Beckham had a long term future in his side ahead of crucial qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[85] On 11 May 2008, Capello included an in-form Beckham in his 31 man England squad to face the USA at Wembley Stadium on 28 May before the away fixture with Trinidad and Tobago on 1 June. Beckham was honored before the match by receiving an honorary gold cap representing his 100th cap from Sir Bobby Charlton, and was given a standing ovation from the crowd. He played well and assisted John Terry on the match-winning goal. When substituted at half-time for David Bentley, the pro-Beckham crowd booed the decision..[86] In a surprise move, Capello handed Beckham the captaincy for England's friendly against Trinidad & Tobago on 1 June 2008. The match was the first time since the 2006 World Cup that Beckham had skippered England and marked a dramatic turnaround for Beckham. In two years, he had gone from being dropped completely from the England squad to being reinstated (though temporarily) as England captain.
During the 2010 World Cup Qualifier against Belarus in which England won 3-1 in Minsk, Beckham came off the bench in the 87th minute to earn his 107th cap making him England's 3rd highest capped player in history over-taking Sir Bobby Charlton in the process.(wikipedia)

David Beckham Top English Soccer

Pavel Nedved Best Czech Soccer

2009-01-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

Pavel Nedvěd (pronounced Cs-Pavel Nedved.ogg [ˈpavɛl ˈnɛdvjɛt] (help·info); born August 30, 1972 in Cheb) is a Czech football midfielder currently playing for Italian Serie A club Juventus F.C. He was the recipient of the prestigious Ballon D'or in 2003.
He is best known for his fierce shooting and his stamina.
Nedvěd got his international breakthrough when he was part of the Czech national team which went to the final of Euro 96, where they lost to Germany. Nedvěd's performance did not go unnoticed; despite having a verbal agreement with PSV Eindhoven, Nedvěd decided to move from Sparta Prague to Lazio Roma in the Serie A in 1996.

Nedvěd's first international tournament came in the Euro 1996 where he helped the national team to second place. In the Euro 2004 semi-final against Greece, Nedvěd was injured when he slammed his knee into Kostas Katsouranis's backside while jumping for the ball. Though he continued on the pitch for a while, he was eventually replaced by Vladimír Šmicer. Some observers of the match considered Nedvěd's injury to be a key factor in the Czechs' defeat. The injury also led him to retire from the national team in September 2004.
He came out of international retirement to help the Czechs in their 2006 World Cup qualifying playoff against Norway in November 2005. The Czechs won both matches 1-0, first in Oslo and then in Prague, to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first FIFA World Cup appearance for the Czech team since the partition of Czechoslovakia. Nedvěd chose to remain eligible for national selection, and was named to the Czech World Cup squad. Despite an impressive start against the USA, the Czechs failed to qualify for the knock-out stages after losing against Ghana and Italy. He then retired for good shortly after the World Cup, his last international match ending 3-1 against Serbia in August 2006.
Nedvěd refused to come out of retirement for the Euro 2008 despite pleas from national team coach Karel Brückner, teammates and fans.(wikipedia)

Pavel Nedved in Action

Pavel Nedved Best Czech Soccer

Pavel Nedved for Juventus Wallpaper

Oliver Kahn Best Germany Goalkeeper

2009-01-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

Oliver Rolf Kahn (born 15 June 1969 in Karlsruhe) is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career at Karlsruher SC and in 1994 was transferred to FC Bayern Munich, his last professional club. He is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight German championships, six German cups, the UEFA Cup (1996), the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (both 2001). His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year awards and two German "Footballer of the Year" trophies. He played for the German national team (from 1994 to 2006), where he was starting goalkeeper of the 2002 World Cup squad which reached the Finals and won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball for his performance. Kahn is nicknamed "King Kahn"or "The Titan" due to his formidable presence and influence.
He made his last professional appearance for FC Bayern Munich on 27 May 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium (Yuvabharati Krirangam), Kolkata in a friendly against Mohun Bagan AC of India during Bayern's Asian tour of 2008. Around 120,000 people turned up for the match. The match ended 0-3 in favour of Bayern and Michael Rensing substituted 'King Kahn' in the 55th minute.[3] He is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of the game and is the only goalkeeper in the history of football to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (in World Cup 2002).

Kahn’s international debut for Germany came in a match against Switzerland on 23 June 1995; however, it was some time before he became the team’s primary goalkeeper. Initially Kahn was the reserve keeper as Germany were victorious in Euro 96 in England. He spent the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France on the bench, and it was not until Andreas Köpke announced his retirement at the end of the tournament that Kahn was finally given his chance in the No. 1 shirt. Euro 2000 was a difficult period for then-defending champions Germany, as they made an embarrassing exit in the group stage, having scored only one goal. The team drew with Romania and suffered losses to England and Portugal. Afterwards, Kahn became captain of the national team, succeeding Oliver Bierhoff.
Kahn put in what was perhaps his worst performance of his international career against England in Munich in 2001. Germany were favored to win by many as they had beaten England in 2000 1-0 at Wembley stadium. Many in the media were touting Kahn's remarkably fast reflexes. Despite a strong start from Germany, they were routed 5-1 by a fantastic hattrick by Michael Owen. After the match, Kahn called the defeat a "catastrophe" but still was optimistic Germany would qualify. Kahn's German team managed to make the World Cup by winning a playoff against Ukraine. Despite criticism, Kahn remained as Germany's number one for the upcoming World Cup. Kahn was also named the best goalkeeper in the world by IFFHS for the second time in his career.

Expectations for Germany were comparatively low entering the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but it was Kahn’s shot-stopping prowess and leadership that carried the team to a surprise appearance in the finals, and allowed only three goals in the course of the competition. Despite playing much of the final match with torn ligaments in his right ring finger, Kahn was still blamed (perhaps unfairly due to the injury) for losing the championship after allowing the first goal by Brazilian striker Ronaldo off a rebound in the 67th minute. Kahn nevertheless won the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, and became the first goalkeeper in history to win the Golden Ball for the best individual performance. He also became the 1st German goalkeeper to keep five clean sheets in a World Cup tournament. Kahn maintained his number one spot for Euro 2004, but Germany were once again eliminated in the group stage. Oliver Kahn gave up his captaincy to Michael Ballack after the tournament.
Since then, Kahn had lost his status as the first choice goalkeeper for the national team, with team manager Jürgen Klinsmann rotating the number one spot between Kahn and his longtime competitor whom he had been attempting to fend off, Jens Lehmann of Arsenal F.C.. On 7 April 2006 Klinsmann announced to use Lehmann as the first-choice goalkeeper in the 2006 World Cup. Kahn decided to stay on as a backup for the competition. Despite their acrimonious pre-tournament battle for Germany’s starting role, Kahn openly accepted Klinsmann’s decision. Kahn and Lehmann embraced and shook hands as the former offered words of encouragement before the quarter-final penalty shootout against Argentina. In the postgame conference, Kahn publicly praised Lehmann for his two decisive penalty saves.
After Germany was eliminated in the semifinals by Italy, Kahn was given the start for the Third Place play-offs held on 8 July 2006. Kahn was also the captain of the team in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack, and so earned his last international appearance for Germany, which defeated Portugal 3-1. Although overshadowed by Bastian Schweinsteiger’s game-winning performance in the match, Kahn played to a high standard, pulling off several saves throughout the match. Kahn deflected a shot by Portuguese forward Pauleta after he beat the German defence, and he later saved Deco’s kick made from just inside the box. Following the match, Oliver Kahn announced his retirement from the German National Team. Throughout his international career he earned 86 caps for Germany, including 49 as team captain. He never won a World Cup, but finished as runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006.(Wikipedia)

Germany's goalkeeper Oliver Kahn Picture

Oliver Kahn Wallpaper

Jorge Burruchaga Picture Gallery

2009-01-10T05:22:00.000-08:00

Jorge Luis Burruchaga (born 9 October, 1962 in Gualeguay, Entre Ríos) is a former Argentine professional football player, and currently a football coach. He played both as an attacking midfielder and striker and is famous for scoring the winning goal in the final of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Burru was part of the team that won the 1986 FIFA World Cup, scoring the goal that gave Argentina the 3:2 victory against Germany in the final match. also participated in all Argentine matches at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He scored a total of 13 goals for Argentina in 59 games between 1983 and 1990.

With Independiente he won an Argentine league in 1983, a Copa Libertadores (top scorer with 6 goals), and an Intercontinental Cup in 1984.

After joining the French championship and FC Nantes in 1985, he was banned for two years from French football in 1994, accused of passive corruption while playing for US Valenciennes-Anzin in a match-fixing scandal involving his side and Olympique de Marseille.

Burruchaga coached Arsenal de Sarandí since its arrival to first division in 2002, and succeeded in keeping the team far from the bottom of the standings. For the 2005/06 season, he signed with Estudiantes de La Plata. In May 2006, he moved to Independiente and resigned on April 2007.

Jorge Burruchaga Picture

Jorge Burruchaga Wallpaper

Jorge Burruchaga Poster

Dennis Bergkamp Best Dutch Footballers

2008-12-30T23:08:00.000-08:00

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.
Raised in a flat in western Amsterdam, Bergkamp was one of four sons of a Catholic plumber. His parents, who were football fanatics, named him after Manchester United, Manchester City and Scotland striker Denis Law.
Bergkamp made his international debut for the Netherlands against Italy on September 26, 1990. His first major tournament was Euro 92, where the Dutch were defending champions. Bergkamp impressed, but the Dutch lost on penalties in the semi-finals to the team that would go on to win the tournament, Denmark, despite Bergkamp scoring both in regular time and in the penalty shoot-out.

Bergkamp also impressed in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, playing in all of his side's matches, scoring a spectacular goal against Brazil, a match the Dutch ultimately lost 3-2. The Netherlands disappointed in Euro 96, with the squad riven by in-fighting, although Bergkamp still scored once, and set up Patrick Kluivert's consolatory goal against England that got the side into the quarter-finals.
Bergkamp scored three times in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, including a memorable winning goal in the final minute of the quarter-final against Argentina. Bergkamp took a leaping first touch to instantly control a long 60-yard aerial pass from Frank de Boer, brought the ball down through Argentine defender Roberto Ayala's legs, and finally finished by firing a volley with the outside of his right foot past the keeper at a tight angle from the right. With three intelligent right-footed touches in a matter of seconds, he was able to turn the game and send his national squad into the semifinal round.
The Netherlands joint-hosted Euro 2000 and were one of the favourites. After progressing through the "group of death", they lost on penalties to Italy in the semi-finals. Bergkamp didn't score at all during the tournament but still played an important role. After the defeat, Bergkamp announced his retirement from international football, because the next major tournament, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, would be played in Japan and South Korea and Bergkamp's aviophobia (see below) would prevent him from travelling there. He did not play the qualification matches, since he thought that it would be unfair to do so.
He ended his international career first on the all-time list of goal scorers for the Dutch national team, with 37 goals in 79 games, although his record has since been passed by Patrick Kluivert.(Wikipedia)

Dennis Bergkamp Wallpaper

Dennis Bergkamp Picture

Gianfranco Zola

2008-12-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

Gianfranco Zola OBE (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.
ola signed his first professional contract with Sardinian team Nuorese in 1984. In 1986 he moved to Torres from Sassari, and three years later he signed for Napoli in Serie A. The young and talented Zola scored two goals as understudy to Diego Maradona as Napoli won the Italian title in 1990. Maradona would prove to be a big influence on Zola's career. The two would spend hours practising free kicks together after training and Zola later said that "I learned everything from Diego. I used to spy on him every time he trained and learned how to curl a free-kick just like him. "He helped Napoli to win the Italian Super Cup in 1991 and he made his debut for the Italian national side under coach Arrigo Sacchi in the same year, winning his first cap against Norway in November. In 1993, Zola left Napoli and joined fellow Serie A side Parma. He won the UEFA Cup with Parma and they were runners-up in Serie A and the Italian Cup in 1995. It was with the blue and yellow club that he cemented his reputation as a creative player. However, coach Carlo Ancelotti came to see Zola as a "square peg" unable to fit into his rigid system. Zola was played out of position and ultimately made available for transfer.

Zola played for his country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, making one appearance in the second round against Nigeria. He was sent off after only a few minutes and was suspended for the two subsequent World Cup matches.
He played in all three group games at Euro 96, and missed a penalty against Germany as Italy surprisingly crashed out in the first round. He scored the only goal of the game in a World Cup qualifying match against England at Wembley in February 1997, and won his final cap for Italy in the return fixture against England in Rome in October 1997. He retired from international play after he was not called up for the 1998 World Cup, finishing with 35 total caps and ten goals.(Wikipedia)

Gianfranco Zola Celebrate Goal

Gianfranco Zola in Parma

Bert Trautmann Top Goalkeeper Germany

2008-12-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann OBE (born 22 October 1923) is a German football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Raised during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper. He fought at the Eastern Front for three years, earning five medals including an Iron Cross. Later in the war he was transferred to the Western Front, where he was captured by the British as the war drew to a close. One of only 90 of his original 1,000-man regiment to survive the war, he was transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. Trautmann refused an offer of repatriation, and following his release in 1948 he settled in Lancashire, combining farm work with playing as goalkeeper for local football team St Helens Town.
Performances for St Helens gained Trautmann a reputation as an able goalkeeper, resulting in interest from Football League clubs. In October 1949 he signed for Manchester City, a club playing in the highest level of football in the country, the First Division. The club's decision to sign a former Axis paratrooper sparked protests, with 20,000 people attending a demonstration. Over time he gained acceptance through his performances in the City goal, playing all but five of the club's next 250 matches.

Named FWA Footballer of the Year for 1956, Trautmann entered football folklore with his performance in the 1956 FA (Football Association) Cup Final. With 15 minutes of the match remaining Trautmann suffered a serious injury after diving at the feet of Birmingham City's Peter Murphy. Despite his injury he continued to play, making crucial saves to preserve his team's 3–1 lead. His neck was noticeably crooked as he collected his winners' medal; three days later an X-ray revealed it to be broken.
Trautmann continued to play for Manchester City until 1964, making 545 appearances. After ending his playing career he moved into management, first with lower-division sides in England and Germany, and later as part of a German Football Association development scheme that took him to several countries including Burma, Tanzania and Pakistan. In 2004 he was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for promoting Anglo-German understanding through football.
Trautmann was born on 22 October 1923 in Walle, a middle class area in west Bremen, living with his father Carl, who worked in a fertiliser factory by the docks, and his mother Frieda, a housewife. He had one brother, Karl-Heinz, three years his junior, with whom he enjoyed a close relationship. The bleak economic climate of the early 1930s forced the Trautmanns to sell their house and move to an apartment block in the working class area of Gröpelingen, where Bernhard lived until 1941. The young Bernhard had a keen interest in sports, playing football, handball and völkerball (a form of dodgeball). To this end he joined the YMCA and football club Blau und Weisse. He took to playing for the football club with enthusiasm, but the YMCA activities did not hold his attention to the same extent. In August 1933 he joined a new organisation instead, the Jungvolk, a precursor to the Hitler Youth. The following year, he won several local junior athletics events, and was awarded a certificate for athletic excellence signed by Paul von Hindenburg, the President of Germany. At the onset of the Second World War, Trautmann was working as an apprentice motor mechanic.

Manchester City returned to the top flight at the first attempt, and in the following years Trautmann established himself as one of the best keepers in the league, playing all but five of his club's next 250 league matches. By 1952 his fame had spread to his home country, leading Schalke to offer Manchester City £1,000 for his services. The offer was flatly refused, the club responding that they thought Trautmann to be worth twenty times more.
In the mid-1950s Manchester City manager Les McDowall introduced a new tactical system using a deep-lying centre-forward, which became known as the Revie Plan after Don Revie, who played the centre-forward role. The system depended on maintaining possession of the ball wherever possible, which required Trautmann to make use of his throwing ability. For goalkeepers of Trautmann's era it was usual to kick the ball as far as possible downfield after making a save. In contrast Trautmann, influenced by the Hungarian goalkeeper Gyula Grosics, sought to start attacks by throwing the ball to a wing-half, typically Ken Barnes or John McTavish. The wing-half would then pass to Revie, who developed the attack further. Using this system the club reached the 1955 FA Cup Final, in which Trautmann became the first German to play in an FA Cup final. City faced Newcastle United, the winners of the cup in 1951 and 1952. Nerves affected the City players, and they went behind to a Jackie Milburn goal after only 45 seconds. Further problems were caused by the loss of Jimmy Meadows to injury after 18 minutes, leaving City with 10 men. The man advantage meant Trautmann's ability to start attacks from throws was limited. Though City equalised in the first half, they struggled in the second, and after 57 minutes Trautmann was outwitted by Bobby Mitchell, who scored Newcastle's second goal. The match finished as a comfortable 3–1 win for Newcastle, and Trautmann gained only a runners-up medal.

Wembley Stadium, the venue for the 1955 and 1956 FA Cup finals
Though defeated in the 1955 final, Manchester City had another strong season in 1955–56, finishing fourth in the league and again reaching the FA Cup final, in which they faced Birmingham City. Trautmann was one of the team's most prominent performers. He had won the FWA Footballer of the Year Award shortly before the 1956 cup final, the first goalkeeper to win the award. Two days later Trautmann stepped out onto the Wembley pitch for the match that gained him worldwide acclaim. Nervousness about the events of the previous year contributed to the opposition scoring an early goal. The City team were more settled on this occasion however, and scored an early goal themselves, a left footed strike by Joe Hayes. Birmingham equalised on 14 minutes. The match remained level until midway through the second half, when Jack Dyson and Bobby Johnstone scored two goals in as many minutes to give Manchester City a 3–1 lead. Birmingham attacked strongly in the next ten minutes. In the 75th minute Trautmann, diving at an incoming ball, was knocked out in a collision with Birmingham's Peter Murphy in which he was hit in the neck by Murphy's right knee. No substitutes were permitted, so Trautmann, dazed and unsteady on his feet, carried on. For the remaining 15 minutes he defended his net, making a crucial interception to deny Murphy once more. Manchester City held on for the victory, and Trautmann was the hero of the final due to his spectacular saves in the last minutes of the match. His neck continued to cause him pain, and Prince Phillip commented on its crooked state as he gave Trautmann his winner's medal. Trautmann attended that evening's post-match banquet despite being unable to move his head, and went to bed expecting the injury to heal with rest. As the pain did not recede, the following day he went to St George's Hospital, where he was told he merely had a crick in his neck which would go away. Three days later, he got a second opinion from a doctor at Manchester Royal Infirmary. An X-ray revealed he had dislocated five vertebrae in his neck, the second of which was cracked in two. The third vertebra had wedged against the second, preventing further damage which could have cost Trautmann his life.

Trautmann's convalescence took several months, resulting in him missing a large part of the 1956–57 season. Jack Savage deputised during his absence. At the start of December Trautmann played two reserve matches, but lacked confidence. He was restored to the first team on 15 December for a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but conceded three goals. He continued to struggle for form in the remainder of the season, leading to some calls from fans and media for him to retire. Others criticised the club, believing that Trautmann had been forced to play while still not fully recovered from injury.
The 1957–58 season was an unusual one for Manchester City, who became the first and thus far only English team to both score and concede 100 goals in a season. Trautmann played in 34 of these matches, and though he did not play in the 9–2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion, an 8–4 defeat to Leicester City was a record for the most goals conceded by Trautmann in a match at any point in his career, and in the entire season he kept only two clean sheets.
He appeared in 545 matches for City during the 15-year period between 1949 and 1964. Though recognised as one of the leading goalkeepers of his era, he never played for his country. Trautmann met with German national coach Sepp Herberger in 1953, who explained that travel and political implications prevented him from selecting a player who was not readily available, and that he could only consider including Trautmann if he was playing in a German league. Consequently, Trautmann's international isolation prevented him from playing in the 1954 World Cup, in which his countrymen were victorious. Trautmann's only experience of international football came in 1960, when the Football League decided to include non-English players to represent the Football League in representative matches for the first time. Trautmann captained the League against the Irish League, and also played against the Italian League.
In 1964 he finished his career with a testimonial in front of an official crowd of 47,000, though the actual figure was estimated to be closer to 60,000. Trautmann captained a special joint Manchester City & Manchester United XI that included Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, against an England team that included Tom Finney, Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield.(Wikipedia)

Bert Trautmann Photo

Bert Trautmann Wallpaper

Roberto Baggio Top Italian Footballers

2008-12-12T01:44:00.000-08:00

Roberto Baggio (born 18 February 1967) is a retired Italian footballer, among the most technically gifted and popular players in the world throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He played for the Italian national team in three World Cups, and is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He missed a penalty in the final of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, which contributed to Italy losing the trophy to Brazil on penalties. He won both the European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) and the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1993.
Baggio began his professional career at native club Vicenza in Serie C1 during 1982. Fiorentina snapped him up in 1985, and during his years there, he rose to cult status among the team's fans who consider him to be one of their best ever players. He made his Serie A debut on 21 September 1986 against Sampdoria. He scored his first league goal on 10 May 1987 against Napoli in a match best remembered for Napoli winning the Scudetto for the first time in their history.
He was sold to Juventus amid outcry from Fiorentina fans in 1990 for €12 million (US$19 million), the world record transfer for a football player at the time. Following the transfer, there were full scale riots on the streets of Florence where fifty people were injured. Baggio replied to his fans saying: "I was compelled to accept the transfer".

In 1993 he won his lone European club trophy, helping Juventus to the UEFA Cup. His performances earned him both the European Footballer of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year titles.
Baggio won his first Scudetto with Juventus in 1995. This was the first of many league titles to come for Juventus in the 1990s.
After strong pressure from AC Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi, he was sold to the Milanese club. At this time, he had been linked with Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League, but no firm offers were made from either of these clubs.
He helped the club win the Serie A title, becoming the first player to win the scudetto in consecutive years with different teams[citation needed]. Baggio really joined Juventus in a depressed period in their history, and it was revealed years later, in 2005, that he was all set to join Milan when his agent done a deal with Juventus instead, without Baggio knowing about it.
In 1997, when he was thought to be on the downside, Baggio transferred to Bologna in order to resuscitate his career, and after scoring a personal best 22 goals that year, was included in Italy's starting eleven for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in place of the younger and favoured Del Piero. Cesare Maldini has since been severely criticised for starting Del Piero ahead of Baggio, who was clearly in the better form, for the quarter-final match against France. When Baggio did come on for Del Piero, Italy seemed to play a lot better. Cesare Maldini later apologized to Baggio for not giving him the playing time he deserved.

After the 1998 World Cup, Baggio signed with Inter Milan. This proved to be an unfortunate move, as the then coach Marcello Lippi did not favour Baggio and hardly played him. This caused Baggio to lose his place in the national team. In his autobiography, Baggio later declared that Lippi had effectively dumped him after Baggio had refused to point out which Inter's players had expressed negative opinions about the coach. His last contribution to Inter Milan was two goals against Parma in the playoff for the last remaining UEFA Champions League place.
After two years with Inter, in order to be called up for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he transferred to previously unfashionable Brescia. At the start of 2001-02 season, he scored eight goals in the first nine games. Unfortunately, during that season, he tore anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee; despite this severe injury, he came back three games before the end of the season, making a 76 days only recovery. In his first game after comeback, he scored two goals against his former team Fiorentina, the first of them after only two minutes from the start of the match. Then he scored again against another team he played for, Bologna. However, Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni did not take Baggio to Korea and Japan, considering him not fully recovered from injury. Fans and pundits criticised the omission of Baggio, and Italy without the inspiration of Baggio was eliminated before reaching the quarter-finals, failing to reach expectations.

Baggio continued playing at Brescia until his retirement in 2004. He played his last game on May 16, 2004 at the San Siro against Milan. In the 88th minute, Brescia coach Gianni De Biasi subbed Baggio off so he could get his curtain call. The 80,000 present at the San Siro gave him a standing ovation. He ended his career with 205 goals in Serie A, making him the fifth-highest scorer of all time behind Silvio Piola, Gunnar Nordahl, Giuseppe Meazza and José Altafini. His number 10 jersey was retired by Brescia. He scored his 300th career goal on 16 December 2002 in Brescia's 3-1 home victory over Piacenza. He is the first player in over 50 years to reach this milestone, behind only Piola (364) and Meazza (338).
Baggio totalled 27 goals in 56 caps for his national team, the fourth-highest of all time for Italy. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups, with a total of 9 career World Cup goals which puts him even with Christian Vieri and Paolo Rossi as Italy's top World Cup scorers. For all his talent he was never rewarded with a victory in an international competition.(Wikipedia)

Roberto Baggio Photo

Ronaldo Best Brazilian Footballers

2008-12-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima (pronounced [xo'nawdʊ lu'iz na'zaɾjʊ dʒɪ 'limɐ]; born September 18, 1976. in Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro), generally referred to simply as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian professional footballer.
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 has won three FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 1996, 1997, 2002 and is one of two men to have won the award three times, along with former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane. He also won two "Ballon d'Or" awards in 1997 and 2002. Ronaldo has been nicknamed "The Phenomenon" (Portuguese: O Fenômeno, Spanish: El Fenómeno). Pelé named him one of the 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. In 2007 France Football named him in their best starting XI of all time.
Ronaldo made his international debut for Brazil in 1994, in a friendly match in Recife against Argentina. He went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA as a 17-year-old but did not play. He came to be known then as Ronaldinho, since Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus, his older team-mate on the tournament, was too called Ronaldo (and nicknamed Ronaldão to further distinguish them). Another Brazilian player, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, who is widely known as Ronaldinho, would come to be called Ronaldinho Gaúcho when he joined the Brazilian main national team in 1999.

In the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ronaldo played with the name Ronaldinho ("little Ronaldo") on his shirt, since centre back Ronaldo Guiaro, two years his senior, was one of his teammates. Ronaldo won bronze medal in Atlanta.
Voted the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997, he scored four goals and made three assists during the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The night before the final, he suffered a convulsive fit. He was initially removed from the starting lineup 72 minutes before the match but he requested to play and was later reinstated by coach Mario Zagallo. Ronaldo did not perform well and he was injured in a collision with French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. Brazil lost the final to hosts France 3-0. Adrian Williams, professor of clinical neurology at Birmingham University, said that Ronaldo should not have played, saying that he would have been feeling the after effects of the seizure and that "there is no way that he would have been able to perform to the best of his ability within 24 hours of his first fit -- if it was his first fit."

Ronaldo won the Golden Shoe as the top scorer in the 2002 FIFA World Cup with eight goals. He scored against every team he came up against except England in the quarter finals and scored two in the final against Germany, helping Brazil win their fifth World Cup title. He also equaled Pelé's Brazilian record of 12 World Cup goals, adding to the four he scored in the 1998 tournament.
On June 2, 2004, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick of penalties for Brazil against archrivals Argentina in a CONMEBOL qualifier for the 2006 World Cup.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although Brazil won their first two group games against Croatia and Australia, respectively, Ronaldo was repeatedly jeered for being overweight and slow (Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva questioned the national coach "Ronaldo is fat or isn't he?"). Nonetheless, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept him in the starting lineup in face of calls to have Ronaldo replaced. With his two goals against Japan in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he became the 20th player ever to score in three different FIFA World Cups. Ronaldo scored in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. On June 27, 2006, he broke the all-time World Cup Finals scoring record of 14, held by Gerd Müller after scoring his 15th World Cup goal against Ghana in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Round of 16. He also equaled a much less talked about mark: with his third goal of the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became only the second player ever (Jürgen Klinsmann being the other) to score at least three goals in each of three World Cups. However, Brazil were knocked out by France 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
The fallout after Brazil's disappointing performance in the World Cup saw Brazil appoint former captain Dunga as manager. His attempt to end the star culture of the Brazilian national team saw him drop Ronaldo not only from the starting line-up but from the squad altogether. He hasn't been selected since. He is fifteen goals away from becoming Brazil's all-time top-scorer.(Wikipedia)

Ronaldo Photo

Ronaldo

Preben Elkjær Legend Danish Footballers

2008-12-12T01:19:00.000-08:00

Preben Elkjær Larsen (born 11 September 1957 in Copenhagen) is a former Danish professional football player, simply referred to as Preben Elkjær. He was a striker and his aggressive style of play was well combined with the calmness and vision of the younger Michael Laudrup when they played side by side on the Danish national team from 1982–1988.
In 1984 he finished 3rd and in 1985 2nd in the Ballon D'or awards. Both times surpassed by Michel Platini and once by Jean Tigana.
Elkjær was known as a notorious smoker — to much dismay for his varying coaches. His playing style, though, was not short of breath, and was dominated by a rock-like determination. He never seemed to give up on a "lost" ball — from time to time resulting in a goal, when the opponent had deemed the ball over the line and out of play, only to see Elkjær chase it down.

He is one of the few players in the history of football who combined a tank-like physique with great dribbling abilities. Going on his own was one of his trademarks, sometimes to the frustration of his team mates, though more often to their joy, as he would often win a game all on his own. His aggression was matched by few and whenever he would receive the ball with his back to the goal he would immediately turn with the ball and attempt to head for goal. His shear will and determination mixed with his marvellous abilities made him a true inspiration for his team mates and a fan-favorite whereever he would play.
At international level, Elkjær made his international debut for Denmark on 22 June 1977, aged 19 years 284 days, at home against Finland, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win for his country. He played a prominent role in the UEFA Euro 1984, scoring two goals for the Danish team which paved the way for his move to Italian football. During the tournament the Danes looked promising, and played attractive attacking football, but they went out at the semi-final stage, losing to Spain on penalties. Elkjær most famously missed his penalty kick, sending the ball high over the goal.
Elkjær then played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where Denmark surprised many observers by progressing from the first round before being once again knocked out by Spain. In that tournament Elkjær scored four goals, including a hat-trick against Uruguay. He won the adidas Bronze Ball as the third best player in the tournament. In 1988, Elkjær received the last cap for his country on 14 June 1988, aged 30 years 277 days, when Denmark lost 2–0 to West Germany in the Euro 88 tournament. In total, he played 69 times for Denmark and scored 38 goals, and became one of the most loved footballers Denmark has ever seen. Elkjær had a famously no-nonsense and spirited approach to his role as a fox-in-the-box always lurking for a scoring opportunity. This coupled with a broad grin and cheeky humour endeared him to the crowds — if not the referees — and to this day he is regarded of as one of Scandinavia's all-time greatest forwards.(Wikipedia)

Preben Elkjær Photo

Preben Elkjaer Wallpaper

Luigi 'Gigi' Riva Rambo di Tuano Italian Footballer

2008-12-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

Luigi Riva (born November 7, 1944), best known as Gigi Riva or by his nickname Rombo di Tuono (Thunder), is a former Italian footballer, the all-time leading scorer for the Italian national team. He was one of the best forwards of his time and had a fantastic scoring record for Cagliari thanks to his great heading ability, fantastic left foot and composure in front of goal.
Riva was born in Leggiuno, in the province of Varese, Lombardy.
His career started in 1962 when he joined Legnano. He was acquired by Cagliari the next season and was to stay there for the rest of his career, despite the attention of Brentford F.C. He made his league debut for Cagliari on September 13, 1964, when the team lost 12-1 against Roma. He was Serie A top-scorer one time with Cagliari, in 1970. His only Serie A title came in 1970.

He made his international debut on June 27, 1965 in a 2-1 defeat against Hungary. He would go on to become Italy's top-goalscorer of all-time, with 35 goals in just 42 matches and would win the 1968 European Championships. In the 1970 World Cup in Mexico the Italian team finished runners up after losing 4-1 to Brazil in the final, before Mexico 70 he had scored 19 goals in 16 matches. However he was Italy's topscorer in the competition and he netted the crucial extra-time goal - his 22nd in 21 internationals - against Germany in the semi-final.
He turned down a move to Juventus in 1973 at the age of 29 in order to remain with Cagliari, but, together with many other members of the Italian squad, displayed a series of disappointing performances at the 1974 World Cup, and he was eventually dropped for the last game against Poland.
His career was blighted by major injuries. He broke his left leg playing for the national side against Portugal shortly before the 1966 World Cup. He broke his right leg, again on international duty, this time against Austria just after the 1970 World Cup. In 1976, he ruptured a tendon in his right thigh playing for Cagliari against Milan. He never successfully recovered and, despite comeback attempts, eventually retired in 1978. He became an executive with Cagliari. He is currently a team managing staff member for the Italian national football team, and was also a member of the Italian national team who won the 2006 World Cup under his supervision. For his performances at Cagliari his No.11 jersey was retired.(Wikipedia)

Luigi 'Gigi' Riva Rambo di Tuano Italian Footballer

Luigi 'Gigi' Riva Photo

David Ginola Legend French Football

2008-12-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

David Ginola (born 25 January 1967 in Gassin, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) is a former French international football player who has also worked as an actor and model.
He began his football career in his native France before moving to England in 1995 when he signed for Newcastle United and stayed in the country until retiring seven years later, having subsequently turned out for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton. He was also a regular player for the French national team during the 1990s.
During his career he cultivated a reputation as a stylish maverick, often clashing with his coaches. Since his retirement from the game in 2002 he has become involved in several new pursuits, including acting.
Ginola played at club level for Toulon (1985–88), Racing Club Paris (1988–90), Brest (1990–92), Paris Saint-Germain (1992–95), Newcastle United (1995–97), Tottenham Hotspur (1997–2000), Aston Villa (2000–2002) and Everton (2002).

Ginola made his first senior appearance for Sporting Toulon as a eighteen year-old in a 1985 2-0 victory away at Metz. He played fourteen times in his first season, and by 1986 he was a regular in the Toulon line-up.
In 1988 he moved to Racing Club Paris, where he remained until signing for Brest in 1990 and Paris-Saint Germain in 1992.
Although Ginola was a very prominent French player, he did not see much action with the French national team, having been capped only 17 times in his career.[1]
In qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, France needed only a draw at home to Bulgaria in their final game, with the match poised at 1–1 Ginola lost possession instead of holding onto the ball and the move resulted in Emil Kostadinov scoring a surprise winner to knock France out. The French manager Gérard Houllier blamed Ginola for the defeat, and he was subsequently branded an assassin of French football. After being barracked by French fans, Ginola moved to England with Newcastle United

Aimé Jacquet did not select Ginola for any major tournaments. Ginola played his last match for the national team in 1995. He played no part in the French FIFA World Cup winning squad of 1998, nor the side that won the European Championship in 2000.
Ginola was renowned for his "magical" touch on the ball and his ability to get past players from any type of position and then manage to score a goal. His ability to do that was shown in games for Tottenham and Newcastle, with his most memorable goal in Newcastle's stunning 5–0 win over Premier League giants Manchester United on 20 October 1996, becoming a flamboyant part of the memorable "Entertainers" Newcastle side of his era, which also featured other highly acclaimed players including Les Ferdinand, Rob Lee and Keith Gillespie.
In 1999 before the Euro 2000 tournament, Dutch legend Johan Cruiff remarked that it was his belief that Ginola was currently the best player in the world.(Wikipedia)

David Ginola Picture

David Ginola Legend French Football

José Luis Chilavert Best Paraguayan Football

2008-12-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

José Luis Félix Chilavert González (born July 27, 1965 in Luque, Departamento Central) is a Paraguayan former football goalkeeper and free kick specialist. He was a three-time IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award winner. Chilavert was also known for his skills as a free kick specialist, and often took penalties. His pioneering of this expertise in his position made him the all-time leading scorer among professional keepers until Brazilian Rogério Ceni passed him in 2006. He scored 62 goals in his professional career, many of them crucial, including eight in international matches. Four of his international goals were scored during Paraguay's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Chilavert was also known for his eccentricity and at times fiery temper, which brought him his fair share of controversies; most notorious among which was being sent off for brawling with ex-Newcastle player Faustino Asprilla.
Chilavert made his debut as a football player at the age of 17, with the team Sportivo Luqueño, who were a second division team at that time. In 1989, he played for the Paraguayan national team for the first time. By then he had already reached division one football, with Argentina's San Lorenzo.

He later moved to Spain, where he played with for Real Zaragoza. He then returned to Argentina, where he played with Vélez Sársfield, helping them win the Argentine championship four times as well as the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup, both in 1994. In 1999, he became the first goalkeeper to score a hat-trick in the history of football, while playing for Vélez against Ferro Carril Oeste, scoring all three goals through penalties. He also scored a memorable free-kick from behind the half-way line against River Plate.
He was voted World Goalkeeper of the Year by the IFFHS in 1995, 1997, and 1998. In 1998, he participated in the World Cup, where he became the first goalkeeper ever to take a direct free kick in World Cup finals (almost scoring), against Bulgaria; he received an ovation when he crossed the pitch to try to score. With two clean sheets in the first round, he helped take Paraguay to the round of sixteen, where the team lost to France on a golden goal. Chilavert had made boasts about being the Cup's best goalkeeper before the tournament.
After a qualifying game for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he spat on Brazil's Roberto Carlos, an action which caused FIFA to give him a three-match suspension and forced him to watch the first game of the World Cup from the stands.
He had 74 international caps for Paraguay and a goalkeeper-record of eight international goals.(Wikipedia)

José Luis Chilavert Picture

José Luis Chilavert Best Paraguayan Football

Claudio Caniggia Legend Argentine Football

2008-12-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

Claudio Paul Caniggia (born January 9, 1967 in Henderson, Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine football forward, who played 50 times for the Argentine national team between 1987 and 2002. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both rival clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors.
Caniggia was capped 50 times for Argentina, scoring 16 goals. Most of these caps came in the early 1990s. He played at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, scoring 4 goals in 8 matches. Contrary to popular belief and largely due to loose interpretation, Caniggia was not a striker, but rather a playmaker forward. Throughout the Copa América 1991, Caniggia asserted his dominance and was arguably the most dynamic player. He scored 2 goals and made 4 assists in the tournament.

To Argentine football fans, Claudio has always been a strange footballer, playing for many different clubs in many different countries, which is why it is impossible to associate him with a single club. Instead he holds a unique place in their affections. Because when they think of El Pajaro, it is always in the "celeste and blanca" colours of the national team. Claudio is synonymous with World Cup games, winning goals and triumphs in the Argentinian jersey.
Caniggia is great friends with Argentine superstar Diego Maradona; the duo once celebrated a goal with a kiss on the lips. Claudio's wife at that time, model Mariana Nannis, said: "At times I believe Diego is in love with my husband. It must be the long hair and big muscles."
At the 1990 World Cup, Caniggia scored two key goals to help Argentina reach the final. He came off the bench in the inaugural match against Cameroon, memorably being fouled thrice in a single dribble as he carried the ball forward, the last, by Benjamin Massing earning the Cameroonian a straight red card (Massing kicked Caniggia so hard his own shoe came off). In the subsequent matches, Caniggia was in the starting lineup. In the round of sixteen, Argentina faced Brazil, and with the score 0-0 after 80 minutes, a pass by Diego Maradona left Caniggia one on one against Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel; Caniggia dribbled past him and scored on the empty goal, giving Argentina the victory and eliminating Brazil from the tournament. The goal gave him legendary status among the Argentine fans for knocking out their chief rivals.

Argentina then beat Yugoslavia on penalty kicks, advancing to semifinals, where they played against Italy. The Italians had not allowed any goals in five matches, and were up 1-0 at halftime. In the second half, Caniggia headed a cross into the net of goalkeeper Walter Zenga, ending his record streak at 517 minutes without conceding a goal, and sending the match into extra time. After no change in the score, penalty kicks were taken, and Argentina won again through this method, advancing to the final. Caniggia had been cautioned in one of the first round matches, and then received another yellow card against Italy, which earned him a suspension. He had to watch the final between his team and Germany from the stands, which Argentina lost 0-1.

Caniggia scored two goals in the 1994 World Cup, both of them in the first round match against Nigeria, the first from a Batistuta freekick rebound and second one from a cleverly taken free kick by Diego Maradona, which he finished sublimely putting the ball in top right hand corner. This was last match in which Maradona would be involved during his World Cup career and this is still considered one of the best teams Argentina has ever had.
After refusing to cut his long hair despite the rules of national coach Daniel Passarella, he was frozen out of the national team for a number of years. He made a brief comeback to the Marcelo Bielsa-coached squad for the 2002 World Cup, but did not play. Nevertheless, he did manage to receive a red card for cursing at the referee from the bench in Argentina's last match against Sweden.

Claudio Caniggia Legend Argentine Football

Claudio Caniggia Photo

Ian Rush Best Welsh Footballers

2008-12-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Ian James Rush, MBE (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former footballer who played as a striker and is best known for playing with Liverpool. Rush was a regular goalscorer for Liverpool FC and the Welsh national football team during the 1980s and 1990s.
At club level, he also represented Chester, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic before retiring from playing in 1999.

After leaving St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, Flint, in 1978, Rush began his career at Football League Third Division side Chester City. After impressing in the youth ranks, he went on to play 34 League games and score 14 goals after making his debut in April 1979 in a 2–2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in midfield, but established himself as a potent centre forward the following season. His first league goal came when Chester drew 2–2 at Gillingham on 15 September 1979 and he became a regular a couple of months later following the sale of regular centre-forward Ian Edwards to Wrexham.

Rush's reputation was enhanced by scoring for Chester in a shock 2–0 FA Cup third round win at Newcastle United in January 1980, with Chester equalling their best run by reaching the last 16 where they narrowly lost to Ipswich Town two rounds later. His last game for Chester was a 2–1 win over Southend United at Sealand Road on 26 April 1980 in which he did not score.
Despite interest from Manchester City, and in spite of Rush being a boyhood Everton fan, Liverpool won the race to sign the 18-year old in April 1980. Manager Bob Paisley paid a record fee for a teenager of £300,000. It remains Chester's record sale 28 years on.
Rush was managed throughout his time at Chester by Alan Oakes, although much of the credit for his development is given to youth manager Cliff Sear. Nearly 20 years later, Rush and Sear worked together on the coaching staff at Wrexham.
Rush made his Welsh debut before he had been handed his first start for Liverpool, playing his first match on 21 May 1980 against Scotland. Rush played regularly for the Welsh national team scoring a record 28 goals in 73 games.

Unfortunately during his career the team never qualified for a major tournament, although in 1991 he scored the winning goal in a memorable Euro 92 qualifier against Germany. Wales would narrowly miss out on qualifying for the finals, as happened during Rush's career for World Cups in 1982, 1986 and 1994 and Euro 88. This puts him in a group with other football legends such as George Best and fellow Welshman Ryan Giggs to have never played in a major international tournament.
Another famous international winner by Rush was in a friendly against Italy in Brescia in June 1988. After a largely disappointing year in Italy, Rush helped silence his critics by bagging the only goal as Wales claimed a shock 1–0 win.(Wikipedia)

Ian Rush Picture

Ian Rush Wallpaper

Giuseppe 'Pepp' Meazza Greatest Italian Players

2008-12-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979) also known as il "Balilla", Peppin, and sometimes Pepp, was an Italian footballer playing mainly for Inter in the 1930s, scoring 243 goals in 361 games for the club. He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest - if not the greatest - Italian players of all-time, as well as the greatest Italian forward of all time. He began his career as all out striker, but showed his skill and ability by also becoming an accomplished midfielder, playing for more than half of his career as inside forward. He was a great leader with excellent shooting and dribbling, an eye for the pass and, despite his middle height, an exceptional heading ability.
His nickname, "il Balilla", was given to him in 1927 by his older teammate Leopoldo Conti, who thought "Pepp", who was only 17 when he joined the senior team, was too young to be associated to the senior team, and was surprised after Inter coach Arpad Weisz decided to give Meazza his debut for Inter in his place. He scored two goals on his debut in a 6-2 win against Milanese Unione Sportiva in the Coppa Volta in Como, leaving old "Poldo" Conti speechless The "Gazzetta dello Sport", the day after his official debut in the Italian championship on the 12th of September, 1927, praised his game "intelligent, fresh, quick", something that didn't happen very frequently during those days.

Meazza was born in Porta Vittoria, Milan. Having lost his father at the age of seven during the tragic fighting of World War I, young Peppe grew up in Milan with his mother, Ersilia who came from Mediglia, helping her sell fruit at the market. However, it was football that was his true calling. She hid his shoes so he would not waste his time, so young Peppin learned to play barefoot. He began playing at six years old on the streets on a team named the "Maestri Campionesi" who played with a ball made of rags. At twelve years old he finally got permission from his mom to pursue being a footballer, and began playing for Gloria F.C.
Meazza was the first Italian football player who became famous worldwide, and was the first player with personal sponsors. He loved his cabriolet, champagne and woman. Meazza was famous for humiliating the best defenders of the era and for sleeping at a brothel the night before a match. He would not get out of bed until his teammates were already done practicing. He also loved the Tango and used this proficiency to make him unpredictable on the field. He was a superb dribbler who despite his speed, never had a single hair out of place, and although he was not tall, was remarkably good in the air. Meazza created many chances for his teammates and scored goals as well. His goals "a foglia morta", the "dead leaf technique", were also feared by goalkeepers. He was a brilliant passer, both-footed, had remarkable field vision and was noted for his turns and spins.

His trademark goals were ones where he would collect the ball at the half-line, dribble through several opponents with a series of twinkle-toed shuffles, and turns, until arriving in front of the goal, where he would stop and invite the goalkeeper to attack him like a matador, before faking a shot, then dribbling past the beaten goalkeeper to slot home easily. In away games, the defenders would often foul and hack him to avoid being humiliated. "Goals à la Meazza" and "finte alla Meazza" have since become popular sayings for Italian football fans to describe a truly inspiring goal off the dribble or a series of jukes. Meazza once said, "There is nothing worse than having a penalty kick saved by a keeper who didn't understand the fake."
Vittorio Pozzo, the mastermind coach behind both Italian World Cup victories, wrote of him: "He was a born forward. He saw the game, understood the situation, distributed the ball carefully and made the team offense operate."
Gianni Brera called him "Il Folber", and his style of play the "fasso-tuto-mi" because he considered him the complete central midfielder and a nimble acrobat. "He was only Italian that stood out amongst the sensational Brazilians and Argentines" said Brera.
Peppino Prisco, who became vice-president of Internazionale in 1963 and won every trophy possible with the club considered him the best of all time and said, "Meazza was great, unbeatable, even if he would occasionally run into a frightful crisis, caused by his intense sexual activity and his passion for the game. When he took over on the field, he did things that left the mouth ajar."
Bruno Acari IV, who played with Meazza on AC Milan and later coached, once said that "Peppino never wanted to hear about tactics. He was a simple person who became a king when he entered the goal box, with a technical ability that was comparable to Pelé."

During the 1958 world cup, while watching the final between Sweden and Brazil, after one of the commentators said that nobody had ever seen a player like Pele before, Franco Rossi began screaming that it was not true, that Meazza was better.
San Siro, the principal stadium in his native city of Milan, which is today shared by Internazionale and crosstown rivals AC Milan, is now officially called Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.(Wikipedia)

Giuseppe Meazza Picture

Giuseppe Meazza Photo

Günter Netzer Legend German Footballers

2008-12-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Günter Netzer (born September 14, 1944 in Mönchengladbach) is a former German football player and manager currently working in the media business and as a TV commentator. He was considered to be one of the greatest passer in the game's history.
He played for the West Germany national team 37 times from 1965 to 1975, scoring six goals and playing a vital role in the country's victory in the European Championship in 1972. He also appeared very briefly (for 21 minutes against East Germany) in the World Cup in 1974, during which time the goal was scored against his team. At this tournament, Wolfgang Overath was the central figure in Germany's midfield; Netzer and Overath were considered to not beeing able to play together.
Netzer was the iconic playmaker and is considered one of the best midfielders of all times, gaining a lot of attention with his long passes and pushes from deep within his own half of the pitch. Apart from his superior ball skills, his natural authority made him the undisputed leader of his team. As a player for Borussia Mönchengladbach, he enjoyed a lot of licence from the management and the coach Hennes Weisweiler, even off the pitch.(Wikipedia)

Günter Netzer Wallpaper

Günter Netzer Picture

Jairzinho Legend Brazilian Footballers

2008-12-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

Jairzinho, birth name Jair Ventura Filho, (born December 25, 1944) is a former Brazilian footballer. A quick, powerful winger, he was a member of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored in every game Brazil played. In doing so, he became one of only 3 players - the others being Alcides Ghiggia and Just Fontaine - in the history of the World Cup to have scored in every game of the tournament. He was listed at number 27 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century, one place ahead of Zinedine Zidane.
Due to the economic and political situation of the time, as well as the Sport Legislation, he played most of his club football in South America where he spent eleven years at Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo. He went on to play in Europe during the final years of his career, a common pattern for South American players until the 1980s, when the economic and political situation changed. Jairzinho replaced his footballing idol Garrincha in both the Botafogo and Brazil teams, and played in three consecutive World Cups.

Jairzinho was born in Rio de Janeiro, where he went through the youth setup at local club Botafogo. He made his professional debut with the club as a striker at the age of fifteen. His hero Garrincha, whom he would eventually replace for both club and country, also played at Botafogo, albeit in Jairzinho's preferred position on the right wing. This resulted in Jairzinho spending most of his early games playing on the left wing or as a centre forward. However, he would fill in as a right winger, by far his strongest position, when Garrincha was injured.
He made his international debut as a 19 year old in 1964 against Portugal, again when Garrincha was injured. He played in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, however, and with Garrincha back in the side, he played as a left winger. Jairzinho struggled to be effective in this position, and he couldn't prevent Brazil from exiting the competition at the first round. When, after the tournament, Garrincha announced his retirement from international football, Jairzinho finally took over his idol's role for Brazil on the right wing.

Now in his favourite position, Jairzinho became a far more effective and consistent performer for both his club and country. At the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Jairzinho was one of Brazil's star players, and made history by scoring in every game for the Seleção, for which he received the epithet "Furacão da Copa" (World Cup Hurricane). He scored his seventh goal of the tournament in Brazil's 4-1 defeat of Italy in the final. However, his impressive goals tally at the finals were not enough to win the Golden Boot, which went to Germany's Gerd Müller, who scored ten goals. However Jairzinho has claimed that FIFA awarded him a "best body on the planet" prize for his athleticism. Following his display in Mexico, Jairzinho moved to Europe to play for French side Marseille. However, he struggled with Marseille and soon returned to Brazil to play for Cruzeiro, with whom he won the Copa Libertadores in 1976. The Cruzeiro team at the time included the likes of Nelinho and Dirceu Lopes.
Jairzinho scored two goals in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which would prove to be his last World Cup for Brazil. He did, however, continue to play for Brazil for another eight years. His final game was on March 3, 1982 against Czechoslovakia in a game which Brazil drew 1-1. He scored 33 goals in 82 games during his international career.
Jairzinho finished his career playing for Portuguesa in Venezuela. Following his retirement Jairzinho became a coach and coached the Gabon national team. However, Jairzinho was sacked by Gabon's Football Federation after a crushing defeat against Angola in a World Cup 2006 Qualifier held in Luanda. Perhaps his greatest achievement as a coach was spotting Ronaldo as a 14 year old whilst he was coaching São Cristóvão. He kick-started the career of the future three-time FIFA World Player of the Year by recommending him to Cruzeiro, his former side, and the Brazil youth team.(Wikipedia)

Jairzinho Picture

Jairzinho Image

Stanley Matthews Legend English Footballers

2008-12-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 — 23 February 2000) was an English football player. Often regarded as one of the greats of the English game, he was the first footballer to be knighted (and is, as of 2008, the only player to have been knighted while still playing), as well as the first European Footballer of the Year and the first Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. Gaining the nicknames The Wizard of the Dribble and The Magician, Matthews retains his reputation as one of the finest dribblers of the ball in the history of association football. A teetotaller he kept fit enough to play at the top level until he was 50 years old, the oldest player ever to play in England's top football division, and did not play his final competitive game until 1970, when he was playing in Malta. Matthews was also an inaugural inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 to honour his contribution to the English game.(Wikipedia)

Stanley Matthews Picture

Stanley Matthews Photo

Stanley Matthews Legend English Footballers

Bobby Moore Best English Footballers

2008-12-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE (12 April 1941 - 24 February 1993) was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup
He won a total of 108 caps for the England team, which at the time of his international retirement in 1973 was a national record. Although this record was later broken by 125-cap goalkeeper Peter Shilton, Moore remains the most capped outfield player ever to play for England.
In 1960, Moore earned a call up to the England under 23 squad. His form and impact on West Ham as a whole earned him a late call-up to the England squad by Walter Winterbottom and the Football Association selection committee in 1962, when final preparations were being made for the summer's World Cup finals in Chile. Moore was uncapped as he flew to South America with the rest of the squad, but made his début on 20 May 1962 in England's final pre-tournament friendly - a 4-0 win over Peru in Lima. Also débuting that day was Tottenham Hotspur defender Maurice Norman. Both proved so impressive that they stayed in the team for the whole of England's participation in the World Cup, which ended in defeat by eventual winners Brazil in the quarter finals at Viña del Mar.
On 29 May, 1963, 22-year-old Moore captained his country for the first time in just his 12th appearance after the retirement of Johnny Haynes and an injury to his successor, Jimmy Armfield. He was the youngest man ever to captain England at the highest level.

England defeated Czechoslovakia 4-2 in the game. Armfield returned to the role of captain afterwards, but new coach Alf Ramsey gave Moore the job permanently during a series of summer friendlies in 1964, organised because England had failed to reach the latter stages of the inaugural European Championships.
1964 turned out to be quite an eventful year for Moore. As well as gaining the England captaincy, he lifted the FA Cup as West Ham defeated Preston North End 3-2 in the final at Wembley, courtesy of a last-minute goal from Ronnie Boyce. On a personal level, Moore also was successfully treated for testicular cancer and was named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
The FA Cup success would become the first of three successful Wembley finals in as many years for Moore. In 1965, he lifted the European Cup Winners Cup after West Ham defeated 1860 Munich 2-0 in the final with both goals coming from Alan Sealey. By now he was the shoo-in skipper for England with 30 caps, and around whom Ramsey was building a team to prove correct his prediction that England would win the 1966 World Cup, to be held on home soil. 1966 had a mixed start for Moore, however - he scored his first England goal in a 1-1 draw with Poland, but then skippered West Ham to the final of the League Cup - in its last season before its transfer to Wembley as a one-off final - which they lost 5-3 on aggregate to West Bromwich Albion. For Moore, who had scored in the first leg, and his West Ham team-mates Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, considerable consolation lay ahead. Moore scored his second and ultimately final England goal in a friendly against Norway, two weeks before the World Cup would begin.(Wikipedia)

A statue of Moore outside Wembley Stadium.

Bobby Moore Picture

Gianluca Vialli Top Italian Striker

2008-12-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

Gianluca Vialli (born July 9, 1964 in Cremona) is a retired Italian football striker and manager. He is one of only six Italian footballers to have won the three main European club competitions.
Vialli's career started in 1980 when, signing for local club Cremonese. After scoring ten goals for the club in the 1983-84 season, he was transferred to Sampdoria. At Sampdoria he formed a prolific strike partnership with team mate and childhood friend Roberto Mancini, earning the nickname The Goal Twins. With Vialli at his best, Sampdoria had the most successful era in its history. They won their first ever Serie A championship in the 1990-91 season, in which Vialli was league top scorer with 19 goals, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1990) - where he scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Anderlecht in the final - and three Italian Cups (in 1985, 1988 and 1989). They also reached the European Cup final in 1992, losing to Spain's F.C. Barcelona.

While at Sampdoria, Vialli made his debut for Italy in a friendly match against Poland in 1985. He scored his first ever national goal in a Euro 88 qualification match against Malta in 1986. He was included in the squad for the 1986 World Cup. He also played at Euro 88 (scoring the winner in Italy's 1-0 win over Spain) and was part of the squad which finished 3rd at Italia '90. Vialli was largely expected to have a huge impact on the tournament and started Italy's first two games.[citation needed] He set up a goal in Italy's opening game with Austria and in the following game he hit the post from a penalty against the USA. His poor form and injury saw him dropped in favour of Roberto Baggio and Toto Schillaci, but he did make a surprise return in the semi-final in place of Baggio. He was substituted in favour of Baggio during the match. In a recent interview with Irish radio station Newstalk Vialli claimed he had also been suffering with a chest infection in the early part of the tournament.[citation needed] He moved to Juventus shortly after the European Cup final loss for a world record fee of £12.5million. Vialli won the UEFA Cup in his first season with Juventus. Coincidentally, he had his last international cap in 1992 also against Malta in a 1994 World Cup qualification match where he also scored, but was left out of the squad for the World Cup finals following a dispute with coach Arrigo Sacchi, after which Vialli declared he would be supporting Brazil. He won another Scudetto and Italian Cup with Juve in 1995, scoring 16 goals during the season, but Juve were denied a treble after defeat in the UEFA Cup final to Parma, despite Vialli scoring a spectacular second leg goal. He ended his time in Turin by captaining the side to a Champions League final win over Ajax Amsterdam in 1996.

Vialli joined Chelsea in the summer of 1996 for $1million a year (after rejecting an offer from Rangers) as part of manager Ruud Gullit's cosmopolitan rebuilding of the side, and won the FA Cup in his first season, including two goals in a spectacular 4-2 comeback over Liverpool in the fourth round, but a feud with Gullit saw him regularly left out of the starting line-up; in the final itself he was limited to a five-minute cameo appearance as a late substitute. During the 1997-98 season, he scored four goals in a win over Barnsley and a hat-trick against Norwegian side Tromsø in the Cup Winners' Cup, but still couldn't cement his place in the side.(Wikipedia)

Gianluca Vialli Picture

Marco Van Basten Top Dutch Footballers

2008-12-09T00:59:00.000-08:00

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.
Marco van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht, where he started his football career at the age of seven. Van Basten's first club was a local team, EDO. After one year, he went to UVV Utrecht. After spending ten years there, he moved to another club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk, where he played very briefly, just before Ajax signed him. He played his first game for Ajax in April 1982, scoring at his debut in the 5-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen.
Van Basten became a prolific goalscorer while at Ajax and displayed a brilliant technique. During the 1982-83 season he had European top scorer, Wim Kieft, as his main rival for Ajax's centre forward position, which caused him to play only 20 games, scoring 9 goals. However, Kieft was sold to Serie A club Pisa the next season, and Ajax continued the mid-eighties with the teenage forward.
He became top scorer in the following four seasons (1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987), scoring 117 goals in 112 matches. A highlight of this run was the season 1985-86, when he scored 37 goals in 26 matches (including six against Sparta and five against Heracles) in the Eredivisie, making him the winner of the European Golden Boot that year. In the 1986-87 season, Van Basten scored the winning goal in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against FC Lokomotive Leipzig.
In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi brought Van Basten to Milan, with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard joining him in 1988. In his first season Milan won their first scudetto (league championship) in eight years, but Van Basten played only eleven games and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury. Despite this, Van Basten scored five goals in Euro 88: a hat-trick against England, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a spectacular volley in the final against the Soviet Union, as the Dutch national team won the European Championship. He was top scorer at the tournament, and also the only player to score more than two goals.

Helped by his form in international competition, Van Basten had an excellent season in 1988-89, winning European Footballer of the Year and scoring nineteen goals in Serie A as well as helping Milan demolish Steaua Bucharest by scoring twice to win the European Cup. In 1989-90 he was Capocannoniere (Serie A's leading goal scorer) and Milan defended their European Cup successfully against Benfica. The Dutch national side had a poor World Cup in 1990, going out to West Germany in the second round.
Domestically Milan's 1990-91 season was disappointing as Sampdoria won the scudetto. Van Basten fell out with Milan's manager Arrigo Sacchi and Berlusconi sacked Sacchi to placate him. Managed by Fabio Capello the following season, Milan did not lose a single game in the league and won the championship, van Basten scoring 25 goals and becoming Capocannoniere again. Internationally, the Netherlands reached the semi-final of Euro 92 where they lost to Denmark in a penalty shootout, van Basten having his penalty saved by Peter Schmeichel. In November 1992 he scored four goals against IFK Gothenburg, which is still a UEFA Champions League record for the most goals scored by a player in a single match (it was later equalled by Simone Inzaghi in 2000 and Dado Prso in 2004).

Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992-93 season, going 58 matches in total before they lost a game. Van Basten played exceptionally well in the early part of the season and was voted European Player of the Year for a third time (equalling the record of Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini) before his troublesome ankle injury [4] recurred in a game against Ancona. Van Basten underwent another series of operations and returned to Milan for the final few domestic games before they lost the Champions League final to Marseille. The final was Van Basten's final game for Milan. He spent more than two years fighting to make a comeback, but finally conceded defeat in 1995 and announced his retirement from playing.
He did come back for Demetrio Albertini's testimonial match at San Siro however (March 2006), and scored a goal (from a header) before being substituted early in the first half.
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.(Wikipedia)

Marco Van Basten Top Dutch Footballers

Marco Van Basten Picture

Ruud Gullit Top Dutch Footballers

2008-12-09T00:42:00.000-08:00

Ruud Gullit (help·info) (born as Ruud Dil, September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football coach and former player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. He last managed the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer after taking over in November 2007.
Gullit was born Ruud Dil in Amsterdam to George Gullit, an Afro-Surinamese migrant, married with three children, and his buitenvrouw Ria Dil from the Amsterdam Jordaan inner city district. The family lived in one split level room on the top floor of a small apartment building. Gullit's father worked as an economics teacher at a local school, his mother as a cleaner at the Rijksmuseum.
Gullit developed his football skills in the confines of the Rozendwarsstraat, street football was instrumental in his formative years. Gullit's first team were the Meerboys, where he joined as a junior in 1970. However, at the age of 10 Gullit moved from the Jordaan to Amsterdam Old West where he played street football alongside Frank Rijkaard. Gullit joined the DWS club after his move, and came to the attention of the Dutch youth team, where he played alongside such future greats as Erwin Koeman, Ronald Koeman and Wim Kieft.

It was during his time at DWS that Ruud first took to using his father's surname, rather than his registered surname, as he thought it sounded more like a football player. He retained his mother's surname, officially, and continues to sign all contracts as Ruud Dil.
In 1981, on his 19th birthday, Gullit made his international debut as a substitute for the Netherlands national team against Switzerland, a game the Dutch lost 2-1.
Gullit's early international career was marred by disappointment as the Dutch failed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup and Euro 84. The Dutch missed out in 1984 on goals scored as the Spanish trounced minnows Malta 12-1 in their final qualifying game, when they needed an 11 goal victory to qualify.
There was further disappointment in 1986 when the Dutch missed out on qualification for the World Cup at the hands of neighbours Belgium in a play-off. Having lost 1-0 in Belgium, the Dutch appeared to be set for qualification in Rotterdam as they led 2-0 until Georges Grun put the Belgians through on away goals.
However, Gullit was one of the key players for the Netherlands helping his country win the Euro 88 under coach Rinus Michels. Having lost their opening game of the tournament to the USSR the Dutch beat England and Republic of Ireland to reach the semi-finals. After defeating West Germany 2-1 in Hamburg the Dutch faced the Soviet Union in the final. Gullit opened the scoring with a well-placed header and Marco van Basten scored an incredible volley to cap a 2-0 win. Ruud Gullit was thus the first Dutch captain to hold aloft international silverware.

The Dutch travelled to Italia 90 as one of the favourites, but the team failed to perform as expected. Gullit's knee injuries clearly hampered his play, and his only moment of brilliance was a superb dribble and shot against Ireland which helped the Netherlands qualify for the second round. There they met W Germany in one of the most exciting games of the tournament, though the game was marred by an altercation between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller. The Germans gained revenge for their defeat at Euro 88, by beating the Netherlands 2-1 and going on to win the tournament.
1992 saw the Dutch again among the favourites for silverware in Sweden at Euro 92. Gullit appeared in imperious form against Scotland in their opening game of the tournament as he supplied Dennis Bergkamp with an easy goal. But after drawing with Russia and beating Germany, the Dutch suffered a shock exit on penalties to Denmark, who ended up winning the championship's Henri Delaunay Trophy.
In 1993 Gullit and Holland manager Dick Advocaat began what was to be a long running dispute which ultimately ended Gullit's international career. Advocaat's decision to play Gullit on the right-side of midfield, in a game against England at Wembley, rather than his usual central position upset Gullit and this was exacerbated by his substitution for Marc Overmars.[11] Gullit refused to play for the national team following this but later changed his mind and agreed to return, facing Scotland in May 1994. Shortly before the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Gullit walked out of pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again.(Wikipedia)

Ruud Gullit Picture

Ruud Gullit Photo

Emre Belözoğlu best Turkish Footballers

2008-12-09T00:37:00.000-08:00

Emre Belözoğlu (born 7 September 1980, in Istanbul) is a Turkish footballer who plays for Fenerbahçe. He is one of the most accomplished Turkish players of all time. Technically gifted with an accurate left foot, Emre is a playmaker of rare touch and vision, and boasts a stinging shot. Pelé named Emre in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations.
On 29 March, 1990, Emre became a licensed footballer for Zeytinburnuspor, starting out as an amateur. The fans of Zeytinburnuspor quickly took an interest in Emre, stating his wonderful control with his left foot. Legendary trainer Salih Bulgurlu noticed his amazing talent, and started giving him special training. Bulgurlu looked after Emre for 4 years, teaching him all the basic techniques, improving and harnessing his fitness and stamina dramatically. When Emre turned 12, every football fan in Istanbul knew him as one of the most exciting and promising talents Istanbul had ever laid eyes on.
Emre was quickly discovered by the Galatasaray legend Bülent Ünder, a close friend of legendary Galatasaray manager, Fatih Terim. Bülent Ünder told Salih Bulgurlu, "Wait and see. In two years, this teenager will be playing proudly within the battlegrounds of Europe," and pleaded that Emre join Galatasaray. (Wikipedia)

Emre Belözoğlu best Turkish Footballers

Emre Belözoğlu Picture

Emre Belözoğlu Image

El Hadji Diouf Best Senegalese Footballers

2008-12-09T00:31:00.000-08:00

El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf (Arabic: الحاج ديوف‎) (born January 15, 1981) is a Senegalese footballer. He plays for Sunderland and Senegal. Diouf is a playmaker who plays deep on the wing or as a deep lying forward.
Diouf started his career in France with Sochaux-Montbéliard. He made his first appearance in 2-1 win against Bastia on November 12, 1998 before moving to Stade Rennais for the 1999-00 season. He moved to Lens the following season, spending two years at the Pas-de-Calais club before moving to English club Liverpool in 2002.
Diouf's international career started in April 2000 against Benin. He has earned 41 international caps and scored 16 goals for his country. He played for Senegal in their 2002 FIFA World Cup campaign and was elected to the World Cup All-Star team, after leading Senegal to the quarter-finals and victories over France (1-0) and Sweden (2-1). Senegal eventually lost 1-0 in extratime to Turkey. He was also part of the Senegal team which is the runner-up in 2002 African Nations Cup. Diouf was banned from international football for four matches in 2004 for a verbal assault on referee Ali Bujsaim.
In 2004, he was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé in conjunction with FIFA's centenary celebrations. He is also the youngest player on the list. In October 2007, Diouf retired from international football, stating he had been frustrated by organisational problems with the side. However, Senegal coach Henri Kasperczak announced later in the month that he would name Diouf in the next squad.(Wikipedia)

El Hadji Diouf Image

El Hadji Diouf For Liverpool

El Hadji Diouf Photo

Kenny Dalglish Bestt Scottish Footballers

2008-12-09T00:27:00.000-08:00

Kenneth Mathieson 'Kenny' Dalglish MBE (born 4 March 1951 in Dalmarnock, Glasgow) is a former Scottish international football player. He was famous for his successes with Celtic in the 1970s and with the English club Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s. A prolific goalscorer, he was the first to score 100 league goals in both the English and Scottish leagues. He placed at #1 in Liverpool's list of 100 Players Who Shook The Kop.
Dalglish has also enjoyed success as a club manager: he is one of only three people to have won the Top Flight of the English League (Old Division one pre 1993, and the current FA Premier League) as a manager with two different clubs. He was also the first man to win 100 caps for Scotland (102 in total). With 30 goals, he holds the scoring record for his country jointly with Denis Law.(Wikipedia)

Kenny Dalglish Bestt Scottish Footballers

Kenny Dalglish Picture

Kenny Dalglish Photo

Harald Tony Schumacher Top Germany Goalkeeper

2008-12-05T00:56:00.000-08:00

Harald Anton Schumacher (born March 6, 1954 in Düren, West Germany), commonly known as Toni Schumacher, was a football goalkeeper of the 1980s, member of the West German national team, with which he won the 1980 European Championship and lost two World Cup finals, in 1982 and 1986. He was also involved in a highly controversial incident in the 1982 World Cup semifinal against France when he collided with French defender Patrick Battiston.
On the field, Schumacher was an effective goalkeeper, and was one of the first keepers to master a one-armed throw that could propel the ball well into the opponents' half.
He is married to Jasmin Schumacher and has a daughter (Perla-Marie). He has a son, Oliver, and daughter, Vanessa, from his previous marriage to Marlies Schumacher.
Schumacher was involved in a collision with a French defender, substitute Patrick Battiston, in the semi-final of the 1982 World Cup. Both Battiston and Schumacher were chasing down a long-ball pass, sprinting at each other and the ball from opposite directions. Battiston arrived just before Schumacher, firing off a shot to the left of Schumacher. Just before the resulting collision, Schumacher jumped and put his hands in the air and to his left, as if trying to stop the ball, even though the ball already had passed him. He also seemed to oddly twist and contort his legs off to the side of him while mid-flight, resulting in his buttocks actually making the first impact with Battiston. Afterwards, Battiston was prone, unmoving on the pitch, with his two front teeth knocked out and damaged vertebrae. He received oxygen on the pitch. Michel Platini later said that he thought that Battiston was dead, because "he had no pulse and looked pale". The Dutch referee Charles Corver awarded a goal kick, since Battiston's shot had sailed wide of the goal and rolled out of play. The score was 3-3 after extra time, and Germany won the match on penalties. A photograph of the incident can be seen at the BBC News article "World's worst refereeing decisions".
When West Germany and France met again in World Cup 1986, Battiston said that the incident was "forgiven and forgotten". However, he said that he was wary of getting "close to Schumacher" and said that he would hold a distance of at least 40 meters from the German goalkeeper. Schumacher would not comment on the incident

Harald Tony Schumacher Top Germany Goalkeeper

Harald Tony Schumacher Photo

Rinat Dasayev Best Russian Former Footballers

2008-12-05T00:43:00.000-08:00

Rinat Fayzrakhmanovich Dasayev (Russian: Ринат Файзрахманович Дасаев) (born June 13, 1957 in Astrakhan, Soviet Union) is a Russian former football goalkeeper of Tatar ethnicity, who played in three World Cups with the Soviet national team. He is considered the second best Russian goalkeeper ever behind Lev Yashin,[1] and one of the best in the world in the 1980s. He was awarded the title of the World’s Best Goalkeeper of the Year award in 1988 by the IFFHS. In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
Dasayev, nicknamed “The Iron Curtain”, was a goalkeeper for the Russian football club Spartak Moscow during most of the 1980s. He won the Soviet championship five times and was named Best Soviet Goalkeeper by Ogonyok (Огонëк) magazine in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988. In 1982 he was named Soviet Footballer of the Year. Dasayev played for the Soviet national team at the 1980 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. He appeared in the 1982, 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups, as well as the Euro 88 (where the Soviet Union lost the final and Dasayev was powerless to stop Marco van Basten's legendary volley). In total, he was capped 91 times from 1979 to 1990, being the second-most capped player ever for the Soviet Union.
After his contract ran out with the Spanish club Sevilla FC in the early 1990s, Dasayev retired from the sport.
He was appointed as the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final Ambassador.

Rinat Dasayev Best Russian Former Footballers

Rinat Dasayev Picture

Jay-Jay Okocha Best Nigerian Footballers

2008-12-05T00:33:00.000-08:00

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born 14 August 1973 in Enugu) is a former Nigerian footballer. A midfielder, he was known for being one of the best dribblers and most skillful players in the world at his prime
Okocha first began playing football on the street just like many other football stars, usually with a makeshift ball. In an interview with BBC Sport he said "as far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus! I mean it was amazing!"
In 1990 he joined his hometown club, Nigerian powerhouse Enugu Rangers. In his time at the club he produced many spectacular displays including one where he rounded off and scored a goal, against experienced Nigerian goalkeeper Williams Opara in a match against BCC Lions. Later he travelled to Germany to meet a friend, where he was asked to train with his team after impressing in training, and landed a deal with German Third Division side Borussia Neunkirchen.

Okocha made his official debut for Nigeria in their 2-1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss against Ivory Coast in May 1993.It was not until his second cap and home debut that he became a favourite with the Nigerian supporters. With Nigeria trailing 1-0 against Algeria, in a match they needed to win, he scored from a direct freekick to equalise, before helping the team to a 4-1 win, eventually securing qualification to their first World Cup. In 1994 he was a member of both the victorious 1994 Africa Cup of Nations squad and the World Cup squad who made it to the second round before they lost in a dramatic match against eventual runners-up Italy.
In 1996 Okocha became a member of an arguably more successful Nigerian side, their Olympic gold winning side at the Atlanta Games, later nicknamed Dream Team by the Nigerian press after the USA 1992 Olympic gold winning basketball team. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup hosted by France, Okocha played for a disappointing Super Eagles side who failed to live up to expectations again reaching the round of 16, albeit with less impressive performances save for their 3-2 opening win against Spain. This did not destroy interest in Okocha, who had entertained fans with his trademark skills and dribbles and went on to be named in the squad of the tournament.
Okocha again joined the Super Eagles as they claimed the silver medal in the 2000 African Cup of Nations co-hosted with Ghana. He had a fairly good tournament scoring three goals, two in the opening game against Tunisia and the third in the final against Cameroon, also converting his penalty in the shootout.

After a disappointing Nations Cup in 2002 where Nigeria ended up finishing third, Okocha was named Nigeria captain after Sunday Oliseh and Finidi George were axed from the side. His first tournament as captain came that summer in the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. Playing in Group E, the ‘group of the death’ alongside Argentina, Sweden and England, Nigeria failed to make it to the next round gaining only one point in their final game, a goalless draw against England.
Okocha later led the Nigerian team to a third place finish at the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia, with some breathtaking displays, scoring four goals, most notably the 1000th goal in Nations Cup history against South Africa, and winning the Player of the tournament and joint Golden boot winner.
After failing to help Nigeria qualify for the 2006 World Cup, Okocha announced that he would retire from international scene after the Cup of Nations in Egypt. Injury prevented Okocha from featuring in any of Nigeria's opening fixtures and he did not regain fitness until the semi final loss against Ivory Coast. He then played in his final international appearance in a 2-1 victory in a third place playoff against Senegal, he was then given a standing ovation by the nearly 60,000 attendance when he left the field.
He made a return to the Super Eagles in his testimonial against an African select side in Warri. The game featured former players Daniel Amokachi, Alloysius Agu and John Fashanu, as well as current players Benjani and Sulley Muntari. Nigeria won the game 2-1 with Okocha scoring the winning goal after appearing for the side in the second half.(Wikipedia)

Jay-Jay Okocha Best Nigerian Footballers

Johan Neeskens Legend Dutch Footballers

2008-12-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

Johannes ("Johan") Jacobus Neeskens (born 15 September 1951 in Heemstede, Netherlands) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. As a player, he was an important member of the Dutch national team that finished as runner-ups in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups. He was the assistant coach to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona but was sacked along with Frank Rijkaard as the end of the 2007-08 season. He is currently the head coach of the Dutch B national team
Neeskens, a native of Heemstede, Noord-Holland, started his career at RCH Heemstede in 1968, before being spotted by Rinus Michels and signed for Ajax in 1970. The youngster impressed at right-back, playing in that position for Ajax in the 1971 European Cup Final win against Panathinaikos. During the 1971-72 season, Neeskens took up more of a central midfield role, in support of Johan Cruijff. He adapted well to his new central midfield role because he was a tireless runner, had great technical skills and scored his fair share of goals. Ajax completed a hat-trick of European Cup wins between 1971 and 1973, and Neeskens moved on to FC Barcelona in 1974 to join Cruijff and Michels. There he was nicknamed Johan Segon (Johan the Second).

While his time at Barça was relatively unsuccessful for the club (one cup title ('78) and the 1979 Cup Winners' Cup), he was hugely popular amongst the fans. In 1979, he accepted an offer from the New York Cosmos, spending 5 years at the club. Winding down his career, he also played for FC Groningen (1984-85), Fort Lauderdale Sun (1986-87), FC Baar (1988-90) and FC Zug in Switzerland, finally hanging up his boots in 1991.
Neeskens was capped 49 times for his country, scoring 17 goals. He made his debut against East Germany, and played a crucial role in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, playing in central midfield. Neeskens scored the opening goal of the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany on a penalty kick after only 2 minutes of play.
Four years later, Neeskens was a crucial player for the Dutch (despite a rib injury suffered in the Scotland defeat), in the absence of Cruijff who had retired from international football in 1977. The Netherlands again reached the final, only to lose to the hosts, this time Argentina, going down 3-1 after extra time (the score at the end of regulation was 1-1). He played his final international game in 1981 in a 2-0 defeat against France in a qualifier for the 1982 World Cup.
Neeskens was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.(Wikipedia)

Johan Neeskens Legend Dutch Footballers

Johan Neeskens Picture

Hugo 'Pentapichichi' Sánchez Best Footballers

2008-12-05T00:07:00.000-08:00

Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born July 11, 1958), popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, Hugol, is a former coach of the Mexican National Football Team from February 7, 2007 to March 31, 2008. He played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. As a member of the Mexico national team, he participated in three World Cups.
Hugo Sánchez played twelve seasons in the Spanish Primera División and is the second highest goalscorer in the history of that league. He also played for the Mexico national team for 17 years and participated in the World Cups of 1978, 1986, and 1994. He won the Pichichi Trophy five times, four of them consecutively, a record second only to Telmo Zarra's six trophies.
As a coach, he won two championships as head coach of the club Universidad Nacional and briefly with Necaxa, both teams in the Mexican Primera División. He also had a sixteen-month stint with the Mexican national team, but was fired on March 31, 2008.
In 1999, the IFFHS voted him the 26th best footballer of the 20th Century, and the best footballer from the CONCACAF region.(Wikipedia)

Hugo 'Pentapichichi' Sánchez Best Footballers

Hugo Sánchez Picture

Gianni Rivera il Golden Boy of Italian

2008-12-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

Giovanni ("Gianni") Rivera (born August 18, 1943 in Alessandria) is a former Italian football player who was awarded the European Footballer of the Year prize in 1969. He is currently a politician. During his playing days, he was renowned for his passing range and vision.
Nicknamed il golden boy of Italian football, Rivera was the product of Alessandria's youth football academy and made his debut in Serie A for Alessandria against Internazionale on June 2, 1959 at the age of only fifteen years. He played 26 matches for his first club, in which he scored 6 goals. After one year, he was bought by AC Milan to replace Juan Schiaffino with a record transfer fee for that time, $200,000; he was only sixteen years old. In 1962 he won the first scudetto with AC Milan and on May 13, 1962, at eighteen, he played his first match for the Italian national team against West Germany at the World Cup in Chile, a game that finished with a goalless draw, 0-0.
Due to their win of the 1962 scudetto, AC Milan qualified for the European Cup in 1962, a European Cup which they finally won, beating Benfica 2-1 in the final with Rivera in great form as he was awarded second place in the famous Ballon d'or award, which was won by the Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin.
In the 1967/1968 season, Rivera won with AC Milan both the title and the Cup Winners' Cup. In 1968, he played for Italy as they won at the European Championship. Sadly, he missed the Final match against Yugoslavia through injury he received at the semi-final against Soviet Union. Next season, Rivera took AC Milan to win the Champions Cup as he finally got the Ballon d'or award.
He played with the Squadra Azzurra (Italian national team) in the 1970 FIFA World Cup hosted by Mexico, where they reached the final, losing against Brazil, 4-1. The Italian coach at the 1970 World Cup Final, Ferruccio Valcareggi, believed that Gianni Rivera and his teammate Sandro Mazzola could not co-exist on the same field. Although Gianni Rivera was the most famous of the two, Valcareggi elected to start Mazzola. However, by 2nd round, the Italian offense failed to sparkle. Valcareggi devised a solution he called "staffetta" (relay) to play both players. Mazzola would start in the first half while Rivera would come in at halftime. With this strategy, Rivera helped to beat the host Mexico in the quarterfinal and West Germany in the semifinal, in which Rivera played a major role in one of the best matches in World Cup history, scoring the goal of the success of Italy (4-3). However, in the final against Brazil, Valcareggi did not use Rivera until there were only 8 minutes left in the game, despite Rivera being the hero of the past two matches.

He also played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup when the Italians were knocked out by Poland, 2-1. That was the end of Rivera's career at the national team for which he played in 60 games, scoring 14 goals.
Rivera took AC Milan in two Cup Winners' Cup finals, one in 1973 and another in 1974; the first one was won and the second lost. With the red-and-black team, he also won two consecutive Italian titles, in 1972 and 1973. AC Milan also won several Italian Cups in the 70's but were missing Rivera in most of them, as he was banned because of his statements against Italian referees.
Rivera won the last scudetto of his playing career in 1979 with AC Milan, this also being the tenth title for "The Devils". In total, he played for AC Milan in 501 Serie A matches and scored 160 goals.
After retirement, Rivera became a vice-president at the club. When Silvio Berlusconi bought the club in 1986, he left and entered the Italian political life, being one of the members of the Italian Parliament. He served as an under-secretary for defense under Romano Prodi's government. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
He currently is a Member of the European Parliament for the Uniti nell'Ulivo party.(Wikipedia)

Gianni Rivera Picture

Gianni Rivera il Golden Boy of Italian

Giacinto Facchetti Legend Footballers

2008-12-04T23:48:00.000-08:00

Giacinto Facchetti (18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian football player. From January 2004 until his death, he was President of Internazionale, the club for which he played for his whole career during the 1960s and 1970s, playing 634 official games and scoring 75 goals. He played for the Internazionale team remembered as “La Grande Inter”. Facchetti is remembered as one of the first truly great attacking-full backs. He would make marauding runs upfield using his wonderful dribbling and crossing. He could also play at centre-back where his tackling was used to great effect. He also possessed wonderful stamina and scored important goals.
orn at Treviglio, in the Province of Bergamo (Lombardy), Facchetti began his career with his hometown club, Trevigliese, as a forward. He was soon noticed by Helenio Herrera, then manager of Internazionale, who launched him in Serie A in the late 1960-61 season as a full back. The change of role was a good choice, and eventually Facchetti developed into one of the most effective defenders of Italian football.
With his club, Facchetti won four scudetti in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1971; one Italian Cup in 1978; two European Champions Clubs’ Cups in 1964 and 1965; and two Intercontinental Cups in 1964 and 1965.

Facchetti made his debut for Italy on March 23, 1963. He was capped 94 times (a record at the time, since overtaken only by Dino Zoff, Paolo Maldini and Fabio Cannavaro), wearing the captain's armband 70 times and scoring three goals. He played for his country at the 1966, 1970 (where his team was runner-up to Brazil losing the final by 4-1), and 1974 FIFA World Cups, and was part of the winning Italian squad at Euro 68. In March 2004, Pelé named him one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
Giacinto, however, was not just a great football player and executive. He will always be remembered as a gentleman on the pitch – he was sent off only once (that too for sarcastically applauding the referee) – for his personality, fair play and the leadership skills that made him a natural-born captain both for Inter and the national team.
Over the years Facchetti held various managerial positions at Inter, including technical director, board member, worldwide ambassador and vice president. Facchetti was elected president of Inter on January 19, 2004. After a long illness, he died of pancreatic cancer in Milan on September 4, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Giovanna, and four children.
In an unprecedented move by the club, Inter retired the number 3 shirt in his honour.
On Monday 22 September 2008, a square in the town of Cesano Maderno, Milan was renamed in honor of Giacinto Facchetti(Wikipedia)

Giacinto Facchetti Photo

Giacinto Facchetti in EURO 1968

Giampiero Boniperti Top Living Footballers

2008-12-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

Giampiero Boniperti (born July 4, 1928 in Barengo, Piedmont) is an Italian former football player who played his entire career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961. He also played for the Italian national football team. After retirement from professional football, Boniperti has been a president of Juventus and a deputy to the European Parliament.
With 182 goals in all-competitions, he was the highest goalscorer in Juventus' history for more than 40 years, until his record was bested by Alessandro Del Piero on January 10, 2006. Notably, he is the ninth-highest goalscorer of all-time in Serie A and was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Boniperti signed for Juventus at age 16, he had already built himself a reputation prior to this at youth level, as he scored 11 goals in one match. At a try-out in which he scored seven goals, journalist Carlin proclaimed; "A boy wonder is born to Juve".
The youngster played his first match for the Old Lady in Serie A on March 2, 1947 against A.C. Milan, unfortunately for Boniperti it ended in a 2-1 defeat. His first goal for them in the league was three months later, against Sampdoria. Juventus ended the Serie A 1946-47 season as runners-up to local rivals Torino, Giampiero ended the season with 5 goals in 6 games to his name.
Although he began as a centre forward he was a flexible player, and could play also as an inside forward or on the right wing. His second season with Juventus really put him on the map, he was only just 20 years old, but scored 27 goals during that season, he finished above Valentino Mazzola as the league's topscorer.
Boniperti's first league championship with Juventus was during the 1949-50 season. His scoring rate remained prolific and by his 24th birthday he had scored 100 goals for the Turin giants, adding a second scudetto title to his name in 1951-52. For much of the 1950s Juve and Boniperti struggled to put the club back to the top of the Italian championship.
However, in 1957 La Vecchia Signora signed two forwards; John Charles and Omar Sivori, along with them Boniperti would be a part of what was referred to as "the Magical Trio". The three players excelled impeccably together, during last four seasons at the club Juventus dominated and won Serie A three times (1957-58, 1959-60 and 1960-61) and the Coppa Italia twice (1958-59 and 1959-60).(Wikipedia)

Giampiero Boniperti Picture

Image of Sepp Maier The Cat From Anzing

2008-12-04T20:13:00.003-08:00

Josef Dieter "Sepp" Maier (born 28 February 1944) is a German former professional football goalkeeper.
Born in Metten, Bavaria, he spent the entirety of his professional playing career at Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga Championship four times and the European Cup three times in succession. Between 1966 and 1977 he played in an uninterrupted sequence of 422 matches, still a German national record. He was voted West German footballer of the year three times (1975, 1977 and 1978). His nickname was "Die Katze von Anzing" ("the cat from Anzing").
Maier was selected in the West Germany squad for four consecutive World Cups. In 1966 in England, he was a non-playing deputy to Hans Tilkowski. In 1970 in Mexico, he was the undisputed starter and played all games (including the legendary 3-4 semifinal loss to Italy after extra time) save for the third-place match. In 1974 on home soil, at the top of his footballing abilities, he enjoyed his greatest triumph when he helped his national side win the World Cup, defeating the Netherlands 2-1 in the final in his home city of Munich. In 1978 in Argentina, slightly past his peak but still formidable, he delivered a strong performance but could not prevent his side's failing to advance past the second round. Maier also won the 1972 European Championship with West Germany and reached the final in 1976, losing to Czechoslovakia on penalty kicks. In all, he played for his country 95 times.
As well as his goalkeeping exploits, Maier was famous for his overlong shorts and outsize gloves, and, despite his undoubted talent, was seen in some circles as somewhat of a clown. Famous is his duck hunt in the Olympia Stadion. While Bayern were pressuring the opponent's goal all the time, Maier got bored and a duck had got lost itself in the stadium. Since no shot on goal was to be expected, Sepp Maier went duck hunting instead of paying attention to the match. Needless to say, the duck escaped all the dives Maier made. His career was curtailed in 1979 following a car crash (self-inflicted while under the influence of alcohol) in which he sustained life-threatening injuries. After a near-complete recovery, Maier turned to coaching and has since been goalkeeping coach for both Bayern Munich and the German national side. In October 2004 his contract with the national side was terminated by coach Jürgen Klinsmann after Maier spoke out in favour of Bayern's Oliver Kahn over Jens Lehmann in a dispute over who should be the side's first-choice goalkeeper. Maier retired from Bayern Munich in 2008.(Wikipedia)

Sepp Maier Picture

Sepp Maier Saver

Image of Kevin ' The Gordie Messiah' Keegan

2008-12-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE (born 14 February 1951) is a former footballer, and former England national football team manager who has been manager of various clubs in the English leagues, most notably Newcastle United earning him the nickname The Geordie Messiah.
He began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before moving to Liverpool of Division One in 1971. At Liverpool, Keegan won three First Division titles, two UEFA Cups, two FA Cups and the European Cup. He also gained his first England cap in 1972, and moved to German top-flight club Hamburger SV in the summer of 1977.
At Hamburg he was crowned Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979, won the Bundesliga title in 1978–79, and reached the European Cup final the following year. Keegan moved to Southampton that summer, and spent two seasons at the club before a transfer to second-tier Newcastle United in 1982. He helped Newcastle to promotion in his debut season, and retired from football in 1984, having been capped 63 times for England, scoring 21 goals.
He moved into management at Newcastle United in 1992, again returning the club to the top-flight, as champions. After promotion, Keegan's Newcastle finished in second in the First Division in 1995–96, before leaving the club in 1997. After a spell at Fulham, he took charge of the England team in 1999 but resigned in the autumn of 2000, following a loss against Germany in World Cup qualification (this was also the last game at the old Wembley Stadium). He then became manager of Manchester City in 2001 and spent four years at the club before resigning in 2005. He had been out of football for almost three years when he returned to Newcastle United for a second spell as manager in January 2008. This spell lasted only eight months, however, as Keegan resigned on 4 September 2008 following days of speculation regarding a dispute with the club directors.(Wikipedia)

Kevin Keegan Picture

Kevin Keegan Photo

Kevin Keegan

Ivan Zamorano Best Chile Footballers

2008-12-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

ván Luis Zamorano Zamora (born January 18, 1967 in Santiago) in the Comuna De Maipu is a retired Chilean football striker. He played for several clubs, notably Spanish clubs Sevilla and Real Madrid C.F. as well as Italian club Internazionale. He won the 1994-95 La Liga title and was the season's top scorer with Real Madrid. He also won the UEFA Cup with Internazionale. He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998 World Cup.
In 2004, Zamorano was selected among the FIFA 100, a list of the best living football players in the world compiled by Pelé.
Zamorano started his career at the club Trasandino then he moved to Cobresal in Chile in 1985. In 1988 he moved to Europe to Swiss team FC St. Gallen, scoring 34 goals in 56 matches in three seasons. In 1991 Zamorano debuted in the Spanish Primera División with Sevilla, where he would play 59 matches and score 21 goals before he was sold to Real Madrid for $5 million.
With Real Madrid, between 1992 and 1996, Zamorano won one league, one Copa del Rey, and one Spanish Supercup titles. In 1995, under the coaching of Jorge Valdano, Zamorano helped Real Madrid win the Spanish League title, scoring 27 goals – including four scores against FC Barcelona –, and received the Pichichi Trophy as the season's top scorer. That year, he formed a particularly effective attacking partnership with playmaker Michael Laudrup. In the 1992-93 and 1994-95 seasons, he won the EFE Trophy, which is awarded to the best Ibero-American player in La Liga every year by Spanish news agency EFE. In total, Zamorano appeared 137 times for Real Madrid, scoring 77 goals.
After five seasons in the Spanish league, Zamorano played 4 seasons in Serie A with Internazionale, from 1996 to 2000, where he was the teammate of Youri Djorkaeff, Diego Simeone, Javier Zanetti, and Ronaldo, among others. He was initially the club's premier striker, holding the coveted number nine shirt. However, upon Ronaldo's arrival at the club, he was forced to relinquish it, which led to the somewhat bizarre spectacle of his wearing a shirt bearing the number '1+8', making him therefore still technically a no. 9 striker.[3] In May 1998, Inter won the UEFA Cup after beating Lazio in the final 3-0, with Zamorano scoring the opening goal.
Zamorano would move to Mexico in 2001 to play for América for two seasons, winning the Torneo de Verano in the first season. He concluded his career playing in Colo-Colo, in late 2003, after a professional career spanning more than 16 years.(Wikipedia)

Ivan Zamorano Celebrate Goals

Ivan Zamorano Picture

Paolo Rossi Top Greatest Footballers

2008-12-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

Paolo Rossi (born 23 September 1956 in Prato) is an Italian former football striker. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot/maximo goleador honors, and the Golden Ball. Rossi is the only player to have won all three honours at a single tournament. Lionel Messi in the 2005 U-20 FIFA World Cup in Netherlands and Sergio Aguero in the 2007 U-20 FIFA World Cup staged in Canada accomplsihed this in junior teams. He is listed among Pelé's 125 all-time greatest footballers(Wikipedia)

Paolo Rossi Picture

Paolo Rossi Celebrate Goals

Paolo Rossi in Action

Uwe Seeler Top Germany Footballers

2008-12-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Uwe Seeler (born November 5, 1936 in Hamburg) is a former German football official and retired football player. He played for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West German national team.
Seeler followed in his father's footsteps as a player for Hamburger SV, making his first team debut in 1954 in a German Cup match, aged just under 18, scoring four goals (8-2 vs. Holstein Kiel). In later years, despite tempting offers from Italian and Spanish clubs he remained loyal to Hamburg, working on a second career as a merchant besides playing football, as in those days football stars in Germany did not earn the huge salaries seen now.
Seeler was a gifted striker who, among other things, was renowned for his overhead kick. He scored 137 times in 239 Bundesliga games, 43 times in 72 international games for the German national team, and 21 times in 29 European club tournament games. He was captain of both his club team and the national team for many years. He and his club won the German championship in 1960 and the DFB-Pokal (German FA Cup) in 1963. He was top scorer of the first Bundesliga season 1963-64 and German Footballer of the Year in 1960, 1964 and 1970.
In 1978 he and his former team-mate Franz-Josef Hönig played for Cork Celtic F.C. in a one-off sponsored event. Seeler had ended his active playing career in 1972. However, this match turned out to be an official League of Ireland one and Uwe scored twice. Thus, his overall record of goals scored in League and Cup matches adds up to 509 (HSV 507, Cork Celtic 2). So far, this record has never been topped by a German player.(Wikipedia)

Uwe Seeler Celebrate Goals

Uwe Seeler Top Germany Footballers

Lothar Matthaus Top Germany Footballer

2008-12-03T22:04:00.000-08:00

Lothar Herbert Matthäus (born March 21, 1961) is a German former football player and now manager, currently managing Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup. One year later, he was also named the first ever FIFA World Player of the Year.
He has played in five World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) more than any other outfield player, and holds the record for the most World Cup matches played (25 games). He also won Euro 80, and played in Euro 84, Euro 88, and Euro 2000. In 1999, he was again voted German Footballer of the Year. He is the most capped German player of all time, retiring with a total of 150 appearances (83 of them when the team was called West Germany) and 23 goals for the German national team. Matthäus is a member of the FIFA 100 – a list of 125 of the greatest living football players chosen by Pelé. Maradona said about Matthäus "he is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him" in his book Yo soy el Diego (I am the Diego).
During his career, he usually played as an Attacking Midfielder or Defensive Midfielder, although later in his career he played as a Sweeper. He was renowned for his perceptive passing, positional sense, and well-timed tackling, as well as his explosive shot.(Wikipedia)

Lothar Matthaus Top Germany Footballer

Lothar Matthaus Image

Jurgen Klinsmann Best Germany Footbller

2008-12-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

Jürgen Klinsmann (born 30 July 1964 in Göppingen) is a German football manager and former football player, who played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the 1996 UEFA European Championship. He was one of Germany's premier strikers during the 90s.
He managed the German national team to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup.
On 12 July 2006, Klinsmann officially announced that he would step down as Germany's coach after two years in charge and be replaced by assistant coach Joachim Löw. He took over as coach of Bayern Munich in July 2008, when Ottmar Hitzfeld stepped down to take over as the head coach of the Swiss National Team.(Wikipedia)

Jurgen Klinsmann Picture

Jurgen Klinsmann Best Germany Footbller

Jurgen Klinsmann Photo

Marius Tresor Top 125 Greatest Footballer

2008-12-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Marius Trésor (born January 15, 1950 in Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe) is a retired football defender from France, who was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
Trésor's career began with the French club Ajaccio. He also played for Olympique de Marseille and Girondins de Bordeaux. With Marseille, he won the French Cup in 1976. He also won the Ligue 1 title in 1984 with Girondins de Bordeaux. For the French national team, Trésor played in the World Cup in 1978 and 1982. He obtained 65 international caps, scoring four goals.(Wikipedia)

Marius Tresor Top 125 Greatest Footballer

Marius Tresor Picture

Marius Tresor Pic

Jean Pierre Papin Legend French Footballer

2008-12-03T21:33:00.001-08:00

Jean Pierre Papin Photo
Jean-Pierre Papin (born November 5, 1963 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French former football player and now manager. Between 2006 and 2007 he was the manager of French club RC Strasbourg, but despite leading the club to promotion to Ligue 1, he resigned, citing internal relationship problems. He took over from Guy Roux as RC Lens coach a mere 5 games into the 2007-2008 season.
Papin scored 30 goals for France in 54 matches. He played at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico, where France finished third, and at the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. His last game for the national team was in 1995.
He won the Ballon d'or in 1991. He was the only player to do so while playing in the French league.
At club level, he played for INF Vichy (1983-1984), Valenciennes (1984-1985), Club Brugge (1985-1986), Olympique Marseille (1986-1992), A.C. Milan (1992-1994), Bayern Munich (1994-1996), Bordeaux (1996-1998) and En Avant Guingamp (1998).
During Papin's spell at Olympique Marseille (1988-1992), with the Frenchman as striker and team leader, Marseille won four championship titles in a row (1989-1992), a double in 1989 and reached the final of the Champions Cup in 1991, losing to Red Star Belgrade. During this period, Papin was Division 1's top scorer 5 consecutive times, scoring 157 goals in 254 matches for Marseille. He then joined AC Milan, being the first high-profile French player to join the Serie A since Michel Platini. However, he never established himself as a regular first team member with the rossoneri due to injuries and adaptation problems. He entered as a substitute during the 1993 UEFA Champions League Final where Milan lost to his former club, Marseille. Nevertheless, Papin has kept good memories of his spell in Italy and fequently cites former Milan managers Fabio Capello and Arrigo Sacchi as his models when coaching is concerned. In 1994, he was transferred to Bayern Munich where his season was again plagued by injuries. In his second season in Germany he was part of the side that won the UEFA Cup against Girondins de Bordeaux, a club that Papin would join the following season. With Bordeaux, he lost the final of the 1997 Coupe de la Ligue against Strasbourg. Papin's career ended in 1998 with Second Division side EA Guingamp.
Papin was a prolific striker on the French scene but, contrary to many other French great players, never really became dominant abroad. He was also part of the 'cursed generation' of French players that came between the Platini era of the 80's and the 1998 world champions boasting the likes of Zidane, Thuram, Henry and co. Despite some talented players like Papin, Éric Cantona or David Ginola the French national team fared disappointingly, missing the 1990 and 1994 World Cups - the later after two humiliating defeats at home against Israel and Bulgaria - and being ousted in the group stage of Euro 1992 by Denmark after a perfect record in the qualifications. It was the only period (1989-1996) in French football where clubs actually did better than the national team.
Papin was also iconic in French pop culture because of his caricature in the satiric TV show Les Guignols de l'Info. At first, Papin was depicted as a rather dumb football player (a common stereotype in France), his only obsession being the many different ways to score goals. When Papin experienced difficulties in Italy, the coverage became more sympathetic, especially with the infamous Reviens JPP ! song where even God Himself would urge Papin to come back to his home country, because "France needs you !"(Wikipedia)

Jean Pierre Papin Photo

Jean Pierre Papin Legend French Footballer

Brian Laudrup Top Denmark Footballers

2008-12-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

Brian Laudrup (born 22 February 1969 in Vienna, Austria) is a Danish former professional football player.
Laudrup won the 1992 European Football Championship (Euro 1992) with the Denmark national team, and he was a vital part of the Rangers F.C. team which dominated the Scottish Premier League in the 1990s.
He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers at the FIFA 100 ceremony in March 2004, alongside his older brother Michael Laudrup.(Wikipedia)

Brian Laudrup Picture

Brian Laudrup Top Denmark Footballers

Danish forward Brian Laudrup kisses

Davor Šuker Greatest Footballer

2008-12-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

Davor Šuker, (born January 1, 1968 in Osijek) is a former Croatian footballer. Best known for his goal scoring ability, he played as a striker for a number of European clubs as well as the Croatian national team, where he is the all-time top goal scorer with 45 goals.
Šuker began his footballing career in his hometown, playing for the local first division team NK Osijek as a 16-year-old. During his final season there, he became the league's top goal scorer. He signed with league champions Dinamo Zagreb in 1989. The war in Croatia halted a promising season for the 21-year-old, eventually resulting in Šuker's move to Seville in 1991.
In La Liga Šuker was highly-regarded, showing consistent form with Seville and being amongst the top goal scorers for consecutive seasons. He signed with Real Madrid 5 years later, and was again amongst the league's top scorers, which helped Madrid claim the La Liga title, the Supercup trophy and win the UEFA Champions League during his tenure there.
His move to Arsenal turned out to be a disappointment, as he managed to only rarely find his goal scoring form, but distinguished himself in the Gunners' UEFA Cup final berth in 2000. He concluded his career with shorter spells at West Ham United and in Germany where he played for 1860 Munich.
The crowning moment of his career was the 1998 World Cup in France, where he became the top goal scorer and won the Golden Boot by scoring 6 goals in 7 matches and also won Silver Ball 1998 at France as second best player of tournament (behind Ronaldo), leading the Croatian national team to a third-place finish in their first World Cup appearance. Named as Croatia's Golden Player for the UEFA 2003 Jubilee anniversary, he is also on the FIFA 100 list of the top 125 greatest footballers and is the only Croatian on the list.
He is a vivid supporter of Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team as his family hails from Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina(Wikipedia)

Davor Šuker Greatest Footballer

Davor Suker celebrates a goal

Davor Šuker Picture

Roger Milla Best Cameroonian Footballers

2008-12-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

Roger Milla (born Albert Roger Mooh Miller, May 20, 1952) is a Cameroonian former football forward. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three World Cups for the Cameroon national team. He achieved international stardom at 38 years old, an age at which most footballers have retired, by scoring four goals at the 1990 World Cup and helping the Cameroon team reach quarterfinals. He was named one of the 125 greatest living football players in 2004 by the legendary Brazilian football player Pelé.(wikipedia)

Roger Milla Picture

Roger Milla Best Cameroonian Footballers

Roger Milla Photo

Guillermo Stábile Legend Argentine Footballer

2008-12-02T22:48:00.000-08:00

Guillermo Stábile (January 17, 1905 - December 27, 1966) born in Parque Patricios, Buenos Aires was a Argentine footballer and coach. Stábile is remembered as a prominent figure in football history and one of the first goalscoring heroes.
Stábile played for several clubs during his career; one in South America, three in Europe. He was, however most notable for being the top scorer in the first Football World Cup. His coaching career was also a success, leading Argentina to six Copa América titles.(Wikipedia)

Guillermo Stábile Image

Guillermo Stábile Legend Argentine Footballer

Jan 'Tomek' Tomaszewski Top Poland Footballers

2008-12-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

Jan Tomaszewski (born January 9, 1948) is a retired Polish footballer, who was nicknamed "Tomek", the "Clown" and "The Man That Stopped England". He grew up in Wrocław where his parents were expelled from Wilno after World War II.
A goalkeeper, Tomaszewski is best remembered by some for his performance for Poland against England, in a qualifying match for the 1974 World Cup, which England needed to win. Tomaszewski had been labelled "a clown" by Brian Clough before the match (the two men however became quite friendly in later years), but had the last laugh as he turned in a man-of-the-match performance repeatedly denying England's attackers; the only goal he conceded being a penalty from Allan Clarke. Earlier, Jan Domarski had scored for the Poles. Poland drew the game 1-1 and Poland qualified for the finals in West Germany.
In The Story of the World Cup, Brian Glanville wrote: "In retrospect, to be eliminated by so fine a side as Poland seems no disgrace, but this is a posteriori reasoning. I doubt if England could have made so dazzling a contribution as Poland to the tournament, yet it should be remembered that the Poland which beat England and the Poland which took their place were two very different propositions". (p. 191, 2005 edn.)
Poland went on to claim third place during a tournament in which Tomaszewski saved two penalties in two different matches (from Staffan Tapper and Uli Hoeneß) - the first 'keeper in FIFA World Cup history to do so. Tomaszewski went on to win a silver medal with Poland at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and also played in the 1978 World Cup, where Poland disappointed in only managing to get as far as the second group phase.
Tomaszewski's club career was mainly at ŁKS Łódź, having been forbidden by Poland's communist government to play abroad before the age of 30, even after coming to international attention.
After the 1978 World Cup, he moved abroad, first to Belgian club Beerschot, and then Hércules in Spain, before retiring in 1982. In all he won 59 caps for Poland, making him his country's most-capped 'keeper.
He now works as a commentator and sports journalist. He is known for making controversial comments about football in Poland.(Wikipedia)

Jan Tomaszewski Picture

Jan Tomaszewski Photo

Jan 'Tomek' Tomaszewski Top Poland Footballer

Berti Vogts Top Germany Footballer

2008-12-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (pronounced /bɛɹtiː foːgts/) (born 30 December 1946 in Büttgen, near Düsseldorf, Germany) is a German football manager and former player. He is currently manager of the Azerbaijan national team.(Wikipedia)

Vogts seldom had to settle for second best at club level. His impressive roll of honour included five league championships, one domestic cup title and two UEFA Cup titles all with the same club, Borussia Mönchengladbach. On a personal note, he was named German Player of the Year twice. One trophy that eluded him was the European Cup which he came very close of winning in 1977 when his team lost 3-1 to Liverpool in the final in Rome.
By then he was already a World Cup winner. Three years earlier, West Germany hosted and won the World Cup with Vogts as one of their most important players. He played in all the seven matches including the final where he was marking the Dutch star Johann Cruyff with success. He was infact an ever-present in every of the three World Cups he participated in, making his total of games to 19, beaten by only five other players in World Cup history.
In 1977, Berti took over the captaincy of the national team from Franz Beckenbauer and kept it until after the Argentina World Cup the following year which was no success for him or the team as West Germany bowed out in the second phase. He retired as a player in 1979 and started working as a scout before taking over the German national team as coach in 1990 leading them to victory in Euro 1996. (planetworldcup.com)

Berti Vogts Picture

Berti Vogts Top Germany Footballer

Berti Vogts in Action

Rudi Völler Legend Germany Footballers

2008-12-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

Rudolf 'Rudi' Völler (born April 13, 1960) is a German former international football striker, and a former manager of the German national team. He won the FIFA World Cup in 1990 as a player and coached the national team to second place at the 2002 World Cup. He was born in Hanau, Hesse.(Wikipedia)

Euro 1984 was Rudi’s first big tournament, but despite his two goals, West Germany were eliminated already in the first round. Two years later in the Mexico World Cup, the Germans once again progressed far, but Völler spent much time on the bench as coach Beckenbauer preferred Klaus Allofs to partner Rummenigge in attack. He came on as a substitute in the semifinal to score the second in the 2-0 win over France, and in the final he came from the bench to equalize, but Argentina scored a late winner and became champions.
Having lost in the semifinal to Holland at Euro 1988, Völler and Germany met the Dutch again in the second round of the World Cup in Italy 1990. This time Rudi was involved in an incident with Dutchman Rijkaard which saw them both get sent off. Völler was back for the semifinal with England and in the final he was fouled inside the penalty area which lead to Andreas Brehme scoring the winning goal against Argentina five minutes from the end. Völler scored three goals in the tournament and could lift the World Cup trophy having played the final at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, his homeground, as he was playing for AS Roma at the time.
Rudi later played for Olympique Marseille and won the Champions League before moving back to Germany in 1994 to play for Bayer Leverkusen. He played in his last World Cup in USA where he as a 34 year-old spent much time on the bench, but scored two goals as his team was knocked out against all odds by Bulgaria in the quarterfinal. That defeat marked the end of his 12 year international career. He retired in 1996 and is now caretaker manager for the German national team.(planetworldcup.com)

Rudi Völler Wallpaper

Rijkaard spits at Rudi Völler’s

Rudi Völler Picture

Garrincha Best Brazilian Player

2008-12-02T01:01:00.000-08:00

Manuel Francisco dos Santos (October 28, 1933 – January 20, 1983), known by the nickname "Garrincha" ("little bird"), was a Brazilian football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962, and played the majority of his professional career for Brazilian club Botafogo. FIFA considers him the best Brazilian player ever after Pelé, and in 1999, he was similarly ranked by the IFFHS, who voted him the second best Brazilian player of the twentieth century; many eminent football historians in Brazil have also referred to him being at least the equal of Pelé. Widely regarded as the best dribbler in football history, he was also an excellent crosser and free-kick taker.
The word garrincha itself means wren. Garrincha was also known as Mané (short for Manuel) by his friends, a name which in Brazil also means "fool" or "half wit". It was possibly used in that sense at some point – or even as a double entendre due to Garrincha's child-like personality. The combined "Mané Garrincha" is common among fans in Brazil. Due to his immense popularity in Brazil, he was also called Alegria do Povo (Joy of the People) and Anjo de Pernas Tortas (Angel with Bent Legs)(Wikipedia)

Garrincha Wallpaper

Garrincha Best Brazilian Player

Garrincha Picture

Andreas Brehme Top Greatest Footballers

2008-12-02T00:54:00.000-08:00

Andreas "Andy" Brehme (born 9 November 1960) is a German football coach and former football defender. He is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA world cup finals against Argentina on a 85th minute penalty kick.
He is considered to be one of the greatest free-kick takers and crossers of all time. Brehme's special skill was the fact that he was one of the few players in the world who could play with both feet equally well, making him very valuable as an outfield player. He was well known for taking penalties (although not exclusively) with his right foot and taking free kicks and corners with his left foot. It's believed that Brehme felt his right foot was more accurate than his left, but his left was harder. This is shown when in 1990, Brehme placed spot kick was taken with his right, but four years earlier in 1986. Brehme scored in the quarter final penalty shootout against Mexico, with a left foot piledriver.(Wikipedia)

Andreas Brehme Top Greatest Footballers

Andreas Brehme Wallpapers

Brehme was tempted to try his luck in the Italian league and joined Inter Milan along with his German teammates Klinsmann and Matthäus. He won the Serie A in 1989 and a year later he won the World Cup with West Germany playing several of the matches in his home stadium, the San Siro. Brehme scored three goals including the matchwinning penalty in the final against Argentina five minutes from time to revenge the defeat of four years earlier.
Andreas later returned home to German football to have a brief spell with Bayern Munich before joining Kaiserslautern again where he won a German Cup and another Bundesliga title at the age of 37 in 1998, the year he retired. His last World Cup was in 1994 in USA where he was one of the veterans axed after the quarterfinal defeat to Bulgaria. (planetworldcup.com)

Andreas Brehme Legend Germany

Carlos Valderrama Top Unique Footballers

2008-12-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (born September 2, 1961 in Santa Marta, Colombia) is a former Colombian footballer. He was instantly recognisable for the mass of blond, permed hair that he habitually sported. Between 1985 and 1998 he represented Colombia in 111 full internationals, making him the most capped player in the country's history. He is generally regarded as Colombia's finest ever player.
Nicknamed El Pibe ("The kid"), Valderrama was a unique footballer in a changing game that increasingly relied on physical strength, speed and athleticism; his astonishing close control and astute passing skills more than making up for a lack of pace and physical presence. In some ways he was a throwback to a bygone era; never flustered and rarely breaking into a run he nonetheless managed to dictate entire matches with his sharp footballing brain and ability to control the ball instantly and effortlessly and dispatch it to a teammate before opposing players could close him down. Valderrama captained Colombia during the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups, before announcing his international retirement after the 1998 competition having received 111 caps and scored 11 times.(Wikipedia)

El colombiano Carlos Valderrama

Carlos Valderrama Wallpaper

Carlos Valderrama Picture

Socrates Great Best Footballers Hall of Fame

2008-12-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (born February 19, 1954 in Ribeirão Preto), more commonly known simply as Sócrates, is a former Brazilian footballer. He was an excellent assister and team organiser, with great vision of the field. He was also a two-footed player and a great goal scorer. His ability to read the game was highly valued, and his signature move was the blind heel pass.
Sócrates is a doctor of medicine, a rare achievement for a professional footballer (he is a graduate of the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto). Even rarer is the fact that he earned the degree while concurrently playing professional football. He is also noted for being an intellectual (he holds a doctorate degree in philosophy), a heavy drinker and smoker, and for his height (193 cm, 6 ft 4 in). His brother Raí won the World Cup in 1994 and played for São Paulo and for Paris St. Germain.
Sócrates in Fiorentina colours.
Sócrates' hometown is Ribeirão Preto in São Paulo state. As one of the best midfielders in football history, Sócrates played for, and captained, Brazil in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. He began playing football professionally in 1974 for Botafogo in Ribeirão Preto, but spent the majority of his career (1978 to 1984) with Corinthians in São Paulo, where he became famous for using football to challenge the existing military dictatorship. During his time there he co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement. Sócrates and his team mates protested against the regime's treatment of footballers, and showed support to the wider movement for democratisation, by wearing shirts with 'Democracia' written on them during games.
Sócrates was capped sixty times for Brazil between May 1979 and June 1986. He also played for Italian club Fiorentina and the Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Santos towards the end of his career.
In 2004, more than a decade after retiring, Sócrates agreed to a one month player-coaching deal with Garforth Town of the Northern Counties East Football League in England. He made his only appearance for the club on November 20, 2004 against Tadcaster Albion, coming on as a substitute twelve minutes from time.
Pelé named him as one of the Top 125 Living Footballers in March 2004, and World Soccer named him one of 100 best footballers in history.
In October 2008, Sócrates has been inducted into the Pacembu Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame.
He presently works as a practitioner of sports medicine in his hometown.

Socrates Great Best Footballers Hall of Fame

Socrates Wallpaper

Socrates Legend Picture

Socrates in Fiorentina

Obdulio 'El Negro' Varela Top Uruguay Footballer

2008-12-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela (September 20, 1917 — August 2, 1996) was an Uruguayan football player. He was the captain of the Uruguay national team that won the 1950 World Cup after beating Brazil in the decisive final round match popularly known as the Maracanazo. He was Nicknamed El Negro Jefe (The Black Chief), due to his dark skin and the influence he had on the pitch, and especially after the unlikely victory over Brazil. People recall Varela as one of the greatest classic centre halves, a midfield player equally adept in defence as in creating scoring chances.(Wikipedia)

That win is recalled as a miracle and made Obdulio Varela immortal in the eyes of the Uruguayan people. In 1940, 1946 and 1948, the Uruguayan team led by him had won the Baron de Rio Branco Cup and his club team Peñarol had won the Uruguayan league championship on six occasions. He was 37 when the national team travelled to Switzerland to defend their title in 1954. Varela was then the oldest ever player to have appeared in a World Cup, but that didn’t affect his game. Czechoslovakia and Scotland were beaten comfortably in the first round before Uruguay also beat England 4-2 in the quarterfinal when Varela picked up a leg injury. There were no substitutions back then so he had to play the full 90 minutes heavily bandaged.
Varela and two other key players did not get fit for the semifinal against Hungary which Uruguay lost 4-2 after extra time. Obdulio ended his World Cup career unbeaten in seven matches and many people believe a full strength Uruguay team would have beaten the magic Hungarians. A natural, street-wise and self-made man, he made the most of what he had and became a soccer legend and one of the best captains in the sport ever. (planetworldcup.com)

Obdulio 'El Negro' Varela Top Uruguay Footballer

Obdulio 'El Negro' Varela Picture

Obdulio 'El Negro' Varela Wallpaper

Fritz Walter Legend Footballers

2008-12-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (October 31, 1920 – June 17, 2002) was a German football player. In his time with the Germany national football team, he won 61 caps and scored 33 goals.
As the son of a Vereinswirt (clubs innkeeper) of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Walter began his football career early. At age 8, he joined the Kaiserslautern youth academy, and he made his first team debut at just 17, where he would faithfully remain throughout his career.
Walter debuted with the national team in 1940 under Sepp Herberger, and scored a hat-trick against Romania. Walter was drafted into the armed forces in 1942, however, the end of the war found 24 year old Fritz in a P.O.W. camp in Marmaros-Sziget in which he played with Hungarian and Slowakian guards. When the Soviets arrived they in general took all German P.O.W.'s back to a Gulag in Soviet Union where life expectancy was about five years. Fortunately, one of the Hungarian prison guards had seen Fritz playing for Germany told them that Fritz was not German but Austrian, and his life was spared. Upon his return, Walter, who by now suffered from Malaria, again played for Kaiserslautern, leading them to German championships in 1951 and 1953. Sepp Herberger recalled him to the national team in 1951, and he was named captain.
He was captain of the West German team that won their first World Cup in 1954. Ironically, that win came over Hungary. But in 1956, after the crack down by the Soviets of the Hungarian Uprising, the soccer team got caught away from home, and for two years, Fritz managed their games and provided the financial backing and in small measure, paid them back for having saved his life. Walter received his last cap during the semi-final against Sweden in the 1958 World Cup, suffering an injury which ended his international career, and retired from football in 1959.
Memorial for the 1.FC Kaiserslautern players in the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final. From left to right: Werner Liebrich, Fritz Walter, Werner Kohlmeyer, Horst Eckel and Ottmar Walter.
International pro teams had repeatedly offered him hefty sums, but which support from his wife always declined in order to stay at home, to play for his home town, the national team and "Chef" (German for "boss") Herberger.
Fritz's younger brother Ottmar Walter, born 1924, played with him on the 1954 German team that won the World Cup. Ottmar is still alive, he still lives together with his wife in their house at Kaiserslautern itself. Fritz Walter died in 2002 aged 81. It was his dream to see the World Cup 2006 in "his" town Kaiserslautern as the town had not been selected in the smaller tournament of 1974, but it was denied with his death. But on the fourth year anniversary of his death on June 17, 2006, the United States played Italy in Kaiserslautern and a minute of silence was observed in his memory. Today people may visit the "Fritz Walter Haus" in the town of Enkenbach-Alsenborn approx. 20km east of Kaiserslautern (first exit from Kaiserslautern on Bundesautobahn 6 direction Mannheim).(Wikipedia)

Fritz Walter Legend Footballers

Fritz Walter receives the trophy

Fritz Walter Picture

Dino Zoff Top Greatest Living footballers

2008-12-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

Dino Zoff (born February 28, 1942 in Mariano del Friuli) is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40.
Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the history of the sport among the very best in this role. He holds the record for the longest playing time without allowing goals in international tournaments (1142 minutes) set between 1972 and 1974. With 112 caps he is third only to Paolo Maldini and Fabio Cannavaro in number of appearances for the Azzurri. In 2004 Pelé named him as one of the 125 greatest living footballers.
After retiring as a footballer Zoff went on to become coach for several Italian clubs and the national team.(Wikipedia)

Dino Zoff Picture

Dino Zoff Top Greatest Living footballers

Dino Zoff in Action

Zoff played most of his career in Napoli and Juventus and he played for Italy a record 112 times. In 1968 he was a member of Italy's European Championship winning team, but he was dropped for the Mexico World Cup two years later. Albertosi was preferred in goal in the tournament where Italy were runners-up. In 1974 Zoff was back in Italy's team, but despite his superb run of no goals conceded, Italy went out in the group stage. By the 1978 World Cup Zoff and Italy were among the favourites, they even beat the eventual winners and host nation Argentina in the group stage. But in a decisive final round match against Holland, Arie Haan's 40 yard shot sent Italy out. They played Brazil in the bronze match and lost there too. But 1982 was to be Zoff's year, in his final World Cup he had success. After a slow start with only draws in the group stage, Italy then beat Argentina, Brazil, Poland and West Germany in consecutive matches and became worthy champions. As many other players, Zoff stayed in football after he finished playing and he has, among several jobs, been manager of Lazio in Rome and is now (Dec 99) national team coach for Italy. (planetworldcup.com)

Dino Zoff Juventus Legend

Lev Yashin Best Goalkeeper in the World

2008-12-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

Lev Ivanovich Yashin (Russian: Лев Ива́нович Я́шин) (22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990) was a Russian, Soviet football goalkeeper, considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. Known for his superior athleticism in goal, imposing stature, amazing reflex saves and inventing the idea of goalkeeper sweeping. He was voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS.(Wikipedia)

Lev Yashin Best Goalkeeper in the World

Lev Yashin Block

Legendary Goalkeeper Lev Yashin

Lev Yashin Picture

Gordon Banks Top Greatest Living Footballers

2008-12-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Gordon Banks, OBE (born 30 December 1937 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England) is a former English footballer, elected in a poll by the IFFHS as the second best goalkeeper of the 20th Century - after Lev Yashin (1st) and before Dino Zoff (3rd).
Banks was a member of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup. Banks was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.(Wikipedia)

Gordon Banks, England 1966 World Cup

Gordon Banks Picture

Gordon Banks in Action

Grzegorz Lato Top Stirker in the World

2008-12-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Grzegorz Lato (born April 8, 1950 in Malbork, Poland) is a former Polish football striker, the all-time cap leader for the Polish national team and the leading scorer at the 1974 World Cup. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish football, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with third place at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish in 1974 in Germany. He's the only Polish player ever to win the Golden boot at a World Cup.
He is best known for his pace.
From 2001 to 2005 Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a senator in Poland. On October 30, 2008 he was elected the 25. President of Polish FA.(Wikipedia)

Grzegorz Lato Top Stirker in the World

Grzegorz Lato Wallpaper

Grzegorz Lato is one of the great World Cup legends due to the fact that he remains one of surprisingly few attacking players to have done really well in three different World Cups.
The speedy right-winger spent most years of his career at Stal Mielec where he made 272 league appearances and scored 111 goals. Lato helped the club win the Polish league championship twice and was also topscorer in the league twice. The Polish FA prohibited transfers abroad until a player was 30 and that hampered Lato's chances to show off his skills on a weekly basis for a larger audience on the continent.(planetworldcup.com)

Grzegorz Lato Picture

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Top World Football

2008-11-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (born 25 September 1955 in Lippstadt) is a German former football player.
He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups.
A member of the German national team, Rummenigge won the 1980 European Championship and was part of the squad that finished runner-up in the 1982 FIFA World Cup and at the 1986 World Cup. He was also honoured twice as European Footballer of the Year.
He is currently the chairman of the Bundesliga team Bayern Munich, as well as being the acting chairman of the European Club Association.(Wikipedia)

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Top World Football

With the German national football team he took part in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, 1982 FIFA World Cup and 1986 FIFA World Cup. In 1978 Germany exited in the first knock-out stage of the tournament. In 1982 and 1986 the team was runner-up behind Italy and Argentina.
Rummenigge also took part in two European Championship tournaments. In the 1980 competition in Italy Germany defeated Belgium in the final by 2-1 and won the trophy. The 1984 tournament is engraved as one of the most unsuccessful undertakings of the German national team. Germany was already ousted in the group stage.
Altogether, between 1976 and 1986, Rummenigge amassed 95 caps and scored 45 goals for the German national team.(Wikipedia)

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge from Germany

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in Muenchen

Gary Lineker Top Hall of Fame

2008-11-29T01:25:00.000-08:00

Gary Winston Lineker OBE (born 30 November 1960) is a former English international football striker who scored ten goals in two World Cups for the England national team and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC and Eredivisie Live.
Lineker began his football career at Leicester City and became known as a prolific goalscorer, finishing as the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984-85 and earning his first England cap. He moved to Everton where he remained a clinical finisher, scoring 38 goals in 52 games. His first team honours came at FC Barcelona where he won the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. He returned to England in 1989, joining Tottenham Hotspur, and over three seasons he scored 67 goals in 105 games and won the FA Cup. Lineker's final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight and he retired in 1994 after two seasons at the Japanese side.
Lineker made his England debut in 1984 and over the following eight years earned 80 caps and scored 48 goals, finishing as England's all-time second highest scorer. His international goals-to-games ratio remains one of the best for the country and he is regarded as one of the all-time best English strikers. He was top scorer in the 1986 World Cup and received the Golden Shoe, the only time an Englishman has achieved this feat. During his professional career, Lineker is noted for never having been cautioned or sent off by a referee.
After his retirement from football he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. He moved in to broadcasting, working at the BBC, presenting Match of the Day among other programmes. He led a consortium that invested in his old club Leicester, saving it from bankruptcy, and was appointed honorary vice-president. Since 1994, Lineker has featured in several television commercials for Walkers Crisps. He has four sons with his ex-wife Michelle and is currently married to Danielle Bux.(Wikipedia)

Gary Lineker Top Hall of Fame

Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker Celebrate Goals

Gheorghe 'Maradona Of The Carpathians' Hagi

2008-11-29T01:18:00.000-08:00

Gheorghe Hagi (pronounced [ˈge̯or.ge ˈha.ʤi] in Romanian; born February 5, 1965 in Săcele), is a Romanian former football player. He was famous for his passing, close control and long shots.
Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and was recently named Romanian football player of the century.
He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, being ranked second after Dorinel Munteanu, and scored 35 goals, being ranked first.
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. [1]. Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
In March 2004, he was named among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.(Wikipedia)

Gheorghe 'Maradona Of The Carpathians' Hagi

Gheorghe Hagi in Galatasaray

Gheorghe Hagi for Barca

Juste Fontaine Top Footballer

2008-11-29T01:12:00.000-08:00

Juste Fontaine's record 13 World Cup goals in 1958 included four in the third place play-off against West Germany, as France achieved their best-ever finish in the tournament. Fontaine who was born at Marrakesh in Morocco in 1933, began his career with Nice and won League and Cup winmner's medals before making his international debut against Hungary in October 1956.
He was in and out of the national team and won a place in Sweden only after an injury to Renè Biliard. But he combined with Raymond Kopa to provide one of the tournament's most lethal strike forces and he scored in every game. Fontaine who scored 30 goals in 21 internationals, moved to Rheims shortly after his World Cup exploits and appeared for them in the 1959 European Cup final, when they lost to Raymond Kopa's Real Madrid.
His career was cut short at the age of 27, when he broke a leg for a second time. He became president of the French Footballers' Union and had a brief spell in charge of the national team and Paris St. Germain. Fontaine's 13 goals remained an overall record until surpassed by Gerd Müller in 1974, although no man has bettered his tally in one tournament. (planetworldcup.com)

Juste Fontaine Top Footballer

Juste Fontaine in Action

Juste Fontaine

Careca Top World Footballer

2008-11-29T01:06:00.000-08:00

Antônio de Oliveira Filho (born October 5, 1960) known commonly as Careca is a former football player. During his career Careca played for several clubs, he is most famous for his time with Italian side Napoli and also his contributions to the Brazilian national football team.(Wikipedia)

Former Brazil star Careca

Antonio de Oliveira Filho, better known as Careca, was among his country’s most promosing players in the early eighties. His powerful right-foot shot and pace made him lethal in front of goal. He started his career in Guarani and would have played up front for Brazil in their magic World Cup team of 1982 had he not been injured on the eve of the finals.
He moved to Sao Paulo after the World Cup in Spain and had several successful seasons there and was Brazilian champion of 1986 beating his old club Guarani in the final. The World Cup was held in Mexico that same year, and Careca was determined not to miss it again. He played a key role in yet another great Brazilian team which reached the quarterfinals and were beaten by France on penalties in one of the classic games in soccer history. Personally, Careca had a great tournament and scored five goals making him second on the topscorers’ list after Lineker.
Careca was soon tempted to join a top club in Europe and after staying another season with Sao Paulo, he teamed up with Diego Maradona and fellow Brazilian Alemao in Napoli in 1987. Careca was now ranked as one of the best strikers in the world and with Napoli he won several trophies, among them the Scudetto (Serie A championship) and the UEFA Cup beating Stuttgart with Careca as one of the goalscorers.(planetworldcup.com)

Careca Top World Footballer

Careca for Napoli

Paul Breitner Top Legend Footballer

2008-11-29T01:00:00.000-08:00

Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951 in Kolbermoor, Bavaria) is a former German football player. One of Germany's most controversial players, he was capped 48 times for his country.
The early peak of Breitner's long and successful career was at age 21 in 1972 as part of the winning German European Championship team. This was followed two years later with victory as a member of the German World Cup squad. The final was played in Munich against the Netherlands, and Breitner scored the first German goal on a penalty kick. In the final, he, Franz Beckenbauer and Berti Vogts formed a slick unit at the back and their water-tight defense prevented the Dutch from winning the World Cup. He moved to Real Madrid following the World Cup and quit the West German squad, remaining off the side until enticed to return by Jupp Derwall in 1981. Breitner is one of only four footballers to have achieved the feat of scoring in two different World Cup final matches, sharing that honour with Pelé, Vavá, and Zinédine Zidane. He achieved this in 1974 against the Netherlands and in 1982 against Italy.(Wikipedia)

Paul Breitner Top Legend Footballer

Paul Breitner ex-Real midfielder

Paul Breitner for Muenchen

Zbigniew Boniek Top Greatest Living Footballers

2008-11-29T00:53:00.000-08:00

Zbigniew Boniek (IPA: ['zbigɲɛf 'bɔɲɛk]) (born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz) is a former Polish footballer and coach. He first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players.
Boniek was transferred to Italian football giants Juventus in 1982. That same year he won a bronze medal (third place) as part of the Polish team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With Juventus he won the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1984 and the European Cup in 1985.(Wikipedia)

Zbigniew Boniek Top Greatest Living Footballers

Zbigniew “Zibi” Boniek, born in Bydgoszcz, is one of the greatest Eastern European players ever. He started his career in his birthtown club Zawisza before moving to one of the great Polish clubs, Widzew Lodz. Boniek was included in Poland’s 1978 World Cup squad as a 22-year-old and impressed many with his tireless running and commitment. Poland reached the second phase before being knocked out by Brazil and eventual winners Argentina.
Four years later in Spain, Poland had a better team and Boniek was excellent as his country won bronzemedals. Arguably his best performance of his career for Poland came in a second phase match against Belgium where he scored a magnificent hat-trick. One of the best hat-tricks in World Cup history. Unfortunately he was suspended in the semifinal against Italy, but he was back at his best when Poland beat France in the bronzematch. Zibi was definitely one of the greatest stars in the tournament and appeared on many “Dreamteams” in papers and magazines in the wake of the World Cup.(planetworldcup.com)

Zbigniew 'Zibi' Boniek Top Greatest Living Footballers

Zbigniew 'Zibi' Boniek

Emilio Butragueño 'El Buitre' Legend Footballer

2008-11-29T00:46:00.000-08:00

Emilio Butragueño Santos (born July 22, 1963 in Madrid) is a former Spanish football forward who played for Castilla CF, Real Madrid, Atlético Celaya and Spain. During his playing career he earned the nickname El Buitre (The Vulture). He was a member of the legendary Quinta del Buitre, along with fellow Real players Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza. He has also served as vice-president of Real Madrid.
In 1981, Butragueño joined Real Madrid as a youth and played for the reserve team, Castilla CF, before been given his senior debut by Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1984 against Cádiz CF. He made an instant impact, scoring twice. Butragueño was a prominent member of the Real Madrid team during the 1980s, winning numerous honours. He won the European Bronze award for best footballer in two consecutive years (1986 and 1987) and won the Pichichi in 1991. In 1995, Butragueño signed for Atlético Celaya in Mexico and in his first year the team reached the final of the championship. After playing there three years, where he was known as the Gentleman of the Pitch, he finally decided to retire from the game in March 1998.
Butragueño also played 69 international matches for Spain and scored 26 goals. He was part of the Euro 84 team when Spain reached the finals. He participated in the World Cup in Mexico where he played a major part, scoring four goals as Spain beat Denmark 5-1. He also played in Italia '90. As of September 2007, he is Spain's fourth-highest all time top scorer with 26 goals, behind Raul Gonzalez (44), Fernando Hierro (29) and Fernando Morientes (27)
More recently, he was the Vice-President of Real Madrid, but he left two months after the departure of Florentino Pérez.(Wikipedia)

Emilio Butragueño 'El Buitre' Legend Footballer

Emilio Butragueño for Madrid

Emilio Butragueño

Daniel Passarella Top World Footballer

2008-11-29T00:38:00.000-08:00

Daniel Alberto Passarella (born May 25, 1953 in Chacabuco, Buenos Aires province) is a former Argentine football centre back and former manager of the Argentine and Uruguayan national football teams.
One of the pillars of the Argentine national team, he eventually captained the side during the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina. He was the first Argentine player to hold the World Cup, as it was handed to him first when Argentina won the final. During the qualifying rounds of the 1986 World Cup, Passarella scored the goal which ensured Argentina's qualification in the final minutes of their match against Peru. A bout of enterocolitis meant that he missed the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He was replaced in the first team by defender José Luis Brown. Passarella had a fractious relationship with star player Diego Maradona and coach Carlos Bilardo during the tournament; he later claimed Bilardo and Maradona made sure that he was sidelined. Even so, by being a part of the squad, he became the only player to feature in both Argentina's World Cup-winning teams.(Wikipedia)

Daniel Passarella Top World Footballer

Argentina skipper Daniel Passarella

Daniel Passarella

Alessandro Altobelli Best Forwarders Italian

2008-11-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

Alessandro Altobelli (born November 28, 1955 in Sonnino, Latina) is an Italian former football player.
Nicknamed Spillo ("Needle") for his slender build, Altobelli was one of the most effective Italian forwards of the late 1970s and 1980s. Following spells at Latina (Serie C) and Brescia (Serie B), he was signed by Internazionale, for whom he played 466 times, scoring 209 goals (128 in Serie A) and massively contributing to his team's scudetto of 1980. For Italy he was capped 61 times, scoring 25 goals: the most notable of which is the third goal in the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, won by Italy against West Germany. He became the first ever substitute to score in a FIFA World Cup final (with Rudi Völler being the only one to repeat this feat ever since in 1986). Altobelli also played at Euro 80, the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 88, where he played as team's captain. He made 4 sub appearances scoring just after coming on in a 2-0 win over Denmark in the group stages.
He is currently a sports analyst for Al-Jazeera sports channel, with Cesare Maldini.(Wikipedia)

Alessandro Altobelli Best Forwarders Italian

Alessandro Altobelli

Enzo Francescoli Top World Footballer

2008-11-28T00:20:00.000-08:00

Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (born November 12, 1961 in Montevideo) is a former Uruguayan football player of Italian and spanish origin, who retired in 1997. He played 72 times for the Uruguay national team between 1982 and 1997, making him the most capped outfield player in Uruguayan international football. He currently is the vice president of GOL TV and Tenfield.(Wikipedia)

Enzo Francescoli Top World Footballer

Legend Enzo Francescoli

Enzo Francescoli with the Copa America

Mario Kempes Great World Striker

2008-11-28T00:13:00.000-08:00

Mario Alberto Kempes (born July 15, 1954 in Bell Ville, Córdoba) is an Argentine former football striker. His father, Mario, who was also a football player, inspired him to play from a young age. At the age of 7 years, he began playing with a junior team and at 14 he joined la cuarta de Talleres. He is most famous for playing for Valencia and being the focal point of Argentina's 1978 World Cup win.(Wikipedia)

Mario Kempes Great World Striker

Kempes was nicknamed El Matador (The Bullfighter) from his time with Valencia, he won two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in 1976-77 and 1977-78. His career where started at a local club called Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba before quickly moving on to Rosario Central where he gained 85 goals in just 105 matches and established himself as a notorious goalscorer. Famous as a hard-working forward, he used to strike from outside the penalty area with his surging runs goalwards and was not the traditional center-forward operating solely inside the box. Many defenders found difficulties handling his attacking style. They never knew where they had him.Before the 1978 World Cup, Kempes was the only foreign based player on the list of coach César Luis Menotti's national team in Argentina, he was at the time playing for Spanish giants Valencia while the other squad members all played in Argentina. The coach described him when announcing the squad he had selected for the 1978 tournament, "He's strong, he's got skill, he creates spaces and he shoots hard. He's a player who can make a difference, and he can play in a centre-forward position".The skinny forward had been topscorer in La Liga in each of the past two seasons and was determined to show on home soil that he could deliver against the best on the sport's greatest stage as well. However, in 1974, at 20 years of age, he failed to get on the score-sheet in West Germany and after the first round group stage in 1978, his name was still missing among goalscorers in the tournament. During his playing career he won 43 caps for Argentina and scored 20 times. He represented his country in three World Cups in 1974, 1978 and 1982, winning the competition in 1978. He was the leading goalscorer in the 1978 tournament, scoring six goals. He has also scored some very important goals for Argentina in his career.(Wikipedia)

Mario Kempes Legend of Argentine

Mario Kempes

Peter Shilton English Goalkeeper Legend

2008-11-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

Peter Leslie Shilton, OBE (born Leicester, England, 18 September 1949) is a former football goalkeeper who holds the record for playing more games than any other player. His international career earned him 125 caps, making him England's most capped player.
In a 30-year career, which included eleven different clubs, three World Cups, two European Cup finals and more than 1,000 competitive matches, Shilton emerged as one of the English game's genuine legends. He has the rare distinction of having played over 100 league games for 5 different clubs. Interestingly, Shilton did not make his World Cup tournament debut until the age of 32 but he played in 17 finals matches and shares the record 10 clean sheets for most World Cup finals clean sheets with French keeper Fabien Barthez.
During his time at Nottingham Forest he won two European Cups, a European Super Cup, the First Division championship, the League Cup and many other honours.(Wikipedia)

Peter Shilton English Goalkeeper Legend

Peter Shilton in Derby County

Peter Shilton in Nothingham Forest

Peter Schmeichel Top World Best Goalkeeper

2008-11-27T23:45:00.000-08:00

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE (born 18 November 1963 in Gladsaxe, Denmark) is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993. He is best remembered for his most successful years at English club Manchester United, whom he captained to the 1999 UEFA Champions League to complete The Treble. He was a key member of the Denmark national football team that won Euro 92.
Schmeichel is famous for his intimidating physique (he is 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) tall and wears specially-made size XXXL football shirts) and his attacking threat. During his career, Schmeichel scored 11 goals, including one for the Danish national team, a great feat for a keeper. He is also the most capped player for the Denmark national team, with 129 games between 1987 and 2001. Apart from Euro 92, he played for his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and three additional European Championship tournaments. He captained the national team in 30 matches.
Schmeichel is also known for his trademark shouts at his defence. He would often yell out at the defenders in charge of helping him defend the goal for blunders and poor defending and would occasionally single out various individuals in the defence to make his feelings heard.
Today, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of football. The IFFHS ranked Schmeichel among the top ten keepers of the 20th century in 2000,[1] and in 2001, Schmeichel won a public poll held by Reuters, when the majority of the 200,000 participants voted him as the best goalkeeper ever, ahead of Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks.[2] In 2003, Schmeichel was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact on the English game. In March 2004, he was named as one of the "125 greatest living footballers", at the FIFA 100 celebrations.
He holds the record for the greatest clean sheets-to-games ratio in the Premiership with 42% of the games he played in the Premiership ending without his team conceding.
His son, Kasper Schmeichel, is at Manchester City F.C.(Wikipedia)

Peter Schmeichel Top World Best Goalkeeper

Peter Schmeichel Saving Kick Goal

Peter Schmeichel Action

Peter Schmeichel Legend Manchester United

Gabriel 'Batigol' Batistuta Best Striker Footballer

2008-11-27T23:35:00.000-08:00

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born February 1, 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, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league a year later. A hero in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances 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 professional 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".

Gabriel 'Batigol' Batistuta Best Striker Footballer

Gabriel 'Batigol' Batistuta in Roma

Gabriel 'Batigol' Batistuta for Fiorentina

Batigol Great Striker

Eric Cantona 'King Eric' Top Footballer

2008-11-27T23:25:00.000-08:00

Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona (born 24 May 1966) is a French former footballer of the late 1980s and 1990s. He ended his professional footballing career at Manchester United where he won four English Premiership titles in five years (being suspended the season without title), including two League and FA Cup "doubles". Cantona is often regarded as having played a major talismanic role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing powerhouse and he enjoys iconic status at the club. In 2001 he was voted their player of the century, and to this day United fans refer to him as "King Eric". He is the current manager of France beach soccer team.(Wikipedia)

Eric Cantona 'King Eric' Top Footballer

Eric Cantona for Manchester United

Cantona became infamous for an incident that occurred on 25 January 1995. In an away match against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off by the referee for a vengeful kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw after Shaw had pulled his shirt. As he was being escorted from the pitch by United kit man Norman Davies, Cantona broke away and launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, followed by a series of punches.(Wikipedia)

Éric Cantona kicks Crystal Palace fan Simmons.

Cantona galvanised the United team to greater success with the likes of Ryan Giggs and youngsters David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville emerging under his influence. As United retained the league in the 1996-97 season, Cantona had won four league titles in five years with United (six in seven years including those won with Marseille and Leeds United), the exception being the 1995 season which he had largely missed through suspension. At the end of an admittedly lacklustre season by his standards, which was fuelled by United's elimination at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, he announced that he was retiring from football at the age of 30 which came as a surprise, and was met with great dismay by United fans. His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11 May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on Friday 16 May in a testimonial for David Busst against Coventry City at Highfield Road, in which Eric scored twice in a 2-2 draw. Cantona scored a total of 64 league goals for Manchester United, 11 in domestic cup competitions, and 5 in The Champions League.(Wikipedia)

Éric Cantona

Bobby Charlton Top World Footballer

2008-11-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE (born 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland) is a former English professional football player who won the World Cup and was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1966. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts from midfield and his ferocious long-range shot.
He began to play for United's first team in 1956, and over the next two seasons gained a regular place in the team, during which time he survived the Munich air disaster of 1958. After helping United to win the Football League in 1965, he won a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and another Football League title with United the following year. In 1968, he captained the Manchester United team that won the European Cup, scoring two goals in the final to help his team be the first English side to win the competition. He has scored more goals for England and United than any other player. He had made more appearances for Manchester United than any other player (758), a record superseded by Ryan Giggs at the Champions League Final in Moscow on 21 May 2008, and who is still an active player. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest English players of all time.
At the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nation's most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level. This record has since been eclipsed by Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and then David Beckham.
He left Manchester United in 1973, becoming player-manager of Preston North End, but decided management was not for him and left after one season. After assuming the post of the director at Wigan Athletic F.C. for some time, he became a member of Manchester United's board of directors in 1984 and remains one as of October 2008. He set goalscoring records for both the England team and Manchester United, with both records remaining intact some 35 years after the end of his playing career. He was knighted in 1994.

Bobby Charlton Top World Footballer

Bobby Charlton passes the World Cup 1966

Bobby Charlton for Manchester United

Zico Best World Footballer

2008-11-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (pronounced [axˈtux ɐ̃ˈtũnis koˈĩbrɐ]; born in March 3, 1953), better known as Zico (pronounced /['zi.ku]/, is a former Brazilian footballer and coach. Often called the White Pelé, he is commonly considered one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever and possibly the world's best player of the early 80's. He was also known as one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy as well as having an extremely powerful shot. The gifted midfielder was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Also according to Pelé, generally considered the best footballer ever, "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico".
Zico scored 66 goals in 88 international matches for Brazil, and represented them in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. They didn’t win any of those tournaments, even though the 1982 squad is considered one of the greatest Brazilian national squads ever - along with the one that won the 1970 World Cup. Zico is often considered one of the best players in football history not to have been on a World Cup winning squad. He was chosen 1983 Player of the Year.
Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup 2004, and was announced as the head coach of Fenerbahçe of Turkey on July 4, 2006.(Wikipedia)

Zico Best World Footballer

Japan coach Zico

Zico

Gerd Muller Top of The World Goalscorers

2008-11-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (German, pronounced [ˈgɛʀt ˈmʏlɐ]; born 3 November 1945 in Nördlingen) is a former (West) German football player and one of the world's most prolific goalscorers of all time.
With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was by far the most successful striker of his day. According to reliable and Professional Statistic institutions and FIFA only Pelé and Romário are higher on the all-time goalscorer ranking. His nicknames are “Bomber der Nation” (the nation's Bomber) and “kleines dickes Müller” (short fat Müller, declension intentionally wrong).
In 1970 Müller was elected European Footballer of the Year after a successful season at Bayern Munich and scoring 10 goals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Before the goal scored by Ronaldo against Ghana in the Round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Müller held the all-time goal-scoring record in the tournament, with a 14-goal total.

Gerd Muller Top of The World Goalscorers

Gerd Muller in FIFA World Cup Trophy

Gerd Muller Legend Germany

George Best Top of Best Living Footballers

2008-11-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional football winger, best known for his years with Manchester United. In 1968, his annus mirabilis, he won the European Cup with Manchester United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year. When fit, he was an automatic choice for the Northern Ireland team, but he was unable to lead them to the World Cup qualification, despite being capped 37 times and scoring nine goals.
In 1999 he was voted 11th, behind Marco van Basten, at the IFFHS European Player of the Century election and 16th, behind Lothar Matthäus, in the World Player of the Century election. Pelé named him as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list and Best was named 19th, behind Gerd Müller, at the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In his native Northern Ireland the admiration for him is summed up by the local saying: "Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best."
He was one of the first celebrity footballers, but his extravagant lifestyle led to problems with alcoholism which curtailed his playing career and eventually led to his death in November 2005 at the age of 59. His cause of death was a kidney infection, a side-effect of the immuno-suppressive drugs he was required to take after a liver transplant. Best's lovable, cheeky image won him many fans, during his career and after, despite his public drunkenness on TV, his convictions for drunk driving and assaulting a policeman, allegations of domestic violence, and his inability to give up drinking even after the transplant. GQ named him as one of the 50 most stylish men of the past 50 years.(Wikipedia)

George Best Top of Best Living Footballers

George Best in Menchester United

George Best 1971 Manchester United

In Memmorian of George Best

Eusebio 'Black Panther' Best Living Footballer

2008-11-27T22:22:00.000-08:00

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM (pron. IPA: [eu'zɛbiʊ dɐ 'siɫvɐ fɨ'ʁɐiɾɐ]) (born 25 January 1942 in Mozambique - then an Overseas Province of Portugal), popularly known simply as Eusébio, is a Portuguese former football forward of Mozambican origin. He helped the Portugal national team reach third place at the 1966 World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals (six of which were scored at Goodison Park) and was elected the European Footballer of the Year in 1965. He played at the club Benfica for 15 years, and is the team's all-time top scorer.
Nicknamed "The Black Panther", or "The Black Pearl", Eusébio scored 727 goals in 715 games. He is also known for his speed and his powerful, accurate right-footed strike. He is considered Benfica's and Portugal's most renowned player and the first world-class African striker. He was elected the 9th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS. Pelé named Eusébio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Portugal by the Portuguese Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years(Wikipedia)

Eusebio 'Black Panther' Best Living Footballer

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira won 10 Portuguese league titles, plus the 1962 European Cup with Benfica, scoring two goals in the final. He virtually single-handedly took Portugal to third place in the 1966 World Cup, scoring nine goals.(football-history.net)

Eusébio in action for Benfica against Ajax in 1969

Eusébio

Michel Platini Best French National Team

2008-11-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Michel François 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.(Wikipedia)

Michel Platini in 1997

Three times European Footballer of the year and probably the best footballer to have been produced by his country, Michel Platini led France to two World Cup semi-finals and to the title during the 1984 European Championship. With Juventus he won the 1985 edition of the European Cup. One of the greatest passers of the ball in the history of the game, Platini was an archetypical #10, who orchestrated attacks, scored his share of goals, and was also a master of the free-kick, a skill which he perfected using a row of dummies during training.(football-history.net)

Michel Platini Best French National Team

Michel Platini Legend of Juventus

Michel Platini in EURO 1984

Franz Beckenbauer 'Kaiser' Greatest Hall of Fame

2008-11-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Franz Anton Beckenbauer (born 11 September 1945) is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed der Kaiser ("the emperor") because of his elegant style, his leadership qualities, his first name "Franz" (reminiscent of the Austrian emperors called Francis in English), and his dominance on the football pitch. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and also as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game.
He was a versatile player, who started out as midfielder but adapted to different roles on the pitch. Despite being a defensive player he possessed world class technique and vision. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper or libero (SW).
Twice selected the European Footballer of the Year, he appeared 103 times for West Germany and played in three World Cups. He lifted the World Cup trophy as captain in 1974, and repeated the feat as a manager in 1990. With the club Bayern Munich, he won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976, and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. Beckenbauer is the only player to captain three European Cup winning sides. He went on to become coach and president of the institution. He is also a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.(Wikipedia)

Franz Beckenbauer 'Kaiser' Greatest Hall of Fame

in Chasmpions World Cup 1974

An elegant sweeper, Beckenbauer was known for his outstanding technique and tactical insight. As a manager, he steered the German national side towards their 1990 World Cup win in Italy.(football-history.net)

Franz Beckenbauer in Trophy World Cup 1990

Libero, Franz Beckenbauer

Ferenc Puskas Best Legend Hungarian Footballer

2008-11-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

Ferenc Purczeld Biró (2 April 1927 – 17 November 2006), or "Ferenc Puskás", was a legendary Hungarian footballer and manager and is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. He scored a remarkable 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He is also regarded by some as the best shooter in football history.
Puskás played for Honvéd and Hungary before joining Real Madrid and going on to play for Spain. During the 1950s he was both a prominent member and captain of the legendary Hungarian national team known as the Mighty Magyars. Other members of the team included Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti. In 1958, two years after the Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to Spain where he played for the legendary Real Madrid team that also included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Raymond Kopa, Héctor Rial and José Santamaria.(Wikipedia)

Ferenc Puskas Best Legend Hungarian Footballer

Hungarian soccer star Ferenc Puskas

Ferenc Puskás was the outstanding player of the marvelous Hungarian national team of the early 1950s. In 1952 they had won Olympic Gold in Helsinki and the "Magical Magyars" arrived at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland undefeated in four years.(football-history.net)

In memoriam Ferenc Puskás

Hungarian soccer great Ferenc Puskas

Alfredo di Stefano Top Greatest Living footballer

2008-11-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

Alfredo di Stéfano Laulhé (born 4 July 1926 in Barracas, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine - Spanish former footballer and coach. He is most associated with Real Madrid and was instrumental in their domination of the European Cup of Champions during the 1950s, a period in which the club won the trophy in five consecutive seasons from 1956. Di Stéfano also played international football for Argentina, Colombia, and Spain.
Di Stéfano, nicknamed Saeta rubia ("Blond arrow"), was a powerful forward with great stamina, tactical versatility, and vision. He could also play almost always anywhere on the pitch and despite being most well-known as a forward, was great in defense. He is currently the 3rd highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, with 228 goals in 329 games, behind Hugo Sánchez (234 goals) and Telmo Zarra (251). Di Stéfano is also Real Madrid's highest league goalscorer of all time, with 216 goals in 282 league matches between 1953 and 1964.(Wikipedia)

Alfredo di Stefano Top Greatest Living footballer

Alfredo di Stéfano was the driving force behind Real Madrid's domination of the European Cup in the late 1950's. Real won the trophy five times in a row, with the Saeta rubia (blonde arrow), as the Argentinean was called because of his speed, scoring in each of the finals. Di Stefano was an incredibly versatile forward, who combined speed with a superb technique, stamina, tactical insight, and an ability to score goals. It is not surprising then that many believe him to be the best all-round player in history, if indeed not the best player out right. (football-history.net)

Alfredo di Stefano poses with the five European Cups he helped Real win

Alfredo di Stefano