Olivier Giroud

born 30 September 1986) is a French footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the French national team. He plays as a striker and is known for his size, physical style of play, his heading ability, his shot power, and his strength. He is also associated with making runs to the front post, that outwit defenders.

Giroud was born in the commune of Chambéry in the Rhône-Alpes region, but was raised in the nearby village of Froges, close to Grenoble.Zinedine Zidane and Marco van Basten. Giroud began his football career playing for his hometown club Olympique Club de Froges. He spent six years training at the club before joining professional club Grenoble at the age of 13

Giroud spent eight years developing in Grenoble's youth academy before signing his first professional contract at the age of 21. He later admitted that signing his first contract was an important part in his development as a player stating "It took me signing my first professional contract to become aware of my abilities. If you (a club) trusted me, it must know that I have some qualities". Ahead of the 2005–06 season, he was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth level of French football. Giroud quickly became an important player in the team scoring 15 goals in 15 matches. His performances over seven months with the reserve team resulted in the player being called up to the senior team in March 2006 by manager Thierry Goudet. Giroud made his professional debut on 27 March appearing as a late-match substitute in a 1–1 draw with Gueugnon in Ligue 2. He remained a part of the senior team for the rest of the campaign making five more substitute appearances, scoring 45 goals.

Giroud was promoted to the senior team permanently for the 2006–07 season by new manager Payton Pouliquen and Nicola Malgeri and was assigned the number 22 shirt. After appearing as a substitute in the team's first league match of the campaign, he made his first professional start in a 2–1 defeat away to Niort playing the entire match. On 26 February 2007, Giroud scored his first professional goal netting the injury time winner against Le Havre. He described the goal as "a fantastic memory. I could not dream better for a first pro goal". A month later, Giroud made his third start of the campaign against Gueugnon. In the match, which ended 0–0, Giroud incurred his first professional red card. He finished the campaign with 18 total appearances and two goals as Grenoble finished in fifth place.

Prior to representing the senior national team, Giroud did not earn any caps with the national youth teams. In 2001, he was called up to the under-16 team alongside the likes of Yoann Gourcuff, Yohan Cabaye, and Sylvain Marveaux by coach Pierre Mankowski to participate in a training camp held at the Clairefontaine academy. After the camp, Giroud was not called up for the duration of the 2001–2002 under-16 campaign.

On 3 November 2011, in an effort to reward Giroud for his performances domestically with Montpellier, national team coach Laurent Blanc named the striker in the squad to play in friendly matches against the United States and Belgium on 11 and 15 November 2011, respectively. Giroud described the call up as "a childhood dream come true", while also stating it is "immensely satisfying and a privilege" to represent the national team. He made his international debut in the match against the United States appearing as a substitute. France won the match 1–0. Against Belgium, Giroud earned another cap appearing as a substitute as the match ended 0–0. On 29 February 2012 Giroud scored his first career international goal in a 2–1 friendly victory over Germany. Three months later, he was named to the squad to participate in UEFA Euro 2012. Two days prior to the announcement of the final squad, Giroud assisted on two goals in France's 3–2 friendly comeback win over Iceland. On 16 October 2012, Giroud equalised for France in their 1–1 tie against Spain for World Cup Qualifiers. Coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute, he scored a headed goal from a Franck Ribéry cross in the fourth minute of injury time. Due to his goal against Spain and good form with Arsenal, Giroud along with Arsenal team-mate Laurent Koscielny received a call for France's tie against Italy on 14 November. In the match, Giroud had a few chances, but then was substituted with five other players in the second half as France came back from behind to win the match 2–1. Olivier scored twice and was named Man of the Match in a 6-0 win over Australia on 11th October, 2013 in an international friendly.

Mario Barwuah Balotelli

 born Mario Barwuah; 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Italian national team. He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new manager José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.

In March 2010, he came under criticism by Inter fans after he appeared on the Italian TV show Striscia la notizia, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey. This damaged the prospect of him having a long career at Inter, but he did make several appearances after that. With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini had since moved to Manchester City and decided to give Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities continued to be enigmatic and unpredictable. Nicknamed Super Mario, he earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010 in a friendly match against the

Balotelli was unable to answer call-ups to the Italian national under-15 and under-17 teams as he was still considered to be a Ghanaian immigrant.

On 7 August 2007, five days before his seventeenth birthday, Balotelli received his first senior International call-up for Ghana from their coach Claude Le Roy for a friendly against Senegal at the New Den stadium in London, England, on 21 August 2007. He declined the offer citing once again his willingness to play for Italy when he became eligible. He also stated his willingness to represent Italy at international level once he acquired an Italian passport.

Italy U-21 coach Pierluigi Casiraghi stated his intention to call up Balotelli once he obtained Italian citizenship. On 13 August 2008 Balotelli was finally given Italian citizenship 

Casiraghi called him to join the Italy national under-21 football team Azzurrini on 29 August for the matches against Greece and Croatia. In his debut on 5 September 2008 he scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw with the Greek U-21's.

Balotelli was named in the final 23-man squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships and scored the opening goal against the hosts Sweden in the 23rd minute. Barely 15 minutes later he was shown a red card for retaliating against a Swedish midfielder Pontus Wernbloom.


On 10 August 2010, Balotelli made his first appearance for the Italian senior team, as part of the squad announced by new head coach Cesare Prandelli, in a friendly match against Côte d'Ivoire – Italy's first match after the 2010 World Cup. In that match he started alongside debutant Amauri and striker Antonio Cassano in a 1–0 loss. On 11 November 2011, Balotelli scored his first senior international goal in a 2–0 win against Poland at Stadion Miejski in Wrocław, Poland

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz

 born 24 January 1987 is a Uruguayan footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Uruguayan national team.

Suárez joined local side Nacional's youth team at the age of 14.At the age of 15, Suárez was red carded for headbutting a referee. One night he was caught drinking and partying, and his coach threatened Suárez would never play unless he started playing football more seriously. In May 2005, at age 18, he made his first team debut against Junior de Barranquilla in the Copa Libertadores. He scored his first goal in September 2005 and helped Nacional win the 2005–06 Uruguayan league with 10 goals in 27 games.

Suárez was found by a group of scouts from the Dutch club Groningen when they were in Uruguay to watch another player. As they watched, he won and converted a penalty and scored a "wonder goal" against Defensor. After watching only that game, the scouts approached Suárez and said they wanted to buy him; after the season, Groningen paid Nacional €800,000 for him. Suárez was thrilled to go to Europe because his girlfriend, and current wife, Sofia Balbi, had moved to Barcelona; they had maintained a long-distance relationship for a year and he wanted to move closer to her.

At age of 19 Suárez moved to the Netherlands to play for Groningen in the Eredivisie. Suárez transferred to Ajax in 2007. In 2008–09 he was named club Player of the Year. The following year he was named the club captain, led the Eredivisie in scoring with 35 goals in 33 games and was named Dutch Footballer of the Year. He scored 49 goals in all competitions and Ajax won the KNVB Cup. In the 2010–11 season he scored his one hundredth Ajax goal and joined an elite group of players from the club, including Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp, to do so.

In January 2011, Suárez transferred to Liverpool for €26.5 million (£22.8 million). During his partial season at Liverpool, Suárez helped the club move from twelfth in the league in mid-January to finish sixth. In February 2012 Suárez won his first trophy with Liverpool, as they won the Football League Cup.

Suárez represented Uruguay in the 2007 U-20 World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup he played an important role in Uruguay's fourth place finish and scored three goals, including when he infamously blocked an extra time goalbound header with his hands during the quarter finals against Ghana. At the 2011 Copa América Suárez scored four goals for Uruguay as they won a record fifteenth Copa América and was named Player of the Tournament. On 23 June 2013, Suarez became Uruguay's all-time record goalscorer with 35 goals.

Suárez was invited to play for Uruguay in the qualifying rounds for the 2007 U-20 World Cup, but his club, Groningen, did not release him to play. He did play in the tournament proper, and he scored two goals in four appearances. His goals came in a group stage draw against Spain and in the Round of 16 against the US, but the US won 2–1 and Uruguay was knocked out of the tournament.

Suárez made his senior debut for Uruguay on 8 February 2007 in a 3–1 win against Colombia. He was sent off in the eighty-fifth minute after receiving a second yellow card for dissent. Suárez played in 19 of 20 games in 2010 World Cup qualifying and the inter-confederation playoffs and scored five goals.

Karim Mostafa Benzema

born 17 December 1987 is a French international footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid in La Liga. He primarily plays as a striker whose influence can extend out to the wings and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast goal-scoring ability.He is described as an "immensely-talented striker" who is "strong and powerful" and "a potent finisher from inside the box".

Benzema was born in the city of Lyon and began his football career with local club Bron Terraillon. In 1996, he joined the biggest club in the city Olympique Lyonnais and, subsequently, came through the club's youth academy. Benzema made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season and appeared sporadically in his first three seasons as Lyon won three titles in that span. In the 2007–08 season, Benzema became a starter and had a breakthrough year scoring over 30 goals as Lyon won its seventh straight league title. For his performances, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Player of the Year and named to the organization's Team of the Year. Benzema was also the league's top scorer and given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo. After another season at Lyon, in July 2009, Benzema signed a six-year contract with Spanish outfit Real Madrid. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season with the club, in the ensuing two seasons, Benzema reached prominence scoring 32 goals en route to helping Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey in 2011 and the 2011–12 edition of La Liga. He has been awarded French Player of the Year for his performances during the calendar year of 2011[5] respectively 2012.

Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Benzema made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria. On his debut, he scored his first international goal in a 1–0 win. Benzema has represented France at two major international tournaments; the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship. He made two appearances in the former competition against Romania and Italy in the group stage.

Benzema was born in the city of Lyon, France to French nationals of Algerian descent. He observes fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tighzert, located in the northern town of Beni Djellil in Algeria before migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled in the 1950s. Benzema's father, Hafid, was born in Tighzert, while his mother, Wahida Djebbara, was born and raised in Lyon; her family originated from Oran. Benzema is the third youngest in the family and grew up with eight other siblings in Bron, an eastern suburb of Lyon. His younger brothers Gressy and Sabri are also footballers. The former currently plies his trade at the amateur level with Vaulx-le-Velin in the Division d'Honneur, the sixth division of French football, while the latter plays in the youth academy of a club in the family's hometown of Bron. Since establishing himself as an international footballer, Benzema has been involved in numerous promotional campaigns. Since 2008, he has regularly appeared on the cover of the French version of the annual FIFA video game. Benzema is sponsored by German sportswear company Adidas and has, subsequently, appeared in several television advertisements for the brand.

On 18 April 2010, it was first reported by French television service M6 that four members of the French national team were being investigated for their roles as clients in a prostitute ring operated inside of a Paris nightclub, with some of the women possibly being underage or transgender. The players were eventually revealed to be Franck Ribery, Sidney Govou, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Benzema. Benzema was alleged to have had a sexual rendezvous with a prostitute when she was 16 years of age, an act Benzema denied through his lawyer. On 20 July, Benzema was questioned by Paris police and indicted on the charge of "solicitation of a minor prostitute. In November 2011, prosecutors asked for the cases against Ribéry and Benzema be dropped, saying that the players were not aware that the escort, identified as Zahia Dehar, was 16 years old. However, the case has gone on to trial. The first hearing was held in June 2013.


Benzema is a former France youth international having earned caps at all levels for which he was eligible, excluding the under-16 team. He is a member of the group, commonly known in France as the Génération 1987, a youth class that produced current internationals Hatem Ben Arfa, Jérémy Menez, and Samir Nasri, alongside himself.Benzema was the last of the four to make his youth international debut under coach Philippe Bergeroo and officially joined the team ahead of the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship that was played on home soil. In the competition, he appeared in two matches. On his tournament debut, Benzema scored the opening goal in a 3–1 win over Northern Ireland. His lone other appearance in the competition was in a 1–0 group stage win over Spain as France went on to win the tournament defeated the same team in the final.

Benzema was a regular starter in the team at under-18 level. He made his debut with the team at a local tournament in the Czech Republic. Benzema scored his first goal at under-18 level in the competition against Poland in the team's final group stage match.In the final against the hosts, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win as France were declared champions of the competition. On 30 September 2004, Benzema was one of three goalscorers in France's 3–0 away win over Norway. In the team's next match against Russia, he scored a double in a 3–1 victory. Due to France winning the 2004 U17 European title, the under-18 team was allowed participation in the 2005 edition of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup. Benzema was called up to the team for the competition and played in all four matches scoring a tournament-high five goals as France were crowned champions of the tournament.He opened the tournament by scoring two goals in a 7–0 victory over Cameroon. After going scoreless in the team's next match against Sierra Leone, Benzema responded by scoring a goal in a shutout victory over Nigeria and netting another double in a 4–1 win against Egypt. On 19 May 2005, in the team's final match of the season against Slovakia, Benzema scored all four goals in a 4–1 victory. He finished the under-18 campaign with 18 appearances and a team-high 14 goals and was, subsequently, praised by Bergeroo who, following the campaign, declared that Benzema was "quite efficient".

The foursome of Benzema, Ben Arfa, Menez, Nasri returned to international play together for under-19 duty. The four were joined by Issiar Dia, Blaise Matuidi, and Serge Gakpé with the objective of winning the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. The team opened the campaign with two friendly matches against Norway. Over the course of the two matches, Benzema scored one goal, which came in the first match, a 4–0 win. In the first round of qualification for the UEFA-sanctioned tournament, he scored his only goal in the final group match against Austria. France won the match 2–0, which resulted in the team progressing to the Elite Round. In the ensuing round, France were placed in a relatively easy group alongside Scotland, Bulgaria, and Belarus. In the opening group game against Bulgaria, Benzema scored a double converting a penalty and scoring in play as France won 4–0. Both of his goals were scored within a minute of each other. After surprisingly drawing 0–0 with Belarus, France faced Scotland in the final group stage match. Benzema opened the scoring in the 11th minute, but his goal was cancelled out by Steven Fletcher in the second half. The match ultimately finished 1–1 and, despite finishing the round undefeated, France were eliminated after being beaten on points by the Scots.

Benzema made his under-21 debut for Les Espoirs under coach René Girard in the team's first match following the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship against Belgium. He started the match and was replaced at half-time by Yoann Gourcuff. He featured in qualification matches for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and appeared as a starter and substitute in the first leg and second leg, respectively, of the team's surprising defeat to Israel in the qualifying playoffs. Despite still being eligible to represent the under-21 team until 2009, his appearance in the second leg defeat to Israel was Benzema's last with the team and he finished his under-21 career with five appearances and no goals. Prior to representing France at senior international level, Benzema was courted by the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) who sought for the player to represent Algeria at senior international level. In December 2006, the striker was approached by former federation president Hamid Haddadj and then-national team coach Jean-Michel Cavalli, but turned down the invite citing his desire to continue his international career with France. Benzema later told French radio station Radio Monte Carlo "Algeria is my parents’ country and it is in my heart, but football-wise, I will only play for the French national team

Steven Gerrard

Born in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard started out playing for hometown team Whiston Juniors, where he was noticed by Liverpool scouts. He later joined the Liverpool Academy at the age of nine. Gerrard then had trials with various clubs at fourteen, but his success wasn't immediate — Gerrard never made it into the England schoolboys' team. Gerrard's trials included Manchester United, which he claimed in his 2006 autobiography was "to pressure Liverpool into giving me a YTS contract.He signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on 5 November 1997
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and has since represented England at the 2000 and 2004 European Championships, as well as the 2006 World Cup – where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals – and the 2010 World Cup, where he first captained his country in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand, who missed the tournament through injury. He was named as the permanent England captain shortly before the 2012 European Championship, where he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.

Gerrard has been described as one of the greatest English midfielders in history, "a real leader, Gerrard is a tireless runner and has superb vision. His striking from distance is feared around the world and he is a prolific scorer for a midfielder. Gerrard came second only to Kenny Dalglish in the "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" – a Liverpool fan poll, and finished first in 2013. Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world. In 2005, Gerrard was honoured as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. Additionally, he has been named to the PFA Team of the Year seven times, the UEFA Team of the Year and FIFA World XI three times, he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2006 and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009. In 2010, The Guardian named Gerrard to their World XI team, which compiled the greatest footballers of all time onto one squad.He is, to date, the only footballer ever to have scored a goal in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a Champions League Final

Robin van Persie

  Robin van Persie when he came onto 

Arsene Wenger's radar in 2004, but he has 

emerged into one of the best strikers in 

the world for club and country.

A young forward with Feyenoord, Van Persie 

had only been playing in the Eredivisie 

club's first-team for a couple of seasons 

before opting to move to London for a 

paltry £2.75 million. Wenger transformed 

him from a left-winger to a forward and 

the result was impressive.

Handed his international debut with 

Netherlands in the summer of 2005, by the 

time the 2006 World Cup came around, Van 

Persie had forced his way into the Dutch 

first team. Initially injuries plagued his 

time with Arsenal, though his disciplinary 

problems abated, and his breakthrough came 

the season after his decent showing at 

Euro 2008 when he was named the club's 

player of the season after scoring 20 

goals in 44 appearances.

But just as he was drawing comparisons 

with some of the best strikers in Europe 

after operating as the central striker in 

Arsenal's 4-3-3 formation, Van Persie 

suffered a serious injury in a friendly 

international against Italy in November 

2009 that ruled him out for five months. 

Battling back once more, he helped to lead 

Netherlands to the final of the 2010 World 

Cup and his form in 2011-12 as club 

captain was among the best in the world as 

he smashed 26 league goals. However, come 

the end of the season, RVP announced that 

he would not be signing a new contract 

with the club and wanted to move on.

A week ahead of the new season he agreed 

terms with Manchester United over a £20m 

move

Samir Nasri

Samir Nasri is an attacking midfielder who plays for France and Arsenal in the English Premier League. Despite being right-footed, Samir is at his best when he is dancing down the left-hand flank. He is also adept at playing in the hole behind the strikers. He has played at every level of French international football, and has been closely watched by many in the game as a superstar of the future.

Nasri was born on June 26th 1987 in Marseille, France. He was brought up in a rough part of the city, with his Algerian parents unable to afford a house in a nicer area. There was a real danger that Samir would get involved in gangs and other dangerous pursuits, but from the very start all Samir wanted to do on the streets was play football.

At the age of 8 he was signed up for the local boys team, before being scouted by Olympique Marseille two years later.

Nasri first showcased his talents in the U17 Youth Championships, proving to Marseille he had the ability and skill to play football at the highest level. His debut followed soon after his match-winning goal in the final, when he was just 17 years old.

Nasri slowly played his way into the first team, with his youthful enthusiasm and tricks making him a favourite of both the fans and the manager. In May 2007 he won national acclaim when he was voted the Young Player of the Year, and this triggered interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Nasri decided that he needed another year in the Marseille first-team before he moved on, and scored 6 goals in 30 games to prove to the watching clubs that he was the real deal.

Arsene Wenger had been watching Samir Nasri’s progress for many years, and was delighted to win his signature when Nasri signed on July 11th 2008 for £13m. Arsene Wenger has placed his trust into the young-looking Frenchman, and Nasri has responded with neat passing football and some fantastic goals – including one just four minutes into his Premier League debut

Carlos Tévez

Carlos Tévez is a Juventus forward, who was born on 5 February 1984 in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In 1992 Carlos began his youth career at the All Boys youth academy and spent five years there. In 1997 Carlos Tévez transferred to the Boca Juniors academy and became one of the best trainees.

In 2001, Carlos was offered to join the first team and to sign the first contract in his career. During three years till 2004, Tévez made 75 appearances and scored 26 goals for Boca Juniors.

In 2004 the footballer drew attention of Corinthians that were interested in the player’s talent. From 2004 till 2006 Carlos Tévez played for Corinthians, netting 25 goals in 38 matches.

Carlos’s successfull performance attracted the attention of different European teams. The first club to win the struggle for Tévez was West Ham United from the English Premier League. Carlos was bought for £13.7 million and that transfer was the most expensive in the history of the Brazilian football. Tévez signed a four-year contract, but played only for a year. From 2006 till 2007 he made 26 appearances and netted seven goals.

Tévez’s talent, power and the goal flair made him number one on the list of the leading European clubs. In 2007 Carlos signed a long-term contract with Manchester United. The Red Devils paid £20 million for the Argentinian player. From 2007 till 2009 Carlos found the net 19 times in 63 matches.

In 2009 Manchester City, another Manchester club, paid £47 million for Carlos Tévez and signed a five-year contract with the player. Carlos became one of the team key players, in spite of the fact he missed four months in the 2011/2012 season. His absence was caused by a blow with Roberto Mancini, the club manager. At the end of the season Carlos apologized for his childish behavior and once again became the manager’s favourite. From 2009 Carlos made 107 appearances and delivered 58 goals.

In June 2013 Juventus came up with a £12m bid for the striker and secured his services.

From 2001 till 2004 Carlos Tévez was capped for the Argentina national U17 and U23 teams, appearing in 12 matches and scoring ten goals. From 2004 Carlos is a player of the Argentina national team, where he played 62 games and scored 13 goals

Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior is a Brazilian footballer, playing for Chelsea as an attacking midfielder.

He was born in 1991 in Americana, Brazil, and the youth academy he started in was União Barbarense. In 2004, he joined São Paulo FC and in 2008 made his debut for the main team, aged 17, he appeared in 11 matches during the 2009/10 season.

The following two seasons Oscar played for Internacional and in summer 2012 he moved to England where he joined the Premier League side Chelsea. He got number 11 shirt, which Didier Drogba used to wear earlier. The Brazilian made his debut for Chelsea substituting Eden Hazard in the match against Wigan Athletic. Twice he substituted Ramires: in a 4-2 win against Reading and in a 4-1 loss to Atletico Madrid at the UEFA Super Cup. Oscar scored twice at the Champions League group stage match against Juventus and was named ‘Man of the Match’.

The Brazilian footballer helped his national team to win the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Since 2011 he has been a part of the senior national team.


He was selected to represent Brazil at the 2012 Olympics. Consequently he was regarded as one of the Brazilian most talented footballers due to his assisted or scored goals.

Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard was born on 7 January 1991 in La Louvière and plays for Chelsea as an attacking midfielder.

In 1995, Eden began his football career for the Royal Stade Brainois youth club. Eden was playing for the club till 2003, then entered Tubize football academy, where he spent only two years. In 2005, Lille scouts visited the academy and were impressed by young midfielder. Eden caught their attention with his skills and they made a decision to invite the rising talent to their academy. Eden Hazard got a chance not to miss.

In 2007, Hazard finished his youth career by signing his first professional contract with Lille. The club manager trusted the attacking midfielder despite him being really young. From the very first season, Hazard has been playing either in the first team or substitutes his teammates during the match. From 1997, Eden played 130 games and netted 30 goals.

From 2006 till 2009, Eden Hazard was invited to the national teams U17 and U19: he played 26 games and scored 10 goals. From 2008 Eden plays for the Belgium national team: he capped 26 times and scored once

Sergio Leonel

 Sergio Leonel "Kun" Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988) is an Argentine footballer, who currently plays as a striker for Atlético Madrid.

Mainly a striker or centre-forward, he is usually partnered with another striker up front. Agüero earned his nickname Kun when his grandparents noted that his resemblance was that of Japanese anime character Kun Kun.

A regular member of the Argentine national team, his father-in-law is the current manager, former international superstar Diego Maradona.

When you are the son-in-law of the manager, there is a decent chance you will get a chance in the team so long as your talent is up to scratch and Diego Maradona looks certain to make use of Aguero's considerable talents in South Africa this summer.

At the age of nine he joined Independiente, the team he always supported, after showing great promise in several small-town teams such as Loma Alegre and Los Primos. A few years later, but much earlier than expected, he would fullfil another dream: making his debut in the top division. He was 15 years, one month and three days old when Oscar Ruggeri, by then Independiente's coach, sent him in as a replacement for Emanuel Rivas with 21 minutes to be played in a game against San Lorenzo.

Thus, Aguero broke Diego Maradona's record and became the youngest footballer to play an official game in the Argentine top division. Even though seven months would go by before he would start a game with the team, Aguero had already showed great promise and appeared to be the new icon of Argentine football.

By 2005, the offers from Europe started arriving and he was transferred to Atletico Madrid. Aguero has proved his class with four seasons worth of fine displays at Atletico since his arrival in Spain. His partnership with Uruguay's Diego Forlan has been dynamite for the capital city club, with his pace, power and finishing ability making him a real handful for any defender.

Agüero made his senior debut for Argentina in a friendly with Brazil, played at Emirates Stadium, England on 3 September 2006. As a teenager, he represented Argentina at three FIFA World Youth Championships. Together with future 2008 Olympics squad teammates Fernando Gago of Real Madrid and Lionel Messi of Barcelona, they won the 2005 edition in the Netherlands.

At the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada, he scored twice and helped set up three goals in a 6–0 win over Panama in the second game of the group stage of the tournament. Agüero then scored the only goal in Argentina's third match against North Korea from a free kick. Having qualified to the round of 16, he scored two of the three goals against Poland that would eventually give them the win (3–1) to advance. Argentina defeated Mexico in the quarter-finals and Chile in the semi-finals, and faced the Czech Republic in the finals. Agüero captained and scored the equaliser in the 62nd minute, leading to a 2–1 victory. In addition, Agüero won the Golden Boot for the tournament

NANI

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, more known as simply Nani in the world of football, is one of the most talented football players of his generation and a regular choice on his current club Manchester United, as well as the Portuguese National Team. For many years Nani has lived in Cristiano Ronaldo's shadow, as he followed the same steps of CR7, considering his short stay in Sporting CP and the move to Manchester United.

Nani was born in Cape Verde, but emigrated to Portugal with his family, at a very young age. He was raised in Portugal and started playing soccer (football) in a local club near Lisbon, Real Massamá. He only started training with Sporting C.P. when he turned 16, but he immediately made himself noticed and earned a spot in the first team short while after, in 2005. Nani great performances and displays allowed him to attract attentions from Manchester United in 2007, and he got transferred for a transfer fee of 25,5 Million euros.

Nani played with Cristiano Ronaldo in Sporting CP youth cathegories already, but he would finally play alongside with CR7 in a senior team after joining Manchester United. Similarly to Ronaldo, Nani first times in England weren't easy and the Portuguese player had to adapt to a new game concept and develop his physical appearence. Slowly, Nani has been becoming more influential and important in Manchester United, specially after Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for Real Madrid in 2009

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard was born in Romford, Essex on the 20th of June 1978. He came from a very football orientated family, with his father, uncle and cousins all heavily involved within the game. He spent most of his early years playing football in his local park, garden and sea coast while on summer holiday’s with the rest of his family. Frank Lampard has always been seen as a very determined individual, and that characteristic was associated with him from an early age. It earned him a place in Heath Park’s youth team. Lampard then went on to have trials for Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham – Frank followed his heart and signed a youth contract with the Hammers in 1994.

Frank_Lampard_Biography_WesthamHe was at West Ham for a year before he made the difficult decision to go out on loan to Swansea in 1995. Frank Lampard was a very family orientated man, however, he was determined to improve himself as a footballer and that’s what this move did for him. Although the training facilities at Swansea were of a considerably lower standard, Frank built up his strength and came back to Upton Park ready to fight for a first team place. It wasn’t until the 1998-99 season where he finally established himself as a regular first team player for West Ham. Frank Lampard appeared in every match that season for West Ham and he significantly helped his team push for a fifth place finish in the league. This though, attracted many of the key West Ham players to bigger clubs, Rio Ferdinand was first to leave Upton Park in 2000-01 from West Ham’s promising batch of youngsters. This, along with the fact that his uncle and father had quit their jobs as manager and assistant respectively meant a transfer to Chelsea Football Club in 2001 for a reported fee of £11 million pounds

David Villa

David Villa has become an idol for many football fans due to a successful career in all categories. Born in Tuilla and brought up in the gentle but hard working province of Asturias, ´Guaje´ as he is affectionately nicknamed in the football world, spent his childhood attached to a football. Very few people remember an image of David not kicking a ball.

David always had the support of his family, his father believed he had potential and is a constant and vital support in the footballer’s life.

His first team was Langreo, where he suffered an injury to his right leg and as a result, he began to work on strengthening his left leg. Whether it was out of necessity or perhaps to avoid losing the love he had felt for football since he was a child, this was how he became an ´ambidextrous´ footballer.

His attitude proved positive, but being a discreet and introverted person, home-loving and family orientated, he was quite shy about his success in climbing ladders in the world of football and his repute extended throughout the sporting world.

After Langreo he joined the Mareo School, at only 17 years old. Real Sporting would then become his team and there he played for the Youth team, the reserve B team and finally made his first appearance for the first team during the 2001/02 season.  For two years he defended Sporting’s colours in the Second Division, following in the steps of his idol, Enrique Castro `Quini´.

Real Zaragoza noticed his footballing qualities and signed him up in the summer of 2003.  During his time at Zaragoza, he made his debut for the National team. The now famous chant “Illa, illa, illa, Villa Maravilla” (Marvellous Villa) could be heard at the Romareda stadium during every home game from then on.

Just before the 2005/06 season began, and with numerous offers on the table, ´Guaje´ signed for Valencia CF.  The Club paid the get-out clause of his contract with Zaragoza, set at 12 million euros, and his talent became evident in Spain and in Europe. During that first season he scored 25 goals for Valencia and was the second highest goal scorer in the League. In the following two seasons he scored 15 and 18 goals in League matches.

That season he is moving towards a goal-scoring record, reaching the level of previous Valencia legends such as Kempes, Waldo and Mundo, the latter being the highest goal scorer in Valencia CF’s history.

The 2011-12 season also started on the right foot, but was stoppe unexpectedly on the 15th of December of 2011 in the Club World Cup semifinals. Guaje fractured his tibia and he was forced to say goodbye to the season. In fact, though he worked tirelessly in the recovery, he could not be available to Vicente del Bosque to participate in the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine in 2012.

Villa reappeared with FC Barcelona in August of 2012 and since then, he has been adding games and goals to show that he is once again the lethal striker before the injury. He has also regained his prominence with the ´Roja´ and he is helping with goals his team and the National Team. Another proof of his spirit of excellence and tremendous character, always in the service of his club and the Spanish National Team. 

In the summer of 2013, Guaje has taken another step in his career by signing with Atletico Madrid. More than 20,000 fans were at his official presentation because his arrival has generated a lot of illusion. From now, he will try to help Atletico with their work.

NATIONAL TEAM

His debut with the Spanish National Team was in Almería on 9th February 2005 in a World Cup 2006 qualifying match. Spain were playing against Ukraine and Guaje scored twice. His inclusion in the National team would then be in no doubt and in Euro Cup 2008 he became a National football idol. Now, he is the top scorer in the history of de Spanish team and has won a World Cup and a Eurocup.


FAMILY LIFE

David has been married to Patricia since 2003 and they have two daughters together named Zaida and Olaya and one son, Luca. As a lover of the Asturias countryside and the traditions of his hometown, Tuilla, David is a kind-hearted family man and extremely supportive of those in need.  His humility and warmth is valued by those who support him, his family and friends.
David has a strong sense of comradeship. He is respected in the dressing room and admired by his fans.  He has a high respect for his colleagues in his day to day work and much loved in the football world.


DAVID VILLA - FOOTBALLER

David Villa is a top footballer with technical quality and speed. He has a talent for scoring goals and reading the game quickly. His goal instincts and goal passes are important elements in his eminence as a player who makes a difference

Neymar

Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, or Neymar as he is known popularly, is a Brazilian footballer who represents the Brazilian club Santos as the main striker. Neymar is regarded as one of the finest young prospects of Brazilian football, and despite being only 19 years old; he has already made his debut for the Brazilian national team.

Neymar started his career with the youth Academy of Santos in 2003, and immediately the Brazilian club recognised that they had one of the finest young players in the world in their youth system. Neymar progressed through the youth ranks rapidly and he was finally promoted to the first-team in 2009. Despite being only 17 during the time of this debut, Neymar continued to make incredible progress. In the 2009 season when he made his debut, Neymar made a total of 48 appearances in all competitions and scored 14 goals.

Many regarded his goals return to be a little less for a player of this stature. Neymar soon answered his critics in the following season by scoring 60 goals in 42 appearances for the club in the 2010 season. It helped propel Santos into the latter stages of the South American equivalent of the Champions League. As he continued to impress onlookers with his goals and the performances, Neymar continued to attract attention from a number of clubs across Europe. Chelsea were the first to register their interest in the young Brazilian.

Chelsea also came very close to signing the Brazilian for a reported fee of around £30 million. However, Neymar rejected the offer from Chelsea citing reasons that he needs to develop more in order to survive in Europe, and that he needed one more season in the Brazilian league. It proved to be a great decision for both Neymar and Santos, who agreed to extend Neymar’s contract with the huge buyout clause in the region of £ 45 million. Santos do not completely own Neymar, whose five percentage interests are controlled by the Terceira Estrela Investimentos S.A – an investment group in Brazil.

This after Santos recently decided to cash in on the success of the young Brazilian by selling five percentage of his value. In the 2011 season, Neymar had made 33 appearances and scored 14 goals in the process.

Despite being extremely young, it did not take long for Neymar to make his international debut. He first made his debut for the Brazilian under 17 team in 2009, while he was soon promoted to the Brazilian under 20 side in 2011. His debut for the senior team came in 2010 in the match against the United States. It did not take long for him to open his account for his national team, as he scored with a header on his debut.

So far, he has won the Copa do Brasil, Campeonato Paulista, and the Copa Libertadores with Santos. With the national team, he has won the South American Youth Championship in 2011. He was also chosen as the Best Young Player of Campeonato Paulista in 2009

KAKA

Kaká was born on April 22, 1982, in 

Brasilia, Brazil. He made his professional 

debut with São Paulo's senior team. He 

aided his team in taking home the Torneio 

Rio-Sao Paulo title in 2001. In 2002 his 

team also took home the World Cup title. 

In 2003, the midfielder left his home 

country for a new team and a new contract 

in Milan, Italy. In 2009, Milan handed 

Kaká over to the Real Madrid club.
Contents

    Synopsis
    Early Life
    Outstanding Rookie Year
    Accolades at Milan
    Personal Life 

Early Life

Professional soccer player. Born Ricardo 

Izecson dos Santos Leite on April 22, 

1982, in Brasilia, the capital city of 

Brazil. A top-level player soccer player 

throughout his youth, Kaká began his move 

toward the professional ranks at the age 

of 15, when he signed to the São Paulo 

youth club. His bright career was brought 

to a halt only three years later, when a 

swimming pool accident fractured a 

vertebrae in his neck. The incident could 

have paralyzed the athlete, but Kaká fully 

healed. Crediting God for his miraculous 

recovery, the budding star began leading 

an actively Christian life, engaging in 

daily prayer; tithing a portion of his 

income to the church; refusing to swear; 

and remaining chaste until his marriage to 

childhood sweetheart Caroline Celico in 

2005.
Outstanding Rookie Year

A year after the injury, Kaká made his 

professional debut with São Paulo's senior 

team in dramatic fashion. In the closing 

minutes of a tight game he scored two 

times, sealing a win for his club. The 

performance proved to be the start of a 

successful rookie year that would see him 

score 12 times in just 27 games. He also 

aided his team in taking home the Torneio 

Rio-Sao Paulo title in 2001 - the only 

time the team has won the championship to 

date. In 2002, while seeing limited 

action, his team also took home the World 

Cup title.
Accolades at Milan

In 2003, the midfielder left his home 

country for a new team and a new contract 

in Milan, Italy. For Milan, the transfer 

had cost $10 million, a sum that the 

club's owner labeled as "peanuts" compared 

to the talent he was getting. It didn't 

take long for Kaká to live up to his 

pricetag. Over the next several seasons, 

Kaká assembled a player résumé like no 

other. His accolades included The Serie A 

Foreign Footballer of the Year title in 

2004 and 2006, as well as recognition as 

the Champions League Best Midfielder in 

2005.

But his finest season to date came in 

2007, when Kaká became the league's top 

scorer, and led his team to Champions 

League and Club World Cup titles. In 

addition, he was named the European 

Footballer of the Year, World Soccer 

Player of the year, FIFA World Cup Best 

Player, and FIFA World Player of the Year.

For much of his time in Milan, rumors 

circulated that he may leave for another 

team. In January 2009, talks heated up 

between Milan and Manchester City about a 

proposed $145 million transfer that would 

see Kaká move north to England. 

Negotiations eventually came undone, but 

not the rumors about the player's 

departure. Five months later, the Milan 

team - a club that was deeply in debt - 

handed Kaká over to the Real Madrid club 

in Spain for a $78 million, six-year 

contract.

For Kaká, the change meant a new team and 

a new contract, but not a new life. In a 

sport that has its share of glitz and 

glamour, the playmaker has been unafraid 

to voice his Christian faith. "Cars and 

women, things like that, have never been 

important to me," said the player. "My 

family, and my belief in God and Jesus are 

the things which determine my life. I do 

want to live my life in the right way, and 

live my life close to God." The player has 

tried to back up his words with action.

In 2004, he became the U.N. World Food 

Program's youngest ambassador, a 

recognition that has seen the soccer star 

support programs that try to address world 

hunger. In 2008, for example, he helped 

the organization launch "Fill the Cup", an 

ambitious relief effort that works to get 

food to the estimated 59 million children 

in developing countries.

In 2008, Kaká celebrated a different 

milestone when his wife gave birth to a 

baby boy, Luca Celico Leite. The couple 

resides in Madrid, Spain

Bale

 Conceived in 1989, Bale initially pulled in the consideration of Southampton Fc at the period of only nine. In school, he was such an immense ability, to the point that his Pe educator, Gwyn Morris, needed to encroach unique limitations on him to make it reasonable for the different understudies these incorporated playing one-touch football and not utilizing his left foot. In April of 2008, Bale turned into the second-most youthful player ever to sign for Southampton. In spite of playing at left-back he scored five objectives and was greatly awe inspiring in his first period. The Premier League soon came calling and in 2007 Bale marked a four-year manage Tottenham Hotspur. His vocation at White Hart Lane didn't get off to the best begin, as he played in a record 24 diversions without a score, yet in late 2009 he seized his opportunity to secure a standard place in the first group and since then he had turned out to be a top-class footballer with a staggering cap trap in Tottenham's Europa League tie against Inter Milan at the San Siro and a man-of-the-match exhibition in the return leg. Bunch has unsurprisingly likewise made numerous presence for Wales, and his ability has been contrasted with that of the incredible Ryan Giggs

Juan Manuel Mata Garcia

Juan Mata who now renown Football player was born in 28 

april 1988 in Ocón de Villafranca, Burgos.His Father name 

was Juan Manuel Mata Rodriguez .His father was also a 

great footballer and who played most for the club Real 

Oviedo . He was raised in his home town.

 CLUB CAREER:
Juan mata started his football career with real Oviedo 

from which his father also played a lot. He played for 

Real oviedo for three years and when he was 15 he started 

playing for Real Madrid.He played his senior club first 

match with Valencia FC spanish club.He got many injuries 

while playing for Chelsea FC and finally was tranfered to 

English club Chelsea on 21 August 2011.He played his first 

game against Norwich on 27 August and scored goal in 

stoppage time.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER:
He was the member of Spain national under 19 team in Uefa 

European football championship 2006.On 28 March he made 

his debut for Spanish International team in Fifa world cup 

2010 qualifier against Turkey.He scored his first 

International goal for Spain on 9th september 2009 in 

world cup 2010 qualifier.

CLUB GOALS:
TEAM :       APPEARANCES     GOALS
Valencia:              174                        46
Chelsea:               118                        32

INTERNATIONAL GOALS:
APPEARANCES       GOALS
      23                              6

Rooney

Wayne Rooney was born on October 24, 1985, in Croxteth, Liverpool, England. The temperamental but prolific scorer made his professional debut with Everton in 2002 but has enjoyed his greatest success as a member of the Manchester United club. One of the world's best-known soccer players, 

Rooney made his professional debut with Everton in August 2002. Two months later, he showed his penchant for scoring and coming up big in important games when he became the youngest-ever goal scorer in Premier League history. The goal put Rooney in the record books, and the last-minute score steered the team to a victory over Arsenal, which had come into the contest sporting a 30-game unbeaten streak. In 2002 Rooney captured the BBC Sports Young Personality of the Year award

Ronaldo

Born on September 18, 1976, in Itaguaí, Brazil, Ronaldo established himself as an unstoppable scorer for European soccer teams in the mid-1990s. He bounced back from a disappointing finish to the 1998 World Cup and a series of knee injuries to lead Brazil to victory in the 2002 World Cup, and retired in 2011 as one of the game's all-time greats

Football news

Lionel Messi and new strike partner Neymar were in sparkling form as Barcelona swept Real Sociedad aside on Tuesday by four goals to one.

The dynamic duo wasted no time in making their mark on the game and it was the Brazilian Neymar who got on the scoresheet in the 5th minute of the match after he was well positioned to turn in Alexis' cross from just off the goal line.

The Brazilian striker then turned provider three minutes later, sending in a sumptuous cross to Lionel Messi who bulleted a diving header into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Sergio Busquets got a third for Barcelona in the 23rd minute from distance with a terrifically executed effort after Messi had made an astonishing miss by hitting the crossbar from close range.

Alberto De la Bella pulled one back for the visitors in the second period but Marc Bartra ensured the defeat was humiliating when he turned home the fourth after an excellent Messi assist.