Monday, June 2, 2008

MARCO VAN BASTEN


Marcel "Marco" van Basten (October 31, 1964 in Oog in Al, Utrecht) is a Dutch football manager, currently in charge of the Dutch national team. 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 strikers 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.


Honours

Club Honours

Individual honours

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OLIVER KAHN


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 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." He made his last professional appearance for FC Bayern Munich on 27th May, 2008 at the Salt Lake Stadium (Yuvabharati Krirangan), 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 Kaiser Kahn in the 55th minute.

Honours

Club Titles

  • Bundesliga: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008
  • German Cup: 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008
  • Liga-Pokal: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007

National Team

Personal Honours

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FRANZ BECKENBAUER


Franz Anton Beckenbauer (born September 11, 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, and 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.

In 1999, he was voted second place, behind Johan Cruijff in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS and he was voted third, behind Pelé and Johan Cruijff, in IFFHS' World Player of the Century election.

Today, Beckenbauer remains an influential figure in both German and international football. He led Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup and chaired the organizing committee.



Honours

Club

Bayern Munich

Hamburger SV

New York Cosmos

  • NASL Championship -Winner: 1976-1977, 1977-1978, 1979-1980
  • Trans-Atlantic Cup Championships -Winner: 1980, 1983

International

Managerial

Individual

  • FIFA World Cup Golden Ball-Runner-up: 1974
  • FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament: 1966, 1970, 1974
  • European Football Championships Team of the Tournament: 1972, 1976
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PAOLO MALDINI


Paolo Maldini (born 26 June 1968 in Milan) is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club A.C. Milan. The son of Cesare Maldini, he has spent his entire career with Milan, and is the most-selected player in both the history of the club and Serie A. He was named among Pelé's top 125 living footballers in 2004. On 16 December 2007, after winning the FIFA Club World Cup over Boca Juniors, he announced that he will retire at the end of the season, but later stated that he may reconsider his retirement.

Maldini played at the left back position for the majority of his career and has played the centre back position since 2002, but he made several appearances at left back in the 2007-08 season.



Honours

AC Milan



  • Winner (5): 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004
  • Runner-up (3): 1996, 1999, 2003
  • Winner (2): 1989, 1990
  • Runner-up (3): 1993, 1994, 2003

International

FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 1994

Third place: 1990

UEFA European Championship:- Runner-up: 2000


Personal

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ZINADENE ZIDANE


Zinedine Yazid Zidane (BORN ON 23 June 1972 in Marseille), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a French former professional football midfielder of Algerian Kabyle Berber descent. He was a member of the French national team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, and was also the recipient of the Golden Ball after he captained the French side to the 2006 World Cup final, a match that saw his career end in controversy after he was sent off for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.

He played for four European clubs and lifted the 2002 UEFA Champions League trophy with Real Madrid C.F. after scoring the match-winning goal. One of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners (Ronaldo the other), he also finished in the top three an additional three occasions, and was also named European Footballer of the Year in 1998. In 2004, fans voted him atop UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll, and he was included in Pelé's selection of the 125 greatest living footballers.

Zidane retired from professional football after the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Honours

Club

Country

Individual



































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RAUL GONZALEZ


Raúl González Blanco (born June 27, 1977 in Madrid, Spain), usually referred to as Raúl, is a Spanish professional football forward. He has been playing for Real Madrid at senior level since 1994, and is the team captain since 2003. He is also a member of the Spanish national team, and is its all-time leading goal scorer with 44 goals. He represented Spain in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments. With Real Madrid, he has won the UEFA Champions League three times, and is the all-time leading scorer of that competition with 61 goals.

Raúl is currently seventh highest goalscorer in the history of Spain's top flight, with 205 goals in 483 games. All of these goals were for Real Madrid, making Raúl the club's second highest goalscorer of all time. He is also called 'El siete' (The Seven), 'El Angel del Madrid' (Madrid's Angel), and 'El Capitán' (The Captain) by fans and pundits.

When playing, he wears jersey number 7 for both club and country (except WC'98 and EC'00 he wore 10 for Spain). He has been wearing the number 7 shirt for Real Madrid since he was 19.

His current contract with Real Madrid runs until 2011 and will be extended for a year each as long as he plays at least 30 official games for Real Madrid in his last year of a contract. This means that he will likely play for the club for the rest of his career. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest Spanish Footballers of all time.



Honors

Club

Individual

Achievements

  • Scored the 800th goal in Spain's national team history, March 27, 1999 vs Austria.
  • Scored the 900th goal in Spain's national team history, September 7, 2002 vs Greece.
  • Spanish national team all-time leading scorer with 44 goals..
  • Most appearances for an outfield player in the Spanish national team with .
  • Top active scorer in La Liga.
  • Top UEFA Champions League appearances with 116.[4][2].
  • UEFA Champions League all-time leading scorer with 61 goals.
  • UEFA all-time leading scorer with 63 goals.
  • 2 goals in 3 UEFA Champions League Finals.
  • Has gone 30 months without receiving a yellow card and has never been sent off at professional level.
  • 7 all-time top scorer in La Liga (205): 1 Zarra 251, 2 Hugo Sánchez 234, 3 Di Stéfano 227, 4 César 226, 5 Quini 219, 6 Pahíño 210, 7 Raúl 205.
  • 2 all-time top scorer in La Liga with Real Madrid: 1 Di Stéfano 216, 2 Raúl 205.
  • 2 all-time top-scorer in Real Madrid history: 1 Di Stéfano 307, 2 Raúl 292..
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PELE


Edison Arantes do Nascimento (born October 23, 1940 in Três Corações, Brazil), best known by his nickname Pelé, is a former Brazilian football player, rated by many as the greatest footballer of all time. He was given the title of Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee

In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero. He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football, in addition to being officially declared the football ambassador of the world by FIFA and a national treasure by the Brazilian government. He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil). During his career, he became known as "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei). He is also a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Spotted by football star Waldemar de Brito, Pelé began playing for Santos Futebol Clube at 15 and his national team at 16, and won his first World Cup at 17. Despite numerous offers from European clubs, the current economic conditions and Brazilian Football regulations benefited Santos FC, thus enabling them to keep Pelé for almost two decades until his semi-retirement in 1974. Pelé played as an inside forward, striker, and what later became known as the playmaker position. Pelé's technique and natural athleticism have been universally praised; he was renowned for his excellent dribbling and passing, his paced, powerful shot, exceptional heading ability, and prolific goalscoring.

He is the all-time top scorer in the history of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning teams. It should be noted that though he was named part of the 1962 squad, he was injured and did not receive a winner's medal. In November 2007 FIFA announced that he would however be awarded the 1962 medal, making him the only player in the world to have three World Cup gold medals.

Since his full retirement in 1977 Pelé has been an ambassador for football and has also undertaken various acting roles and commercial ventures.

Honours

Club

Country

The tally of 32 team trophies makes him, together with Vítor Baía, the player with most career titles.

Individual

In December 2000, Pelé was named Footballer of the Century by FIFA. The award was intended to be based upon votes in a web poll, but after it became apparent that it favoured Diego Maradona, many observers complained that the Internet nature of the poll would have meant a skewed demographic of younger fans who would have seen Maradona play, but not Pelé. FIFA then appointed a "Family of Football" committee of soccer experts to decide the winner of the award. Maradona was instead awarded the title of FIFA Internet Player of the Century. Allegations that the Internet poll had been bombarded by Argentine fans still remain to this day.

A consensus of media and expert polls rank Pelé as the greatest footballer of all time.

In 2005 Pelé won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award

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