Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English Premier League club Manchester United.
He is the Netherlands national team's most capped player of all-time and one of the few footballers to have won the Champions League with two different teams, having won it with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008, the latter where he was named UEFA Man of the match.
Van der Sar was named UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 1995 and 2009, spanning the fourteen-year period between his first and second Champions league victories.

Personal life
Van der Sar is married to Annemarie van Kesteren. The couple's wedding ceremony took place at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, on 20 May 2006. The couple have two children: a son, Joe, and a daughter, Lynn. Joe was on the pitch celebrating when his father saved a penalty in the Netherlands' 5–4 shoot-out victory over Sweden in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals.


Honours

Club

Ajax
• Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98
• KNVB Cup: 1992–93, 1997–98, 1998–99
• Dutch Super Cup: 1993, 1994, 1995
• UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
• UEFA Cup: 1992
• UEFA Super Cup: 1995
• Intercontinental Cup: 1995

Juventus
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Fulham
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002
Manchester United
• Premier League: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• League Cup: 2005–06
• FA Community Shield: 2007, 2008
• UEFA Champions League: 2007–08
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

Individual
• Best European Goalkeeper: 1995, 2009
• Dutch Football Goalkeeper of the Year: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
• Dutch Golden Shoe: 1998
• PFA Team of the Year: 2007, 2009
• UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament
• Barclays Merit Award: 2008–09
• Barclays Golden Glove: 2008–09
• UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year: 2009

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite kaka

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite kaka


Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born 22 April 1982,He is commonly known as Kaká, is a Brazilian football midfielder who currently plays for Real Madridand the Brazilian national team.
He is widely considered as one of the best footballers of his generation[2], often drawing comparisons in style and ability to other great footballers as Michel Platini, Sócrates, Zico, and Pelé.
His footballing style is unique as he has the technique of a Brazilian and the physical qualities of a European.[3] Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight when he began playing for a local club called "Alphaville". By then, he also played tennis and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football. He was the recipient of both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. Besides his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is also famous for his humanitarian works and work against poverty. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest Ambassador of the UNICEF food program. Having coming back from an almost paralyzing accident in 2001 at the age of 18, Kaká attributes his recovery to God.

Early life

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born in Brasília to Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite (a civil engineer) and Simone Cristina Santos Leite.[citation needed] He had a financially-secure upbringing
that allowed him to focus on both school and football at the same time.[4] His younger brother Rodrigo (known as Digão) is also a professional footballer.

When he was seven, his family moved to São Paulo.[5] His school had arranged him in a local youth club called "Alphaville," who qualified to the final in a local tournament.[6] There he was
discovered by hometown club São Paulo FC, who offered an assignment.[7]

At the age of 18, Kaká suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spinal fracture as a result of a swimming pool accident,[8] but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes
his recovery to God and has since tithed his income to his Church


Honours

São Paulo
• Copa São Paulo de Juniores: 2000
• Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 2001

Milan
• Serie A: 2003–04
• Italian Super Cup: 2003–04
• UEFA Champions League: 2006–07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2003-04, 2007–08
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2007

International
• FIFA World Cup: 2002
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005, 2009

Individual
• Revista Placar Bola de Ouro: 2002
• Campeonato Brasileiro Bola de Prata (best player by position): 2002
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2003
• Serie A Best new player: 2003
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2006, 2007
• Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2007
• UEFA Champions League Bronze Top scorer: 2005–06
• UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder: 2005
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2007
• FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007, 2008
• Pallone d'Argento: 2006–07
• UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 2006–07
• UEFA Champions League Best Forward: 2006–07
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2006-07
• FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2007
• Ballon d'Or: 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2007
• Toyota Award: 2007
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 2007
• Onze d'Or: 2007
• IFFHS World‘s Best Playmaker: 2007
• IAAF Latin Sportsman of the Year: 2007
• Time 100: 2008, 2009
• Maracanã Hall Of Fame: 2008
• Samba d'Or: 2008
• FIFA Team of the Year: 2008
• FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball: 2009
• FIFA Confederations Cup Best XI: 2009

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres


Fernando José Torres Sanz (born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spanish national team as a striker.
Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth ranks. He made his professional debut in 2001 and finished his career with the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances, earning the nickname El Niño ("The Kid"). Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Liverpool in 2007, after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool's first player, since Robbie Fowler in 1995–96, to score more than 20 league goals in a season.
He is also a Spanish international and made his debut for the country against Portugal in 2003. He has since participated in three major tournaments, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He did not score a goal at Euro 2004, but he scored three at World Cup 2006. Torres scored the winning goal for Spain in their 1–0 win over Germany in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final.
Early career
Born in Madrid, Torres became interested in football as a child and joined his first team, Parque 84, at the age of five. His father José worked during Torres' childhood, and his mother Flori daily traveled with him to training sessions. His grandfather was not a passionate football fan, but took pride in being an Atlético Madrid supporter, and Torres inherited the love for the club.
Torres started playing football as a goalkeeper, the position his brother played in. When he was seven years old, however, he started playing regularly as a striker in an indoor league for the neighborhood club, Mario’s Holland, using the characters from the anime Captain Tsubasa as inspiration. Three years later, aged 10, he progressed to an 11-side team, Rayo 13. He scored 55 goals in a season and was one of three Rayo 13 players to earn a trial with Atlético Madrid. He impressed the scouts and joined the club in 1995.


International appearances
National team Year Friendly Competitive Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Ratio
Spain
2003–04 5 1 5 0 10 1 0.1
2004–05 4 1 6 1 10 2 0.2
2005–06 6 1 9 9 15 10 0.67
2006–07 2 0 6 1 8 1 0.13
2007–08 5 0 7 3 12 3 0.25
2008–09 3 3 10 3 13 6 0.46
Career Total 25 6 43 17 68 23 0.34

Honours

Atlético Madrid

• Segunda División: 2001–02

International

• UEFA European under-16 Championship: 2001
• UEFA European under-19 Championship: 2002
• UEFA European Championship: 2008

Individual

• Nike Cup top scorer: 1999Algarve Tournament Player of the Tournament:
• 2001Algarve Tournament top scorer: 2001
• UEFA European under-16 Championship Player of the Tournament: 2001
• UEFA European under-16 Championship top scorer: 2001
• UEFA European under-19 Championship Player of the Tournament: 2002
• UEFA European under-19 Championship top scorer: 2002
• PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2008–09
• Premier League Player of the Month: February 2008
• Liverpool top scorer: 2007–08
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2008
• FIFPro World XI: 2007–08