Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE[2] (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh footballer who has played for Manchester United for his entire club career. He established himself as a left-winger during the 1990s and continued in this position well into the 2000s, but more recently has played in a deeper playmaking role.

Giggs holds a host of football records, including that of being the most decorated player in English football history. On 16 May 2009, he became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to have played and scored in every single season of the Premier League since its inception.

Giggs has had a long-lasting domestic and continental career and is the first player in UEFA Champions League history to have scored in 12 successive seasons, on top of being elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007,[3] the English Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs is also the only United player to have played in all 11 Premier League winning teams and all three League Cup winning teams. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, held on 21 May 2008, Giggs surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the club's all-time leader in appearances.

At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country. As well as the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends, he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to

English Football.

Manchester United first team

Overview

Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990-91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991-92 season. He holds the club record for competitive appearances, and the club record for team trophies won by a player (23). Since 1992, he has collected 11 Premier League winner's medals, 4 FA Cup winner's medals, 3 League Cup winner's medals and 2 Champions League winner's medals. He also has runner-up medals from the Champions League, 2 FA Cup finals and 2 Football League Cup finals, as well as being part of 4 United teams to have finished second in the league. In recent years, Giggs has captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries. Giggs is the only Manchester United player to have scored in every season of the Premier League for the club.

Personal information

Full name Ryan Joseph Giggs
Date of birth 29 November 1973 (1973-11-29) (age 35)
Place of birth Canton, Cardiff, Wales
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Manchester United
Number 11
Youth career
1985–1987 Manchester City
1987–1990 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)
1991– Manchester United 569 (104)
National team
1990 Wales U21 1 (0)
1991–2007 Wales 64 (12)

Honours

Manchester United

* Premier League (11): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
* FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
* Football League Cup (3): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09
* FA Community Shield (7): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008
* UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08
* UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991
* Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999
* FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

* PFA Player of the Year: 2009
* PFA Young Player of the Year: 1992, 1993
* Bravo Award: 1993
* BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year: 1996

* Wales Player of the Year Award: 1996, 2006
* FA Premier League Player of the Month: September 1993, August 2006, February 2007
* PFA Team Of The Century: 2007[3]
* PFA Team of the Year: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2009
* Goal of the Season: 1999
* English Football Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2005

Records

* Only Manchester United player to have played in all eleven Premier League-winning teams and only player to win 11 league titles
* Only Manchester United player to have played in all three League Cup-winning teams
* Only player to have scored in eleven consecutive Champions League tournaments
* Only player to have scored in fourteen different Champions League tournaments
* Only player to have scored in every Premier League campaign since its inception
* Most appearances by a Manchester United player

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard,is an English footballer who plays for English Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. He is usually employed in the central midfield role, although he has also played as a right or left-sided midfielder and a second striker.

Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his debut in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in the 2000-01 season, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool team captain in 2003. His honours include a pair of FA Cups and two Football League Cup wins, as well as the UEFA Cup in 2001 and the UEFA Champions League in 2005, following Liverpool's comeback in the final. As of 13 May 2009, Gerrard is also the current holder of the FootballWriters' Association Footballer of the Year award.

Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and represented England in the UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004 as well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he was the team's top goalscorer.Gerrard placed second in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, a Liverpool F.C.fan poll

Early career

Born in Whiston, Merseyside, Gerrard started out playing for hometown team Whiston Juniors, where he was noticed by Liverpool scouts. He joined the Reds' youth academy at the age of nine.[3] 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."[4] He signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on 5 November 1997.

Personal information

Full name Steven Gerrard
Date of birth 30 May 1980 (1980-05-30) (age 29)
Place of birth Huyton, Merseyside,
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Midfielder

Club information

Current club Liverpool
Number 8

Youth career

1987–1997 Liverpool

Senior career
Years Club Apps (Gls)
1998– Liverpool 340 (74)
National team
1999 England U-21 004 0(1)
2000– England 076 (16)[1]

Honours

Liverpool

Winner

* FA Cup (2): 2000–01, 2005–06
* League Cup (2): 2000–01, 2002–03
* FA Community Shield (2): 2001–02, 2006–07
* UEFA Champions League (1): 2004–05
* UEFA Cup (1): 2000–01
* UEFA Super Cup (2): 2001–02, 2005–06

Runner-up

* FA Premier League (2): 2001-02, 2008-09
* League Cup (1): 2004–05
* FA Community Shield (1): 2002–03
* UEFA Champions League (1): 2006–07
* FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2005

Individual

* FWA Footballer of the Year: 2008–09
* PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2005–06[22]
* PFA Young Player of the Year: 2000–01[22]
* PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2000-01, 2008-09
* PFA Team of the Year: 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
* FA Premier League Player of the Month: March 2001, March 2003, December 2004, April 2006, March 2009
* Goal of the Season: 2005-06
* UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2004–05
* UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 2004–05
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007
* FA Cup Final Man of the Match: 2005–06
* FIFPro World XI: 2006–07, 2007–08

Iker Casillas

Casillas



Iker Casillas Fernández was born on 20,May 1981 in Móstoles, Madrid. He is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and as captain of the Spanish national team. He is currently first-choice goalkeeper for both club and country. As captain of the national side, he led a young Spanish team to their first European Championship in 44 years. He was ranked 4th in the 2008 Ballon d'Or, higher than any other goalkeeper in that year.

Real Madrid

Casillas is a product of Real Madrid's youth system, and started in the junior squad during the 1990–91 season. He was first called-up by the first team in 2November 1997 to face Rosenborg in UEFA Champions League 1997–98 when was just 16 years old at that time , but it wasn't until the 1998–99 season that he debuted in the senior side, replacing Bodo Illgner, and was in Real's starting lineup the next season. In 2000, he became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to ever play in a Champions League final when Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3-0 just four days after his nineteenth birthday.

Casillas lost his place in the side to backup César Sánchez after a patch of bad form during the 2001–02 campaign, but Sánchez suffered an injury in the last minutes of 2002 Champions League final match. Casillas came on and pulled off several brilliant saves to deny a rampant Bayer Leverkusen the Champions League crown. The Whites won 2-1 and the twenty-year-old has maintained the number 1 shirt ever since.

During the 2007–08 season, Casillas helped Real Madrid to win their 31st "Liga" title and conceded only 32 goals in 36 games to claim the Zamora Trophy. On 14 February 2008, he and club captain Raúl were awarded new contractextensions.Casillas signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2017, with an automatic extension if he plays 30 competitive matches during the final season ofthe contract and a buy-out clause of £113 million.

At the end of the season, he won the Zamora Trophy for the best goals conceded to games ratio in the league.During the 2009 summer transfer window, some Spanish media reported that Manchester City had launched a record £129 million bid for the goalkeeper.
However the club denied the allegations saying that no such offer had been made. Casillas himself stated that he "had no intention of leaving" his boyhood club

Honours

Real Madrid

* La Liga: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08
* Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003, 2008.
* UEFA Champions League: 1997–98, 1999–00, 2001–02
* UEFA Super Cup: 2002
* Intercontinental Cup: 2002

Spain (youth level)

* UEFA U-15 Championship:[18] 1995
* UEFA U-16 Championship: 1997
* UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup: 1999
* FIFA World Youth Championship: 1999

Spain

* UEFA European Championship: 2008

Individual

* Bravo Award: 2000
* Don Balón Award for Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2000
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2007,2008
* ESM Team of the Year: 2007–08
* Zamora Trophy: 2007–08
* ESM Team of the Month: April-May 2000, January 2001, May 2002, February-March 2004, October-December 2007, January 2008, April 2008
* UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament
* FIFPro World XI: 2007–08
* IFFHS Best Goalkeeper: 2008
* FIFA.com Team of the Year: 2008

XAVI

XAVI


Xavier Hernández i Creus (born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest playmakers in world football, Xavi was named the official Man of the Match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their third European Cup. He was named Best Player by UEFA at Euro 2008[2] and was one of the five finalists for the 2007-08 FIFA World Player of the Year. In all he has been capped more than 70 times for the Spanish national team and has played for his country in the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup,UEFA Euro 2008, and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.


Personal information

Full name Xavier Hernández i Creus
Date of birth 25 January 1980 (1980-01-25) (age 29)
Place of birth Terrassa, Spain
Height 1.70m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder

Club information

Current club Barcelona
Number 6

Youth career

1991–1997 Barcelona

Senior career

Years Club Apps† (Gls)
1997–1999 Barcelona B 55 (3)
1998– Barcelona 323 (32)

National team

1997 Spain U17 10 (2)
1997–1998 Spain U18 10 (0)
1999 Spain U20 6 (2)
1998–2001 Spain U21 25 (7)
2000 Spain U23 6 (2)
2000– Spain 80 (8)
1998– Catalonia 7 (2)

Honours and awards

FC Barcelona

* La Liga (4): 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
* Copa del Rey (1): 2008–09
* UEFA Champions League (2): 2005–06, 2008–09
* Supercopa de España (3): 2005, 2006, 2009
* UEFA Super Cup (1): 2009

Spain U-20

* FIFA U-20 World Cup : 1999

Spain U-23

* Olympic Games: 2000 Silver Medal

Spain

* UEFA European Football Championship: 2008

Individual

* Don Balón Award for Breakthrough Player of the Year : 1999
* Don Balón Award for Spanish Player of the Year in La Liga: 2005 [10]
* Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament
* FIFPro World XI : 2007-08
* IFFHS World's best playmaker: 2008
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2008, 2009
* FIFA.com Team of the Year: 2008
* UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Top assister
* UEFA Club Best Midfielder: 2008-09

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC


Early life

Ibrahimovic was born to a Bosniak father, Šefik, and a Croatian mother, Jurka, who emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. Ibrahimovic grew up in

Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities, along with his three sisters and two brothers. After receiving his football boots,

Ibrahimovic began playing football at the age of six, alternating between local junior clubs Malmö BI and FBK Balkan] While in his early teens, he was a

regular in his hometown club Malmö FF. At the age of 15, Ibrahimovic was close to quitting his football career, in favor of working at the docks in Malmö, but

his manager convinced him to continue playing. Ibrahimovic successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade, and though he was admitted to

Borgarskolan, he soon dropped out of high school to focus on his football career.


Personal information

Date of birth 3 October 1981 (1981-10-03) (age 28)
Place of birth Malmö, Sweden
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Barcelona
Number 9


Youth career

1987–1991 Malmö BI
1989–1995 Balkan
1995–1999 Malmö FF

Senior career*

Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
1999–2001 Malmö FF 40 (16)
2001–2004 Ajax 74 (35)
2004–2006 Juventus 70 (23)
2006–2009 Internazionale 88 (57)
2009– Barcelona 5 (5)

National team
2001 Sweden U-21 7 (6)
2001– Sweden 58 (22)

Honours

Ajax

* Eredivisie (2): 2001-02, 2003-04
* KNVB Cup (1): 2001-02
* Johan Cruijff-schaal (1): 2002-03

Internazionale

* Italian Serie A (3): 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09
* Italian Super Cup (2): 2006, 2008

Barcelona

* Supercopa de España (1): 2009
* UEFA Super Cup (1): 2009

Individual

* Serie A Top Scorer: 2009
* Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2005, 2008
* Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2008
* Serie A Goal of the Year: 2008
* Guldbollen: 2005, 2007, 2008
* Jerringpriset (Sweden's Sports Personality of the Year): 2007
* Swedish Male Athlete of the Year: 2007
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2007