THIERY HENRY

Thierry Henry

Hierry Daniel Henry was born on 17 August 1977.He is a French footballer who plays
for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona andthe French national team predominantly as
a striker.

Personal information

Full name Thierry Daniel Henry
Date of birth 17 August 1977
(1977-08-17) (age 32)
Place of birth Les Ulis, Essonne, France
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Striker/Winger

Club information
Current club Barcelona
Number 14

Youth career
1983–1989 CO Les Ulis
1989–1990 US Palaiseau
1990–1992 Viry-Châtillon
1992 Clairefontaine
1992–1994 Monaco

Senior career*
Years Club Apps (Gls)
1994–1999 Monaco 105 (20)
1999 Juventus 18 (3)
1999–2007 Arsenal 254 (174)
2007– Barcelona 62 (31)

National team
1997– France 114 (50)


Henry was born in the tough neighbourhoodof Les Ulis, Essonne—a suburb of Paris—where he played for an array oflocal sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million
in 1999.

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer
for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach

Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to Barcelona
for a fee of €24 million. His first honours with the Catalan club came in 2008–09 when they won the league, cup and Champions League treble.

Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the
1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. His footballing style and personality have ensured that he is one of the most commercially marketable footballers in the world; he has been featured in advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Renault, Pepsi and Gillette.

Early years

Henry is of Antillean heritage: his father, Antoine, is from Guadeloupe (La
Désirade island), and his mother, Maryse, is from Martinique. He was born and raised in a tough environment in the heavily urbanized Les Ulis district of Paris which, despite its hardships, provided good footballing facilities. As a seven-year-old, Henry showed great potential, prompting Claude Chezelle to recruit him to the local club CO Les Ulis. His father pressured him to attend training, although the youngster was not particularly drawn to football. He joined US Palaiseau in 1989, but after a year his father fell out with the club, so Henry moved to ES Viry-Châtillon for two years. US Palaiseau coach Jean-Marie Panza, Henry's future mentor, followed him there

Awards and honours

Henry has received many plaudits and awards in his football career. He was runner-up for the 2003 and 2004 FIFA World Player of the Year award; in those two seasons, he also won back-to-back PFA Players' Player of the Year titles.Henry is the only player ever to have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times (2003, 2004, 2006),and the French Player of the Year on a record four occasions. Henry was voted into the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade in the 10 Seasons Awards poll in 2003, and in 2004 he was named by football legend Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living
footballers.In terms of goal-scoring awards, Henry was the European Golden Boot winner in 2004 and 2005 (sharing it with Villarreal's Diego Forlán in 2005) and is the first ever player to retain the award. Henry has also been the top goal-scorer in the Premiership for four seasons (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). In 2006, he became the first player to score more than 20 goals in the league for five consecutive seasons (2002 to 2006). Henry is currently third in the list of all-time English Premiership goal-scorers, behind Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Given his accomplishments, France's all-time goal-scorer is today regarded by many coaches, footballers and pundits as one of the best footballers in the world. In November 2007, he was ranked 33rd on the Association of Football Statisticians' compendium for "Greatest Ever Footballers". Arsenal fans honoured their former player in 2008, declaring Henry the greatest Arsenal player. In another 2008 survey, Henry emerged as the favourite Premier League player of all time among 32,000 people surveyed in the Barclays 2008 Global Fan Report.

Monaco

* Ligue 1: 1996–97
* French Super Cup: 1997
Arsenal

* FA Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
* FA Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
* FA Community Shield: 2002, 2004

Barcelona

* La Liga: 2008–09
* Copa del Rey: 2008–09
* UEFA Champions League: 2008–09
* Supercopa de España: 2009
* UEFA Super Cup: 2009


International

* FIFA World Cup: 1998
* UEFA European Football

Championship: 2000
* FIFA Confederations Cup: 2003

Individual

* UEFA Football Championship Team of

the Tournament: 2000
* Confederations Cup top goalscorer:

2003
* Confederations Cup Golden Ball:

2003
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2006
* Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year:

1996–97
* PFA Players' Player of the Year:

2002–03, 2003–04
* European Golden Boot: 2004, 2005
* Premier League top scorer: 2001–02,

2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06.
* Onze d'Or: 2003, 2006
* PFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002,

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
* FWA Footballer Of The Year:

2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
* World XI Striker: 2006
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002,

2003, 2004, 2006
* French Player of the Year: 2000,

2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
* English Football Hall of Fame: 2008
* Barclays Player of the Month: April

2000, September 2002, January 2004, April

2004
* FIFA 100
* Time 100: 2007

ARSENE WENGER

Arsène Wenger

Personal information

Date of birth 22 October 1949 (1949-10-22) (age 59)
Place of birth Strasbourg, France
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position Sweeper
Club information

Current club Arsenal (Manager)
Youth career
0000–1969 FC Duttlenheim
1969–1973 AS Mutzig

Senior career*
Years Club Apps (Gls)†
1973–1975 Mulhouse 039 0(7)
1975–1978 ASPV Strasbourg 080 (20)
1978–1981 RC Strasbourg 011 0(0)
Total 130 (27)

Teams managed
1984–1987 Nancy
1987–1994 AS Monaco
1995–1996 Nagoya Grampus Eight
1996– Arsenal

Arsène Wenger, OBE was born on 22 October 1949 in Strasbourg. He is a French football manager who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996.[3] He is the most successful manager in the history of Arsenal in terms of trophies and is also the club's longest-serving manager in terms of matches played (having passed the 700 mark in December 2008).[3][4] Wenger is the only non-British manager to win the Double in England, having done so in 1998 and 2002. In 2004, he became the only manager in FA Premier League history to go through the entire season without defeat. Wenger is widely regarded as one of the world's best managers after the success he has enjoyed at AS Monaco and Arsenal. Wenger has a degree in Electrical Engineering and a master's degree in Economics[5] from Strasbourg University and is fluent in French, German, Spanish and English; he also speaks some Italian and Japanese

Early career

Wenger spent much of his youth playing football and organizing matches at the village team, FC Duttlenheim, where he made the first team at 16 and was subsequently recruited to nearby third division club AS Mutzig by the team's manager Max Hild, who would go on to become his mentor, advising Wenger on managerial decisions later in career, and whose team had been noted for playing the "best amateur football" in France. Wenger's playing career was modest. He played as a defender for various amateur clubs while studying at the Institut Européen d'Etudes Commerciales Supérieures de Strasbourg of Robert Schuman University, where he completed a master's degree in 1971. Wenger turned professional in 1978, making his debut for RC Strasbourg against Monaco. He only made twelve appearances for the team, including two as they won the Ligue 1 title in 1978-79, and played once in the UEFA Cup in the same season. In 1981, he obtained a manager's diploma and was appointed the coach of the club's youth team. After his stint at Strasbourg, Wenger joined AS Cannes as assistant manager in 1983

Managerial career

Wenger's first senior job was at Nancy, which he joined in 1984, but he enjoyed little success there: during his third and final season in charge, Nancy finished 19th and were relegated to the second tier of French football (now Ligue 2). His managerial career took off when he became the manager of AS Monaco in 1987. He won the league in 1988 (his first season in charge) and the French Cup in 1991, and signed high-calibre players such as Glenn Hoddle, George Weah and Jürgen Klinsmann. He also signed 23-year old Youri Djorkaeff from Strasbourg; the future World Cup winner finished joint top goalscorer in Ligue 1 (with 20 goals) during Wenger's final season in France. Wenger was shortlisted for the managerial role at Bayern Munich, but could not take the job due to Monaco's board refusing to allow them to talk with Wenger, only to release Wenger several weeks later after the post was filled.

He moved on to a successful 18-month stint with the Japanese J. League team Nagoya Grampus Eight, with whom he won the Emperor's Cup, the national cup competition. He also took the club from the bottom three to runners-up position in the league.At Grampus, he hired former Valenciennes manager Boro Primorac, whom he had met during the 1993 match-fixing scandal involving Olympique de Marseille, as his assistant. Wenger, who'd long held the view that Marseille was acting improperly, fully supported the Yugoslavian coach when he attempted (ultimately with success) to clear himself from any wrongdoing. Primorac would remain Wenger's "right-hand man" for years to come, and still held that position in 2009.

Wenger had in the meantime become a friend of the then Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, after the two had met when Wenger attended a match between Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers in 1988. After Bruce Rioch was sacked in August 1996, Gérard Houllier, the then technical director of the French Football Federation, recommended Wenger to David Dein in the summer of 1996. Arsenal confirmed his appointment on 28 September 1996, and he officially took up the reins on 1 October. Wenger was Arsenal's first manager from outside the UK. Though he had previously been touted as a potential technical director of the Football Association, at the time Wenger was a relative unknown in England, where The Evening Standard newspaper greeted his nomination with the headline 'Arsene Who?'.

A month before Wenger formally took charge of the team, Wenger requested that the club sign French midfielders Patrick Vieira and Rémi Garde. His first match was a 2-0 away victory over Blackburn Rovers on 12 October 1996. Arsenal finished third in Wenger's first season, missing out on second place (occupied by Newcastle United), and hence the Champions League qualification, on goal difference.

In his second season (1997-98), Arsenal won both the Premier League and FA Cup, the second Double in the club's history. Arsenal had made up a twelve-point deficit on Manchester United and secured the league title with two games left. Key to the success was the inherited defense of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown, along with striker Dennis Bergkamp and a blend of Wenger's new signings, Emmanuel Petit as a partner for Patrick Vieira, winger Marc Overmars, and teenage striker Nicolas Anelka.


Honours

Player

Strasbourg

* Ligue 1: 1978–79

Manager

Monaco

Winner

* Ligue 1 (1): 1987–88
* Coupe de France (1): 1990–91

Runner-up

* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1991–92
* Ligue 1 (3): 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93

Nagoya Grampus

Winner

* Emperor's Cup (1): 1996
* J-League Super Cup (1): 1996

Runner-up

* J. League (1): 1996

Arsenal

Winner

* Premier League (3): 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
* FA Cup (4): 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
* FA Community Shield (4): 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

Runner-up

* UEFA Champions League (1): 2005–06
* Premier League (5): 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05
* FA Cup (1): 2000–01
* League Cup (1): 2006–07
* FA Community Shield (2): 2003, 2005
* UEFA Cup (1): 1999–2000


Individual

* French Manager of the Year: 1988, 2008
* J. League Manager of the Year: 1995
* Officer of the British Empire: 2003
* Onze d'Or Coach of The Year: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
* FA Premier League Manager of the Year: 1998, 2002, 2004
* LMA Manager of the Year: 2001–02, 2003–04
* BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2002, 2004
* Freedom of Islington: 2004
* FWA Tribute Award: 2005
* English Football Hall of Fame: 2006
* Premier League Manager of the Month: 10 times (March 1998, April 1998, October 2000, April 2002, September 2002, August 2003, February 2004, August 2004, September 2007, December 2007

FRANK LAMPARD

Frank James Lampard



Personal information

Full name Frank James Lampard
Date of birth 20 June 1978 (1978-06-20)
(age 31)
Place of birth Romford, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position Midfielder

Club information

Current club Chelsea
Number 8

Youth career
1994–1995 West Ham United

Senior career*

Years Club Apps (Gls)

1995–2001 West Ham United 148 (24)
1995–1996 ? Swansea City (loan) 9 (1)
2001– Chelsea 292 (84)

National team
1997–2000 England U21 16 (8)
1998 England B 1 (0)
1999– England 74 (20)

Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team. He plays most often as a box-to-box midfielder and has also enjoyed spells in a more advanced attacking midfield role. Lampard is Chelsea's top active goalscorer with 130 goals, the most in club history for a midfielder, and is the second midfielder in Premier League history to score 100 goals, after Matthew Le Tissier. Lampard established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world by coming second in both FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father's former club. Joining the youth team in 1994, he had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–1998 season. He helped the team to their highest ever finishing position Premier League in the 1998–99 season. The following season Lampard scored 14 goals in all competitions from midfield. With progress stagnating at West Ham, he moved to rival London club Chelsea in 2001 for £11 million.

From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and won his first major honours in 2005, winning the Premier League and League Cup. Lampard won more club honours under coach Jose Mourinho; the 2005–06 Premier League title and a domestic cup double in 2007.

He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time, and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA cup for the second time in the 2009 final in which he scored the winning goal. With over 190 goals in his career for club and country to date, Lampard is the highest scoring midfielder in Europe.Internationally, Lampard gained his first senior England cap in 1999 team and has played in Euro 2004 (scoring three goals in four games), the 2006 World Cup and the Euro 2008 qualifiers. He has two children, Luna and Isla, with Elen Rives.

Biography

Born in Romford, London, Frank Lampard is the son of Frank Lampard, Sr., a former England fullback and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United. His mother, Pat, died of pneumonia on 24 April 2008,and since her death his goal celebration has consisted of pointing to the sky and looking upwards as a tribute.
His uncle is Tottenham Hotspur coach Harry Redknapp, and his cousin, Jamie Redknapp, spent twelve seasons with Liverpool and earned 17 caps for England before retiring in 2005.Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, an independent school in Essex, where he was a classmate of television personality Jodie Marsh.[citation needed] He gained an A in his Latin GCSE,[9] one of the 12 GSCEs he took. He reportedly has an IQ higher than 150, putting him in the most intelligent 0.1 per cent of the population.


Honours

West Ham

* UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Chelsea

Winner

* Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06
* FA Cup: 2006-07, 2008-09
* Football League Cup: 2004-05,

2006-07
* FA Community Shield: 2005, 2009

Runner-up

* Premier League: 2003-04, 2006-07,

2007-08
* FA Cup: 2001-02
* Football League Cup: 2007-08
* FA Community Shield: 2006, 2007
* UEFA Champions League: 2007-08

International

* 2004 FA Summer Tournament: 2004

Individual

* PFA Premier League Team of the

Year: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the

tournament
* 2004-05 Barclays Merit Award(for

164 consecutive appearances)
* Chelsea Player of the Year: 2004,

2005, 2009
* FWA Player of the Year: 2005
* PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2005
* England Player of the Year: 2004,

2005
* Barclay Player Of The Season:

2004-2005, 2005-2006
* FIFPro World XI: 2005
* FIFA World Player of the Year:

Silver Award 2005
* Ballon d'Or (European Footballer of

the Year): Silver Award 2005
* UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year:

2007–08
* Premier League Player of the Month:

September 2003, January 2004, October

2005, April 2007, October 2008

WAYNE ROONEY

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Mark Rooney was born on 24 October 1985.He is an English footballer who currently plays as a striker for English Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Rooney began his career with Everton, joining their youth team at age ten and rising through the ranks. He made his professional debut in 2002 and his first goal made him the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at the time. He quickly became part of Everton's first team, spending two seasons at the Merseyside club. Before the start of the 2004–05 season he moved to Manchester United for £25.6 million and became a key member of the first team, Alex Ferguson stating: "Without question, he's the best young player I've seen in my time." Since then, he has won the Premier League three times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and also the Football League Cup.

Rooney made his England debut in 2003 and at Euro 2004 he briefly became the
competition's youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured in the 2006 World Cup

Personal information

Full name Wayne Mark Rooney
Date of birth 24 October 1985 (1985-10-24) (age 23)
Place of birth Croxteth, Liverpool, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Second striker

Club information
Current club Manchester United
Number 10

Youth career
1996–2002 Everton

Senior career*
Years Club Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Everton 67 (15)
2004– Manchester United 165 (71)

National team
2003– England 55 (25)

Early life

Born on 24 October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside, Rooney is the first child of parents of Irish descent Thomas Wayne and Jeanette Marie Rooney (née Morrey).He was raised in Croxteth with younger brothers Graeme and John,and all three attended De La Salle School. Wayne grew up supporting local club
Everton, and his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson.

2007- 2009 season in man utd

On 12 August 2007, Rooney fractured his left metatarsal in United's opening-day
goalless draw against Reading;he had suffered the same injury to his right foot in 2004.After being sidelined for six weeks, he returned for United's 1-0 Champions League group stage win over Roma on 2 October, scoring the match's only goal. However, barely a month into his return, Rooney injured his ankle during a training session on 9 November, and missed an additional two weeks. His first match back was against Fulham on 3 December, in which he played 70 minutes.Rooney missed a total of ten games and finished the 2007-08 season with eighteen goals, as United clinched both the Premier League and the Champions League, in which they defeated league rivals Chelsea in the competition's first-ever all-English final.On 4 October 2008 in a away win over Blackburn Rovers, Rooney became the youngest player in league history to make 200 appearances.On 14 January after scoring what turned out to be the only goal 54 seconds into the 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic, Rooney limped off with a hamstring ailment in the eighth minute. His replacement, Carlos Tévez, was injured himself shortly after entering the game, but stayed on.Rooney was out for three weeks, missing one match apiece in the League Cup and FA Cup, along with
four Premier League matches. On 25 April 2009, Rooney scored his final
league goals of the season in one of the games of the season, United scored 5 goals in an emphatic second half display to come from 2-0 down winning the game 5-2. Rooney grabbed two goals, set up two and provided the assist that led to the penalty for United's first goal.Rooney ended the season with 20 goals in all competitions, behind Ronaldo as leading United scorer for the season.

2009-10 season in manchester united

Rooney's start to the new campaign got off to great scoring ways, he scored in
the 90th minute of the 2009 FA Community Shield, however United lost the game on penalties. He then scored the only goal of the opening game of the 2009-10 season against Birmingham City, thus taking his overall United tally to 99. He failed to score in the next game, a historic 1-0 defeat to the hands of newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor. On 22 August 2009, he became the 20th Manchester United player to have scored over 100 goals for the club, finding the net twice in a 5-0 away win at Wigan Athletic, the game which saw Michael Owen notch his first
goal for United. On 29 August 2009, United played Arsenal at The Old Trafford, he scored the equalising goal after Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin opening goal, from a crucial penalty from Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia, which lead to a 2-1 win after Abou Diaby's own goal. Five days later Rooney commented on his penalty against Arsenal: "Everyone who watches me play knows I am an honest player, I play the game as honestly as I can. If the referee gives a penalty there is nothing you can do.

CESC FABREGAS

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler was born on 4 May 1987. He is a professional central midfielder who captains the English Premier League club Arsenal and plays for the Spanish national team.

Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of sixteen. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position of his generation.

In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented
the winning Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland.
As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in
2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, where he helped
Spain to become eventual winners in the latter

Personal information


Full name Francesc Fàbregas i Soler
Date of birth 4 May 1987 (1987-05-04)

(age 22)
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Central midfielder

Club information
Current club Arsenal
Number 4

Youth career
?–2000 Mataró
2000–2003 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Club Apps (Gls)
2003– Arsenal 166 (21)

National team
2002–2003 Spain U16 8 (1)
2003–2004 Spain U17 14 (7)
2005 Spain U20 5 (0)
2004–2005 Spain U21 11 (2)
2006– Spain 45 (4)



Early years

Fàbregas was born in Vilassar de Mar,Barcelona to Francesc Fàbregas, Sr., who runs a property company, and Núria Soler, the owner of a pastry company. Fàbregas has supported Barcelona since childhood and went to his first match when he was nine months old with his grandfather. It was at Barcelona where Fàbregas began his club football career. Initially, he was played as a volante (defensive midfielder), yet he was also a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring more than 30 goals in a season for the club's youth teams. However, he did not manage to play a first-team game at the Camp Nou

ARSENAL

After the departure of Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas was given the Frenchman's number 4 shirt and featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. He made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season. Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman. Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus. In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second, at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira. He then played in the final
against his former club Barcelona, but arsenal were defeated 2–1,completing a trophyless 2005–06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas' increase in exposure drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers. In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new five-year deal (with an option to extend by a further three years, making eight years) to the midfielder, which he signed on 19 October 2006. While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.

The 2006–07 season was a learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and were defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup final.However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game. He kickstarted Arsenal's 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match. In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest total in the league. He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of leading writers across Europe. He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife, followed by the departure of the club'sall-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona. There was also speculation over Wenger's future with the club. Fàbregas knew that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge. He started the season well, chalking up goals and assists, and website soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard.

His start to the season also earned him the O2 Player of the Month award from Arsenal fans for August, September and October, as well as the Premier League Player of the Month for September. With Arsenal leading the league table until March, Fàbregas was equally instrumental in the club's 2007–08 Champions League campaign; in the return leg against Milan, the midfielder scored late in the game to send Arsenal into the quarter-finals. Though Arsenal ended the season trophyless,Fàbregas amassed several personal awards. On 11 April 2008, Fàbregas was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards for the second year running; he was later crowned the winner of the latter, and named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was also named the 2007–08 Arsenal.com Player of the Season.

Captaincy

On 24 November 2008, 14 league games into the 2008–09 season, Fàbregas was named as the successor to William Gallas as club captain. However, just as Arsenal were getting back into the title race after a poor start to the season, the Spaniard was ruled out for four months after sustaining a knee injury against Liverpool.The Gunners eventually finished the season without any silverware, coming in fourth in the league and being knocked out at the semi-finals of the 2008–09 Champions League campaign.In tandem with Arsenal's policy to groom its young players, the team that Fàbregas led into the new season comprised mostly of the same young nucleus as before, with the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Gaël Clichy, Abou Diaby, Denílson, Alexandre Song and Theo Walcott in tow.

In the opening league game of 2009–10 season, Fàbregas scored a brace and managed two assists in Arsenal's 6–1 away win against Everton. Arsenal went on to
secure qualification for the Champions League by beating Celtic over two legs, but their early momentum to the season was disrupted by consecutive league game losses to Manchester United and Manchester City.

Honours

Arsenal

* FA Cup: 2005
* FA Community Shield: 2004

International

* UEFA European Championship: 2008

Individual

* FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden

Shoe: 2003
* FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden

Ball: 2003
* UEFA European Under-17 Football

Championship Golden Player: 2004
* Bravo Award: 2006
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2008
* Premier League Player of the Month:

January 2007, September 2007
* ESM Team of the Month:

September-October-November 2007
* PFA Young Player of the Year:

2007–08
* PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08
* UEFA Team of the Tournament: 2008

Luís Fabiano

Luís Fabiano Clemente (born 8 November 1980 in Campinas, São Paulo), commonly
known as Luís Fabiano, is a Brazilian football player, who currently plays for Sevilla as a striker.



Personal information

Full name Luís Fabiano Clemente
Date of birth November 8, 1980 (1980-11-08) (age 28)
Place of birth Campinas, Brazil
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information

Current club Sevilla
Number 10

Senior career*

Years Club Apps (Gls)

1997–2000 Ponte Preta 12 (3)
2000–2001 Rennes 11 (0)
2001–2004 São Paulo 84 (62)
2004–2005 Porto 22 (3)
2005– Sevilla 107 (49)

National team

2003– Brazil 33 (25)


Club career

Early career

He enjoyed great success at Brazilian side São Paulo, with a disappointing spell at French side Rennes sandwiched in between.His strength on the ball, accurate finishing and pace made him a vital part of the side that fell in the semi-finals of the 2004 Copa Libertadores de América. Fabiano was labeled the 'bad boy' of Brazilian football when playing for São Paulo after a number of brawls. During a 2003 Copa Sudamericana match for São Paulo against River Plate of Argentina, a fight between the players broke out. Fabiano ran behind a River player and kicked him just below the neck. While being escorted off the field, Fabiano said that "he would rather attack an Argentine than take a penalty"He was given a three-match ban from all competitions.

Porto

The left foot ace moved to Porto in 2004 for a reported €10 million. There, Fabiano reunited with his international teammate Diego, who he played with in Copa América 2004.[3] However, he had a troublesome season, scoring only 3 goals in 22 matches. This led to Fabiano being transferred to La Liga side Sevilla.

Sevilla

On 10 May 2006, Fabiano scored a header during Sevilla's 4–0 victory over Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup final. The success continued in the 2007–08 season, as Fabiano finished runner-up in the Pichichi Trophy with 24 goals, with 2 of them scored came from the penalty spot, second only to Dani Güiza with a total of 27 goals. This led to Fabiano being recalled to the Seleção. On November 29, Fabiano was sent off for elbowing Barcelona's Sergi Busquets. He had to be restrained by the Sevilla staff. In 2009,

Fabiano extended his contract with Sevilla to 2011 On 4 July 2009, AC Milan made an official offer for the Brazilian according to the striker's agent and Fabiano has reportedly pleaded with his club Sevilla to allow him to make the switch to the
San Siro.

International career

Fabiano made his début for Brazil on June 11, 2003 in a friendly match against Nigeria. He marked his international debut with a goal before being substituted. He was also included in Brazil's squad for 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not make any appearances.He won the Copa América 2004 tournament with Brazil, where he started in all five matches alongside fellow striker, Adriano. However, due to his struggle in Europe with Porto and Sevilla, he did not make any international appearances for more than 3 years. He was finally recalled to the national team on November 2007 for a World Cup qualifying match. Since then, he earned a regular starting spot on Brazil's attack alongside Robinho. On November 19, 2008, Fabiano scored his first international hat-trick in a friendly match against Portugal in Brasília. The match ended in 6–2 to Brazil.

On June 28, 2009, he scored two goals in the Confederations Cup final win against the United States.He won the golden shoe as the tournament's top scorer with 5 goals.
He scored two goals on September 5th, 2009, for the Brazilian national team against Argentina in Rosario.

Honours

São Paulo

* Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 2001

Porto

* Intercontinental Cup: 2004

Sevilla

* UEFA Cup: 2006, 2007
* UEFA Super Cup: 2006
* Copa del Rey: 2007
* Supercopa de España: 2007

Brazil

* Copa América: 2004
* FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009

Individual

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Top

Scorer: 2002
* Bola de Prata: 2003
* Campeonato Paulista Top Scorer:

2003
* Copa Libertadores Top Scorer: 2004
* Copa del Rey Top Scorer: 2009
* FIFA Confederations Cup Silver

Ball: 2009
* FIFA Confederations Cup Golden

Shoe: 2009