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Lilian Thuram

Lilian Thuram (born Ruddy, Lilian Thuram-Ulien,
January 1 1972 in Pointe-Ã -Pitre, Guadeloupe) is
a France|French soccer|football player.  With the
France national football team|French national
team, Thuram won Wc|1998 and Ec2|2000. He is
currently considered one of the best defender
(football)|defenders in the world.

Thuram's soccer career began with AS Monaco
FC|Monaco of the French Ligue 1 in 1991. Later
stops included Parma A.C.|Parma (1996-2001) and
Juventus - his current club - in Italian Serie A.
Thuram has won the scudetto three times with
Juventus.

For France, Thuram has been capped 103 times (as
of the end of 2004) and scored two goals.
Amazingly, both of those goals came in one game --
the 1998 World Cup semifinal against Croatia
national football team|Croatia, as France won 2-1
to advance to the final. He also played in the
Wc|2002, Ec|96, and Ec2|2004. After a brief
retirement, he accepts to be back in the French
team on August 7th, 2005.

Thuram was named by Pelé as one of the FIFA
100|top 125 greatest living footballers in March
2004.

==Teams==
*AS Monaco FC (1991-1996)
**French Cup 1990/91
*Parma A.C.|Parma (1996-2001)
**UEFA Cup 1998/99
**Coppa Italia|Italian Cup championships 1998/99
**Italian SuperCup 1998/99
*Juventus (2001/02- )
**Serie A Championships: 2001/02 2002/03 2004/05
**Italian SuperCup 2002 2003
*France national football team|France national
team
**Football World Cup|World Cup appearances: 1998
2002
**European Football Championship|European
Championship appearances: 1996 2000 2004

John Terry

John Terry (born December 7, 1980 in Barking) is a
English professional football (soccer)|football
player. He was born in Barking, East London|East
London and went to Eastbury Comprehensive School.

Before being spotted by Chelsea, he played for
Sunday League Team Senrab FC.  This team featured
many future stars including Terry himself, Bobby
Zamora, Paul Konchesky, Ledley King and J Lloyd
Samuel.

Terry is a strong, hard-tackling centre back, and
currently, captain, for Chelsea F.C. in the
English Premier League. He came up through the
Chelsea youth system, playing for the club's Youth
and Reserve teams before making his Chelsea debut
in October 1998.

There were strong calls for him to make the full
squad for the 2002 World Cup, his international
chances were ruined after an incident involving a
bouncer at the Wellington Club in Knightsbridge.
Terry, along with team-mate Jody Morris and
Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon defender Des Byrne, were
charged with affray. Terry was banned from playing
for England at all levels until the case was
settled. The player was cleared of all charges in
August 2002.

In season 2003/04, his strong, committed and
inspiring displays led to him being handed the
captain's armband by manager Claudio Ranieri when
Marcel Desailly was out of the side. He played
very well in the absence of the French legend,
establishing himself as a genuine contender for a
first team slot.

Terry is now a regular on the England national
football team|England national team, having earned
16 caps, making his debut in June 2003 against
Serbia and Montenegro national football
team|Serbia and Montenegro.  He played for his
country at Ec2|2004.  He has been the heart of the
Chelsea defense that has been the most
well-marshalled in Football league history in the
2004/5 season, conceding only 14 goals.  In that
same season he was voted PFA Player of the Year by
his peers. In 2005 Terry was voted best defender
of the UEFA Champions League tournament of
2004/2005.

Early in his career Terry was involved in numerous
unsavoury off the pitch incidents, but he is now
praised as a model professional. Along with Frank
Lampard, Claude Makélélé Eidur Gudjhonson and
Petr Cech, he is regarded as a part of the "spine"
of the Chelsea team. He is especially popular with
Chelsea fans, as he is a Londoner who came though
the club's youth system. He wears the number 26
shirt at Chelsea.

He currently lives in Surrey with his girlfriend,
Toni Poole.

His older brother Paul Terry|footballer, is also a
professional footballer. He currently plays for
Yeovil Town FC.

Gary Speed

Gary Speed (born September 8, 1969 in Mancot) is a
Wales|Welsh football (soccer)|footballer, who
plays in midfielder|midfield. He currently plays
for Bolton Wanderers F.C., after a £750,000
switch from Newcastle United F.C. in July 2004. He
was also captain for the Wales national football
team|Welsh national team until recently, where he
retired from international football after the
side's 3-2 defeat to Poland national football
team|Poland in a Football World Cup 2006|World Cup
qualifier.

Speed began his career with Leeds United F.C.,
winning the title with them in 1992. He moved to
Everton F.C. in 1996, for a fee of £5,500,000. He
then moved to Newcastle in 1998, and while there
he became the club's most dependable midfielder.
Newcastle's manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was sorry
to see Speed leave the club, and acknowledged that
he would do very well for Bolton.

He had been capped for Wales over 80 times, and
holds the record for the most FA Premier
League|Premiership appearances. Besides being a
strong tackler, Speed is noted for skill in set
pieces, often scoring from them.

After his retirement from international football,
he was recommended to take up the mantle of Wales'
manager, by both the former manager Mark Hughes
and fellow Welsh midfielder Robbie Savage.
Bolton's manager Sam Allardyce has urged Speed to
see out the rest of his 2 year contract with
Bolton first. For his part, Speed has stated he
will not apply for the position but would talk to
the Football Association of Wales|Welsh FA if
approached.

Jean Tigana

ean Tigana (b. 23 June 1955, Bamako, Mali) has
played in midfield and managed professional
football (soccer)|football extensively throughout
France, including 52 appearances and 1 goal for
the France national football team during the 80s.
Most recently, he took Fulham F.C.|Fulham of
London from Football League Division One to the
English Premiership, and later the UEFA Cup (via
the Intertoto Cup), but was sacked in March 2003.
The club later took him to court, claiming he had
wrongly overpaid for certain players such as Steve
Marlet, but the charges were dropped.

Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti (born 27 September 1976 in Rome)
is an Italy|Italian soccer|football player, who
currently plays for A.S. Roma|AS Roma in Serie A
and the Italy national football team|Italian
national team.  A creator as well as a scorer of
goals - not least from free kicks - Francesco
Totti can operate from a variety of attacking
positions but it is in the free role behind the
strikers that his skill and technique are best
showcased.

==Childhood==
Totti was born in Rome, in the San Giovanni
section of the city. His parents are Enzo and
Fiorella Totti. Totti played football throughout
his childhood. He first joined the junior team for
AS Roma in 1989.



==National team==

Hugely talented as a teenager, Totti scored in
Italy's 4-1 defeat by Spain national football
team|Spain in the final of the UEFA European
Under-18 Championship in July 1995. In the final
of the Under-21 competition in 1996, Totti opening
the scoring in a 1-1 draw against the Spanish
before triumphing on penalties.
Totti made his senior Azzurri debut in the Euro
2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland
national football team|Switzerland on 10 October
1998. He played in the finals tournament and
scored against Romania national football
team|Romania and Belgium national football
team|Belgium and played in the finals, losing to
France. More disappointment followed at the
Football World Cup 2002|2002 World Cup, with Totti
failing to make a significant impact and then
being sent off as Italy lost to the South Korea
national football team|Korean Republic in the
second round.

At Euro 2004, Totti garnered negative media
attention when he spat at Christian Poulsen, a
midfielder for Denmark national football
team|Denmark who had marked him for the whole
match. Totti was subsequently banned until the
semi-finals, but did not play in the tournament
again, as Italy failed to qualify for the next
round.

==Club==
Totti was just 16 when he made his first
appearance for AS Roma in a 2-0 away victory at
Brescia Calcio on March 28, 1993. He scored four
goals in 21 outings in 1994/95 and over the
ensuing seasons became a team regular. He was
named Italy's Player of the Year in 2000. The
following season (2000/1) he helped AS Roma secure
their first league title since 1983, having scored
13 Serie A goals. Unhappily, in the 2001/02
campaign Roma finished runners-up to Juventus, but
Totti returned with a personal-best of 14 goals
during the 2002/3 season.

2003/04: Playing in a more advanced role, Totti
hit a career-high 20 goals as Roma finished second
in Serie A.

2004/2005 : A very disappointing season, with Roma
almost being relegated.

Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira (born June 23, 1976 in Dakar,
Senegal) is a France|French football
(soccer)|football midfielder, who currently plays
for Juventus. He captained Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal
and won the Football World Cup|World Cup with
France national football team|France in Football
World Cup 1998|1998.

Born in Senegal in the Cape Verde|Cape Verdian
community, Vieira's family moved to Paris when he
was aged 8; he did not return to Senegal until
2003. Vieira first played for AS Cannes, where he
made his debut at the age of 17 and captained the
team aged only 19. Soon after that, in the summer
of 1995, he was snapped up by Italy|Italian giants
AC Milan, though he mainly stayed in the reserves
and only made two appearances for the first team.

In September 1996, the incoming Arsenal coach
Arsène Wenger asked for him to be bought from AC
Milan before he took up his position. Vieira's
height, stamina and physical strength meant he
settled in England quickly, while his composure
and the quality of his passing meant he became an
integral part of Wenger's stylish attacking side.
While at Arsenal, he made his debut for the France
national football team|French national side, in
1997 against the Netherlands national football
team|Netherlands.

Forming a midfield partnership with compatriot
Emmanuel Petit, Vieira won the Premiership and FA
Cup the Double|Double in 1998, his first full
season at the club. That summer, he was called up
to France's Football World Cup 1998|1998 World Cup
squad. Vieira came on as a substitute for Youri
Djorkaeff in the final against Brazil national
football team|Brazil, and set up Petit for
France's third goal in a 3-0 win.

Vieira's time at Arsenal was beset by disciplinary
problems - in FA Premier League 2000-01|2000-01 he
was sent off twice in two consecutive matches,
though after returning he didn't accrue a card for
28 matches. In all he has been sent off ten times
in his career (nine for Arsenal, once for France).

Vieira would go on to win 2000 European Football
Championship|Euro 2000 with France, as well as a
second Double with Arsenal in 2002. After Tony
Adams (footballer)|Tony Adams's retirement in
2002, Vieira (already vice-captain) became club
captain, since which his temper and associated
disciplinary problems cooled somewhat. Though he
missed Arsenal's 2003 FA Cup final win with
injury, Vieira lifted the trophy jointly with
captain for the day David Seaman.

In FA Premier League 2003-04|2003-04 at Arsenal,
he captained the side on a historic unbeaten
season in the FA Premier League|Premier League,
and in the 2005 FA Cup Final he scored the winning
kick in a penalty shootout (football)|penalty
shoot-out after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United
F.C.|Manchester United. In total, Vieira played
407 times for Arsenal and scored 33 times. For
France, Vieira has appeared 79 times, scoring four
goals as of July 2005.

Vieira's starring performances for Arsenal earned
the attention of several major clubs abroad. In
the 2003 and 2004 offseasons, he was strongly
linked with a move to Spain|Spanish superpower
Real Madrid. The Spanish side reportedly offered
Arsenal £23 million for him, which Arsenal had
agreed to, but after much deliberation Vieira
decided to stay at the club where he made his
name. However, a year later Vieira was finally
tempted away from Highbury. Arsenal accepted a bid
of �20m (£13.7m) from Italian giants Juventus
on July 14, 2005, and Vieira agreed a five-year
contract with the Serie A side the following day.

==Teams==
*AS Cannes (1993-1995)
*A.C. Milan (1995-1996)
*Arsenal F.C. (1996-2005)
*Juventus (2005)-
*France national football team|French national
team (since January 1997)

==Honours==
*FIFA Football World Cup|World Cup
**Appearances: 1998 2002
**Winner: Football World Cup 1998|World Cup 1998
*European Football Championship|European
Championship
**Appearances: 2000 2004
**Winner: 2000 European Football Championship|Euro
2000
*English FA Premier League|Premiership titles (3)
: 1998 2002 2004
*English FA Cup (4) : 1998 2002 2003 2005
*Selected to FIFA 100: 2004
*Carlsberg Player of the Year : 2004

Mark Viduka

Mark Viduka (born October 9, 1975 in Melbourne) is
an Australian football (soccer) striker of
Croatian descent. He currently plays for
Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough in the FA Premier
League|English Premier League, and has also played
for Dinamo Zagreb|Croatia Zagreb, Celtic
F.C.|Celtic and Leeds United F.C.|Leeds.

Viduka started his career in Australia with
Melbourne Knights|Melbourne Croatia (Knights) in
1994, and he also became an Australia national
football team|Australian international the same
year. In 1995 he moved to Croatia to play with
Dinamo Zagreb|Croatia Zagreb, where he stayed for
three years and made an appearance in the UEFA
Cup.

Celtic bought him in December 1998 for £3.5
million. He was voted Scottish Premier League
Player of the Year after scoring 27 goals in his
first full season at Celtic Park|Parkhead. He was
regarded as a skilled player, able to hold the
ball up well and bring other players into the
game.

The Leeds United manager David O'Leary swooped for
Viduka just before the 1999/2000 season after
tracking the big Aussie striker for some time.
Leeds paid Celtic £6 million, after Viduka told
the Scottish club he wanted a bigger challenge
elsewhere.

At Leeds he was expected to line up in a
three-pronged attack alongside fellow Aussie Harry
Kewell and Michael Bridges, but injuries to those
two saw him form a partnership with Alan Smith in
Leeds UEFA Champions League matches, while Robbie
Keane also benefited in their Premiership matches
together. In his first Elland Road season, Viduka
scored 22 goals, and - committed to Leeds - he
signed a new five-year deal in the summer of 2001.


In the 2002/03 campaign Viduka scored another 22
goals, forming a good partnership with Smith and
thriving off Kewell's passing ability.

However, Leeds' off-pitch financial troubles
prompted the club to sell key players, including
Kewell (sold to Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool) and
Keane (sold to Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Spurs). This
prompted speculation that Viduka would join the
Leeds exodus with FC Barcelona|Barcelona (Spanish
Primera Liga) confirming their interest in the
Australian international along with Premiership
clubs Liverpool and Manchester United
F.C.|Manchester United.

With the relegation of Leeds United to the
Football League Championship, the sale of Viduka's
contract during the summer of 2004 became all but
inevitable. On 8 July, Viduka's transfer to
Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough was completed.

Viduka's debut season at Boro was initially
impressive but then tarnished by injuries and he
will be hoping that he makes more regular
appearances in 2005/2006 although the club has
augmented its striking options by signing Yakubu
from Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth.

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Shaun Wright-Phillips (born 25 October 1981 in
London) is an England|English football
(soccer)|association football player. He is the
adopted son of famous player Ian Wright, and
brother to fellow player Bradley Wright-Phillips
and upcoming youth player Bret Wright-Phillips. He
currently plays for Chelsea F.C..

Released by Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham
Forest at the age of 15 for being "too
small"  Manchester City F.C. took him to Maine
Road.  He later made his debut at Port Vale
F.C.|Port Vale and went on to become a regular
starter in the Premiership. His determination and
courage make him one of the most exciting players
to emerge from the English Academy in years.

He scored an impressive goal on his England
national football team|England debut against
Ukraine national football team|Ukraine on 18
August 2004, after coming on as a substitute, and
made his first start for England on February 9
2004 against Netherlands national football
team|the Netherlands. On 17 November, he became
one of the main targets of Racism|racist chants
from the crowd at an international "friendly"
between England and Spain national football
team|Spain in Madrid. However, he brushed that
aside with an incredible match-winning performance
in his next Manchester City game at Portsmouth
F.C.|Portsmouth, saying to reporters after the
game, "I just let the football do the talking."

He also has a similar response regarding his
father, saying in an interview with
manchesteronline.co.uk: "The press brought up my
adopted father's name. They relate to his name and
that is fine by me - it comes with the name, but I
will be my own man. I have made my own path and
started to take my own steps."

The England winger completed his £21million move
to Stamford Bridge on 17 July to join the Barclays
Premiership champions and return to his native
London.

Wright-Phillips joins Chelsea on a five-year
contract after agreeing personal terms and passing
a medical.

Aiyegbeni Yakubu

Aiyegbeni Yakubu (born November 22, 1982 in Benin
City, Nigeria) is a Nigeria|Nigerian football
(soccer) player, who currently plays for
Middlesbrough F.C. He weighs 81 kg and is 1.85
meters in height.

A striker, Yakubu started his career at Israeli
team Maccabi Haifa F.C., where he won two
championships and had a phenomanal scoring record
both in the domestic and international
competitions - breaking serveral club records.
After scoring 7 goals in 8 European Cup
appearances (including a hat-trick against
Olympiakos) in the 2002/03 season UEFA Champions
League, Yakubu moved to English club Portsmouth
F.C. on January 2003.

His goals helped fire Portsmouth to the Division
One (now Football League Championship) title,
scoring at a rate of one goal every two games.

During the club's debut FA Premier
League|Premiership season, during which they
finished 13th, he scored 19 times in 40 starts, a
massive return for a striker at a small club.
During the summer of 2004 several other
Premiership teams were interested in purchasing
Yakubu for upto £10 million, but he chose to stay
and help consolidate the club's Premiership
position.

He has been capped several times for Nigeria
national football team|Nigeria, and is a regular
in the national team.

After the 2004-05 season, he transferred from
Pompey to Middlesbrough F.C.|Boro for a £7
million fee.

== Career Data ==

* Maccabi Haifa Youth team (1999)
* Hapoel Kfar Saba (2000)
** A second division club, played on loan
* Maccabi Haifa (2001 - 2003)
** 24 domestic league goals in 50 appearances
** 8 domestic cup goals in 9 appearances
** 7 domestic European Cup goals in 11 appearances
* Portsmouth F.C. (2003 - 2005)
** 19 Premier League goals in 40 appearances
* Middlesbrough F.C. (2005 - )

Mikael Silvestre

Mikael Silvestre (born August 9,1977 in
Chambray-Les-Tours) is a France|French football
(soccer)|footballer, playing  as a Defender
(football)|defender. He currently plays for
Manchester United F.C., as well as France national
football team|France internationally.

He began his career with the France|French club
Stade Rennais FC|Rennes in the 1995/96 season. His
time at the club helped build his reputation, and
in the 1997/98 season was signed by
Internazionale|Inter Milan. He made 18 league
appearances for Inter, as well as 6 European Cup
games. Silvestre signed for Manchester United F.C.
on September 10, 1999 for £3,500,000.

Silvestre is adept as both a centre-back and a
full-back, though he has stated that he prefers
playing in the centre. His first season at Man Utd
wasn't exceptional; replacing an injured Ronny
Johnsen in the centre with Jaap Stam; but he has
since improved and is now a regular first team
member, being called up for France's national
squad frequently. He received criticism for his
performance in Euro 2004, where he gave away
penalties to both England national football
team|England and Croatia national football
team|Croatia, before France were knocked out by
Greece national football team|Greece in the
quarter-finals.

Silvestre's most positive attribute is his pace,
and he often sets up scoring opportunities. He is
also noted for his crossing and tackling
abilities, though he isn't as adept at marking
opposition strikers.

Dino Zoff

Dino Zoff (born February 28, 1942 in Mariano del
Friuli, Italy) is an Italian legendary football
(soccer)|football goalkeeper and the oldest ever
winner of the Football World Cup|World Cup as a
captain of the Italy national football
team|Italian national team in Spain in the
Wc|1982. With 112 caps, Zoff is second only to
Paolo Maldini in number of appearances for the
Azzurri.

Zoff spent most of his career at Juventus. He
holds the record for the longest stretch (1142
minutes) without allowing any goals.

After his retirement as a player, Zoff went into
coaching. He coached Italy to a second-place
finish in Ec2|2000. In 2005, he was named the
coach of ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina after
previously coaching Juventus and S.S. Lazio|Lazio,
on three occasions. But after saving the team from
relegation on the last day of the seasion, Zoff
was let go.

Clubs
* 1961 - 1963 Udinese Calcio|Udinese
* 1963 - 1967 A.C. Mantova|Mantova
* 1967 - 1972 SSC Napoli|Napoli
* 1972 - 1983 Juventus

Club honors
* 1973 Serie A
* 1975 Serie A
* 1977 Serie A
* 1977 UEFA Cup
* 1978 Serie A
* 1979 Coppa Italia|Italian Cup
* 1981 Serie A
* 1982 Serie A
* 1983 Coppa Italia|Italian Cup

International appearances
* 1968 to 1982 for Italy national football
team|Italy (112 appearances in all, 59 as captain)
* 3 Football World Cup|World Cup Finals

International honors
* 1968 European Football Championship|1968
European Championship
* Football World Cup 1982|1982 World Cup

Teams coached
* 1988 - 1990 Juventus
* 1990 - 1994 S.S. Lazio|Lazio
* 1997 S.S. Lazio|Lazio
* 1998 - 2000 Italy national football team|Italy
* 2001 S.S. Lazio|Lazio
* 2005 ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina

Coaching honors
* 1990 Coppa Italia|Italian Cup
* 1990 UEFA Cup

Claudio Taffarel

Cláudio André Mergen Taffarel (born May 8, 1966
in Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul|Santa Rosa,
Brazil) is a former football (soccer) goalkeeper,
who backstopped Brazil national football
team|Brazil to victory at the Football World Cup
1994|1994 World Cup.

On the club level, Taffarel played for Sport Club
Internacional|Internacional (1984-90), Parma
A.C.|Parma (1990-93 and 2001-02), A.C.
Reggiana|Reggiana (1993-94), Clube Atlético
Mineiro|Atlético Mineiro (1994-97), and
Galatasaray (1998-2001). For the Brazilian
national team, Taffarel is the highest-cap
goalkeeper in its history, with 101 appearances.
Other than the 1994 triumph, he also played in the
Football World Cup 1990|1990 and Football World
Cup 1998|1998 World Cup tournaments.

He had a key role in Galatasary's UEFA Cup triumph
in 2000, he was made the man of the match in the
final.

Andriy Shevchenko

Andriy Shevchenko
(Андрій
Шевченк&
#1086;,
Андрій
Миколай&
#1086;вич
Шевченк&
#1086; (Ukrainian language|Ukrainian) - Andriy
Mykolayovych Shevchenko, nicknamed "Sheva", born
September 29, 1976 in Dvirkivschyna, near
Kiev|Kyiv) is a Ukraine|Ukrainian soccer|football
player who is a striker for A.C. Milan and the
Ukraine national football team|Ukrainian national
team. Shevchenko started off his career with
Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv, where under the
guidance of Valeri Lobanovsky he flourished into
one of the team's most prominent and skillful
players.

In 1999 he joined Italian side A.C. Milan for $26
million and has been one of their key players.
Since he moved to Italy, he has won the Serie A
scoring title twice, in 1999-2000, and 2003-2004.

In 2003, Shevchenko scored the winning Penalty
shootout (football)|penalty in UEFA Champions
League|Champions League final against Juventus,
giving A.C. Milan the title. Two years later, his
penalty was saved by Jerzy Dudek to hand the title
to Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool (the English side had
one kick left).

In December of 2004 Shevchenko was named the
European Footballer of the Year. He was also named
by Pelé as one of the FIFA 100|top 125 greatest
living footballers in March 2004.

During the summer of 2004, Roman Abramovich, the
owner of Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea, offered a record
sum of 50 million Euro and striker Hernan Crespo
to A.C. Milan in exchange for Andriy. Milan
refused but took Crespo on loan.

After that, the determined Abramovich offered
another record sum of 85 million Euros to AC Milan
and another record weekly wage of 225.000 Euros to
transfer him to Chelsea, but was again refused.

Teddy Sheringham

Edward 'Teddy' Sheringham (born April 2, 1966 in
Walthamstow, London, United Kingdom|UK) is an
English football (soccer)|footballer. He plays as
a striker, and has had a successful career at both
club and international level.

==Club career==
===Millwall===
Sheringham began his professional career at
Millwall F.C.|Millwall in 1982 at the age of
sixteen, after impressing a scout when playing for
the small club Leyton & Ilford during a Youth Team
game against Millwall.

He was signed up, initially as an apprentice, and
scored on only his second appearance for the club
in a match away at AFC Bournemouth|Bournemouth in
January 1984. After being loaned out by the club
twice in 1985, to Aldershot F.C.|Aldershot and
later a Sweden|Swedish side, Djurgårdens IF
Fotboll|Djurgårdens, on his return he quickly
became a first choice selection at Millwall, and
during the late 1980s formed a famous striking
partnership with Tony Cascarino. He was the club's
top goalscorer in four different seasons (1986-87,
1987-88, 1988-89 and 1990-91) and played in every
single game of the season for them twice, in
1986-87 and 1990-91.

The 1987-1988|88 season saw the club promoted to
the Football League First Division|First Division,
then the highest tier of English league football,
for the first time. Many had predicted that
Millwall would not survive their first season in
the top flight and would be relegated back to the
Football League Second Division|Second Division in
their first season, but the goals of Sheringham
and Cascarino helped them to finish in a
surprising 10th position. However, it was not to
last, as the following season Millwall were indeed
relegated, finishing bottom of the Division and
returning to the second flight.

The club had an opportunity to bounce straight
back up at the end of the 1990-1991|91 season,
reaching the semi-finals of the Division Two
play-offs, but they were beaten by Brighton & Hove
Albion F.C.|Brighton & Hove Albion and thus
remained in the Division.

===Nottingham Forest===
Sheringham was by now in his mid-twenties and
although loyal to Millwall, not keen to linger
outside of the highest tier of football for long.
Salvation came in the form of a transfer to
Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest, then one
of the major clubs in the country, for a then
record fee of £2 million in July 1991. However,
after two years at the club he found himself a
victim of the pain of relegation for the second
time, as Forest went down at the end of the
inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93.

===Tottenham Hotspur===
He had impressed many with his appearances for the
club, however, and was quickly signed by another
big club, Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham
Hotspur, for £2.1 million. Sheringham became a
great favourite of the Tottenham fans and scored
many goals for the club, forming a particularly
impressive partnership with the German striker
Jürgen Klinsmann during the 1994-1995|95 season:
Klinsmann was later quoted as claiming that
Sheringham was the best strike partner he ever
had.

Despite his success and popularity at Tottenham,
however, Sheringham was disappointed that he had
failed to win any trophies with the club, and when
England's largest and most successful club,
Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United offered
Tottenham £3.5 million for his services in the
summer of 1997, he quickly accepted.

===Manchester United===
His early time at United was difficult, as he had
been signed to replace the iconic Frenchman Eric
Cantona, who had retired at the end of the
previous season, leaving him with an imposing
legacy to live up to. He was mocked in certain
quarters when, having publicly stated that he had
joined the club "to win trophies", during the
1997-1998|98 season the team won nothing for the
first time in three years.

The arrival of striker Dwight Yorke at the
beginning of the following season was expected to
push Sheringham out of the team, but instead it
seemed to have the effect of producing a fine run
of form from him. He finally got the trophy he had
waited so long for when United won the Premier
League in May 1999, and it quickly got much
better: they added the FA Cup and the UEFA
Champions League|European Cup to their haul, with
Sheringham scoring in both cup finals, including a
dramatic injury-time equaliser against Bayern
Munich at the very end of the European final. This
treble of trophies was unprecedented by any club
in the history of English football, and has not
been equalled or bettered since.

Sheringham spent two further seasons at Manchester
United, winning two further Premier League titles
and enjoying a fine final season with the club in
2000-01, at the end of which he was honoured with
both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the
Football Writers' Association Player of the Year
Awards.

===Tottenham and Portsmouth===
In the summer of 2001 he was allowed by United to
move on a free transfer back to Tottenham Hotspur,
Sheringham considering that at the age of
thirty-five his days at United had reached their
peak. He was welcomed back by the Tottenham fans,
amongst whom he was still greatly respected, and
was made the club Captain by manager Glenn Hoddle.

In 2003 he left Tottenham, many expecting him to
end his front line career, but instead he joined
the newly-promoted Premier League side Portsmouth
F.C.|Portsmouth, his goals helping the club to
remain in the top flight against the expectations
of many, much as they had done with Millwall 16
years previously.

Sheringham, the oldest player in the whole of the
FA Premier League|Premiership, was released by
Portsmouth at the end of the 2003-04 in English
football|2003-04 season, and his immediate future
was unclear. He had stated his desire to find a
new club and remain playing in the top flight for
at least one more season, which would take him up
to the age of thirty-nine - incredible career
longevity for any player, but especially so for a
striker, a position perhaps more than others
usually reliant on pace.

===West Ham United===
Sheringham opted to drop down a division, signing
a one-year deal with West Ham United F.C.|West Ham
United in the Football League Championship|League
Championship. He expressed a desire to help West
Ham earn promotion. In the 2004-05 in English
football|2004-05 season, he yet again belied his
advanced age for a footballer, scoring 20 goals in
league play (third in The Championship) and
helping lead West Ham to the promotion playoff
final, which they went on to win. He was also
selected by a fans poll run by The Football League
as the 2004-05 Player of the Season in The
Championship. In the close season, Sheringham
signed a one-year deal to play for the Hammers in
the Premiership.



===Clubs:===
* Millwall F.C.|Millwall (1982-1991)
* Aldershot F.C.|Aldershot (1985, loan)
* Djurgårdens IF Fotboll|Djurgårdens IF (1985, a
Swedish club, loan)
* Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest
(1991-1993)
* Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur
(1993-1997)
* Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United
(1997-2001)
* Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hostpur
(2001-2003)
* Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth (2003-2004)
* West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United
(2004-present)

===Honours:===
* FA Premier League|Premier League Championship
(1999, 2000, 2001)
* FA Cup (1999)
* Champions League (1999)
* European/South American Cup|Intercontinental Cup
(1999)
* Football League Second Division|Division Two
Championship (1988)
* Football League Championship Play-Off Winner
(2005)
* Swedish Division Two North Championship (1985)

==International career==
Something of a late developer on the international
scene, he didn't win his first England national
football team|England cap until the age of
twenty-seven in 1993. However, he scored against
Poland that year, and under the reign of manager
Terry Venables (1994-1996|96) came to be favoured
as the preferred strike partner for Alan Shearer
in the England team.

The two formed a famous partnership at
international level, as they complemented each
other's strengths: Shearer the out-and-out
goalscorer, big, strong and powerful, Sheringham
just 'dropping off' his strike partner, finding
spaces, creating play and providing key passes,
forming the link between Shearer and the England
midfield. The pairing came to be known as 'The
SAS' ('Shearer & Sheringham') and their most
successful match together was the 4-1 victory over
Netherlands national football team|Holland in the
opening round of the 1996 European Football
Championship|1996 European Championships, held in
England, a game in which they both scored twice
against one of the strongest teams in the
tournament.

Sheringham continued to be a first choice
selection under new England manager Glenn Hoddle
(1996-1999|99) until the emergence of new teenager
superstar Michael Owen during the course of 1998
saw him overshadowed. Although Sheringham began
the Wc|1998 as a starting player with Owen on the
bench, after Owen replaced him and almost turned
around a defeat against Romania national football
team|Romania in England's second game of the
tournament, it seemed likely that Sheringham's
front line international career had come to and
end.

He was not selected at all for the 2000 European
Football Championship|2000 European Championships
by then manager Kevin Keegan, but the retirement
of Alan Shearer|Shearer (ironically four years
younger than Sheringham) from international
football after that tournament and the arrival of
new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in 2001 saw a
return to international favour for him. He was
often deployed as a tactical substitute late in
games by Eriksson, valued for his ability to hold
the ball up and create intelligent play, and he
scored a vital goal for England in a World Cup
qualifying match against Greece national football
team|Greece in September 2001.

He was selected as part of Eriksson's Wc|2002
squad and played in the famous 1-0 win against
Argentina national football team|Argentina, almost
scoring a goal with a shot that was well saved by
the Argentine goalkeeper, and made his final
England appearance as a substitute in the 2-1
quarter-final defeat to Brazil national football
team|Brazil.

At the age of thirty-six, that defeat signalled
the final end of Sheringham's international
career, during which he had earned fifty-one caps
and scored eleven times for England national
football team|England.

Louis Saha

Louis Saha (born August 8, 1978 in Paris, France)
is a French international footballer who plays for
Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United.

He made his English football debut on loan at
Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United on January
9 1999, but made the greatest impact of his career
when, during 2000, he was  transferred to Fulham
F.C.|Fulham. During the spell of nearly four years
at the club, he scored 63 goals in total.

In January 2004 he transferred to Manchester
United for £12.8million, and wore the number 9
shirt which had been vacant since the departure of
Andy Cole two years earlier. Saha scored 7 goals
in 13 Premiership appearances before the end of
the season, although it was not enough to prevent
the title from slipping away to Arsenal. It
appeared that Saha was the ideal partner for Ruud
van Nistelrooy.

However, the arrival of Alan Smith (from Leeds
United F.C.|Leeds United for £6million) and then
Wayne Rooney (from Everton F.C.|Everton for
£20million) pushed Saha down the pecking order
and he was linked with a move away from the club
less than a year after arriving.  In addition his
2004/05 season was badly hit by a succession of
injuries and 2005/06 has begun with Saha again
unavailable for selection due to minor knocks.

An up-and-coming member of the France national
football team|French national team, Saha was a
part of the squad at the 2004 European Football
Championship. He is a friend of national teammate
Thierry Henry.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is highly
regarded as one of the best young talents in world
football (soccer)|football. He currently plays for
Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United and the
England national football team as a striker. He
wears the number 8 shirt for his club, and is
generally given the number 9 for his country.

Rooney was brought up in a suburb of eastern
Liverpool called Croxteth, where he and his two
brothers attended De La Salle School.

As a player, Rooney is noted not only for the deft
touch and pace, but also for his strength and
physical presence which are more usually the
hallmarks of more mature players. While constantly
surrounded by national media hype and observation
since first bursting onto the scene in 2002, it
was not until his performances at the Ec2|2004
that he gained a reputation on the world stage as
he spearheaded the English attack, scoring 4 goals
- England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson compared his
impact to that made by the legendary Brazil
national football team|Brazilian Pelé|Pelé at a
similar age during the Football World Cup
1958|1958 World Cup. Other commentators have
compared him to Manchester United legend Eric
Cantona.

He is currently the youngest player ever to play
for the senior England team, making his debut on
February 12, 2003, aged 17 years, 111 days.
England's youngest ever player previous to this
was James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, who
made his debut almost one and a quarter centuries
before, on April 5, 1879, aged 17 years, 253 days.
Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever
(17 years, 317 days).

==Career==
===Premiership breakthrough===
Rooney first gained national prominence in October
2002 when he became the youngest* goal scorer in
the history of the Premiership at 16 years and 360
days of age, while playing for Everton
F.C.|Everton. His spectacular goal was a
last-minute winner against the then-League
champions Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal that consigned them
to their first league defeat in almost a year.
Coincidentally, Wayne Rooney also played a huge
role in ending Arsenal's record unbeaten run,
winning a penalty and scoring the second goal, in
Manchester United's 2-0 victory over Arsenal in
October 2004 - Arsenal's first Premiership defeat
in 50 games. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC
Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality
award.

* This record has since been
surpassed by James Milner (footballer)|James
Milner, while playing for Leeds United F.C |Leeds
on 26 December 2003. He was 16 years 357 days. On
10 April 2005, James Vaughan while playing for
Everton F.C. |Everton, scored a Premiership goal
on his debut, making him, at 16 years and 271 days
old, the youngest Premiership goal scorer to date
(July 2005).

===England career===
He has also figured prominently in recent English
national football team|England international
matches, after having become the youngest ever
player to play for England, in a friendly against
Australia national football team|Australia, in
February 2003 and also set a record as the
youngest player to score for England. In 2004
Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in
the European Football Championships on 17 June
2004 when he scored twice against Switzerland
national football team|Switzerland; however the
Swiss player, Johan Vonlanthen, broke this record
against France national football team|France four
days later.

===Transfers===
Before turning 17 and becoming eligible for a
professional contract, he was playing for pound
sterling|£100 a week and living with his family
on a council estate. Now, the teenage sensation
has raised that several times and earns an
estimated £50,000 (Euro|€73,500 / United
States dollar|$90,000) a week. Following intense
media coverage of Rooney at the 2004 European
Football Championship|2004 European Championships,
Everton claimed that they would not transfer his
contract for less than 50 million pounds. The club
offered Rooney a new contract for £50,000 a week.
This, however, was turned down by Rooney on the 27
August 2004, leaving Manchester United and
Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United to battle
for his services.

The Times newspaper reported rumours that
Newcastle's initial bid was made at the request of
Rooney's agent, who eventually made £1.5 million
from the deal and employs the son of the Newcastle
United chairman.  In return for making a bid that
would force Manchester United to try to buy the
player a year earlier than they had planned,
Newcastle would be allowed to bid for a Manchester
United defender.  Suspicions were further raised
because at that point in time Newcastle United had
little need for a striker having already got three
top class forwards at the club.  The Newcastle
United bid succeeded in forcing Manchester United
to enter the bidding. Rooney handed in a transfer
request to Everton and on 31 August, 2004 Rooney
signed for Manchester United after a contract|deal
worth up to £27 million was agreed. The deal took
place in spectacular fashion and was concluded
hours before the transfer deadline.

The initial fee of £22m is paid directly to
Everton Football Club, the rest of the money
depends on appearances and/or success at
Manchester United and/or England. It is unlikely
the fee will reach the maximum £27m due to the
complex nature of the contract drawn up by Everton
and Manchester United. A final fee in the region
of £25m is more likely.  He made his debut for
the club on 28 September, 2004 in the Champions
League against Fenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick
and also an assist (The match finished in a 6-2
win for Manchester United).

Rooney's transfer fee is the second highest for an
exclusively British deal, with only his new
teammate, Rio Ferdinand commanding a higher fee.
Rooney does however have the honour of being the
most expensive teenage footballer ever, being only
18 when Manchester United spent their entire
seasonal transfer budget on him.

==Personal life==
As with many high-profile football players, Rooney
has been the target of many allegations and
invasions into his private life.  This includes
his relationship with girlfriend Colleen
McLoughlin. In particular The Sun, apparently
because of a personal campaign launched by editor
Rebekah Wade, has sought to discredit Rooney
publishing allegations about apparent violent
behaviour towards his girlfriend and members of
the public. Rooney and McLoughlin have both
strenuously denied these allegations.

Rooney also hit the headlines after admitting to
sleeping with a middle-aged prostitute; an affair
which placed his relationship with McLoughlin in
jeopardy, with Colleen allegedly throwing her
engagement ring into a squirrel enclosure.

On 2 May 2005 the http://www.esfa.co.uk/esfa/
English Schools' Football Association and sponsors
Coca Cola decided to drop him as guest of honour
at one of their semi-final contests because "we
could find a better role model".  This followed
allegations concerning his private life and
excessive swearing during matches.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4504869.stm

Rooney's personal life then made international
headlines when Sepp Blatter, president of the
world football governing body FIFA, said that
Rooney's attitude deserved "a clip around the
ear."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/s
port/2005/05/13/sfnroo13.xml&sSheet=/sport/2005/05
/13/ixsporttop.html

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo (full name Cristiano Ronaldo dos
Santos Aveiro; born February 5, 1985, Funchal,
Madeira Islands|Madeira, Portugal) is a very sexy
Portugal|Portuguese football player, who plays for
Manchester United of England.

Widely regarded as one of the premier talents in
European football, Ronaldo originally played for
Portuguese team Sporting Clube de
Portugal|Sporting Lisbon, a team famous for
producing Inter Milan star Luis Figo.

Able to use either foot and play on both sides of
the pitch, he attracted the attentions of Sir Alex
Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting
Lisbon beat Manchester United 3-1 in the
inauguration of the Estádio José
Alvalade|Alvalade XXI stadium. After the match,
United's players spoke enthusiastically of the
young talent that they had just played against
saying they would rather have him play on their
team then have to play against him in the future.
That was enough for Sir Alex Ferguson to decide
that he wanted the youngster for his team, who
were in the market for a right-sided midfielder,
signing him for £12.24 million pounds after
recently completing the transfer of David Beckham
out of the club.

Since debuting for the famous England|English
club, Ronaldo has earned a equal amounts of praise
and criticism for his flashy style of play and
dribbling tricks. He demonstrated these at the
2004 FA Cup final in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium,
in which he starred, scoring the first goal in
United's 3-0 win over Millwall F.C.|Millwall.

In his second season at United, Ronaldo has grown
as a player, notably starring in the memorable 4-2
demolition of champions Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal at
their Highbury stadium. The doubts over his
'flashy' style and perceived inability to produce
an 'end product', the final killer cross or pass
to set-up a goal, must surely now have been
allayed, as Ronaldo has consistently been one of
United's most dedicated and effective players in a
season of highs and lows. United reached the FA
Cup final, but had disappointing campaigns in the
Premier League and Champions League.

Ronaldo made his international debut in August
2003, against Kazakhstan national football
team|Kazakhstan. He scored Portugal's only goal in
their 2-1 loss to Greece national football
team|Greece in the opening match of 2004 European
Football Championship|Euro 2004, and the first
goal of the semi final against the Netherlands
national football team|Netherlands which Portugal
won 2-1. The final saw a rematch of the opening
game of the tournament and again, Greece national
football team|Greece emerged victorious. Though
the tournament ended in disappointment for
Ronaldo, he had truly come of age as a player.

Ronaldo proudly represented Portugal at the 2004
Summer Olympics|2004 Olympic Games. As of 11 June
2005, he has scored 10 goals in 24 appearances for
his country.

Ronaldo is currently the second highest scorer in
World Cup qualification in the European zone with
7 goals so far, ahead of established strikers like
Andrei Shevchenko and Manchester United team-mates
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney.

Ronaldo's good looks has also made him a sex
symbol, which he has used to do some modeling.

== Honours ==

*FA Cup winner (2004)
*Euro 2004 finalist (2004)
*UEFA Team of the Year (2004)
*FA Cup finalist (2005)

== Charity ==

Ronaldo has also done charity work, including
recently flying out a young Indonesian tsunami
survivor and his father to attend one of their
World Cup qualifiers, covering all their expenses
and they all contributed money to buy them a house
in Indonesia.

After the two World Cup qualifiers in June,
Ronaldo flew to Indonesia to visit the areas
affected by the tsunami and to raise funds.  He
met the Prime Minister of Indonesia, the President
of East Timor and raised over 1 billion rupiah by
auctioning off his personal sports gear.

==Trivia==

His second name (Ronaldo) is relatively rare in
Portugal. His parents got inspration from the name
of the US president Ronald Reagan.

During Euro 2004 in Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo
was voted the sexiest player on the Portuguese
national team by PortugalGay.PT website visitors.
Cristiano was followed in the list by Nuno Gomes
and Pauleta.

Ronaldo endorses Nike, Pepe Jeans and Suzuki cars,
among other products.

Ronaldo drives a silver Porsche

Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben (born January 23 1984 in Bedum,
Netherlands) is a football (soccer)|footballer for
the Netherlands national football team|Dutch
national team and Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea, having
recently transferred to the England|English club
from Dutch power PSV Eindhoven. And he has an
girlfriend, her name is Bernadien Eillert.

In his younger years he played for the local
footballclub VV Bedum. Later he transferred to FC
Groningen. In his first season he won the Player
of the Year prize at his club. After two seasons
in Groningen Robben went to PSV for
Euro|€4.2 million.

Again after two seasons of great football at PSV,
he was sold to Chelsea. Manchester United
F.C.|Manchester United was the first in line to
buy Robben. But PSV wasn't happy with the €7
million offer. Chelsea offered €18 million
and PSV sold him.

In Ec2|2004 in Portugal, during a match against
the Czech Republic national football team|Czech
Republic, the then Dutch team manager Dick
Advocaat substituted Robben with Paul Bosvelt. The
Dutch team eventually lost that match after
leading by two goals. That decision brought severe
criticism on Advocaat and as a result, Advocaat
resigned from his post after losing in the
semi-finals of Euro 2004 from Portugal.

In another Euro 2004 match, Robben scored the
winning goal against Sweden national football
team|Sweden during a Kicks from the penalty
mark|penalty shootout in a quarterfinal match. He
did not make his competitive debut for Chelsea
until November 2004, as he was injured in a
pre-season friendly match against A.S. Roma,
breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot.

However, since returning from injury, Robben (in
combination with Damien Duff) has made an
impressive impact with his explosive speed,
dribbling skills and finishing; and in November
2004 he was awarded the prestigious player of the
month award. In a game against Blackburn Rovers on
February 2 2005 he broke two metatarsal bones in
his left foot, ruling him out for two months.

On March 19, 2005 Robben returned to the Chelsea
team. Robben came on for Duff midway through the
second half and played an instrumental role in one
of Mateja Kežman's two goals. Chelsea went on to
defeat Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace 4-1. But
injury soon caught up with him again, he is force
to be taken off in a Football World Cup 2006 -
European Qualification Groups|World Cup 2006
Qualifying match for the Netherlands, causing him
to miss a critical Champions League match against
Bayern Munich, which Chelsea went on to win 6-5
over two legs.

Gheorghe Popescu

Gheorghe "Gic�" Popescu (born December 9, 1967 in
Calafat) is a former Romanian football (soccer)
defender (football)|defender, a key part of the
Romania national football team|Romanian national
team in the 1990s.

On the club level, Popescu played for FC
Universitatea Craiova|Universitatea Craiova
(1985-90, he spent a part of the 1987-88 season
with FC Steaua Bucuresti|Steaua Bucharest), PSV
Eindhoven (1990-94), Tottenham Hotspur
F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur (1994-95), FC
Barcelona|Barcelona (1995-97), Galatasaray
(1997-2001), U.S. Lecce|Lecce (2001-02), FC Dinamo
Bucuresti|Dinamo Bucharest (2002) and Hannover 96
(2003). For the Romanian national team, Popescu
stands among its all-time cap leaders with 115, in
which he scored 16 goals. He played for his
country in the Football World Cup 1990|1990,
Football World Cup 1994|1994, and Football World
Cup 1998|1998 World Cups, 1996 European Football
Championship|Euro 96 and 2000 European Football
Championship|Euro 2000.