History and Biography of Michael Owen

Few young players were greeted with so much expectation in England as was Michael Owen on his debut. He was considered a future world class talent even since his teens and he did manage to fill the big shoes that he has been offered, wherever he played.

Unfortunately, a string of annoying injuries reduced his chances of becoming the top player that he was meant to be. This Michael Owen biography will take you through the ups and downs of the striker’s career, from youth level to his current club, Newcastle United.

Michael Owen Biography – Youth Days

Full name Michael James Owen Date of birth December 14, 1979 Place of birth Chester, England Height 5.8FT – 1.72M Playing position Striker

Owen started playing soccer at Mold Alexandra, a Welsh club, at only 7 years of age. His father persuaded the club’s coach to use Michael in a team of 10 year olds and despite his smaller frame, he managed to become the “secret weapon” of the team soon enough, especially since all the other players would underestimate him due to his size and age.

At 11, he was already a star amongst the English soccer world and everyone rushed in to sign him. He had offers from Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool and he eventually settled for the latter, Liverpool offering him the chance to study at the FA’s School of Excellence when he was 14 years old.

Michael Owen Biography – Liverpool

Season Club Games Goals 1996–2004 Liverpool 216 118 2004–2005 Real Madrid 34 13 2005–Present Newcastle United 19 8 Last Update – Sep 28, 2007 Domestic League Only

In 1996, right after Michael Owen’s 17th birthday, he was offered a contract for the senior squad. On his first match in the jersey of Liverpool, he came in as a substitute and scored a goal which overjoyed the young player and would give him confidence for the future. Actually, as he will soon prove, Michael Owen’s goals would literally “feed” his hunger for more. The times in which he didn’t score, would also mean a downslide in his overall form.

Michael Owen would play with Liverpool for 8 full seasons, winning the League Cup twice (2001 and 2003), the FA Cup once (2001), the UEFA Cup once (2001) and the European Super Cup and Charity Shield in the same year, 2002. He has attained a legendary status amongst the fans, but unfortunately he also built a reputation for himself as being a glass cannon: a lethal player when fit, but also one that is quite fragile physically.

Michael Owen’s goals for Liverpool (180 in approximately 350 appearances for the club) made Real Madrid consider him as a top class striker for their star-studded team and in 2004, they bought the promising English striker from Liverpool, in a deal of roughly $15 million.

Michael Owen Biography – Real Madrid and Newcastle United

Real Madrid is the kind of team that you either prove your worth at, or die down as an eternal substitute. During his time at Real, Michael Owen was neither. His sole season at Real earned Owen the highest goals/minutes played ratio, but he was not a regular first team player and with Real Madrid signing two additional Brazilian strikers in the summer of 2005 (Robinho and Baptista), Michael Owen’s spot seemed sealed, so he moved to Newcastle United.

Years National Team Games Goals 1998-Present England 85 40 Last Update – Sep 12, 2007

At Newcastle United, Michael Owen seems to have regained his scoring pace. Finally catching a break from his injuries, he managed to score regularly in his first season here and also regained his place in the start-up line of England’s national side.

Unfortunately, in the 2006 World Cup initial match against Sweden, Michael Owen suffered yet another injury, this time damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, an injury that kept him off the pitch for over a year, as he just started running and training again in the spring of 2007.

Although fully recovered now, his time with Newcastle United seems short and many speculate that as soon as an opportunity arises, Michael Owen will move back to the club that made him famous, Liverpool FC.

Top Money Making Club in World of Football

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. David Beckham

Real Madrid is still the top moneymaking club in world football, beating out European Cup champion Manchester United due to the plunging pound, according to the latest review of the sport’s finances.

Deloitte’s study, which ranks the 20 biggest clubs based on revenue, showed that Madrid generated euro 365.8 million in the 12 months to June 30, 2008.

The Red Devils would have ended their season leading the Football Money League if the pound had not depreciated against the euro. Had the pound stayed steady at the June 2007 rate, United’s revenue of 257.1 million pounds would have equated to euro 382 million rather euro 324.8 million by last June.

“Whilst Real Madrid’s 4 per cent revenue growth in 2007-08 is more modest than recent years, the club has now doubled its revenues since 2002 and enjoys a lead of euro 41 million over Manchester United,” said Dan Jones of Deloitte’s sports business group. “With the club having announced that it is budgeting for revenues of euro 400 million in 2008-09, it will be difficult for rivals to replace Real at the top of the Money League next year.”

Despite a 31st Spanish league title, Madrid’s commercial revenue dropped 5 per cent. It is blamed on lower shirt sponsorship income following the bankruptcy of BenQ Mobile and the loss of midfielder David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007.

“It will be interesting to see how the club copes with the loss of the Brand Beckham effect and the challenging commercial market that clubs are now facing,” the report said.

Deloitte only used revenue as its ranking and not the wealth of individual club owners, including Chelsea’s Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Spanish league leader Barcelona was provided with an uplift, like Madrid, by individually negotiated broadcast contracts in place until 2013-14, and is third with revenue of euro 308.8 million.

“The fact that if today’s exchange rates were applied United would have finished below Barcelona, emphasizes the impact that exchange rate movements have had on English clubs’ relative ranking in this year’s list,” Jones said.

“Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham United can all consider themselves unlucky to have missed out on a top 20 place.” But the list, which only contains European clubs, was still dominated by the English with seven teams, compared to six the previous year.

German champion Bayern Munich is fourth with revenue of euro 295.3 million, followed by English clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, while Italian teams AC Milan, AS Roma, Inter Milan and Juventus occupy the next spots. Driven largely by its successful participation in the Champions League, 19th-place Fenerbahce is the first Turkish club to appear since the list was created after the 1996-97 season. Only six clubs in the top 20 did not participate in Europe’s lucrative competition.

Deloitte was investigating a period before the economic downturn took hold, but its analysts believe the strength of broadcast controls will provide a stable revenue stream in the coming years.

While Deloitte concludes that football will be resistant, not immune, to the financial meltdown, it warns club owners that they will struggle to secure credit and invest in stadiums.

History and Biography of Iker Casillas

Complete Name: Iker Fernández Casillas Nationality: Spanish Place of Birth: San Sebastián, Spain Date of Birth: 20/05/1981 Height: 180 cm Weight: 75 kg National Team: Spain Current Club: Real Madrid (Spain) Position: Goalkeeper

Iker Casillas Fernández (born May 20, 1981 in Móstoles, Madrid) is a Spanish football goalkeeper. He is currently the first choice goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. He is also the first vice-captain of Spain. Still only a youngster in goalkeeping terms, Iker Casillas has nonetheless gained a huge reputation in European football. A shot-stopper par excellence, the Real Madrid player is gradually developing the commanding presence in his area which could yet see him become an all-time great.

Full Detailed Biography

• Because he was too young to have a driver’s license, Casillas was the only Madrid player to use public transport to get to training sessions in the 1999/00 season.
• He is currently dating Spanish model Eva González. She comes from Seville and has appeared in TV programmes and done numerous photo shoots for magazines. She was recently voted the prettiest footballers’ partner in Spain.

Born in Madrid in 1981, Casillas’ entire career has been spent with his hometown club Real Madrid, which he joined as an eight-year old. He first hit the limelight at 17 when he was pulled out of a high school art class to be told he would be on the bench for a Champions League match. His breakthrough came during the 1999-2000 season, when he replaced the injured Bodo Illgner and played in Madrid’s UEFA Champions League triumph in an all-Spanish final against Valencia CF where his senior team mates Raúl González, Fernando Morientes and Steve McManaman scored in a 3-0 win.

Loss of form subsequently allowed César Sánchez to take the starting position as goalkeeper, but Casillas reclaimed the limelight after coming on as substitute for the veteran in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayer Leverkusen and preserving Madrid’s 2-1 lead with a series of fine saves.Casillas came on to replace the injured Cesar with 22 minutes remaining at Hampden Park and produced a series of outstanding saves to ensure Real held on to their lead. At one point Leverkusen appeared to be queuing up to score but Casillas was at his best, his efforts to deny Yildiray Basturk and Dimitar Berbatov particularly brilliant.

Again the Real Madrid first choice in the 2002-03 season, an injury-free season saw Casillas play in 15 of his side’s Champions League games as well as all 38 Primera División matches as Madrid reclaimed the Spanish championship. In the 2003-04 season, Casillas was virtually ever-present as Madrid relinquished their crown and lost the Spanish Cup final, missing just one league game.

Despite Casillas’ stellar performances every week, Real Madrid suffered two trophyless seasons in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Although Casillas was widely considered the team’s most consistent performer during this lean patch, there was much gossip and speculation regarding a possible transfer to another club. Manchester United was the name that regularly cropped up in newspapers. It was speculated that Casillas was unhappy with his salary, which was paltry in comparison to the amounts earned by some of the team’s bigger stars. However, the saga ended when the player signed a contract extension on the November 30, 2005, tying him to the club till 2011.

Teams

Casillas was a member of the Spanish teams which won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999. Following his full international debut against Sweden, Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000.

2002 World Cup

He was the first choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan later that year, and enjoyed hero status after Spain knocked out the Republic of Ireland in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the quarter-finals. Before the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was almost unknown to most football fans because he was only a substitute player. After the FIFA World Cup and his performances against the Republic of Ireland and South Korea, he was finally the leading goal keeper in the national team.

Euro 2004

Casillas played in all eight Group 6 fixtures during Euro 2004 qualifying, conceding just four goals. He then kept goal in both legs of the play-off victory against Norway, keeping a clean sheet in Oslo. He then backstopped his country at the Euro 2004 finals.

2006 World Cup

Casillas was his country’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

History and Biography of Alessandro Nesta

History and Biography of Alessandro Nesta

Alessandro Nesta Biography – Preview – Italian soccer players are widely recognized as having the best tactical knowledge and defensive prowess in the World and Nesta is the perfect example to build a proof upon.

Together with 2006’s World Player of the Year, Fabio Cannavaro, Nesta held the pressure of an Italian national squad’s defense that would win them the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Even if winning this World Cup was his career’s main highlight, there’s much more to talk about in our Alessandro Nesta biography.

Full name Alessandro Nesta
Date of birth March 19, 1976
Place of birth Rome, Italy
Height 6.2 ft 1.87 m
Playing position Center Back

Alessandro Nesta Biography – SS Lazio Youth
If you’re born in Rome, there are two ways you can go soccer-wise: SS Lazio or AS Roma. Born in a family of Lazio supporters, young Alessandro Nesta was encouraged by his father to stay in school rather than take up soccer.

When his older brother was diagnosed with some back problems and advised to play a sport, the head of the Nesta family sent his older sibling to play in the youth squad of Lazio.

Young Alessandro took this opportunity to convince his father to allow him to play soccer as well and after several crying sessions, his father gave in and let the 9-year old follow his older brother to soccer practice. Nesta quickly made a name for himself adapting to any position his coaches would play him in, including those of a striker or playmaker. He even managed to get selected for the Italian national youth teams, being selected for the Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17 squads in the following years.

When he was 17, Nesta was close to signing a contract with town-rivals AS Roma, but his father turned down the offer. His father’s decision would not hinder him to become a professional footballer though, as he was quickly signed on for Lazio’s first squad.

Season Club Games Goals
1993-2002 Lazio 193 1
2002-06/07 AC Milan 128 2

Alessandro Nesta – SS Lazio First Team
Although not getting any games in his first season with the senior squad, Nesta came to the attention of the fans and press through a negative incident that had him breaking Paul Gascoigne’s leg in a training session.

It was a blow that hurt his career as much as it threatened Gascoigne’s career, but he eventually overcame the moment and soon earned a starting lineup position for Lazio. In two remarkable seasons with the club and the Under-21 Italy squad, Nesta was given captaincy of his team, becoming one of the youngest captains in Italian soccer.

With a team lead by Nesta, Italy’s Under 21 squad managed to win the 1996 European Championship and the youngster was even named the best defender of the tournament.

His first trophy with Lazio came in the 1997-1998 season, as he lead his team on a successful Cup run, with Nesta scoring his first and last goal for Lazio, in the final against AC Milan. In the same season, Lazio were close to winning the UEFA Cup, but lost the final to fellow Italians Internazionale Milano.

Years National Team Games Goals
1995-1996 Italy U-21 6 1
1996-06/07 Italy 78 0

Despite losing this great opportunity to win a European trophy, Alessandro Nesta and his team didn’t lose their hope and went on to write one of the most impressive chapters in Lazio’s history, winning the Cup Winners’ Cup and European Super Cup in 1999, an impressive league-cup double in 2000 and two Italian Super Cups along the way.

The team’s success was short lived however, as Lazio fell almost close to bankruptcy in 2002 and they were forced to sell Alessandro Nesta to the highest bidder, which proved to be AC Milan (although his sale stopped the financial problems at Lazio momentarily, the team eventually bankrupted anyway).

Alessandro Nesta Biography – AC Milan – Despite Lazio’s success, they were never considered a big team, a theory proven by the fact that they were always the underdog in every competition they played and eventually won.

At AC Milan things would be a bit different for Nesta, as he was now playing for a club forcing huge amounts of pressure on its players. Fortunately for Milan’s fans, it seems that pressure doesn’t hinder Nesta at all, even more so it most likely fuels him.

With Nesta in the team, Milan managed to win almost everything they could, including the Italian championship, the UEFA Champions League (in 2003 and more recently, in 2007), the Coppa Italia and the European Super Cup.

The 2006-2007 season will probably remain the highlight Nesta’s career, as it’s this season that brought him the two trophies every footballer dreams of: the World Cup, together with Italian soccer team and the UEFA Champions League with AC Milan.

History and Biography of Luis Figo

Luis Figo Biography – Preview
With Eusebio being considered the best footballer Portugal ever came up with, it was a tough challenge for anyone to top his achievements and take the Mozambique Pearl off his throne.

Still, being an ambitious and talented Footballer, Figo managed to do so in his extraordinary career that had him playing at some of the most important European soccer clubs, such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid or Internazionale. For this reason, a Luis Figo biography could not have missed from my list.

Luis Figo Biography – Sporting CP
Portuguese soccer is well known for having some of the most prestigious and well-equipped youth training camps in the World and Sporting’s youth facilities are amongst them. It is here that Luiz Figo started out playing soccer, being born in Lisbon himself.

He grew up in a team that would later be a large part of the “Golden Generation” of Portuguese soccer, with other important teammates such as Rui Costa. Although growing up in such a professional and competitive environment, the pressure didn’t slow down the footballer, Figo shining out whenever he played and eventually winning his first senior game at Sporting in 1989 (age 17).

Although not a first squad constant (as would be expected from a 17 year old footballer), Figo managed to win his place in the team the following years and started showing more and more of his brilliance with each passing year.

Already having spent 6 seasons at Sporting, a move to a bigger club was inevitable and it was Juventus and AC Parma who made the first move, both teams offering him a contract.

Still young and being ill consulted, Luiz Figo signed for both clubs at the same time, triggering a scandal that resulted in a 2 year ban for him to transfer in the Italian Serie A. I think this was for the best, as Spanish giants FC Barcelona immediately moved in and signed the young midfielder.

Luis Figo Biography – FC Barcelona
Almost any Luis Figo biography will point out that the time spent with FC Barcelona was the footballer’s best point in his career.

Although not winning as many trophies with Barcelona as he did with Real Madrid, it’s at the Catalan side that he had his blast, becoming a fan-favorite and one of the most dominant figures in the locker room, his charisma and leadership earning him a rightful Barcelona captain’s armband, a honor that is rarely given to a player that is not Spanish.

Having such a status at Barcelona, after 4 impressive seasons with the team, Luiz Figo’s unexpected move to arch-rivals Real Madrid in 2000 was an international shocker and so was his transfer fee, a world record at that point: 46 million dollars.

Luis Figo Biography – Real Madrid
In his first season at Real, Luis Figo was caught between a rock and a hard place.
His former Barcelona fans hated him for his move, booing and jeering him with every possible occasion and his new Real fans were circumspect that a player with such a long history with FC Barcelona will be able to play regularly for their team. Add that to a long list of injuries in the first seasons and you’ll know why many rushed to consider Figo as a “done footballer”.

After a difficult first season at Real however, Luiz Figo started a new wonderful stage of his career, winning the next three La Liga titles with his team and being an essential player in, then coach, Vicente Del Bosque’s squad.

He finally won the club’s supporters on him side, although the passionate Barcelona ones still didn’t forget him. During this period, he also had a lot of successful runs with his national side, alongside many Sporting CP youth team ex-colleagues, reaching the 2004 European Championship final (losing it to Greece) and a few years after that, reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2006. But by that time, he had already moved from an apparently falling Real Madrid side to Inter Milano.

Luis Figo Biography – Inter Milano
Inter being an equally reputable team as Real Madrid, but in a constant lack of form in the last decade, Figo managed to remain at the height of his game here, eventually leading Inter to two consecutive Serie A titles (although one was won after the Calciopoli scandal, which stripped Champions Juventus of their 2005-2006 title, giving it to second-place Inter instead).

Approaching the end of his career, Figo was linked to a move to Al-Ittihad, where he was supposed to receive one of the highest salaries in international football, however this transfer was cancelled due to Figo’s desire to play a few more years at the highest competition level for Inter. It is yet unknown if the Al-Ittihad contract was simply postponed or cancelled entirely.

History and Biography of Ronaldo

Probably one of the most resounding names in today’s soccer, Ronaldo put his mark on the last decade, becoming not only a prolific striker for his various club teams and national side, but also a famous “product face”. This biography will take you through El Fenomeno’s life and career, from his poor childhood to his super stardom.

Ronaldo Biography – Youth Career
Born in a poor neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, he started playing soccer on the streets, with the rest of his neighborhood friends. At age 14, he decided it’s time for a little organization in his life as a soccer player, so he went on to train with the Social Ramos Youth Club for one year. His next youth team, Sao Cristovao is where Ronaldo made a name for himself, being spotted by Brazilian World Cup winner Jairzinho as a future talent.

Full name Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima Date of birth September 22, 1976 Place of birth Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Height 6.0FT – 1.83M Playing position Striker

Jairzinho, who played for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, recommended the young Ronaldo to the club and they signed him when he was 18 years old. His first and only season as a professional soccer player in Brazil was extremely successful, as he scored 12 goals in 13 games, quickly attracting the eyes of Europe.

Ronaldo Biography –
PSV Eindhoven
The first club to spot Ronaldo and make Cruzeiro an offer was Dutch PSV Eindhoven. Admittedly, not one of the mammoths of Europe in terms of soccer, but nevertheless a powerful club where a young player like Ronaldo could hone his skills and get some experience in Europe.

His 2 seasons at PSV were extremely successful, scoring 42 goals in 46 matches at just 21 years of age. His performances could not remain unnoticed and FC Barcelona moved in with a heavy offer to take the Brazilian on.

Ronaldo Biography – FC Barcelona and Internazionale Milano
His only season with Barcelona would be one of the best of his career, scoring 47 goals in 49 matches in all competitions for Barca and helping the Catalan club win the UEFA Cup Winners Cup (He actually scored the winning goal in the final) and the Spanish Cup. This great season confirmed him as an outstanding player and a goal scoring machine and Internazionale Milano moved in to take the Brazilian to Italy.

Season Club Games Goals 1993-1994 Cruzeiro EC 13 12 1994-1996 PSV Eindhoven 46 42 1996-1997 FC Barcelona 37 34 1997-2002 Internazionale 69 49 2002-2007 Real Madrid 127 83 2007-Present A.C. Milan 14 7 Last Update – July 6, 2007 Domestic League Only

During the 5 seasons in Milan’s shirt, he managed to score 50 times, but his efficiency was a lot lower than for PSV or FC Barcelona, due to several problems. First of all, the tough defensive air of the Italian Serie A reduced his ability to use his lethal dribbles as often as he could at FC Barcelona or PSV.

His personal issues with his girlfriends and wife, as well as a string of injuries also kept him from being as prolific as before. Nevertheless, he was loved at Inter and he helped the Italian club win the UEFA Cup in 1998, which is actually his only trophy with the club. In 1997 however, he became the European Footballer of the Year, European Golden Boot and after the UEFA Cup success, he was named UEFA’s MVP that season.

Still, in 2002 after no league titles with Inter, it was time to move on and Real Madrid took him on to form the so called “Galacticos” team of super stars.

Years National Team Games Goals 1994–present Brazil 97 62

Ronaldo Biography – Real Madrid
For Ronaldo, Real Madrid was angel and devil alike. Used to the Spanish league and escaping the Italian one’s defensive toughness, he regained his scoring pace and in his 5 seasons with Real, he scored no less than 127 goals in 83 league games.

He helped Real Madrid win the league twice, in 2002-2003 and 2006-2007, as well as the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup in 2002. Although he played well for Madrid, his past with FC Barcelona, his numerous injuries and news of him partying before and after matches, created a gap between the Brazilian striker and his fans.

He also gained a few pounds, which decreased his stamina, speed and agility attracting the anger of Real’s supporters, after a poor 2005-2006 season. Not finding his pace at Real Madrid anymore, he decided to move back to Milan, but this time for Inter’s arch-rivals, AC Milano.

Ronaldo Biography – AC Milano
Ronaldo plays for Milano since the winter of 2007 and although he only had half a season to settle back in Serie A, he did it with ease. He started scoring again and helping AC Milan win important points and he even managed to score against his former team, Inter, in the Milanese super-derby.

Although he could not participate in Milan’s Champions League Win in 2007, he showed signs of improving his game and he also lost most of the extra pounds that made Real Madrid fans criticize him.

In the international field Ronaldo always was a vital member of the Brazilian team. He made history on June 27th 2006 during the World Cup games as he broke the all-time World Cup scoring record of 14 that was held by Gerd Muller (Germany) after scoring his 15th goal against Ghana.

History and Biography of Oliver Kahn

Oliver Kahn Biography – Introduction
Oliver Kahn might not have the lightning reflexes of Iker Cassilias or the flair of Peter Schmeichel, but his bulky frame, strength, anticipation and presence in goal, made him one of the top goalkeepers of our times and, as many suggest, of all times.

I’m not sure if a comparison between Oliver Kahn and say, Lev Yashin, Gordon Banks or Andoni Zubizareta are in place, since they’re different types of goalkeepers. Oliver Kahn is the type of keeper you need to have in the team not only because he is a great shot stopper, but also because of his impressive presence in the team’s defense.

He’s a modern goalkeeper, that coordinates his defenders very well and he also has the strength of character to make himself heard and respected by his teammates, which is an extraordinary feat considering he’s playing together with world class superstars at Bayern Munich and the German national team.

Since he’s approaching the end of his career, I decided to write up a short Oliver Kahn biography, to get you accustomed with this great figure in modern soccer.

Oliver Kahn Biography – Karlsruher SC
Oliver Kahn entered the world of professional soccer in 1987, when he was just 18. Karlsruher SC took him on as a reserve keeper and he had to wait 3 hard years to get a real chance at the first team, since until then he only played sporadically and mostly in unimportant matches. But in 1990, he was given the chance to play match by match and he didn’t kick that chance away as so many goalkeepers do.

Actually, he helped Karlsruher become one of the top teams in Germany and lead them through a great UEFA Cup run in 1993-94, where the small Bundesliga side managed to get to the semi-finals, smashing Valencia 8-3 on aggregate on the way there.

His performance brought him in the eyes of Bayern Munich and despite the fact that he had some great 6 years with the Karlsruher side, when giants Bayern put an offer on your table it’s hard to resist.

Oliver Kahn Biography – Bayern Munich
Doing a retrospective through this Oliver Kahn biography, you’ll notice that he played for Bayern for 13 seasons already! And despite being 38 now, he shows no signs that he wants to retire yet. With over 400 games played for Bayern, it’s not far fetched to say that he’s already considered a legend there, next to other huge names such as Beckenbauer.

With Bayern, Oliver Kahn lived the best time of his career but also his worst nightmare. Winning the Bundesliga 7 times in his time with Bayern, the German Cup 5 times, the UEFA Cup once and finally, the UEFA Champions League in 2001, you could say he had a very successful time with Bayern.

But like I said, he also participated in one of Bayern and German football’s worst nightmares, namely the 1999 Champions League final. Oliver Kahn & Bayern Munich played against Manchester United and had a 1-0 advantage.

With Kahn in goal, it seemed like enough to get them through the final. But amazingly, Manchester United scored two goals in injury time and left some nasty marks in Kahn’s morale. After all, it’s not every day you lose the most important club competition in 2 minutes, after you lead 1-0.

Oliver Kahn Biography – Conclusion
At 38 years of age, most players, even goalkeepers, decide to hang up their soccer boots, but not Oliver Kahn. He said he wants to finish his contract with Bayern Munich, a contract that spans for another season (2007/08) but he did not say that he will retire afterwards or not. For all we know, we might as well see Oliver Kahn play for Germany in yet another World Cup in 2010.

History and Biography of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi Biography – Introduction
Now I’m not sure about you, but on my 20th birthday, I had a couple of friends over, drank some beer and ate a pizza and that’s about it. Leonel Messi decided he would spend his 20th birthday otherwise…cheered in a standing ovation by over 50,000 people on the soccer pitch. I guess not everyone can be a teenage international super star…

When I started writing this Lionel Messi biography, I had some doubts in regards of what I’ll write about since, after all, he’s only been on the stage of big football in the past 2 years. But those two years were so eventful, that Messi covered in this short period what other soccer players cover in their lifetime. Let’s take a look how the young Argentinean started out and how he rose to the level of fame he has today.

Full name Lionel Andres Messi Date of birth June 24, 1987 Place of birth Rosario, Argentina Height 5.7FT – 1.69M Playing position Attacking Midfielder/Striker

Lionel Messi Biography – Youth Career – Born in the Santa Fe province of Argentina in a family where soccer was king, Lionel Messi started kicking the ball at an early age and when he was just 5 years old, he joined the training sessions of the club his father was coaching at that time, Grandoli.

Although he was close to his father at Grandoli, they both knew this club would not be one to offer the young boy a future as a soccer player, so his father decided to take him to one of the most prestigious youth academies in Argentina, that of Newell’s Old Boys. This happened in 1995, when Leonel Messi was just 8 years old.

Season Club Games Goals 2004–Present Barcelona 55 26 Last Update – Sep 29, 2007 Domestic League Only

Lionel Messi Biography – Health Problems – Three years later, Messi was already showing promise and he was considered a huge future talent, but unfortunately he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency that could be treated, but its cost would be around $700 per month and the Messi family simply did not have that kind of money.

River plate, one of the other strong Argentinean teams wanted to pay for Messi’s treatment, but they couldn’t afford it either, with the Argentinean economy collapsing. Fortunately for the young player, FC Barcelona, who was already scouting him, learned of his problem and decided to help out and put the life of Leonel Messi back on its rightful track. Messi soon signed with Barcelona’s youth team and moved to Spain for his treatment.

Years National Team Games Goals 2005-Present Argentina 22 6 Last Update – Sep 26, 2007

Lionel Messi Biography –
FC Barcelona
Recovering from his growth deficiency problem, the Argentinean started playing regularly for FC Barcelona’s youth squad and in a few years, he was taken to the B squad of Barcelona, where Lionel Messi’s goals started placing the spotlight on him once again.

Despite his small frame, he managed an impressive 35 goals in 30 matches and in 2004 he made his official debut for the senior squad of the Catalan team, in a local derby against Espanyol Barcelona. He was 17 years and 3 months old on his debut. He didn’t play in a lot of other games in that season, but in May 2005, he managed to score his first official goal, against Albacete, becoming the youngest player to ever score a game for Barcelona in a league game.

Getting more and more match experience, he slowly earned a solid place in the first team and his pace, passing and goal scoring ability earned him standing ovations wherever he would play, especially a memorable one in a match against Udinese in the UEFA Champions League on Nou Camp, where Messi single-handedly won the match and made the stadium’s capacity rise to their feet as a gesture of respect.

From that moment, he was almost indispensable in Barca’s first squad and although several thigh injuries kept him away from the pitch, he came back in force in the 2006-2007 season. Probably his most memorable match and the one that truly made him the big star that he is today was the El Clasico duel on March 10th 2007, where Barcelona met arch-rivals Real Madrid on Nou Camp.

Messi managed to score a hat-trick, with his last goal being a crucial equalizer scored in the 90th minute. That Lionel Messi goal will live long in the memory of the Barca fans as everyone talked for weeks about the 19 year old kid that brought Real Madrid to its knees.

History and Biography of Roberto Baggio

I’m pretty sure Roberto Baggio needs no introduction to anyone reading this, but I still think he had an interesting career all-round, so I decided to write up this short Roberto Baggio biography.

One of the things I noticed in my studies for this biography is that Roberto Baggio is equally well known in the United States as he is in Europe. Almost no other European soccer player achieved this status, except maybe those that played in US at the end of their career, such as Franz Beckenbauer, Jurgen Klinsmann or more recently, David Beckham.

The explanation is simple: he was one of the heroes of the 1994 World Cup held in the United States and his charm, good gameplay and openness to the public gave him this boost in popularity in all parts of the World. But before we get to the 1994 moment, let’s see where this magnificent player chiseled his soccer skills.

Roberto Baggio Biography – Vicenza
Born in a small town near the city of Vicenza, Roberto Baggio was spotted as a future talent early on and he signed with the Vicenza team, who was playing in the third Italian division at that time, when he was only 15 years of age. It’s here that he learned the basics of soccer and got accustomed to professionalism and by the time he was 18, he was already on the shortlist of Fiorentina, one of the powers in Serie A (the first Italian division) at that time.

Roberto Baggio Biography – Fiorentina
Although not playing in the first few months at Fiorentina, after one season of getting used to the high air of the Serie A, Baggio was finally given the chance to enter the pitch on September the 1st, 1986. Although his first 2 seasons he wasn’t really a first team regular, over the next 3 he would spend at Fiorentina, he will have one of the biggest boosts of his career, becoming an idol for the fans and one of the most feared strikers in Italy.

This great form brought him in the eyes of the national team staff, but also attracted huge offers for him from bigger, wealthier clubs throughout Europe. In 1990, Italian champions Juventus Torino faxed Fiorentina an offer for Baggio that they and the player could not resist: $20 million, the biggest sum paid for a soccer player at that time.

Roberto Baggio Biography – Juventus
In the 5 seasons played for Juventus, Roberto Baggio was more prolific than ever, scoring almost 80 goals in 141 matches, a feat that’s even more important considering it was achieved in the most defensive championship of the World.

But the achievements at Juventus weren’t all that great, with the team having a rather low form compared to what was about to follow for the Torino club. He only managed to win the Championship once with Juve, in 1995 when he also won his first and only Italian Cup. 1993 also brought him his only European cup success, as he won the UEFA Cup with his team.

This period was actually his best, as he won the UEFA Cup in 1993, was named FIFA World Player of the Year and World Footballer of the Year as well and qualified Italy’s national side to the 1994 World Cup.

Roberto Baggio Biography – End of Career
After leaving Juventus in 1995, Baggio was not in the best of forms, as his morale was shattered by the fact that he missed the decisive penalty in the 1994 World Cup final against Brazil (however it was Baggio that almost single-handedly got Italy to the Final in the first place).

He played for AC Milan for 2 seasons, but did not have the success he had hoped for, thus moved to Bologna in 1997. It’s here that he regained his well known appetite for goal, as he scored 22 goals in 30 matches. Although he was already 30 years of age, Inter Milan sought to bring him back to his glory and bought him in 1998 but again, Baggio didn’t become the leader that Inter’s bosses had hoped for.

In 2000, Baggio decided it was time for him to step down a level after so many years played for huge clubs and went on to Brescia, a mid-table team where he played constantly and had no worries about his place in the squad. This relaxed setting allowed him to get some of his past form back as he scored 45 goals in 95 matches, during 4 seasons with the Bianco azzuri club.

History and Biography of Alessandro Del Piero

Summary

“Alessandro Del Piero”, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI (born November 9, 1974 in Conegliano) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He is the captain of Juventus where he holds several club records (218 goal) and he is a member of the Italian national team.

His footballing ability is highly regarded and he has won critical recognition. Pelé named Del Piero in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA’s centenary celebrations. He was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In the year 2000 Del Piero was the world’s best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue.

As well as earning respect for his playing, Del Piero has won several accolades for his character. Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the “Golden Foot” award, which pertains to personality and playing ability.

Usually, Del Piero plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers, known in Italy as the “Trequartista” position. Although he is not very tall, Del Piero’s playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just ‘goal poaching.’ His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded.

In terms of goalscoring, Del Piero holds the all-time record at Juventus. He is in sixth place in the UEFA Champions League all-time goalscorer records. Within the Italian national team, he is currently joint fourth with Roberto Baggio in the all-time scoring records.

Childhood and early career

Del Piero was born in Conegliano, Veneto, Italy, the son of Gino Del Piero, an electrician and Bruna Del Piero, a housekeeper. He regularly played football in the backyard with three friends, Nelso, Pierpaolo, and Giovanni-Paolo as a child, all three dreamed of becoming a footballer but only Del Piero would eventually manage to do so.

Alessandro’s brother who is nine years older, Stefano Del Piero was also keenly interested in football. Stefano briefly played professional football for Sampdoria before injury struck him. The family lived in a rural home in San Vendemiano, while growing up Del Piero’s family didn’t have much money for travelling abroad, so he was considering being a lorry driver in order to see the world. Del Piero used to play as a goalkeeper because he could play a lot more football that way. His mother thought it would be better for him if he played as a goalkeeper, since he wouldn’t sweat and the possibility of him getting injured was less likely. His brother Stefano told their mother: ‘Don’t you see that Alex is good in the attack?’ and Del Piero switched position.

It was while playing with his local side of “AC San Vendemiano” in 1988 that Del Piero was first spotted by scouts – he left home at the young age of 13 to play in the youth side of Padova. He got his first chance at professional football in 1991 where he played in the Italian Serie B league four times. The following season he played ten games for Padova and scored his first professional goal.

Juventus

In 1993, he transferred to Juventus, and has been there ever since. Del Piero made his Serie A debut against Foggia in September 1993, scored his first goal in his next game against Reggiana after appearing as a substitute, and then grabbed a hat-trick against Parma on his first start. Juventus claimed their first Scudetto in eight years in his first season and success continued to follow.

With the Turin club, he won the Serie A championship seven times (1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006), the Champions League (1996), and the Intercontinental Cup (1996). His best season was in 1997-98, when he scored 21 goals in Serie A and finished top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 10 goals, which included a peach of a freekick against Monaco in the semi finals.

Del Piero struggled for form at the beginning of the 1998-99 season, whilst doping allegations were aimed at Juventus (they were later found innocent). In October he picked up a serious knee injury in the 2-2 draw with Udinese. This kept him out of action for the remainder of the season. Juventus struggled without him and limped home to a lowly 6th place in Serie A. It is claimed by some that Del Piero has never fully recovered from this injury, and therefore never quite fulfilled the potential he had shown at a very young age.

His nickname is “Pinturicchio”, in reference to a joke by Gianni Agnelli when he compared the emerging Del Piero to Roberto Baggio in a parallel between the student Pinturicchio from Perugia and the teacher Perugino. He’s also been nicknamed by the fans ‘Il Fenomeno Vero’ meaning the real ‘Phenomenon’.

One of Del Piero’s greatest strengths as a footballer is his versatility, which allows him to play in a variety of attacking positions. While he started his club career playing as a full-fledged striker, he settled into a deeper role as a support-striker. Because of his great technical ability, accurate passing skills and impressive vision, he has also been positioned as a playmaker in the central slot behind the forwards. In any zone surrounding the penalty area, his prowess as a creator of goals came to the fore. Under Marcello Lippi’s reign as Juventus coach, Del Piero’s creative abilities were on display whatever the coach’s formation was. Del Piero showed his class in the lethal ‘trident-attack’ formation along with veterans Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli. After that, he took a leading role in a creative combination with Zinedine Zidane behind Filippo Inzaghi. As Juve’s playing style changed in Lippi’s second stint with Juventus starting 2001, Del Piero was still vital as his partnerships with Pavel Nedv?d in midfield and David Trezeguet upfront has contributed enormously to Juve’s continued success in Italy and Europe.

Del Piero is currently the all-time top scorer for Juventus, in all competitions he has also made over 500 appearances in official matches for the club.

Italian national team

Despite huge success on the club level, he has been somewhat disappointing playing for the Italian national team, although he is currently the national teams all-time 4th topscorer.

His first tournament was Euro 96, but he only played the first half of Italy’s match against Russia as he was substituted at half time. He didn’t make another appearance in the tournament, as Italy crashed out in the first round.

Coming into the 1998 FIFA World Cup with huge expectations, he competed with fan favorite Roberto Baggio for a spot, and had some troubles because of a recent injury he picked up during the Champions’ League final whilst playing for Juventus. Two years later Del Piero became one of the culprits for Italy’s last minute loss in Euro 2000 final, missing 2 chances, which could have killed France off.

However, he returned to the international scene in the 2002 FIFA World Cup on the back of a very impressive season in Serie A, in which he led Juventus to the title. Del Piero scored the decisive goal against Hungary which qualified the Azzurri to the World Cup. In the tournament he scored a goal against Mexico with his first touch of the game seconds within coming on as a substitute to send Italy through to the second round, but they would get no further.

After Euro 2004, Del Piero faced another tough moment after Juventus replaced their Coach Marcello Lippi with Fabio Capello. Capello was not convinced of Del Piero’s abilities and favoured the new signing from Ajax, Zlatan Ibrahimovi?. However, the Juve captain fought back and scored 14 goals in Serie A that season helping Juventus to their 28th Scudetto. Most memorable perhaps was his bicycle-kick against AC Milan which clinched the title.

Although a strong fan favourite, the Juventus captain found himself starting on the bench for most of Italy’s matches in the World Cup 2006. During all of the group stage matches, Del Piero started on the bench, coming on twice. He was a late game substitute in the first match with Ghana. Then in the following match he came on as a substitute at the 54th minute in the match against the United States in which he represented a constant threat to the U.S. defence. The match was to end in a 1-1 draw.

Del Piero was more active for Italy during the knockout stages, starting in the last sixteen clash with Australia. On July 4, 2006 while facing host nation Germany in the semifinals of the competition, Del Piero, after coming on as a substitute towards the end of the game, changed the destination of the match with his presence on the attack and went on to score Italy’s second goal. In a devastating break, Italy moved forwards quickly, barely giving Germany time to get back. Gilardino, who had kept the ball outside the German box, laid off a cute ball for the oncoming Del Piero, who deftly curled the ball past Jens Lehmann, thus sealing Germany’s fate. This goal was chosen as one of the best in the tournament with Del piero going on to be considered to have been the decisive factor of the match.

In Italy’s semi final game in the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Germany Del Piero scored a record latest goal in the tournement’s history in 120 minutes plus stoppage time. The final whistle blew 8 seconds after he scored.

In the final, Del Piero scored the fourth penalty kick of the World Cup 2006 by sending the ball to the upper left while France’s goalkeeper, Fabien Barthez, dove to the right. This helped Italy to win the World Championship for the 4th time in its history. Italy managed to score all five penalties. Del Piero admitted subsequently that winning the World Cup was his childhood dream.

Apart from being Juventus’ captain, Del Piero occasionally captained Italy in the absence of the current captain at that time. As of 2006, Del Piero has captained Italy 5 times. He also had the honour of wearing the number ten for the Italian National Team. He later gave the jersey to Francesco Totti, who is still using that number although recently under manager Roberto Donadoni it’s been used by other players including Antonio Cassano and Daniele De Rossi. Del Piero switched to the Azzurri shirt number of 7 for sentimental reasons since this was the first number in which he ever played professional football. Since the international retirement of team mate Francesco Totti the number 10 shirt has become available for Del Piero to have once again, however Del Piero has denied any interest in taking back the number as he is quite happy with the number 7.

2006-07 season and onwards

Experts agree that Del Piero was back to his best in the 2005-06 season having scored 20 goals in all competitions. His most memorable goal this season was the free kick which won the match against bitter rivals Internazionale. However, his role at Juventus changed in the following season, as coach Fabio Capello preferred to use him as a substitute for an ‘immediate impact’, as Capello put it. In 2006 Del Piero equalled José Altafini’s Serie A record of 6 goals as a substitute after scoring in the final minute of Juventus’s final game of the 2005-06 season. Del Piero himself is ambivalent about his ability to get goals off the bench, stating that ‘I want people to know me for more than being able to come off the bench to change a game’, and in late March of 2006 revealed his openness to finishing his career with a club outside of Italy if it would guarantee him a place as a starting forward.

On January 10, 2006 Del Piero became the all time leading goalscorer for Juventus when he scored three times in a Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina and took his total goals for the club to 185. The previous record holder was Giampiero Boniperti, who scored 182 goals for the club. Del Piero scored the last goal for Juventus in their latest Scudetto for the 05/06 Season.

Due to the Calciopoli scandal, Juventus were demoted to Serie B and their last two Scudetti were revoked. Del Piero announced that he will stay to captain the team in Serie B. He underlined that players should stick with the team, explaining that ‘The Agnelli family deserve this, as do the fans and the new directors’.

Del Piero’s first appearance after the World Cup’s triumph was in the Coppa Italia match against Cesena on August 23, 2006. Since Juventus will be playing in Serie B for the 2006-07 season, the Coppa Italia campaign became increasingly important for the club in order to achieve a Uefa Cup spot. Having being in vacation beforehand, Del Piero started from the bench. Juventus and Cesena were locked on 1-1 when Del Piero entered in the 74th minute and after 9 seconds scored the winning goal for Juventus.

Del Piero then came in as a substitute at the 61′ minute for Juve’s next Coppa match on August 27 vs. Napoli in Napoli’s stadium, the San Paolo. Again Juventus was behind but Del Piero scored twice to give Juve the lead. In the end the match went into penalties, Del Piero scored a decisive one, but Napoli eventually won 5-4 in the shoot-out.

As of May 2007, Del Piero has 217 goals for Juventus in official matches (includes Serie A, Serie B, Champions League, Coppa Italia and other official competitions). He scored his 200th goal for the Bianconeri in the match against Frosinone on the 28th October 2006. In February and March 2007 Del Piero scored 2 consecutive hat-tricks at Juventus’ home ground against Crotone and Piacenza. As of May 25, 2007, Del Piero leads Serie B scoring with 20 goals (2 by penalty).

Del Piero recently announced that he is going to have a baby with his wife Sonia Del Piero and is looking forward to the 2007 – 2008 season back in Serie A under new coach Claudio Ranieri.

October 16th 2007 Del Piero signed a contract that will bind him to Juventus until June 30th 2010, and October 22th 2007 Alessandro and Sonia celebrated their first child, a baby boy – Tobias Del Piero.

It was a triple celebration for Del Piero, who only hours earlier had scored the winner against Genoa, after a sublime individual performance at the Stadio Olimpico.

This followed the Golden Boy’s signing of a new contract with Juventus after months of fractious negotiations with the club. This turnaround in fortunes for Del Piero was quite staggering, as only two weeks earlier, he was dropped by Claudio Ranieri for the Serie A match with Fiorentina, and was then axed from Roberto Donadoni’s Italy squad for the games with Georgia and South Africa.

Personal life

Del Piero is married to Sonia Amoruso, the two have been together since 1999 and married in 2005. The couple announced in July 2007 that they are expecting their first baby. On October 22, 2007, Amoruso gave birth to baby boy Tobias Del Piero at 0:20 at Sant’Anna hospital in Turin.

Del Piero has used his fame and money to promote and support cancer research in hopes of finding a cure, in recognition of this he has received from the “Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro” a prize of ‘Believe in Research’ during November 2006.

When the Olympic Flame for the 2006 Winter Olympics passed through Turin, Del Piero was a torchbearer. He has an interest in sports outside of football and in turn has gained fans outside of just football, sport icons such as NBA star Steve Nash and cycling legend Eddy Merckx have stated that they are fans of Del Piero.

As well as an interest in other sports, Del Piero also has a keen interest in music. He has even recorded some albums of his own. Del Piero is an Oasis fan and is a friend of Noel Gallagher. In fact, Del Piero claimed Gallagher was Italy’s lucky mascot in their 2006 World Cup success and invited him to the final and the team hotel after victory. Along with Marco Materazzi, Del Piero appeared on stage at a Rolling Stones show in Milan shortly after Italy’s World Cup win.

Honours

Club

7 Italian Championships: 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, (2004-05, 2005-06 : last two revoked due to Calciopoli scandal)

1 Italian Serie B Championship: 2006-07

4 Italian Super Cups: 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003

1 Coppa Italia: 1994-95

1 UEFA Champions League: 1995-96

3 UEFA Champions League Finalist medals: 1996-97, 1997-98, 2002-03

1 European Supercup: 1996

1 Intercontinental Cup: 1996

1 Intertoto Cup: 1999

1 Torneo di Viareggio: 1994

1 UEFA Cup Finalist medal: 1995

International

2 European Under-21 Football Championships: 1992/94, 1994/96

1 UEFA Euro 2000 Finalist medal

1 FIFA World Cup: 2006

Personal awards

U-21 European Footballer of the Year

MVP of the Intercontinental Final Award 1996

Best Italian Player Award 1998

Best Overall Player Award 1998

UEFA Champions League Top Scorer 1997

UEFA Champions League Top Scorer 1998

Most Popular Italian Player Award

Most Charismatic Striker in Italy 2001

UEFA Champions League 10 Years Jubilee Poll Best Attacker

Pelé named Del Piero in his 125 Top Living Footballers

All-time top scorer for Juventus F.C.

Bravo Award (European Under 23 Footballer of the Year, 1996)

2007 Golden Foot award

Career stats

Here is a comprehensive collection of statistics that map Del Piero’s entire career of official (non friendly) club games. Domestic Games includes league and cup. International cups covers club European games and other non Italian competitions.

“Correct as of 4 May 2007”.