Mario Alberto Kempes (born July 15, 1954 in Bell Ville, Córdoba) is an Argentine former football striker. His father, Mario, who was also a football player, inspired him to play from a young age. At the age of 7 years, he began playing with a junior team and at 14 he joined la cuarta de Talleres. He is most famous for playing for Valencia and being the focal point of Argentina's 1978 World Cup win.

Contents 1 Career 2 Career statistics 3 Honours 3.1 Club 3.2 Country 3.3 Individual 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Career

Kempes was nicknamed El Matador (The Bullfighter) from his time with Valencia, he won two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in 1976-77 and 1977-78. His career where started at a local club called Instituto Atlético Central Córdoba before quickly moving on to Rosario Central where he gained 85 goals in just 105 matches and established himself as a notorious goalscorer. Famous as a hard-working forward, he used to strike from outside the penalty area with his surging runs goalwards and was not the traditional center-forward operating solely inside the box. Many defenders found difficulties handling his attacking style. They never knew where they had him.

Before the 1978 World Cup, Kempes was the only foreign based player on the list of coach César Luis Menotti's national team in Argentina, he was at the time playing for Spanish giants Valencia while the other squad members all played in Argentina. The coach described him when announcing the squad he had selected for the 1978 tournament, "He's strong, he's got skill, he creates spaces and he shoots hard. He's a player who can make a difference, and he can play in a centre-forward position".

The skinny forward had been topscorer in La Liga in each of the past two seasons and was determined to show on home soil that he could deliver against the best on the sport's greatest stage as well. However, in 1974, at 20 years of age, he failed to get on the score-sheet in West Germany and after the first round group stage in 1978, his name was still missing among goalscorers in the tournament. During his playing career he won 43 caps for Argentina and scored 20 times. He represented his country in three World Cups in 1974, 1978 and 1982, winning the competition in 1978. He was the leading goalscorer in the 1978 tournament, scoring six goals. He has also scored some very important goals for Argentina in his career.

In 1978 he was named South American Football Player of the Year ("El Mundo", Caracas, Venezuela). He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Kempes made his full time coaching debut in Albania. His brief spell with KS Lushnja was groundbreaking, as he became the first foreign coach who signed a foreign player for the first time in Albanian soccer history. His career in Albania came to a quick end in 1997. Kempes' first title as a coach came in 1999 with The Strongest, before taking charge of Blooming the following year. Previously, he worked as assistant coach for Uruguayan manager Héctor Núñez in Valencia, and as a player-manager of Indonesian Leaguechampions Pelita Jaya before hunging up his boots for the last time at the age of 41 in 1996.

He currently works as a football analyst for ESPN Deportes, and was widely criticized after commentating on the 2008 semifinal Champions League game between Manchester United and Barcelona, in which he not only openly condoned 'simulation' (i.e. attempting to trick officials), but claimed that those who follow the rules of fair play never win.

Gary Winston^[1] Lineker, OBE (born 30 November 1960 in Leicester) is a former English international football striker who scored ten goals in two World Cups for the England national team and is currently a sports broadcaster for the BBC.

Since retiring from playing in 1994, Lineker has featured in several television commercials for Walkers Crisps.

Lineker's sense of positioning and tap-ins earned him a reputation as one of England's most prolific strikers of all-time, although this style of play sometimes provoked accusations that he was a "goal hanger" always looking to capitalize on the efforts of others. During his professional career, Lineker is noted for never having been cautioned or sent off by the referee. He studied the Spanish and Japanese languages,^[2] which allowed him to adjust better than most of his compatriots when playing for foreign clubs, and also to make a smooth transition into his role as a pundit and sports broadcaster.

Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Club career 2.1 Leicester City (1977-1985) 2.2 Everton (1985-1986) 2.3 Barcelona (1986-1989) 2.4 Tottenham Hotspur (1989-1992) 2.5 Nagoya Grampus Eight (1992-1994) 3 National team career 4 Honours 5 International Goals 6 Statistics 7 Post-playing career 7.1 Personal life 7.2 Broadcasting 7.3 Walkers advertisements 8 Charitable activity 9 Quotations 10 Videogames 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Early life

Lineker first attended Linden primary school in Evington and then went to the City of Leicester School on Downing Drive in Evington. He joined Leicester City FC in 1977.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Leicester City (1977-1985)

Lineker began his career at his home town club of Leicester City when he left school in 1977. Lineker began scoring prolifically in the early 1980s, helping Leicester win promotion to the First Division in 1980 and again in 1983. During his time at Filbert Street he finished twice amongst the top flight's leading scorers and winning his first England call up. He helped Leicester win promotion to the top flight in 1983 and was the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984-85 (tied on 24 goals with Kerry Dixon).

[edit] Everton (1985-1986)

In the 1985 close season, Lineker was sold to defending league champions Everton for £800,000, and scored 40 goals in 52 games for his new team. He was again the First Division's leading goal scorer, this time with 30 goals, and helped Everton finish second in the league. While he was at Everton, they reached the FA Cup final for the third year in a row but they lost 3-1 to Liverpool, despite Lineker giving them an early lead.

[edit] Barcelona (1986-1989)

After a strong showing at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Barcelona signed Lineker for £2,200,000. His Golden Shoe-winning performance at the finals led to much anticipation of success at the Nou Camp, and he didn't disappoint, scoring 21 goals in 41 games during his first season, including a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over arch rivals Real Madrid.^[3]. Barcelona went on to win the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. However, Barcelona coach Johan Cruijff decided to play Lineker on the right of the midfield and he eventually lost his place on the first team.

[edit] Tottenham Hotspur (1989-1992)

Alex Ferguson of Manchester United attempted to sign Lineker to partner his ex-Barcelona team-mate Mark Hughes in attack, but Lineker spurned the Manchester club. Instead, he signed with Tottenham Hotspur in 1989. Over three seasons, scoring 67 goals in 105 games and winning the FA Cup. He finished as top scorer in Division One in the 1989–90 season, scoring 24 goals. He was in the Tottenham side that won the FA Cup in 1991 and was the top-division's second-highest goalscorer in 1991-92 with 28 goals from 35 games, behind Ian Wright, who scored 29 times in 42 games. Despite Lineker's personal performance, Tottenham finished this final pre-Premier League season in 15th place.

[edit] Nagoya Grampus Eight (1992-1994)

Lineker ended his career with an injury-plagued spell in Japan's J. League with Nagoya Grampus Eight where he made 23 appearances over two seasons, scoring nine times, before announcing his retirement in the autumn of 1994. He was PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1986 and placed third in voting for the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year in 1990 - the award ultimately went to Germany's Lothar Matthaus. Despite his long career, Lineker was never cautioned by a referee for foul play (never once receiving a yellow or red card).

[edit] National team career

He first played for the England national team against Scotland in 1984. He played five games in the 1986 World Cup, and was top scorer of the tournament with six goals, winning the Golden Boot, making him the first and to this day only English player to have done so. He played most of the tournament wearing a lightweight cast on his forearm.

In 1988, Lineker played in the European Football Championship, but failed to score as England lost all three Group games. It was later established that he had been suffering from hepatitis^{[4] [5]}.

In the 1990 World Cup, he scored four goals to help England reach the semi-finals. He scored an equaliser against West Germany after Andreas Brehme sent England 1-0 down, but the West Germans triumphed in the penalty shoot-out and went on to win the trophy.

He retired from international football with 80 caps and 48 goals, one fewer goal than Bobby Charlton's England record (although Charlton took 26 more caps to score his one extra goal). In what proved to be his last England match, against Sweden at Euro 92, he was controversially substituted by England coach Graham Taylor, in favour of Arsenal striker Alan Smith, ultimately denying Lineker the chance to equal Charlton's record of 49 goals. He had earlier missed a penalty that would have brought him level, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil. He was visibily upset at the decision, not looking at Taylor as he took the bench.

He scored four goals in an England match on two occasions^[6].

[edit] Honours

• Fifa World Cup - Golden Shoe: 1986 (Mexico)
• Copa del Rey: 1988
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1989
• FA Cup: 1991; Runner-up 1986
• First Division (now Premier League): Runner-up 1986
• English league top scorer: 1985, 1986, 1990

Simão Pedro Fonseca Sabrosa, OIH, commonly known as Simão Sabrosa (pron. IPA: [si'mɐ̃ũ sɐ'bɾɔzɐ]) or just Simão (born 31 October 1979 in Constantim, Portugal), is a Portuguese football winger who plays for Atlético Madrid and the Portuguese national team. His primary attributes are free kicks, penalties, and dribbling.

Contents 1 Club Career 1.1 Sporting Lisbon 1.2 Barcelona 1.3 Benfica 1.4 Atletico Madrid 2 Career statistics 3 National team 4 Penalty Specialist 5 Honours 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Club Career

[edit] Sporting Lisbon

Simão started as a professional player for Sporting in the 1996-97 season, having scored in his debut match, one minute after being substituted in. He stayed in the team for three years. In what was to be his last season for Sporting, he played 30 games, scoring 10 goals, which then attracted the attention of Spanish giants FC Barcelona. He made a name for himself here which has stuck as an average football player, never really excelling.

[edit] Barcelona

Simao moved to FC Barcelona in the summer of 1999 on a €15 million transfer. ^[1] In 2001, after a comparatively low-key tenure at the Spanish club, playing 46 times in two seasons, and only scoring 3 times. So Simão moved back to Portugal to giants Benfica, on a deal reportedly worth €12 million.

[edit] Benfica

He became an instant fan-favorite, quickly acquired the status of captain and was often acclaimed as Benfica's top player during the six years he spent at the club and also one of the Portuguese championship's best.Since he arrived at Benfica, Simão has always ended seasons as the best goalscorer of the squad. He has scored a total of 95 goals in 230 matches for Benfica, in all competitions. He has written 2 books and recently launched a DVD teaching children how to play football.

In his first four seasons, Simao netted over ten goals in each. In 2005-06 UEFA Champions League, Simão scored a free kick against Manchester United and a goal against defending champions Liverpool FC, helping to knock Liverpool out.

The summer 2005 transfer window saw Simão targeted by English Premiership club Liverpool FC in an offer worth approximately £12 million, though negotiations reportedly failed over Benfica's increase in asking price. ^{[1] [2]} Just before the 2006 summer transfer window, Simão revealed that Luis Felipe Vieira, the president of Benfica, would allow him to leave, if a suitable offer were made^[3]. Chelsea emerged as possible contenders for his signature, but José Mourinho declined these rumours^[4]. He was also linked with a move to Valencia, after the club cooled their interest in his Portugal teammate Cristiano Ronaldo^[5]. However, Arsenal emerged as the player's latest suitors and sources claimed they bid €18 million for the player^[6]. Despite all the transfer rumours, Simão said that "the soap opera to sign me is over. I'm a Benfica player and that is the end of it". This was said alongside Benfica president

Hidetoshi Nakata (中田 英寿 Nakata Hidetoshi; born January 22, 1977 in Yamanashi Prefecture), is a Japanese former football player. He was one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation.

Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with A.S. Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006) and played in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was made the Knight of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of the Italy's highest honours, for improving the country's image overseas.^[1] Nakata is known as a fashion icon, regularly attending runway shows and wearing designer fashion.

Nakata announced his retirement at age 29 on July 3, 2006 after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premiership.

Pelé named Nakata in his 125 Top Living Footballers in March 2004.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career statistics 3 National team 4 Honours 5 Outside football 6 Notes and references 7 External links

[edit] Biography

Nakata began his professional career at age 18 in 1995, with J. League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare). He represented Japan at the 1996 Olympics, where Japan upset Brazil.^[2] Nakata also appeared in the 2000 Olympics.

He made his senior national team debut in May 1997 against South Korea and was a key member of the Japanese side that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, setting up all three Japanese goals in the qualification play-off against Iran. After the World Cup in France, he moved to Perugia in Italy's Serie A.

In January 2000, after one and a half seasons at Perugia, Nakata moved to Roma for £15 Million, whom he helped to win the scudetto. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came on May 6, 2001 in the Serie A match against Juventus F.C. at Stadio Delle Alpi. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0-2, Nakata netted with a 30-yard screamer beyond Juventus goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's reach. Nakata then set up another goal when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who duly equalised for Roma. The match ended with a 2-2 draw and Roma maintained a six-point margin atop the league table.

He also helped Japan reach the final of the 2001 Confederations Cup that season, but left the national team before the final to join Roma for their final league matches.^[3] In the summer of 2001, he joined Parma for £18.5 million, where he played for two and a half seasons.

Nakata played in every match for Japan at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, and scored a goal against Tunisia.

In January 2004, Nakata joined Bologna where he played the remainder of the 2003/04 season before moving to Fiorentina, where he played the following season. In August 2005, Nakata moved to Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on loan.

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nakata played in all three matches for Japan, losing to Australia and Brazil, and drawing with Croatia. His performance against Croatia earned him a Man of the Match award.^[4]

Although Nakata has appeared in every World Cup match that Japan has played thus far, he was not selected for the country's Asian Cup-winning squads in 2000 and 2004.

On July 3, 2006, Nakata announced his retirement from professional football and the Japanese national team on his personal website "I decided half a year ago that I would retire from the world of professional football... after the World Cup in Germany." Nakata wrote, "I will never again stand on the pitch as a professional player. But I will never give up football."^[5][6] On June 9, 2007, he made an appearance for the first time in public after his retirement on the pitch again when he played for

Sir Thomas Finney, OBE (born 5 April 1922, Preston, Lancashire) is a former English footballer, famous for his loyalty to his league club, Preston North End, and for his performances in the English national side.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Second World War 3 Post-war career and England debut 4 Retirement 5 The Splash 6 Continuing links with Preston North End 7 Ability 8 Quotes about Finney 9 Honours 10 One of the first if not first footballers to have a musical written about his life 11 Career statistics 12 Bibliography 13 External links 14 References

[edit] Early life

Finney was born at home in Preston on a street next to the Deepdale stadium. He was frail and somewhat sickly in his youth and stood only 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) at the age of fourteen. When he was offered the opportunity to sign for Preston North End (PNE), his father insisted that he complete his apprenticeship in the family's plumbing business before signing as a professional. This led to one of his nicknames, the 'Preston Plumber'.

Finney's mother Margaret died while he was still a child.

[edit] Second World War

Soon after he signed, however, World War II began and normal football was suspended, though Finney started to achieve some recognition during war-time tournaments. Called up to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1942, he fought in Montgomery's Eighth Army in Egypt. Local leave in North Africa allowed him to play in army teams against local opposition and on one occasion he played against the future actor Omar Sharif. [1]

[edit] Post-war career and England debut

Once normal competition was restored, he made his debut for the club in August 1946 and soon established himself as an agile forward. Post-war demand for plumbers ensured that he had a second income to supplement the £14 he received under football's maximum wage regulations, and he became famous as the "Preston plumber". One month after his first appearance for Preston, Finney made his England debut, going on to win 76 caps and score 30 goals.

In a game of eight goals in Budapest on May 23rd 1954 Ivor Broadis was the only England player to score. In reply the speed, skill and movement of the Hungary `Golden Team´ featuring Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor, Nándor Hidegkuti and József Bozsik rattled in 7. After the game bewildered England centre half Syd Owen said, “It was like playing people from outer space”. Finney commented of Ivor Broadis, "I remember when he had taken his boots off after the Budapest match, he warned everyone, "Don't touch them unless you're wearing gloves, they're red hot". Broadis added, "It's the first time I've ever come off the pitch with a sunburned tongue!""^[1] This is still England's record defeat.

[edit] Retirement

He retired from Preston North End in 1960, only when forced out with a persistent groin injury. He had played his entire career for his local club, appearing 433 times and scoring 187 goals. The balance of Preston's team hardly matched Finney's brilliance, the young Bill Shankly notwithstanding, and he never won the championship (in 1953 and 1958 Preston North End came close to completing the three-peat, but each time they had to settle for runner-ups) or any other trophy. His loyalty is remarkable, even extending to rejecting a 1952 offer from Italian club Palermo that included a £10,000 personal signing-on fee and high pay and perquisites. He did, however, come out of retirement in 1963 to play for Northern Irish outfit Distillery against Benfica in the European Cup.^[2]

[edit] The Splash

On 31 July 2004, Sir Tom unveiled the water feature sculpture "The Splash" which stands outside The National Football Museum. The sculpture was inspired by the 1956 Sports Photograph of the Year which features Tom Finney beating two defenders at a waterlogged Stamford Bridge.^[3]

[edit] Continuing links with Preston North End

As of 2007, Sir Tom maintains his links with Preston North End as the club's president. 2006 marked 60 years since his first league debut for PNE. To mark this occasion the National Football Museum, an organisation which he has championed and has close links with, invited football fans to sign a specially commissioned flag which was presented to Sir Tom at the beginning of the 2006-07 season to mark his 60 years with PNE.^[4]

He also writes a regular PNE column for the University of Central Lancashire's students' union newspaper, Pluto. [2]

[edit] Ability

His total mastery of all the techniques triumphed over the lack of medals. He was versatile, playing in all the orthodox five forward positions of the day for Preston and appearing for England at right-wing, left-wing and centre-forward. He was a genuine two-footed player, packing an explosive shot in either his right or his left. He had speed, balance, was a pin-point passer and, for a man of no great height, could head with awesome power.

[edit] Quotes about Finney

• "Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age ... even if he had been wearing an overcoat." (Bill Shankly)
• "Tom Finney should claim income tax relief ... for his 10 dependants." (Satirical observation on the weakness of the Preston team in his absence)
• "If all the brains in the game sat in committee to design the perfect player, they would come up with a reincarnation of Tom Finney." (Anonymous newspaper feature)

[edit] Honours

• Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, 1954 and 1957;
• OBE, 1961; and
• Knighthood, 1998.
• Inducted into English Football Hall of Fame[3]

[edit] One of the first if not first footballers to have a musical written about his life

- [[LEGEND - THE STORY OF TOM FINNEY]] was written and produced by Certain Curtain Theatre Company in 1996 and performed at The National Football Museum and the Charter Theatre Preston

Sergio Javier Goycochea [ˈzeɾ.hjo ha.ˈβjeɾ goj.ko.ˈʧe.a] (born October 17, 1963 in Lima, Buenos Aires) is a famous Argentine former football goalkeeper. He is best known for his penalty kick saves.

Goycochea was the substitute for Nery Pumpido both in River Plate and in the Argentine national team, and got his big break in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, when Pumpido was injured in Argentina's second group game against the Soviet Union. Goycochea was then the goalkeeper in the penalty shootout in the quarterfinal game against the Yugoslavian team. In the semifinal game against Italy, he saved penalty kicks in the penalty shootout from players Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena. He was also close to saving the heavily criticized game-winning penalty kick of the 1990 World Cup final against Germany, which Argentina lost 0-1. He was chosen as the goalkeeper of the Cup's All-Star Team.

El Goyco also played a few months in 1991 for the team Stade Brestois 29 from Brest in the region of Bretagne, which was then named Brest Armorique, and was in the French second division and included players David Ginola, Corentin Martins and Stéphane Guivarc'h. Nonetheless, the team went bankrupt in November of that year, and was moved to the third division and lost its professional-team status.

With the national team, Goycochea also won the 1993 Copa América final in Ecuador on July 4, 1993 with Argentina 2-1 against goalkeeper Jorge Campos' Mexican national team. On the occasion of that 1993 Copa América tournament, Goycochea appeared on TV commercials for a Pepsi promotion by PepsiCo's division in Guayaquil. He also was on TV commercials for Adidas soccer apparel some years later.

His last name, Goycochea, spelled without e, but which other people of the same genealogy spell as Goycoechea, is derived from a Basque-language expression meaning topmost house (from goyko, above, and etxe, house), and so Sergio is frequently nicknamed El Vasco, but also El Goyco.

For Argentina, Goycochea played in the following competitions:

• 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy (runners-up)
• Copa América 1991 Chile (champions)
• Copa América 1993 Ecuador (champions)
• 1994 FIFA World Cup U.S. (second round, substitute)

Nowadays, Goycochea is a football journalist hosting Resto del mundo (Argentina's Canal 13) and he partnered Diego Maradona at La noche del Diez.

Lothar Herbert Matthäus (born March 21, 1961) is a German former football player and now manager, currently managing Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. In 1990 he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup. One year later, he was also named the first ever FIFA World Player of the Year.

He has played in five World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) more than any other outfield player, and holds the record for the most World Cup matches played (25 games). He also won Euro 80, and played in Euro 84, Euro 88, and Euro 2000. In 1999, he was again voted German Footballer of the Year. He is the most capped German player of all time, retiring with a total of 150 appearances (83 of them when the team was called West Germany) and 23 goals for the German national team. Matthäus is a member of the FIFA 100 – a list of 125 of the greatest living football players chosen by Pelé. Maradona said about Matthäus "he is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him" in his book Yo soy el Diego (I am the Diego).

During his career he usually played as an Attacking Midfielder or Defensive Midfielder however later in his career he played as a Sweeper. He was renowned for his perceptive passing, positional sense and well timed tackling as well as his explosive shot.

Although he had a highly unsuccessful stint at Eurosport as a commentator/predictor, this did not shadow his illustrious career as a player.

Contents 1 Playing Career 2 Coaching Career 2.1 FK Partizan 2.2 Hungary national team 2.3 Atlético Paranaense 2.4 Red Bull Salzburg 2.5 Maccabi Netanya 3 Honours 3.1 Individual 4 Career statistics 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Playing Career

Matthäus was born in Erlangen, Bavaria. Early in his career, he played in the midfield, before switching to the Sweeper position in his 30s.

Matthäus spent his early playing days in the youth team of FC Herzogenaurach, a small town in Bavaria.^[1]

Matthäus started his professional career in 1979 with Borussia Mönchengladbach of the Bundesliga, for whom he played until 1984. Internationally, he won Euro 80 and also played two games at the 1982 World Cup, where West Germany reached the final, losing to Italy 3-1.

He then played for Bayern Munich from 1984-88, winning the Bundesliga twice and the DFB-Pokal. They also reached the European Cup final in 1987, leading 1-0 for most of the game until two late goals gave FC Porto the win.

By now, he also had a regular place in the national team for the 1986 World Cup, scoring the winner in the round of 16 against Morocco. In the final, despite his considerable play-making ability, he was assigned to mark Argentina's Diego Maradona. West Germany lost their second consecutive World Cup final 3-2.

At Euro 88, Matthäus captained the team and scored a penalty against the Netherlands (the eventual winners) in the semi-final to give his team a 1-0 lead, but Ronald Koeman leveled the score with a penalty, and then Marco van Basten slid in the winning goal in the final minutes.

Matthäus and Bayern teammate Andreas Brehme signed with Inter Milan of Serie A in 1988, winning the Scudetto in 1989 during their first season, and the Italian Supercup that year as well.

His immediate success in Serie A was a precursor to the national team which finally managed to triumph at the 1990 World Cup held in Italy. Six of West Germany's squad played professionally there and Matthäus played most of the World Cup games at Inter's home Stadio San Siro. West Germany was the best team of the tournament and one of the few to chose an attacking style of play; Matthäus led his squad from midfield and personally scored four goals, including two against Yugoslavia. West Germany reached its third consecutive final, which was a rematch against Maradona-led Argentina and this time Matthäus and his team emerged victorious 1-0 thanks to Brehme converting an 85' penalty. As captain, Matthäus had the honour of hoisting the final World Cup shortly before the German reunification in 1990. Both the (West) German team and state remained the same when the East Germans joined.

Matthäus continued to enjoy further success with Inter, winning the UEFA Cup in 1991 and being named FIFA World Player of the Year. Returning to Bayern Munich in 1992, he won four Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals, another UEFA Cup and reached a second European Cup final in 1999.

He was injured and unable to take part in Euro 92; though a reunified Germany made the final but lost 2-0 to surprise Denmark. At the 1994 World Cup hosted by the USA, he captained the team but now operated as sweeper. He scored a penalty in the quarter-finals, which was also his record-tying 21st match, but the Bulgarians scored twice in three minutes to upset to defending champions. USA '94 was expected to be his last tournament, though he did not officially retire from international play. Matthäus was afterwards not called up for the national team, due to feuding with succeeding captain Jürgen Klinsmann and coach Berti Vogts. In his absence Germany won Euro 96 which was hosted by England.

Surprisingly, he was called up for the 1998 World Cup as a replacement for the injured sweeper Matthias Sammer. He was on the bench for Germany's victory over USA, but came in as a substitute against Yugoslavia and helped the team to a 2-2 draw, also setting a new record for appearances in the World Cup with 22. He played in all the rest of Germany's matches until Croatia knocked them out in the quarterfinal, taking his total to 25.

The only major honour which eluded Matthäus, for competitions in which he played, was the UEFA Champions League. Famously, he came within 2 minutes of picking up a winners' medal in 1999, only to have his hopes dashed by Manchester United, who scored two goals in injury time in the final. That match also caused controversy among Bayern Munich fans as he had been considered one of their key players and was substituted in the 86th minute of play while the team was still leading 1-0. When the two teams went to collect their medals Matthäus removed his runners-up medal immediately after he received it. It was the second time he had been on the losing side in a final; in the 1987 final, Bayern had been leading 1-0 most of the game until two late goals gave F.C. Porto the win. After Matthäus retired, Bayern would win the Champions League in 2001 and later that year the Intercontinental Cup. His last official match for Bayern took place in Munich on March 8, 2000 and was a Champions League match against Real Madrid, which Bayern won 4-1.

During the 1999-2000 season Matthäus moved from Bayern to the MetroStars team of Major League Soccer in the United States. He played in the USA from March to September 2000 and retired from professional football afterwards. He scored no goals during his time in MLS, and was largely considered a disappointment.

He earned his last three caps at the Euro 2000, his 150th cap being against Portugal, where Germany had a first round exit.^[2]

[edit] Coaching Career

After ending his illustrious playing days, Matthäus started a coaching career, which has so far been much less distinguished. His first job was as the head coach at Rapid Vienna with mixed results.

[edit] FK Partizan

In December 2002 he was hired by Partizan Belgrade in mid-season to replace recently sacked Ljubiša Tumbaković. Matthäus achieved the required success by steering the team to the 2002-03 title, but his finest hour with the club came in August 2003 when Partizan eliminated favourites Newcastle United in the 3rd qualifying round to reach the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. Though drawn in a tough group with powerhouse Real Madrid, eventual champions F.C. Porto, and Olympique de Marseille, Partizan played some inspired football that autumn, only narrowly missing out on the UEFA Cup spot.

In December 2003, Matthäus made an abrupt announcement about leaving his post at Partizan only to follow it the next day with another of signing on to coach the national squad of Hungary.

[edit] Hungary national team

A country once synonymous with world class football was trying to return its national team on the path of former 1950s glory, and Matthäus was given the task of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. After being drawn in a tough group with Sweden, Croatia and Bulgaria that goal looked increasingly difficult. The campaign started in the autumn of 2004 and fairly quickly it became obvious Hungary were in over their heads. However, Matthäus was not fired until the end of the campaign, and was even offered Hungarian citizenship, which he at the time said he would accept. There's no word whether he actually did. After he left the Hungary post Matthäus was vocally critical of the Hungarian Football Federation, citing that it's "not contributing, but exploting Hungarian football" and that "it's not coincidental that the Hungarian bid for Euro 2012 didn't receive any votes".^[3]

[edit] Atlético Paranaense

On January 11, 2006, Matthäus signed a one-year contract to coach Atlético Paranaense of Brazil. However, after only 7 matches in charge (5 wins, 2 draws) he quit the club in March 2006 citing the need to be closer to his family. The way he left the club raised some questions about his professionalism. Apparently, only 5 weeks after signing a contract he informed club officials about a need to rush back to Europe in order to deal with an urgent personal problem, but assured them he'd be back in 3–4 days. After missing for two weeks, he faxed in his resignation and never even went back to Brazil to pick up his personal belongings.^[4]

[edit] Red Bull Salzburg

On May 19, 2006, Matthäus was announced as coach of Red Bull Salzburg (formerly Austria Salzburg) for the 2006-07 season. Shortly, the club also signed Giovanni Trapattoni (incidentally Matthäus' former coach at Inter Milan) to be their director of football. In practice, this meant that Trapattoni and Matthäus essentially shared coaching duties.

Despite co-leading the team to the Austrian league title by a large margin, Matthäus would eventually be fired on June 12, 2007 by unanimous decision of the Red Bull Salzburg's board of directors.

[edit] Maccabi Netanya

On April 13, 2008, it was announced that Matthäus signed with Israeli side Maccabi Netanya to coach the club from the beginning of the 2008/09 season.^[5]

[edit] Honours

• Bundesliga Championship: 7 (1985, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000)
• German Cup: 3 (1986, 1998, 2000)
• Serie A Championship: 1 (1989)
• UEFA Cup: 2 (1991, 1996)
• European Championship: 1 (1980)
• FIFA World Cup: 1 (1990)
• Austrian Bundesliga: 1 (2007) (as a coach)
• First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 1 (2003) (as a coach)

[edit] Individual

• German Footballer of the Year: 1990, 1999
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 1991

Mark Dennis González Hoffman (born July 10, 1984 in Durban, South Africa) commonly known as Mark González, is a Chilean footballer whose preferred position is as a left winger. Renowned for his lightning pace, he is nicknamed "Speedy Gonzalez". Gonzalez currently plays for Real Betis.

Contents [hide] 1 Career 1.1 Albacete 1.2 Real Sociedad 1.3 Liverpool FC 1.4 Real Betis 2 Career honours 3 Statistics 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] Albacete

González had agreed a move to Liverpool F.C. on loan for the 2005-06 season (with a view to a permanent £1.5 million move) from Albacete Balompié. However, he was denied a work permit by the Department of Education and Employment in August 2005. The Liverpool management showed great faith in González, pursuing his services despite work permit troubles and a cruciate knee ligament injury. After a quicker than expected return to fitness Liverpool were persuaded to make the move permanent in October 2005, but the player was immediately loaned back to Albacete to continue his recouperation after an appeal against the earlier work permit decision was rejected (a new work permit application can only be put forward one year after the original application). Arrangements were then made for the player to spend a loan spell at Real Sociedad until summer 2006.

[edit] Real Sociedad

At Sociedad González put in some impressive performances, most notably against Real Madrid, against whom he scored Sociedad's equaliser as the game finished 1-1. He only started 12 games for Sociedad scoring 5 goals. Sociedad have shown interest in taking him permanently, along with several other La Liga clubs, but González is quoted to have said "I am very thankful to Real Sociedad and their coach Jose Mari Bakero, but while they'd like me to stay I'm going to England to join Liverpool."^[1]

González is now eligible for a Spanish passport, and a work permit application has now been granted . On 30 June 2006, Mark González retired from international football, at the tender age of 21. This was due to a rift with the national team coach who had sent him home from the Chilean international tour. However he has recently made himself available again for selection with the national team.

[edit] Liverpool FC

On July 5, 2006, González was granted a work permit, and was allowed to start his Liverpool career, wearing the number 11 shirt. His manager,

Kalusha Bwalya (born August 16, 1963 in Mufulira), known as simply Kalusha, is a Zambian footballer and coach. He is Zambia's most capped player, all-time top goalscorer, and is regarded as the greatest^{[citation needed]} Zambian player to play the game. He was named African Footballer of the Year in 1988 by the magazine France Football, and was nominated for the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year where he was voted the 14th-best player in the world.

Contents [hide] 1 International career 2 Club career 3 Administrative career 4 References and notes 5 References

[edit] International career

Bwalya was a member of the national squad that participated at the 1988 Olympic Games, making his mark with a most famous hat-trick in a 4-0 victory against Italy. At the full international level, he appeared in 147 international matches and scored 100 goals from 1983 to 2004. He debuted against Uganda in 1983, and appeared in multiple tournaments, including six editions of the African Cup of Nations.

Although he was captain of the national football team during the qualification matches for the 1994 World Cup, Kalusha was not on the ill-fated flight on April 27, 1993 when the entire team and its management were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Gabon. Kalusha Bwalya, Africa's most famous "Number 11", took on the mantle of spearheading the revival of the national side the following year, captaining the side to the Runners-Up spot at the CAF African Nations Cup 1994 in Tunisia -- where they succumbed to the Super Eagles of Nigeria; this was to be the peak of his own career and Zambian football for a long time to come. The national team finished in 3rd place at the next edition of the Africa Cup in South Africa in 1996, with Kalusha jointly winning the Golden Boot Award as the topscorer at the tournament.

He was a player-coach during the African 2006 World Cup qualification matches. In September 5, 2004, Zambia played Liberia, and the match was tied 0-0 minutes before the end. Kalusha, aged 41, came off the bench during the second half, and marked his 147th appearance with his 100th goal for the country, scoring from a trademark direct free kick to give Zambia a 1-0 victory and the lead of Africa's Group 1.^[1] However, Zambia finished third and failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

Despite the failure to qualify, Bwalya coached Zambia at the 2006 African Cup of Nations. Following their elimination in the first round, however, Bwalya resigned from his post.

He has nevertheless remained actively involved in international football, contributing to the 2006 World Cup as a member of FIFA's Technical Study Group. He is also one of the ambassadors of the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa.

[edit] Club career

Bwalya's career in Europe began at Cercle Brugge in Belgium. In his first season, he was the club's top scorer and was twice voted supporters' player of the year. Such was his impact that Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven took him to the Eredivisie, and he describes winning the championship twice in 1990/91 and 1991/92, under Bobby Robson, as a career highlight.

He jokingly adds that: "Most of the time we played in the opponents half, because the team was so good. You know, we had Romario, Gerald Vanenburg, Eric Gerets, Wim Kieft and Hans van Breukelen and just to be with that group, to train with them day in, day out, was an experience."

Bwalya's next stop was Club America, to whom he moved in 1994. The Mexican club's home ground is the legendary Azteca, an arena of which the Zambian icon has very fond memories. As he told FIFA.com: "I am privileged to have played in the best stadium in the world - and to have been able to call it my home ground." The Mexico experience in general was cherished by Bwalya, who devoted almost eight years of his career to the country and recalls his time there as "probably the best of my life".

On the international front, his earliest achievement was arguably one of the most remarkable hat-tricks in modern football history, with current world champions Italy on the receiving end in a 4-0 win for the Zambians at the 1988 Olympics. Bwalya acknowledges that the result was a surprise, but adds: "Zambia is a sleeping giant in a way. It is a small country in terms of football, but we were the first African team to beat a European power as convincingly as that."

[edit] Administrative career

He currently serves as a standing committee member at FIFA and the Confederation of African Football and as of 2008 is the president of the Football Association of Zambia. Previously he was vice president.

In the first half of 2006, Bwalya resigned from his position as the Zambia coach but having served as vice president of the Football Association of Zambia until 2008, he was voted in to be president as of 2008. This was as a result of pressure from members of the Football Association of Zambia as well as the media. As of 24 July 2006, Patrick Phiri is the caretaker coach of Zambia, but media reports suggest that the Football Association of Zambia is seeking an expatriate coach to take up a permanent role.

Club career

[edit] União São João (1992-1993)

Roberto Carlos began his professional career playing for União São João, a football club based in Araras (São Paulo State). Despite playing at what was seen as a lesser club, he was called up for the Brazil national football team.

[edit] Palmeiras (1993-1995)

In Palmeiras Roberto Carlos was recognized as one of the greats of Brazilian football, winning two consecutive Brazilian Leagues.

[edit] Inter Milan (1995-96)

After almost signing for Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough side in 1995, Roberto Carlos chose a move to Milan and played in Inter for just one season. The then coach of Inter, Roy Hodgson wanted him to play as a left winger but Carlos preferred to play only as a left back.

[edit] Real Madrid (1996-2007)

Roberto Carlos played at Madrid eleven seasons, playing a total of 584 matches and scoring 71 goals in all competitions. 370 of them were league matches, in which he scored 46 goals from his left-back position.

On August 2, 2005, Carlos received dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship. This proved important for Real Madrid, as it meant that he now counted as a European Union player. In January 2006, he set a club record for the most league matches played by a non-Spanish born player by making his 330th appearance for Madrid. He broke the previous mark of 329 held by Alfredo di Stéfano.^[6]

Having played 30 or more league matches for ten consecutive seasons and being one of the most consistent players in the squad, he was heavily criticized for conceding the ball early during the second leg of the Champions League round of sixteen against Bayern Munich, which led to Roy Makaay's goal, the quickest goal in the tournament's history, effectively eliminating Real from the competition. On March 9, 2007, he announced his decision to not renew his contract with Real Madrid. But in one of the last few games of the season in the dying seconds against Recreativo de Huelva, van Nistelrooy played a beautiful pass and Carlos slotted it home. As a result, Real Madrid were on course for their 30th La Liga championship.

[edit] Fenerbahçe (2007-present)

On June 19, 2007, Roberto Carlos signed a two year contract and one year optional with the Turkish Super League Champion Fenerbahçe at the stadium in front of thousands of fans.^[7][8] In the first official match he played with the team, Fenerbahçe won the Turkish Super Cup against Beşiktaş J.K. by 2 goals. During a league match against Sivasspor, he scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe on August 25, 2007 on a flying header, which was only the third header-goal of his career.

He was injured during the final period of the same season and missed the title race between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray.^[9] His team eventually lost the title to their rivals, while guaranteeing a place for themselves in Champions League knockouts for the next season. He announced that he is unhappy about the final result and would do his best to carry the domestic trophy back to Şükrü Saraçoğlu.^[10]

[edit] National team

Roberto Carlos amassed 125 caps, scoring 11 goals^[11] for the Brazilian national team. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he played seven matches, including the final. After a qualifying game for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert spat on Roberto Carlos, an action which caused FIFA to give Chilavert a three-match suspension and forced him to watch the first game of the World Cup from the stands. Roberto Carlos also played seven matches in the finals, scoring a goal from a free kick against China. He also was a starter in the final against Germany.

He is especially famous for a free kick against France on June 3, 1997, where he shot from 35 m (110 ft) from the centre-right channel, and scored. The ball spun so much that the ballboy 10 yards to the right ducked instinctively, thinking that the ball would hit him. Instead, it eventually curled back on target.

After the elimination by France in the quarterfinal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football. Against France, he was widely criticised for fixing his socks during a Zinedine Zidane free kick which resulted in a goal from Thierry Henry.