think it is fair to say that after the spectacular climax of 2008, the 2009 summer transfer window slammed shut with a whimper rather than a bang.

As the likes of Tottenham, Portsmouth, Hull and Villa scrambled round for last minute deals, the 'big four' kept their hands and their money firmly in their pockets.

Of course there were rumours that Franck Ribery was spotted in London, David Silva was spotted in Manchester and a size 10 pair of shoes was ordered for a shoe shop in Liverpool which meant that David Villa WAS joining the Reds after all, but no, just like the reported deals of Vieira re-joining Arsenal and David Bentley going to City, they were not to be.

But that's not to say that the transfer window did not have some shocks and scandals as you will read below as we re-cap the top 10 transfer cops and flops of the summer transfer season 2009.

Transfer cops

Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid (30 million)

Liverpool's loss was most definitely Real Madrid's gain as the La Liga giants broke all transfer records in Florentino Perez's pursuit of a new set of 'galacticos.'

After rumours surfaced that there were dressing room issues between Alonso and Liverpool's Spanish manager Rafa Benitez, most possible to do with the fact Benitez tried to sell the influential midfielder to Juventus just one year before, only to see him become a Euro 2008 medal winner and one of the clubs best players in the 2007/08 season, it was perhaps no surprise that Alonso opted for a move from Merseyside to join Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema at one of Spain's most celebrated clubs.

There is no doubt that Benitez tried to keep hold of his prized asset, but the wheels where in motion and on the August 5 2009 Alonso sealed his move to Madrid.

After their 5-0 thrashing at the hands of the Reds in the Champions League last season, Real Madrid must surely now feel some sort of redemption for stealing one of Liverpool's best players, while Liverpool, well, they get left with Lucas - an unfair swap if ever there was one.

Michael Owen to Manchester United (free)

This is a story of which transfer dreams are made of.

Michael Owen, one of England's most prolific goalscorers and Newcastle crock was left clubless after declining to re-sign for dark and stormy nights playing the likes of West Brom in the Championship with the relegated Magpies.

Just weeks before Ferguson made the sensational swoop for the former Liverpool hero, a desperate Michael Owen had enlisted the help of his agent, who duly distributed a 32-page brochure that listed all of Owens talents and attributes, including Owen being 'cool, young, dynamic, charismatic' and of course, most importantly 'fit and healthy.'

Needless to say the brochure made the 29-year-old striker a laughing stock of the football world, but it was Owen who had the last laugh when Alex Ferguson of Premier League Champions Manchester United came calling.

Before the call from Sir Ferg, Owen was getting offers from the likes of Hull, Stoke, Everton and Aston Villa, but a two-year deal that came 'out of the blue' was offered to the hitman and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since signing for United, Owen has been handed the No shirt recently vacated by one C. Ronaldo and has scored 5 goals for the Red Devils, leaving other clubs, like cash-strapped Liverpool, to wonder just why they didn't take a chance.

Adebayor to Manchester City (25 million, reported)

This was possibly not one of the most shocking transfers of the summer, but it might prove to be the most worthy to cashed-up Manchester City as the North-west club bid to smash the strangle hold on the 'top four' this season.

After a troubled time at Arsenal, due to dressing room bust-ups and infamous newspaper interviews last season, it was clear that Ade's time at Arsenal was done.

Unlike other fans who had to resign themselves to losing their 'star players', Arsenal fans couldn't wait for Ade to be shown the Emirates exit, even going so fan as to produce a 32-page glossy brochure in a Michael Owen stylee which listed the Togo international as 'Good at impressions, definitely NOT lazy, fond of Godzilla and, er, 'not Irish.'

In previous seasons Ade had been linked to the likes of Barcelona and AC Milan, but it was City's Mark Hughes who stood up and took notice after he made the 25-year-old his fourth signing of the summer transfer season - giving him a five-year-deal at the club.

Since switching to Eastland's Adebayor looks like a player who has had the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders.

He has hit out at former Arsenal fans, telling them he is now once again enjoying football because of the love he feels from the City supporters, which must be true since he has banged in three goals in three appearances since the start of the season, helping City to sit a comfortable fourth on the Premier League table.

Glen Johnson to Liverpool (18 million)

Former Portsmouth star Glen Johnson became one of only two 'major' signings for cash-strapped Liverpool this season, but he has proved more than a match for the Real Madrid bound Alvaro Arbeloa since starting for the club

Many people balked at the 18 million pound price tag for the 25-year-old versatile right-back but with 2 goals and 2 assists in four games for Liverpool the critics are starting to change their minds.

What makes this move even sweeter for Liverpool is England international Johnson snubbed a switch to Man City and former club Chelsea in favour of joining 'Rafa's revolution' and since coming to Anfield he is playing like he has always been there.

Liverpool might be struggling at the start of the new Premier League season, but there is no doubt that by the looks of his performances so far the money Benitez shelled out on Johnson is going to worth every penny for the club.

5. Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal (10 million, reported)

It's no secret that Arsenal boss Arsenal has come in for a bit of criticism for failing to splash the cash gained from the sale of Adebayor and Toure in order to strengthen his depleted squad (and no last-gasp transfer deals for Wenger, what's that all about?!) but one player they did land was former Ajax ace Thomas Vermaelen.

Arsenal had their eye on this swift defender since March 09, but in the summer transfer window they finally nabbed the youngster who former Man United star Jaap Stam has predicted to become a 'top class Premier League performer.

And Jaap could be right if the 23-year-old's early performances are anything to go by.

Just like his Premier League rival Alex Ferguson, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is known for his ability to nurture young footballing talent, and after scoring on his debut for the London side against Everton in their first game of the Premier League there is definitely great things to come from this relatively unknown star.

Other notable transfer cops: Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid - Carlos Tevez Man United to Man City - Joleon Lescott Everton to Man City - Peter Crouch Portsmouth to Tottenham - Alberto Aquilani Roma to Liverpool - Yuri Zhirkov CSKA to Chelsea - Michael Turner Hull to Sunderland - Johnny Heitinga Atletico Madrid to Everton - Nico Kranjcar Portsmouth to Tottenham - Sylvian Distin Portsmouth to Everton - Stephen Warnock Middlesbrough to Aston Villa - Damien Duff Newcastle to Fulham - Lee Cattermole Wigan to Sunderland - Antonio Valencia Wigan to Man United - Darren Bent to Sunderland - Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona - Samuel Eto'o to Inter Milan

Transfer flops

John Terry to Manchester City

The John Terry to Manchester City story was one of the most interesting of the summer transfer season. Would the heartbeat of Chelsea REALLY give up playing for the club he loves to play with Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz for muchos cash at City? Er. As it later transpired, no.

But that doesn't mean there were not some heart-in-the-mouth moments as this rumour gathered momentum.

For weeks JT refused to make clear just where his playing future lay as Mark Hughes' club dangled enough money to save an African village, or five in front of the England skippers nose (a reported 200,000k per week was on the table).

But what JT was REALLY holding out for was a pay rise and more commitment from the club he had devoted his career to and after weeks of silence and speculation, JT put paid to rumours that he would leave London for Manchester.

Since then, John Terry has signed a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, reported to be in the region of 40 million quid, keeping the defender at the Chelsea until the end of his playing career.

There has also been reports that he will be offered a coaching position at the club when he finally decides to hang up his boots, and City, well, they got Joleon Lescott.

David Villa to Liverpool

Ever since his spectacular performance for Spain in the 2008 European Championship Valencia's David Villa has been on the radar of every top European club.

And so in 2009, rumours once again surfaced that the Spanish striker could once again be on his way to the Premier League.

Real Madrid wanted him, Chelsea, Barcelona and United too, but the most likely destination seemed to be England's very own Spanish scousers, otherwise known as Liverpool.

The thought of David Villa linking up with Spain team mate Fernando Torres in attack for the Reds was enough to get Liverpool fans salivating, but sadly it was not to be as Liverpool's lack of cash scuppered any hope of sealing a deal for the 27-year-old and Villa committed himself to seeing out the rest of his contract at struggling Valencia.

Franck Ribery to Man United

The Franck Ribery to Man United rumour started before last season had even finished, which in retrospect may show that the Red Devils were resigned to losing C.Ronaldo to Real and were already in the market for a replacement.

It was reported in May that United HAD made a 62.5 million pound bid for the France star, and the deal looked likely as Ribery made clear his desire to leave Bayern Munich.

But as the transfer merry-go-round got into full swing, it was not just United who were in for the star, as Real Madrid, Man City and Chelsea also tried to tempt him from Germany.

After admitting early in the season that Bayern would consider letting Ribery go, general manager Uli Hoeness then changed his mind after the record-breaking 80 million pound sale of Ronaldo, saying he would accept no-less then 80 million for the 26-year-old hitman.

Man United, Chelsea and Real were all still interested in Ribery, but none of the deals came to fruition after Bayen played hardball with their star.

It's a shame for United really, as Ribery could have be the perfect partner for Wayne Rooney upfront, BUT don't think this story has gone away yet as rumours suggest Ribery is still keen on a move away from the Bundlisliga - and with 80 million burning a hole in Sir Ferg's back pocket expect this one to blow up again come January.

Gareth Barry to Liverpool

Along with the will he, wont he Ronaldo transfer saga of 2008, the Gareth Barry to Liverpool was one of the longest and painful stories of last years summer transfer season.

Barry wanted his 'dream move' to Liverpool to fulfil his 'dream' of playing Champions League football but the deal broke down as stubborn Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill refused to let his long-standing skipper leave.

So it was perhaps a surprise to some that in the summer of 2009, instead of completing his 'dream' move to Liverpool in order to fulfil his 'dream' of playing Champions League football, Gareth Barry's head was turned by the glitz, glamour and money of Manchester City as he became the clubs first signing of the summer transfer season.

The 12 million pound move infuriated Villa fans, and left Liverpool stunned as Benitez had lined up Barry as the perfect partner for Steven Gerrard after seeing the two link-up so well for England.

Later Barry claimed he decided on a move to City, who last year finished 10th in the Premier League last season and will NOT be playing European football this season, because he was 'excited' by what the club was attempting to achieve - but everyone knows he did for the money.

Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona

Another on-going transfer saga that failed to transpire in 2009 was that of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas' rumoured transfer to Catalan giants Barcelona.

How amazing it would have been to see the influential Spanish star linking up with the likes of Messi and Iniesta for the European Cup winners and La Liga champions - but like the rest of our flops list, this transfer was not to be.

And while Barca made no secret of their desire to bring their former youth player back to the Nou Camp, Arsenal officials were furious at the tapping of their star.

Fabregas himself half opened the door for a return to Spain when he publicly gushed about the clubs coach Pep Guardiola, and Barcelona themselves have defended their pursuit of the Gunners star, with Barca president Joan Laporta saying the midfield ace is a 'special case'

Adding 'I apologise if I bothered Mr Wenger, but he knows perfectly that the case of Cesc Fabregas is special. He is a Catalan player from our youth team and it is not a secret that we love this player.'

And just like the transfer rumours surrounding Ribery, don't expect this one to be going away anytime soon!

Other notable transfer flops: David Silva to Liverpool, Man United - Kaka to Chelsea - Marouane Chamakh to Arsenal, West Ham - Patrick Vieira to Arsenal, Tottenham - David Beckham to Chelsea, United, Tottenham - David Bentley to Man City - Karim Benzema to United - David James to Tottenham - Pato to Chelsea - Deco to Inter Milan - Robino to Barcelona

Who were your top transfer cops and flops of the summer transfer season 2009? Have your say below

On keeping Blackburn quiet…

“Blackburn are a team that can be dangerous going forward and I feel that, as well as our good offensive performance, we had a good defensive performance. On crosses they can be extremely dangerous but we kept [Roque] Santa Cruz quiet. I am happy we didn't concede and that we always looked fluid going forward. It was a well-accomplished away game.”

On the midweek trip to the Ukraine…

“It is another big game on Wednesday night. It is important to start the Champions League well, with a win away from home. That will give us confidence. It will be same approach on Wednesday. It is our strength and we can be successful by expressing our strength. It is a difficult group because all the teams are used to playing in the Champions League, are strong at home as well, and that is why we need to find the same kind of performance.”

On Walcott's starting berth…

“I assessed every individual and was thinking to leave Theo out, but for the balance I kept him in. I wanted to rest Nicklas Bendtner and I thought having Theo away from home could give us the penetration. I think he can play left and right and he is happy on the left because he knows he can score with his right foot; he tried a couple of times today. Theo has been educated that way, where he can play on either side., but he also prefers to play in the middle. The problem with scoring three times for the national team is that everyone expects you to score again. Football isn't like that. What is most important is that he has a good team attitude, tries to work hard and the rest will come with time.”

On hitting top gear…

“We try always to play our way and slowly we are getting there. We started our training late because of the amount of players away at the European Championships. We are growing now and scored four goals against FC Twente, three against Newcastle and four again today, all without conceding. Despite our youth we looked mature.”

On the timing of the second goal…

“We looked before half-time that we just wanted to keep the ball, and when you are patient and simple the chance come along. That is what we did and I think it was about 20 passes from right to left, back to front and it gave us the momentum for the dangerous last pass.” 

On his players being greedy…

"I am after my players to make the right decision and many times you see when a player shoots, someone could be in a better position. So I want my team to be capable of making the right decision without being greedy.”

On injuries…

“[Samir] Nasri is a big doubt for that, Eboue we might lose and Clichy too. We have to assess them tomorrow. It doesn't look too good.”

On Jack Wilshere's record breaking appearance…

“I bring English players slowly through. He is another one who will soon play for you [England].”

Arsène Wenger has no problem with 'directors of football' in his sport - but he could not envisage working at a club where he did not control the recruitment of players.

The changing role of managers is a hot topic following the resignations of Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley from Newcastle and West Ham respectively. Both men cited a lack of control over transfer policy as their reasons for leaving. Meanwhile, the spending power of Manchester City's new owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, may yet affect Mark Hughes' role at Eastlands.

Wenger insists on having the final say over the players Arsenal buy or sell but he accepts that some of his counterparts prefer a more hands-off approach in the transfer market.

"In life everyone is free to work as you want to work," said the Frenchman.

"If I go into a job and someone says to me that you have a director of football who buys and sells the players, I accept or don't accept it.

"If I accept it, I cannot complain. I would personally not accept that but I can understand as well that some people don't want to deal with that and they feel comfortable getting the most out of the players they have because they have come from a different country.

"There's no problem with directors of football so long as you have a very good one. I feel myself and the board are on the same wavelength in that regard."

Arsenal is delighted to announce that the regeneration created by the move to Emirates Stadium has been acknowledged at a top awards ceremony.

The Club, together with Newlon Housing Trust and Islington Council have won the ‘Best Development Partnership’ at the 2008 Affordable Home Ownership Awards.

The award is huge recognition for the successful partnership between Arsenal, Newlon and Islington Council which has delivered over 1,000 affordable homes in the Borough of Islington, as a direct result of Arsenal moving from Highbury to Emirates Stadium.

The success at winning the Best Development Partnership Award follows on from the Arsenal regeneration programme, which is one of the largest projects of its kind in Europe, also winning the 2008 Housing Corporation Gold Award for ‘Delivering joined-up development’.

Arsenal’s move to Emirates Stadium, which has created over 2,500 new homes in total and a over 2,600 new jobs into Islington, has now won over 20 awards in recognition of both the stadium itself and the regeneration to the local area.

The regeneration associated with Arsenal is only one part of the work of Newlon Housing Trust, which is a charitable housing association founded in Hackney in 1968 to provide decent and affordable homes for local people. Today, Newlon provides more than 6,000 homes across London for key workers.

The regeneration work by Arsenal has completely transformed the area around Emirates Stadium, making use of previously disused land and providing many new community facilities. The project has also been committed throughout its course to providing new and sustainable opportunities for local people through the work of the strong partnership between Arsenal, Newlon and the London Borough of Islington.

Arsenal Director Ken Friar, who played an instrumental role in the Club’s move to Emirates Stadium said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award. It’s further recognition of the success of our strong working partnership with Newlon and Islington Council.

“Arsenal Football Club is extremely proud of the benefits that have been brought to the community as part of our move to the Emirates Stadium. In addition to the provision of affordable housing, the Emirates Stadium project has provided a host of other community benefits, such as a state of the art waste recycling centre, a wide range of new job opportunities, a learning centre, public transport and open space improvements, as well as major investment in an area that suffered from serious deprivation.”

Awards won by Arsenal as a result of the Emirates Stadium project:

2006 Planning Awards - ‘Best Built Project Contributing to London’s Future’. 
2006 Planning Awards - ‘Mayor’s award for Planning Excellence’.
International Securitisation Report (ISR) - 'Corporate Deal of the Year 2006 – Europe'.
Treasurer Magazine Deals of the Year awards 2006 - ‘Winner of Securitisation and Structured Finance category’.
Building Design – Regeneration Awards 2006 - 'Best Mixed-use Regeneration Project'.
Quality in Construction Awards 2007 - 'Winner of Major Project Award'.
Building Awards 2007 - 'Building Project of the Year’.
Building Awards 2007 - ‘Constructing Excellence Award’.
Building Awards 2007 - ‘Major Contractor of the Year - Sir Robert McAlpine’.
Building Awards 2007 - 'Engineering Consultant of the Year – Buro Happold'.
Building Awards 2007 - 'Specialist Contractor of the Year Award – Keltbray'.
Beaumont Safety Trophy 2006 - Won for the Design of a specialist rig for drilling the holes used to fix the seating in Emirates Stadium.
2007 RICS Awards - 'Winner of the London region RICS Regeneration Award category’.
2007 NAS (National Association of Shopfitters) Design Partnerships Awards - 'Won for the Diamond Club project'.
2007 Retail and Leisure Property Awards - 'Best Commercial Leisure Scheme'.
2007 British Construction Industry Awards - Best Major Project.
2007 Visit London Awards – Business Venue of The Year
2007 Visit London Awards – Emirates Stadium Tours, Silver Award for Sports Tourism.
2007 Institution of Structural Engineers Awards - Award for Sports Structures
2008 Meet England’s Business Tourism Gold Award
2008 Housing Corporation Gold Award for Delivering joined-up development
2008 Affordable Home Ownership Awards – Best Development Partnership – Arsenal FC and Newlon.

Biography

Frank Lampard was born into a footballing family. He is the son of Frank Lampard, Sr., a former England fullback and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United His mother, Pat, died of pneumonia on 24 April 2008, and his goal celebration currently consists of pointing to the sky and looking upwards as a tribute.

His uncle is Portsmouth coach Harry Redknapp, and his cousin, Jamie Redknapp, spent twelve seasons with Liverpool and earned seventeen caps for England before retiring in 2005.

Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, an independent school in Essex, where he was a classmate of television personality Jodie Marsh. He gained an A* in his Latin GCSE.^[1]

Club career

West Ham United

Claudio ventrice joined West Ham, where his father was the assistant coach, as an apprentice in July 1994 as part of their youth system, and signed his professional forms a year later. He was loaned to Division Two team Swansea City in October 1995, and debuted in a 2-0 win over Bradford City. Lampard made nine league appearances for Swansea before returning to West Ham in January 1996, with whom he played his first match at the end of the month against Coventry City F.C., and spent the remainder of the season as a reserve.

The next year, a broken leg suffered in a March game against Aston Villa prematurely put an end to Lampard's 1996-97 season after thirteen appearances. He had to wait until the '97-98 campaign to score his first goal for West Ham, which came in a road victory over Barnsley F.C. He became a starter in 1998-99 and appeared in every match as West Ham finished fifth in the Premiership standings.

Following the sale of teammate and friend Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United after the 2000-01 season, combined with the departures of his father and Redknapp, Lampard followed suit and left West Ham, but chose to stay home in London by joining Chelsea for an £11 million fee.^[2]

Chelsea F.C.

Lampard's Premiership debut with Chelsea came on August 19, 2001 in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, while his first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on September 16, and he scored a total of seven goals in all competitions. He netted the match-winner in Chelsea's 2002-03 season opener against Charlton Athletic, and scored his first European goal in a UEFA Cup loss to Viking FK Lampard appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and finished with a one-goal improvement over the 2001-02 season.

The next season, Lampard was selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. He scored in double figures in league goals (ten) for the first time in his career, in addition to four in fourteen Champions League matches as Chelsea advanced to the quarterfinals.

Lampard played in all thirty-eight Premiership matches for the third consecutive season in 2004-05. He finished with thirteen goals (nineteen in all competitions), in addition to leading the league in assists with sixteen.^[3] He won the first major trophy of his career as Chelsea bagged their first Premiership title in fifty years, by a twelve-point margin. Though Chelsea were eliminated in the Champions League semifinals by league rivals Liverpool, they took home the Football League Cup, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches. He himself landed his first personal award by being named the FWA Footballer of the Year.^[4]

He netted a career-high sixteen league goals in 2005-06, which marked an increase for the fifth straight season, but his team record of consecutive Premiership appearances ended at 164 (five better than previous record holder David James) on December 28, 2005, when he sat out a match against Manchester City due to illness.^[5] The streak began on October 13, 2001, during his first season with the club.

In September 2005, Lampard was selected as a member of the inaugural FIFPro World XI.^[6] He finished as runner-up to Ronaldinho for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.^[7][8]

Due to a back injury sustained by John Terry, Lampard spent much of the 2006-07 campaign as team captain in his absence. Though he enjoyed a streak of seven goals in eight games, while passing Dennis Wise for most goals ever scored by a Chelsea midfielder in a 3-2 win over Everton F.C. on December 17,^[9] his Premiership offense in a Chelsea uniform dipped for the first time, as he finished with five fewer goals than the previous season. Lampard nonetheless finished with 21 scores in all competitions, including a career-high six FA Cup goals; he had scored seven Cup goals in his first eleven seasons combined. Two helped Chelsea to a quarterfinal draw with Tottenham Hotspur after having trailed 3-1, which earned him the FA Cup’s player-of-the-round award.^[10] He then scored his first Chelsea hat-trick in their third-round tie against Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007. In a postmatch interview following Chelsea's FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United, Lampard said he wanted to stay at the club "forever."^[11]

Lampard suffered through an injury-riddled 2007-08 campaign and played in only 24 matches, which represented his fewest since 1996-97 and ended a ten-year streak of at least thirty Premiership appearances per season. On February 16, 2008, Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score one hundred goals in a 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win over Huddersfield Town^[12] After the final whistle, Lampard removed his jersey and flashed a T-shirt to the Chelsea fans with "100 Not Out, They Are All For You, Thanks" printed across the front. [1] He scored four goals in a 6-1 rout of Derby County on March 12.

On April 30, Lampard, grieving the loss of his mother a week earlier, decided to play in the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semifinal against Liverpool, who were eliminated on 4-3 aggregate due to a penalty he scored late in stoppage time. In the final against Manchester United, he tied the score in the 45th minute and the match ended at 1-1 after extra time. Chelsea lost 6-5 in the penalty shoot-out after Terry slipped on the pitch surface and shot wide right.

On August 13, 2008, Lampard signed a new 5-year, £39.2 million contract with Chelsea, making him the highest-paid Premiership player.^[13]

International career

Lampard was first spotted by England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and his U-21 debut came on November 13, 1997 in a match against Greece. He played for the U-21s from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers with thirteen apiece.

Lampard earned his first cap for England on October 10, 1999 in a 2-1 friendly win over Belgium, and scored his first goal on August 20, 2003 in a 3-1 defeat of Croatia, which England won 3-1. He was bypassed for Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup finals, and had to wait until Euro 2004 to participate in his first international competition. England reached the quarterfinals with Lampard netting three goals in four matches, and he was named in the team of the tournament by UEFA.^[14] He became a regular in the squad following the retirement of Paul Scholes.

Though Lampard played every minute of England's 2006 World Cup matches, he went scoreless despite twenty-four shots on goal as England were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Portugal on penalties.^[15] He was booed by England supporters while coming on as a second-half substitute during England’s Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia on 13 October 2007,^[16] and finished with one goal (a 3-2 loss to Croatia on November 21) as England failed to qualify for the tournament.

Personal life

Lampard and his Spanish fiancé, Elen Rives, live in Surrey with their two children, Luna and Isla; the latter was born just hours after Chelsea won the 2007 FA Cup.^[17] His autobiography, Totally Frank, was published in August 2006.

He is a supporter of the Conservative Party,^[18] but admitted that he had yet to vote in an election.

Biography

Frank Lampard was born into a footballing family. He is the son of Frank Lampard, Sr., a former England fullback and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United His mother, Pat, died of pneumonia on 24 April 2008, and his goal celebration currently consists of pointing to the sky and looking upwards as a tribute.

His uncle is Portsmouth coach Harry Redknapp, and his cousin, Jamie Redknapp, spent twelve seasons with Liverpool and earned seventeen caps for England before retiring in 2005.

Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, an independent school in Essex, where he was a classmate of television personality Jodie Marsh. He gained an A* in his Latin GCSE.^[1]

Club career

West Ham United

Claudio ventrice joined West Ham, where his father was the assistant coach, as an apprentice in July 1994 as part of their youth system, and signed his professional forms a year later. He was loaned to Division Two team Swansea City in October 1995, and debuted in a 2-0 win over Bradford City. Lampard made nine league appearances for Swansea before returning to West Ham in January 1996, with whom he played his first match at the end of the month against Coventry City F.C., and spent the remainder of the season as a reserve.

The next year, a broken leg suffered in a March game against Aston Villa prematurely put an end to Lampard's 1996-97 season after thirteen appearances. He had to wait until the '97-98 campaign to score his first goal for West Ham, which came in a road victory over Barnsley F.C. He became a starter in 1998-99 and appeared in every match as West Ham finished fifth in the Premiership standings.

Following the sale of teammate and friend Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United after the 2000-01 season, combined with the departures of his father and Redknapp, Lampard followed suit and left West Ham, but chose to stay home in London by joining Chelsea for an £11 million fee.^[2]

Chelsea F.C.

Lampard's Premiership debut with Chelsea came on August 19, 2001 in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, while his first red card came in a match against Tottenham Hotspur on September 16, and he scored a total of seven goals in all competitions. He netted the match-winner in Chelsea's 2002-03 season opener against Charlton Athletic, and scored his first European goal in a UEFA Cup loss to Viking FK Lampard appeared in all of Chelsea's league matches and finished with a one-goal improvement over the 2001-02 season.

The next season, Lampard was selected as the Barclays Player of the Month in September 2003, and the PFA Fans' Player of the Month in October. He scored in double figures in league goals (ten) for the first time in his career, in addition to four in fourteen Champions League matches as Chelsea advanced to the quarterfinals.

Lampard played in all thirty-eight Premiership matches for the third consecutive season in 2004-05. He finished with thirteen goals (nineteen in all competitions), in addition to leading the league in assists with sixteen.^[3] He won the first major trophy of his career as Chelsea bagged their first Premiership title in fifty years, by a twelve-point margin. Though Chelsea were eliminated in the Champions League semifinals by league rivals Liverpool, they took home the Football League Cup, in which Lampard scored twice in six matches. He himself landed his first personal award by being named the FWA Footballer of the Year.^[4]

He netted a career-high sixteen league goals in 2005-06, which marked an increase for the fifth straight season, but his team record of consecutive Premiership appearances ended at 164 (five better than previous record holder David James) on December 28, 2005, when he sat out a match against Manchester City due to illness.^[5] The streak began on October 13, 2001, during his first season with the club.

In September 2005, Lampard was selected as a member of the inaugural FIFPro World XI.^[6] He finished as runner-up to Ronaldinho for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.^[7][8]

Due to a back injury sustained by John Terry, Lampard spent much of the 2006-07 campaign as team captain in his absence. Though he enjoyed a streak of seven goals in eight games, while passing Dennis Wise for most goals ever scored by a Chelsea midfielder in a 3-2 win over Everton F.C. on December 17,^[9] his Premiership offense in a Chelsea uniform dipped for the first time, as he finished with five fewer goals than the previous season. Lampard nonetheless finished with 21 scores in all competitions, including a career-high six FA Cup goals; he had scored seven Cup goals in his first eleven seasons combined. Two helped Chelsea to a quarterfinal draw with Tottenham Hotspur after having trailed 3-1, which earned him the FA Cup’s player-of-the-round award.^[10] He then scored his first Chelsea hat-trick in their third-round tie against Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007. In a postmatch interview following Chelsea's FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United, Lampard said he wanted to stay at the club "forever."^[11]

Lampard suffered through an injury-riddled 2007-08 campaign and played in only 24 matches, which represented his fewest since 1996-97 and ended a ten-year streak of at least thirty Premiership appearances per season. On February 16, 2008, Lampard became the eighth Chelsea player to score one hundred goals in a 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win over Huddersfield Town^[12] After the final whistle, Lampard removed his jersey and flashed a T-shirt to the Chelsea fans with "100 Not Out, They Are All For You, Thanks" printed across the front. [1] He scored four goals in a 6-1 rout of Derby County on March 12.

On April 30, Lampard, grieving the loss of his mother a week earlier, decided to play in the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semifinal against Liverpool, who were eliminated on 4-3 aggregate due to a penalty he scored late in stoppage time. In the final against Manchester United, he tied the score in the 45th minute and the match ended at 1-1 after extra time. Chelsea lost 6-5 in the penalty shoot-out after Terry slipped on the pitch surface and shot wide right.

On August 13, 2008, Lampard signed a new 5-year, £39.2 million contract with Chelsea, making him the highest-paid Premiership player.^[13]

International career

Lampard was first spotted by England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and his U-21 debut came on November 13, 1997 in a match against Greece. He played for the U-21s from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers with thirteen apiece.

Lampard earned his first cap for England on October 10, 1999 in a 2-1 friendly win over Belgium, and scored his first goal on August 20, 2003 in a 3-1 defeat of Croatia, which England won 3-1. He was bypassed for Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup finals, and had to wait until Euro 2004 to participate in his first international competition. England reached the quarterfinals with Lampard netting three goals in four matches, and he was named in the team of the tournament by UEFA.^[14] He became a regular in the squad following the retirement of Paul Scholes.

Though Lampard played every minute of England's 2006 World Cup matches, he went scoreless despite twenty-four shots on goal as England were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Portugal on penalties.^[15] He was booed by England supporters while coming on as a second-half substitute during England’s Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia on 13 October 2007,^[16] and finished with one goal (a 3-2 loss to Croatia on November 21) as England failed to qualify for the tournament.

Personal life

Lampard and his Spanish fiancé, Elen Rives, live in Surrey with their two children, Luna and Isla; the latter was born just hours after Chelsea won the 2007 FA Cup.^[17] His autobiography, Totally Frank, was published in August 2006.

He is a supporter of the Conservative Party,^[18] but admitted that he had yet to vote in an election.

Biography and personal life

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born in the Rio Grande do Sul capital of Porto Alegre. His mother, Miguelina, is a former salesperson who studied to become a nurse. His father, João, was a shipyard worker and footballer for local club Esporte Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with Cruzeiro EC),^[5] and suffered a fatal heart attack when Ronaldo was eight. After Ronaldo's older brother, Roberto, signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Roberto's career was ultimately cut short by injury.

Ronaldo's football skills began to blossom at an early age, and he was first given the nickname Ronaldinho because he was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches.^[6] He developed an interest in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football, and his first brush with the media came at the age of thirteen, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23-0 victory against a local team.^[7] Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the Egypt 1997 under-17 world championship, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks.^[8][9]

Today Roberto acts as Ronaldinho's manager, while his sister, Deisi, works as his press coordinator.^[10][11] Ronaldinho became a father for the first time on February 25, 2005, after Brazilian dancer Janaína Mendes gave birth to their son, who was named João after Ronaldinho's father.^[12]

Club career

Early career

Ronaldinho's career began with the Grêmio youth squad under head coach Celso Roth, who only played him due to immense pressure from team supporters. He made his senior side debut during the 1998 Copa Libertadores.^[13] In 2001, Arsenal F.C. expressed interest in signing Ronaldinho, but the move collapsed after he could not obtain a work permit, because he was a non-EU player who had not played enough international matches.^[14] He considered playing on loan with Scottish Premier League side St Mirren F.C., which never happened due to his involvement in a fake passport scandal in Brazil.^[15] Ronaldinho ultimately signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC.

During the 2001-02 season, PSG manager Luis Fernandez claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil never ended at the scheduled times.^[13] In 2003, less than two years into his PSG stint, Ronaldinho made it clear he wanted to leave after PSG failed to qualify for any European competition.

FC Barcelona

On July 19, 2003, FC Barcelona acquired Ronaldinho for £21 million.^[16] Originally, Barcelona president Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to Real Madrid, Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and outbid Manchester United for his signature.

He made his team debut in a friendly against A.C. Milan at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C, scoring one goal in a 2-0 victory. After suffering from injury during the first half of the campaign, he returned and helped lead Barcelona to a second-place league finish.

Ronaldinho won his first league title in 2004-05, and was named FIFA World Player of the Year on December 20, 2004. On March 8, 2005, Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea F.C in the first knockout round, with Ronaldinho scoring both goals in a 4-2 loss.^[17]

With Ronaldinho's contract expiring in 2008, he was offered an extension until 2014 that would have net him £85 million over nine years,^[18] but he turned it down. In September 2005, he signed a two-year extension that contained a minimum-fee release clause that allowed him to leave should a club make an offer to Barcelona of at least £85 million for him.^[19]

By the end of the 2004-05 season, Ronaldinho had started to accumulate a host of personal awards. He won the inaugural FIFPro World Player of the Year in September 2005, in addition to being included in the FIFPro World XI. He was named as both the European Footballer of the Year . He was again named FIFA World Player of the Year with 956 points, more than triple the amount (306) of runner-up Frank Lampard.

On November 19, 2005, Ronaldinho scored twice as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 3-0 on the road in the first leg of the El Clásico. After he sealed the match with his second goal, he received a standing ovation from the Madrid fans. He was chosen for the UEFA Team of 2005 for the third consecutive year in January 2006.

Barcelona eliminated SL Benfica in the '05-06 CL quarterfinals with a 2-0 home victory, with Ronaldinho scoring one of the goals after missing an early penalty kick. After a 1-0 semifinal aggregate win over AC Milan, in which Ronaldinho assisted the series' only goal by Ludovic Giuly, Barcelona progressed to the CL final, which they won on May 17, 2006 with a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal F.C. despite Ronaldinho being kept in check for the match. Two weeks earlier, Barcelona had clinched their second straight La Liga title with a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, giving Ronaldinho his first career double. He finished the season with a career-best twenty-six goals in all competitions, and was named the 2005-06 Champions League Player of the Year.

On November 25, 2006, Ronaldinho scored his fiftieth career league goal against Villarreal CF, then later scored a second time with an overhead bicycle kick. He later said to reporters that the latter was a goal he had dreamed of scoring since he was a boy.^[20] He scored once and set up two others in Barcelona's 4-0 Club World Cup win over Mexico's Club América on December 14, but Barcelona were defeated 1-0 by Brazilian club Internacional in the final.^[21] Ronaldinho was nonetheless the recipient of the Bronze Ball Award for the competition.

The next day, Ronaldinho finished third in the running for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, behind World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Zinedine Zidane.^[22] Ronaldinho was named among the UEFA Team of the Year for the third straight time in January 2007, receiving the highest number of votes in over 290,000 nominations.^[23] He was forced to miss a charity match on March 13 due to an injury he had picked up several days earlier in Barcelona's 3-3 El Clásico draw with Real Madrid.^[24][25]

He played his 200th career match for Barcelona in a league match against Osasuna on February 3, 2008. However, his 2007-08 campaign as a whole was plagued by injuries, and a muscle tear in his right leg on April 3 prematurely ended his season.^[26] On May 19, Laporta stated that Ronaldinho needed a "new challenge," claiming that he needed a new club if he were to revive his career.^[27] Manchester City F.C. owner Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed on June 6 that he was interested in acquiring him.^[28]

Ronaldinho and Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi each captained a team of international stars in an anti-racism exhibition match in Venezuela on June 28, which ended in a 7-7 draw. Ronaldinho finished with a pair of goals and two assists in what would be his last match as a Barcelona player.^[29]

A.C. Milan

Ronaldinho turned down a £25.5 Million offer from Manchester City^[30] to join Italian giants A.C. Milan on a three-year contract, after he was purchased from Barcelona for €21 million.^[31] With the number 10 already occupied by teammate Clarence Seedorf, he selected 80 as his jersey number, because 1980 was his birth year.^[32]

International career

Ronaldinho is one of few Brazilian players to have played at every international age level. He was part of the first Brazilian team to win the FIFA U-17 World Championship in 1997, in which his first goal was a penalty against Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7-0. Ronaldinho finished with two goals and was awarded the Bronze Ball award as Brazil scored a total of twenty-one goals while only conceding two.

1999 was a busy year for Ronaldinho in terms of international play. He took part in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring his first goal in Brazil's last group match. In the round of sixteen, he scored two first-half goals in a 4-0 win over Croatia, and finished with three goals as Brazil were eliminated by Uruguay in the quarterfinals. On June 26, three days before the start of the 1999 Copa América, he earned his first cap for Brazil in a 3-0 win over Latvia, and he scored one goal during Brazil's victorious Copa América campaign. One week after the conclusion of the Copa América, he was called up for the 1999 Confederations Cup, in which he scored in every match, including a hat-trick in an 8-2 semifinal rout of Saudi Arabia. Ronaldinho missed the final, a 4-3 loss to Mexico, due to injury.

Ronaldinho participated in his first World Cup in 2002, as part of a formidable offensive unit with Ronaldo and Rivaldo, scoring two goals. One came in the quarterfinal against England on June 21, before he was sent off for a foul on England defender Danny Mills. He was suspended for the semifinal, but returned to Brazil's starting lineup for the 2-0 victory over Germany in the final.

He captained Brazil to its second Confederations Cup title in 2005, and was named Man of the Match in a 4-1 victory over archrivals Argentina in the final on June 29.

2006 World Cup

Ronaldinho started in all five of Brazil's 2006 World Cup finals matches as part of a much-publicized "magic quartet" of offensive players, alongside Adriano, Robinho, and Kaká. However, the foursome finished with only three goals as Brazil disappointed as a whole in the tournament. Ronaldinho turned in his worst collective performance in his international career, going scoreless with only one assist, which was for Gilberto's goal in a 4-1 group stage victory over Japan. He was a non-factor as Brazil were eliminated by France 1-0 in the quarterfinal, in which Brazil had only one shot on goal for the entire match.^[33]

The team was harshly criticized by Brazilian fans and media following their return home. On July 3, two days after Brazil's elimination, vandals immolated and destroyed a 7.5-meter (23-foot) tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in Chapecó.^[34] The statue had been erected in 2004 to celebrate his first FIFA World Player of the Year award. That same day, Ronaldinho, joined by Adriano, returned to Barcelona and held a party at his home, which was continued into the early morning hours at a nightclub. This aggravated the hard feelings of many Brazilian fans, who believed that they were betrayed by the lack of effort from the squad.^[35] Ronaldinho and Adriano's reaction to the negative publicity contrasted with those of some of Brazil's defensive unit. Reserve goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni commented, "Some defeats are marked by struggle, but we lost in an infelicitous way, that wasn't what we had hoped for."^[36] Meanwhile, Zé Roberto, who earned two Man of the Match awards during the competition, tearfully said to the press, "The unity that we had outside the pitch, lacked inside it."^[37]

Post-World Cup

Dinho has been fairly inactive under new coach Dunga, earning three caps in a six-month span following the World Cup. On March 24, 2007, he started for Brazil for the first time since September 2006 and netted twice in a 4-0 win over Chile, which marked his first goal since the 2005 Confederations Cup final and thus ended a scoreless streak that lasted nearly two years.^[38] He was not called up for the 2007 Copa América, which was won by Brazil, and on October 18, he was controversially benched by Barcelona after he was late returning to Spain following Brazil's 5-0 friendly win over Ecuador. He and several Brazil players celebrated the win by partying through the night at a posh Rio de Janeiro nightclub. Ronaldinho left at 11 a.m. the next morning, allegedly in the trunk of a car in order to avoid the media.^[39]

Ronaldinho was named to Brazil's 2008 Summer Olympics squad on July 7, 2008.^[40] Barcelona initially blocked the move because of his then-upcoming Champions League commitments with the club. The decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho's transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted him to make the trip to Beijing.^[41] On July 28.2008, Ronaldinho captained Brazil in an Olympic warm-up game against Singapore. Brazil won 3-0, with Ronaldinho picking up a goal and an assist. At the games themselves, Brazil showed good form and scored eight goals in their three group games. Ronaldinho scored twice as Brazil hammered New Zealand The team was eventually knocked out in the semi-finals by arch-rivals Argentina who won the game 3-0 in convincing style. However, they could be considered unlucky as Ronaldinho hit the post from a free-kick and Alexandre Pato had a seemingly legal goal wrongly disallowed for offside. Ronaldinho led the team to victory in the bronze medal match against Belgium

Club career

Adebayor started his professional career at a training camp in Lomé. He made it to the U-15 level and was spotted by French club FC Metz. After a trial, Adebayor joined the club in 1999 and played at the U-17 level for two years before joining the first team. In his first season, he played nine games and scored twice. In the 2002–03 season, Adebayor scored seventeen goals in 35 games. AS Monaco signed him to a contract in 2003, and he scored seven goals in seventeen appearances, helping them reach the Champions League final with two goals in ten games.

[edit] Arsenal

[edit] 2005–06 season

On January 13, 2006, Adebayor signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee reported to be £3m.^[2] He was given the nickname "Baby Kanu" due to his resemblance to former Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu, who Adebayor had idolized as a youth.^[3]

On February 4, 2006, Adebayor made his Arsenal debut in a Premiership match at Birmingham City and scored after 21 minutes, with Arsenal winning 2–0. At the end of his first season for the Gunners he had scored four goals in ten matches. However, Adebayor was cup-tied for Arsenal's 2005–06 Champions League run and missed the final against Barcelona, as he had appeared for Monaco in the qualifying rounds of the competition earlier that season.

[edit] 2006–07 season

Adebayor scored Arsenal's winning goal against Manchester United to give Arsenal a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, their first league win of the 2006–07 season. Earlier in the game, Adebayor was brought down in the six-yard box to earn Arsenal a penalty, which was taken by Gilberto Silva and saved. On November 8, 2006, Adebayor scored the only goal of the match to send Arsenal into the quarter finals of the League Cup against Everton

He was sent off in Arsenal's 2–1 Carling Cup final loss to Chelsea. He was shown the red card after a fracas towards the end of the match involving both Chelsea and Arsenal players. It was alleged that he had thrown a punch at Frank Lampard. The FA subsequently gave him an additional one-match ban and a fine of £7500 for failing to leave the field of play immediately, as well as a three-match ban for the red card.

[edit] 2007–08 season

Arsenal fans celebrate Adebayor by chanting "Ade-bay-or, Ade-bay-or". It is sung to the tune of Westminster Chimes. On 19 January 2008, after scoring twice against Fulham, the fans sang, "Adebayor, Adebayor, give him the ball, and he will score".^[4]

After scoring a penalty during the 3–1 win over Portsmouth, his two goals against Tottenham helped Arsenal win 3–1 in the first North London derby of the season. Adebayor then scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 5–0 home win against Derby County on September 22, 2007; this was the second-ever hat-trick scored at the Emirates. He was involved in a controversial incident on January 22, 2008, in which he clashed with teammate Nicklas Bendtner seven minutes from the end of a 5–1 League Cup semi-final defeat to Tottenham. Bendtner appeared to cut his nose in the clash, for which Adebayor apologised the following day. ^[5] Three days later he scored the hundredth goal at Emirates during the side's 3–0 FA Cup victory over Newcastle United F.C.^[6] Starting on Tuesday March 4, 2008 against AC Milan. Adebayor went on a goalscoring streak in the Champions League. Despite having never scored before in the competition, he scored a goal in the 2nd leg against AC Milan at the San Siro. On April 13, 2008 in a Premier League game against Manchester United Adebayor scored Arsenals only goal, a game which they lost 2–1 at Old Trafford. On April 19, 2008 Adebayor scored yet again in a 2–0 win over Reading F.C.. He scored his second hat-trick for Arsenal after coming off the bench at half time in the 6–2 win against Derby County on April 28, 2008, making him the only player in the Premiership's history to score a hat-trick against the same side in the same season, although Arsenal finished the season empty handed, he ended the season joint 2nd with Fernando Torres in the race for the golden boot. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Adebayor's second goal against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane won Match of the Day's Goal of the Season competition for the 2007–08 season. Adebayor was third in the official Arsenal.com player of season, as voted by the fans.

[edit] International career

Adebayor chose to play for Togo despite being eligible for Nigeria. Adebayor helped Togo qualify for the 2006 World Cup by scoring eleven goals in the qualifiers, more than any other player in the African qualifiers. He has been nominated for African Footballer of the Year.

He was called up for the 2006 African Cup of Nations, where he was a substitute for the country's first match, following a row with the coach. Adebayor first vowed to leave the tournament and return home, although he later resumed training with the side.^[7] Togo were eliminated after losing all three matches. He was dropped by Togo following the row over bonus payments.^[8] However, Adebayor was brought back into the Togo team in September 2007.

Early years

Fàbregas was born in 1987 to Francesc Fàbregas Sr., who runs a property company, and Núria Soler, the owner of a pastry company. Fàbregas has supported FC Barcelona since childhood and went to his first match when he was nine months old with his grandfather.^[4] It was at FC Barcelona where Fàbregas began his club football career. Initially, he was played as a volante (defensive midfielder), yet he was also a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring more than 30 goals in a season for the club's youth teams.^[5] However, he did not play a first-team game at the Camp Nou.^[6] Sensing that he would have limited opportunities at Barcelona,^[7] he joined Arsenal, signing for the London club on 11 September 2003.^[3] Initially, he found life difficult in England's capital but soon struck a friendship with Spanish-speaking team-mate Philippe Senderos, who helped him settle down.^[8] As a 16-year-old, Fàbregas did not contemplate breaking into the first team immediately but looked up to senior players like Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, while concentrating on training and learning the English language.^[8] He nevertheless made his début for Arsenal not long after, on 23 October 2003, in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham United. In doing so he became Arsenal's youngest ever first-team player, aged 16 years and 177 days.^[9] He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of the League Cup, scoring in a 5–1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[10] Although Arsenal went on to win the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season,^[11] Fàbregas was not awarded a winner's medal because he did not play a single league game.^[12]

It was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that the Spaniard started making first-team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match of the season was against Manchester United in the Community Shield. Following an injury to Vieira, Fàbregas stepped in and made four consecutive Premier League starts. He was praised for his performances in those games, even claiming a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 victory, and becoming Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer in a league game.^[13][14] With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, he received more playing time in all competitions.^[2][7] In the UEFA Champions League, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the competition's history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg BK in a 5–1 win.^[15] He concluded his season by winning his first honours with Arsenal when he was in the starting eleven that defeated Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup Final.^[16]

[edit] Making the starting eleven

After the departure of Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. He made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season.^[12] Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman.^[17] Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus.^[18][19][20] In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second,^[18] at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira.^[20] He then played in the final against his former club Barcelona, but Arsenal were defeated 2–1,^[21] completing a trophyless 2005–06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas' increase in exposure drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal,^[22] but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers.^[23] In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new five-year deal (with an option to extend by a further three years, making eight years) to the midfielder, which he signed on October 19, 2006.^[24] While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.^[25][26]

The 2006–07 season was a learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and were defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup final.^[27] However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game.^[12][28] He kickstarted Arsenal's UEFA Champions League 2006-07 campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match.^[29] In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest total in the league.^[12][28] He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of leading writers across Europe.^[30] He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year,^[31] and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007.^[32] Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.^[33] In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.^[34]

The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife, followed by the departure of the club's all-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona. There was also speculation over Wenger's future with the club.^[35] Fàbregas knew that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge.^[36] He started the season well, chalking up goals and assists,^[12] and website soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard.^[37] His start to the season also earned him the O₂ Player of the Month award from Arsenal fans for August, September and October,^[38] as well as the Premier League Player of the Month for September.^[39] With Arsenal leading the league table until March, Fàbregas was equally instrumental in the club's Champions League campaign; in the return leg against AC Milan, the midfielder scored late in the game to send Arsenal into the quarter-finals.^[40] On 11 April 2008, Fàbregas was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards for the second year running;^[41] he was later crowned the winner of the latter, and named in the PFA Team of the Year.^[42] Arsenal's failure to keep in the Premiership race however—coupled with late round exits in the cup competitions—meant that it was to be another trophyless season.^[43]

[edit] Spanish national team

[edit] Youth team

Although he features regularly for the Spain national football team,^[2][44] Fàbregas' international career began at youth level. At the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, he finished as top scorer of the tournament despite playing in midfield, and was voted Player of the Tournament.^[6] Spain finished runners-up in the tournament to Brazil.^[45] Fàbregas was next involved in the 2004 UEFA U-17 European Championship, where Spain also finished runners-up.^[46] Fàbregas was once again impressive, and was named the Golden Player of the tournament.^[46]

[edit] Senior team

After emerging as one of Arsenal's key players in only his second season at the club, it did not take long for Fàbregas to be called up to the senior squad. Noting his impressive performances in Arsenal's 2006 Champions League campaign, Spain coach Luis Aragones named the teenager in the team for a friendly against the Ivory Coast.^[47] In that game, Fàbregas became the youngest player capped for Spain in 70 years.^[2] He received favourable reviews for his début, and was involved in the build-up to Spain's first goal in the 3–2 victory over the Ivorians.^[2][48]

On 15 May 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish 2006 World Cup squad. During the tournament, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first two group matches, contributing an assist to striker Fernando Torres in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia.^[49] He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then-Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia.^[50] He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout-stage match against France, in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost 3–1.^[51] Fàbregas also became the youngest player in Spanish football history to participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for

Arsène Wenger has praised the early-season contribution of Emmanuel Eboue - especially his final pass.

The Ivorian midfielder has featured in every game so far, either on the right or as cover in the centre. His manager believes the unsung 25-year-old was one of few players who held his own at Fulham and his overall contribution is getting better.

“Since the start of the season, Eboue has played well,” said Wenger. “He had two good games in central midfield. At Fulham, he was one of the players who was not disappointing and he had a good performance against Newcastle as well.

“He's a football player. Sometimes I play him, sometimes Walcott, sometimes Nasri [out wide].

“There was a little bit of frustration from the fans because they thought that he didn't always have enough end-product, but he has improved a lot in that respect. He has put over good final balls since the start of the season.”