Steven Gerrard

Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays for and captains both Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfield role, but he has also been used as a second striker, holding midfielder, right back and right winger.^[3][4]

Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his début in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in 2000, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cups, three League Cups, twoCommunity Shields, one Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two Super Cups.

Gerrard made his international debut in 2000, and has since represented England at the 2000 and 2004 European Championships, as well as the 2006 World Cup – where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals – and the 2010 World Cup, where he first captained his country in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand, who missed the tournament through injury.^[5] He was named as the permanent England captain shortly before the 2012 European Championship,^[6]where he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.^[7]

Gerrard has been described as one of the greatest English midfielders in history, "a real leader, Gerrard is a tireless runner and has superb vision. His striking from distance is feared around the world and he is a prolific scorer for a midfielder."^[8]Gerrard came second only to Kenny Dalglish in the "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" – a Liverpool fan poll.^[9] Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world.^[10] In 2005, Gerrard was honoured as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. Additionally, he has been named to the PFA Team of the Year seven times, theUEFA Team of the Year and FIFA World XI three times, and was named the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009. In 2010, The Guardian named Gerrard to their World XI team, which compiled the greatest footballers of all time onto one squad.^[11] He is, to date, the only footballer ever to have scored a goal in an FA Cup Final, aLeague Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a Champions League Final.

Contents   [hide]  1 Early life 2 Liverpool career 2.1 Beginnings (1998–2003) 2.2 Struggles and uncertainty (2003–2004) 2.3 Breakthrough and trophies (2004–2007) 2.4 Continued success and stardom (2007–) 3 International career 3.1 Captain 3.2 International goals 4 Personal life 5 Career statistics 6 International career statistics 7 Honours 7.1 Club 7.2 Individual 8 References 9 External links

Early life

Born in Whiston, Merseyside,^[1] Gerrard started out playing for hometown team Whiston Juniors, where he was noticed by Liverpool scouts. He later joined the Liverpool Academy at the age of nine.^[12] Gerrard then had trials with various clubs at fourteen, but his success wasn't immediate — Gerrard never made it into the England schoolboys' team. Gerrard's trials included Manchester United, which he claimed in his 2006 autobiography was "to pressure Liverpool into giving me a YTS contract."^[13] He signed his first professional contract with Liverpool on 5 November 1997.^[13]

Liverpool career

Beginnings (1998–2003)

Gerrard made his Liverpool first-team debut on 29 November 1998 in a Premier League match against Blackburn Rovers as a last-minute substitute for Vegard Heggem.^[14] He made thirteen appearances in his debut season, filling in for injured captain Jamie Redknapp in centre-midfield.^[12] He also occasionally played on the right wing, but he scarcely contributed in the short on-pitch time he received, due to nervousness affecting his play.^[15] Gerrard recalled in a November 2008 interview with The Guardian, "I was out of position and out of my depth." The Liverpool hierarchy nonetheless remained convinced that he would improve.^[15] Gerrard saw himself as a defensive player primarily, looking to make key tackles rather than push the team forward.^[14]

Gerrard began to regularly partner Redknapp in central midfield for the 1999–2000 season. After starting the derby against Everton on the bench, he replaced Robbie Fowler in the second half but received his first career red card for a late foul on Everton's Kevin Campbellshortly afterwards.^[16] Later that season, Gerrard scored his first senior goal in a 4–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.^[17] However, he began to suffer from nagging back problems, which sports consultant Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt later diagnosed as a result of accelerated growth, coupled with excessive playing, during his teenage years.^[13] He was then beset by groin injuries that required four separate operations.^[13]

Gerrard shooting for Liverpool

He went on to recover from this, and in the 2000–01 season made fifty starts in all competitions and scored ten goals as he won his first major honours with Liverpool – the FA Cup, League Cup, and the UEFA Cup. In the following season, he would go on to win both the FA Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup.

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE^[2] (born 2 May 1975)^[3] is an Englishfootballer who currently plays for French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He has played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid,Milan, Los Angeles Galaxy and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player.^[4]

Beckham's professional career began with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.^[5] With United, Beckham won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions Leaguein 1999.^[5] He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons,^[6] winning the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.^[7] In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy,^[8] signing a five-year contract on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with AC Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.^[9]

In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21. He was made captain from 15 November 2000^[10] until the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals,^[11] during which he played 58 times. He earned his 100th cap against France on 26 March 2008,^[12] and became the all-time outfield player appearance record holder on 28 March 2009, when he surpassed Bobby Moore's total of 108 caps.^[4] With 115 career appearances to date, he has stated that he does not intend to retire from international football. Having missed the 2010 World Cup through injury, Beckham has not played for England since 14 October 2009. He remains 10 caps short of the record number of 125 caps by goalkeeper Peter Shilton, for a player of any position.^[13]

Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year^[5] and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer when taking into account salary and advertising deals.^[14] Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches.^[5] He is third in the Premier League's all time time assist provider chart, with 152 assists in 265 appearances.^[15]When joining the MLS in 2007 he was given the highest player salary in the league's history, with his playing contract with the Galaxy over the next three years being worth US$6.5m per year.^{[16][17][18][19]}

He is married to Victoria Beckham and they have four children – Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven. In 2009, the couple's joint wealth was estimated at £125 million.^[20]

Contents   [hide]  1 Early life 2 Club career 2.1 Manchester United 2.1.1 Preston North End (loan) 2.1.2 Return to Manchester United 2.2 Real Madrid 2.3 Los Angeles Galaxy 2.3.1 Loan to Milan 2.3.2 Return to Galaxy 2.3.3 Second loan spell at Milan 2.3.4 Second return to Galaxy 2.3.5 MLS Cup Champion 2.4 Paris Saint-Germain 3 International career 3.1 International goals 4 Coaching career 4.1 England 2010 5 Discipline 6 Honours 6.1 Club 6.2 International 6.3 Individual 6.3.1 Orders and special awards 6.3.2 Records 7 Statistics 7.1 Club 7.2 International 8 David Beckham Academy 9 Personal life 9.1 Affair claims 9.2 Legal issues 10 Outside of football 11 Charitable work 12 Appearances in films 12.1 Bend It Like Beckham 12.2 The Goal! Trilogy 13 Records 14 Tattoos 15 See also 16 References 16.1 Books 16.2 Internet 17 Further reading 18 External links

Early life

Beckham was born at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London, England.^[21] He is the son of Sandra Georgina (née West; b. 1949), a hairdresser, and David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham (b. Edmonton, London, July–September 1948), a kitchen fitter, who married at the London Borough of Hackney in 1969,^[22][23] He regularly played football in Ridgeway Park, Chingford, as a child, and attended Chase Lane Primary School and Chingford Foundation School.^[24] In a 2007 interview, Beckham said that, "At school whenever the teachers asked, 'What do you want to do when you're older?' I'd say, 'I want to be a footballer.' And they'd say, 'No, what do you really want to do, for a job?' But that was the only thing I ever wanted to do."^[25] Beckham's maternal grandfather was Jewish,^[26]and Beckham has referred to himself as "half Jewish"^[27] and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion".^[28] In his book Both Feet on the Ground, he stated that growing up he attended church every week with his parents and his older sister, Lynne Georgina and younger sister, Joanne Louise.^[29][30]

His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who would frequently travel to Old Trafford from London to attend the team's home matches. David inherited his parents' love of Manchester United, and his main sporting passion was football. He attended one ofBobby Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. He played for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers – coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve Kirby. Beckham was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's school of excellence. Tottenham Hotspur was the first club he played for. During a two-year period in which Beckham played for Brimsdown Rovers' youth team, he was named Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990.^[31] He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his 14th birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.

Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI,^[1] (born 27 September 1976) is an Italian footballerwho is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of atrequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most capped player in the club's history. He is considered as one of the finest players of his generation,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} and also Roma's greatest player ever.^[8][9]

A 2006 World Cup winner and Euro 2000 finalist, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments. He has won many individual awards, including a record five Italian Footballer of the Year awards and two Serie A Footballer of the Yearawards.^[10] He was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations.^[11] In 2011, Totti has been recognized by IFFHS as the most popular footballer in Europe.^[12]

Often referred to as Il Bimbo d'Oro (The Golden Boy), Il Re di Roma (The King of Rome), Er Pupone (The Big Baby), and Il Gladiatore (The Gladiator) by the Italian sports media, Totti is currently the top active Serie A goalscorer and third all-time in league history with 224 goals.

Contents   [hide]  1 Early career 2 Club career 2.1 Early seasons 2.2 Zeman's first spell 2.3 Capello and the Scudetto 2001 2.4 As a striker with Spalletti 2.5 Ranieri era 2.6 Montella's reign 2.7 Back to a playmaker with Enrique 2.8 Zeman's second spell 3 International career 3.1 Euro 2000 3.2 2002 World Cup 3.3 Euro 2004 3.4 2006 World Cup 3.5 Retirement 4 Goal celebrations 5 Personal life 6 Career statistics 6.1 Club career 6.2 Competition statistics 6.3 International career 6.4 International goals 6.5 Career totals 7 Honours 7.1 Club 7.2 International 7.3 Individual 7.4 Records 7.5 Orders 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit]Early career

Totti was born in Rome, to parents Lorenzo and Fiorella Totti. He was raised in Porta Metronia neighbourhood. He idolized ex-Roma captain Giuseppe Giannini and regularly played football with older boys. Totti began to play youth team football at the age of 8, with Fortitudo, then he joined Smit Trastevere and Lodigiani. After coming to the attention of scouts, his mother refused a lucrative offer fromAC Milan to remain in his hometown,^[13] and he joined the Roma youth squad in 1989.

[edit]Club career

[edit]Early seasons

After three years on the youth team, Totti made his first appearance for Roma's senior side at the age of sixteen, when coach Vujadin Boškov let him play in the 2–0 away victory against Brescia on 28 March 1993. In the following season under Carlo Mazzone, Totti began to play more games and scored his first goal on 4 September 1994 in a 1–1 draw against Foggia. By 1995, Totti had become a regular in Roma's starting line-up and scored 16 goals in the next three seasons. He always publicly praised Mazzone for helping him become a good footballer.^[14] After Mazzone left Roma, Totti also worked with Carlos Bianchi and a short-spell with a club legendary coach Nils Liedholm.

[edit]Zeman's first spell

When Zdeněk Zeman took control of the squad in the 1997–98 season, the coach played with an offensive 4–3–3 formation, in which Totti was the left winger. At the age of 21, Totti assumed the team captaincy in 1998 and began to gain recognition as a club symbol. He scored 30 goals during Zeman's two-year managerial stint. Though Totti was not called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he was named the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in the 1998–99 season.

[edit]Capello and the Scudetto 2001

Decal of Totti alongside the Scudettoshield, displayed on a house in Rome.

By the 2000–01 campaign, Roma, then helmed by Fabio Capello, was building a competitive team around Totti, who had started to play as trequartista to take advantage of his passing skills. He scored thirteen goals in the campaign. On 17 June 2001, he won Scudetto, and scored one goal in a 3–0 Supercoppa Italiana victory against Fiorentina.

Totti was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for 2000 and 2001. He received his firstBallon d'Or nomination in 2000, finishing fourteenth in the voting and fifth the following year.^[15] He had also become a widely recognized idol of the supporters, who were able to identify with Totti's background as a lifelong Roma supporter and Rome native and also his prowess on the pitch.

In the following seasons, Totti played as second striker as part of a 3–5–2 formation and scored a career-high twenty goals in the 2003–04 season as Roma finished runners-up toMilan in the Scudetto race. He also won his second consecutive Italian Footballer of the Year award.

Despite a disappointing 2004–05 season that saw Capello leave for Juventus and Roma slip to eighth place while making four coaching changes during the course of the season, including Cesare Prandelli, Rudi Völler, Luigi Delneri and Bruno Conti, Totti maintained his consistent offensive output by scoring fifteen goals, among them his 100th Serie A goal against Internazionale on 3 October 2004. Two months later, on 19 December, he became Roma's all-time leading scorer after netting his 107th career goal against Parma, breaking the record previously held by Roberto Pruzzo.