Thursday, 2 October 2014

TOP 15 FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN 21st CENTURY








 DAVID BECKHAM


           David Robert Joseph Beckham (born 2 May 1975) is a retired English footballer. He has played for Manchester UnitedPreston North EndReal MadridMilanLos Angeles GalaxyParis Saint-Germain, and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player. He was the first English player to win league titles in four countries, England, Spain, the United States and France. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2012–13 season and, on 18 May 2013, played the final game of his 20-year career.





      ZINEDINE ZIDANE

       Zinedine Yazid Zidane (born 23 June 1972), nicknamed "Zizou", is a former French footballer and current coach of Real Madrid Castilla. He played as an attacking midfielder for the French national teamJuventus and Real Madrid. Renowned for his elegance, vision and technique, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and has been described as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.




RONALDO

          Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (born 18 September 1976) commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer. Popularly dubbed "the phenomenon", he is considered by experts and fans to be one of the greatest football players of all time. He is one of only three men to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times or more. He also won the Ballon d'Or twice, in 1997 and again in 2002Considered by many one of the best strikers of all time, in 2007 he was named in the greatest ever starting eleven by France Football magazine and in 2004 was named in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living players compiled by Pelé. He was inducted Into the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2006. In February 2011, Ronaldo announced his retirement from football.





RONALDINHO



    Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúchois a Brazilian footballer who plays for Mexican club Querétaro. His main playing position is as an attacking midfielder or forward. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2004 and 2005. Renowned for his technique, tricks, dribbling, overhead kicks, no-look passes and free kicks, Ronaldinho is regarded to be one of the best players of his generation.







Cristiano Ronaldo


             Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 5 February 1985), known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and captains the Portugal national team. Ronaldo became the world's most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion. He is regarded by some in the sport to be currently the best player in the world and one of the greatest of all time.



LIONEL MESSI

      Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini (born 24 June 1987), is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national teamCommonly ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/ Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, and the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World CupsHis playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".



GIANLUIGI BUFFON

           Gianluigi "GigiBuffon, (born 28 January 1978), is an Italian goalkeeper who plays for and captains both Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team. He is the record appearance holder for Italy, and widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Buffon is known for his "outstanding shot-stopping" and for being "a vocal organizer of the defense and a key dressing room personality. Buffon was declared by Pelé to be one of the 125 greatest living footballers in the world. He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eight times and was the winner of the 2006 Yashin Award following Italy's World Cup victory.




OLIVER KAHN

          Oliver Rolf Kahn (born 15 June 1969) is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in the professional squad. In 1994, he was transferred to Bayern Munich for the fee of DM4.6 million, where he played until the end of his career in 2008. His commanding presence in goal and aggressive style earned him nicknames such as Der Titan (English: the Titan) from the press and Vol-kahn-o ("volcano") from fans. Kahn is one of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, the UEFA Cup in 1996, the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup, both achieved in 2001. His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper awards, and twoGerman Footballer of the Year trophies. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Kahn became the first and only goalkeeper in the tournament's history to win the Golden Ball.



IKER CASILLAS

        Iker Casillas Fernández (born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for and captains both La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. In 2008 he was the captain of the Spanish team that won their first European Championship in 44 years, the Spanish team that went on to win Spain's first World Cup (a tournament in which he won the Golden Glove and known as Yashin Award) and the 2012 European ChampionshipHaving won the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award for five consecutive years, he is considered to be one of the finest goalkeepers of all time.



EDWIN VAN DER SAR

          Edwin van der Sar (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AjaxJuventusFulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national team's history. He is one of the few footballers to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different teams – with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008; in the latter, he was also named UEFA Man of the Match. In the 2008–09 season he set the world league clean sheet record by not conceding a single goal for 1,311 minutes. Along with being the most capped player for the Netherlands national team, with 130 caps, he is also the oldest player to win the Premier League, at 40 years and 205 days old. Individually Van der Sar has won several honours, including Best European Goalkeeper in 1995 and 2009, and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009. He is considered, by critics and fellow players, as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.




CARLES PUYOL


          Carles Puyol i Saforcada (born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish retired footballer. Mainly a central defender he could also play on either flank, especially as a right back. He served as the longtime team captain for his only club Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004, going on to appear in almost 600 official games for the team and win 21 major titles, notably six La Liga and three UEFA Champions League championships. A Spanish international on 100 occasions, Puyol was part of the squad that won the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup tournaments. In the latter competition's semifinal, he scored the only goal of the match against Germany.



STEVEN GERRARD

          Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He has played much of his career as a central midfielder, but he has also been used as a second strikerholding midfielderright back and right wingerGerrard has spent his entire career at Anfield, making his debut in 1998. His honours include two FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two UEFA Super CupsGerrard became the sixth player to win 100 caps for England in 2012, and is currently third in the country's all time appearance list. He ended his international career in July 2014, having won 114 caps. Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world. In 2005, Gerrard was honoured as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. He has also been named in the PFA Team of the Year a record eight times, the UEFA Team of the Year and FIFA World XI three times, and was named PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2006 and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009. He is, to date, the only footballer ever to have scored a goal in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a Champions League Final.




FABIO CANNAVARO

          Fabio Cannavaro (born 13 September 1973) is a former Italian footballer and now a coach. He is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of all time and was given the name "Muro di Berlino" ("The Berlin Wall") by Italian supporters. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2006, making him the only defender to win the award in a decade.




JOHN TERRY

   John George Terry (born 7 December 1980 in Barking) is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre backposition and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League. He was also captain of the England national football team, holding the post from August 2006 to February 2010, and again from March 2011 to February 2012 .He is considered to be one of the best central defenders of his generation. Terry was named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009, PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005, and was included in the FIFAPro World XIfor five consecutive seasons, from 2005 to 2009. He was also named in the all-star squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the only English player to make the team. He wears the number 26 shirt for Chelsea. Terry is Chelsea's most successful captain, having led them to three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a UEFA Champions League since 2004. He is one of five players to have made over 500 appearances for Chelsea and is also the club's all-time highest scoring defender.





FRANK LAMPARD


     Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder,attacking midfielder or defensive midfielder for Manchester City on loan from New York City FC. He is the all-time leading goalscorer for Chelsea, where he played for 13 years and is considered by a number of journalists and football experts to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. He has been described by previous record goal-scorer Bobby Tambling and long-term teammate John Terry as Chelsea's greatest ever player.

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