Ronaldo The Phenomenon - Who Know Him Best?

Full Name : Luiz Nazario de Lima, Ronaldo

Birthday : 22nd September 1976

Place of Birth : Bento Ribeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Position : Striker

Legendary Ryan Giggs

Full Name : Ryan Joseph Giggs

Birthday : 29th November 1973

Place of Birth : Canton, Cardiff, Wales

Position : Winger

"I've been at United since I was 13 and I'm very fond of the club and the fans, they have been an integral part of my life."

1. On 16 May 2009, Giggs became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals.

2. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993)

3. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, held on 21 May 2008, Giggs surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the club's all-time leader in appearances

4. Giggs made his League debut against Everton at Old Trafford on 2nd March 1991

5. Giggs has never been sent off when playing for Manchester United and only once when playing for Wales in 2003 match against Norway

6. Giggs was only 17 years and 321 days old when he first played for Wales in a match againts West Germany

7. Giggs represented England at youth international level because he was attending a English school but then went on to represent his birth country, Wales at senior level

8. Giggs was named in the Football League 100 legends then he was given an OBE (Officer in The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2007

9. Giggs is the only player to have scored in eleven consecutive Champions League tournaments

10. Giggs is the only player to have scored in every Premier League campaign since its inception

11. On Giggs' fourteenth birthday Alex Ferguson went to his home in Swinton, Manchester, to ask him to sign schoolboy forms

7 Facts About Karim Benzema

Full Name : Karim Benzema

Birthday : 19th December 1987

Place of Birth : Lyon, France

Position : Striker

One of the hottest young prospects in the game, Benzema, despite his tender age, has already received world-wide praise for his performances in the French Ligue 1 and for France on the international stage.

1. Of Algerian descent, Benzema has been likened to Zinedine Zidane

2. Took over the number 10 shirt from the retired Zinedine Zidane

3. Before joining Lyon, he trained at local Rhône-Alpes club Bron Terraillon SC in the commune Bron, a suburb of Lyon

4. A "pure product" of the Olympique Lyonnais youth system, having been born in Lyon, he came through the youth ranks and began his career at the top level at the age of 16

5. Benzema made his league debut for Lyon on January 15, 2005 in a match against Metz

6. Before representing France, Benzema was eligible for Algeria and was called up to the squad by the Fédération Algérienne de Football in December 2006, but turned them down stating, "Algeria is my parents’ country and it is in my heart, but football-wise I will only play for the French national team"

7. On 28 March 2007, Benzema won his first cap for France against Austria, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win for France

8 Facts About Kaká

Full Name : Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite

Birthday : 22nd April 1982

Place of Birth : Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Position : Attacking Midfielder

1. His brother Rodrigo, created his nickname because he could not pronounce his real name

2. Kaká began his life with myopia and a rare bone deficiency, and was considered too weak to make it into football

3. At the age of 18 Kaká suffered a spinal fracture in a swimming accident, but escaped paralysis

4. Until he had laser eye surgery, Kaká could barely see without his contact lenses or glasses

5. Kaká twice been voted Brazil's sexiest footballer

6. Fans of AC Milan doubt Kaká signing by saying "We already have Rivaldo and Rui Costa, maybe we needed a defender”

7. Kaká made his debut with Brazil on 31st January 2002, in a 6-0 win over Bolivia.

8. In 2008, Kaká was voted as the FIFA World Player of the Year

10 Facts About Wayne Rooney

Full Name : Wayne Mark Rooney

Birthday : 24th October 1985

Place of Birth : Croxteth, Liverpool, England

Position : Striker

Wayne Rooney is an amazing forward, however, he is sometimes criticized for his bad temper and him swearing a lot in matches.

Facts

1. Manchester United just signed Wayne Rooney before the summer transfer window was closed. When Manchester United signed him, he was 18 and Manchester United gave him an great contract with great clauses

2. Wayne Rooney burst onto the Old Trafford stage in September 2004, netting an unforgettable hat-trick against Fenerbahce on his debut

3. Wayne was only sixteen years old when he first played for Everton againts Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park

4. Rooney became the youngest player to play for England when he earned his first cap in a friendly against Australia on 12 February 2003 at seventeen, the same age in which he also became the youngest player to score an England goal. Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott broke Rooney's appearance record by 36 days in June 2006

5. Rooney met his wife, Coleen Rooney (née McLoughlin), while both were in their final year of secondary school. They married on 12 June 2008 after six years of dating

6. Wayne clocks up 9.70 m/s. And that’s not too far off the pace of a sprinter like Maurice Greene who weighs in at just over 10 m/s

7. Rooney has signed lucrative contracts with Nike, Nokia, Ford, Asda and Coca Cola. His marketing value is estimated at €46 million, making him the third-highest rated football player behind Ronaldinho and David Beckham. As a side note, he is featured on 500 million Coca-Cola cans

8. Rooney’s childhood football hero is former England and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer

9. Rooney has a cross tattoo on his upper right arm and a Coleen tattoo on his left

10. During a football match, on average Wayne walks for 4,000m, jogs for 4,800m, runs for 1500m, light sprinting for 1000m and 500m sprinting

"I love playing football but I think I am like everyone else, I hate losing and love winning. And if the time comes when I am not disappointed when things are definitely not going right, then that's when people should worry"

Lionel Messi The Wonderboy

Full Name : Lionel Andres Messi

Birthday : 24th June 1987

Place of Birth : Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

Position : Striker/Right Winger

1. He started playing football when he was just five years old at a club which was coached by his father

2. At the age of 11, Leo stop playing football because he have disease called hormone deficiency which disturbing his growth

3. Lionel Messi joined Barcelona in 2000 at the age of 13. Initially playing for the Under 14s, Messi moved up the ranks through the club’s Youth, C and B teams before joining the first team squad in record time

4. In 2003 he debuted for Barcelona in an unofficial game against FC Porto and after one year he debuted officially on Nou Camp against RCD Espaniol and became the third-youngest player ever to play for FC Barcelona and youngest club player who played in La Liga (record broken by Bojan Krkić in September 2007)

5. At 18 Messi played for Argentina in the Under 20 World Cup and won the title. He was also voted best player of the tournament and was its leading goal scorer

6. Argentinean great Maradona has named Messi as his natural successor

7. The Spanish press have nicknamed him ‘Messidona’

8. When he came on to the pitch against Serbia and Montenegro in the 2006 World Cup, Messi became the youngest player to play for Argentina in a World Cup tournament. His goal in this match made him the youngest scorer of this World Cup and the sixth youngest scorer in the history of the tournament

9. The season 2005/2006, the Italian newspaper Tuttosport awarded him the Golden Boy 2005 title for the best under-21 player in Europe

10. Messi’s nickname with the Barcelona fans is Leo

Fabolous Fabregas

Full Name : Francesc Fabregas Soler

Birthday : 4th May 1987

Place of Birth : Vilessoc de Mar, Spain

Position : Central Midfielder

1. Fàbregas started his career as a youth player with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003

2. Named best player as well as top goal scorer in the FIFA U17 Championships 2003

3. In his youth career with Barcelona, he mostly played as a defensive midfielder, yet he managed to score 30 goals in one season

4. Moved to Arsenal in a transfer deal worth £2.25m

5. He became Arsenal's youngest ever player when he made his debut in a League Cup match

6. He became Arsenal's youngest ever goalscorer when he scored in Arsenal's 5-1 hammering of Wolves

7. He became the youngest player in Spanish football history to participate in a World Cup

8. He won the 07/08 PFA Young Player of the Year

9. On 24 November 2008, Fàbregas was named as the successor to William Gallas as Arsenal captain

10. Has his own one-time only television programme, called "The Cesc Fàbregas Show: Nike Live"

Simple Ronaldinho Facts

1. At the age of 13, Ronnie scored all 23 goals in a 23 - 0 victory for his youth team

2. Many top teams tried to buy him when he played for Gremio in Brazil. But he signed for PSG in 2001

3. Barcelona claim they turned down a world record bid of £60m from Chelsea for Ronnie 4 years ago

John Terry The Painless Captain

Full Name : John George Terry

Birthday : 7th December 1980

Place of Birth : London, England

Position : Centre Back

John Terry ignored a dislocated elbow to play in the 2008 Champions League Final. And its not the first time he's played through the pain. Check this out.

December 2006 (His Back's Gone!)
An op removes a disc from his back. JT's back in training 24 hours later

February 2007 (Knocked Out!)

He is knocked out cold in the Carling Cup Final against Arsenal and swallows his tongue. But he checks himself ot of hospital to take part in Chelsea's celebrations

July 2007 (Broken Toe!)

A pre - seasons game in Korea ends in disaster when JT breaks his toe. But this doesn't stop him as he carries on playing for Chelsea with painkilling injections

September 2007 (Busted Cheekbone!)

JT smashes his face against Fulham but is in action just four days later againts Valencia, wearing a horror mask

October 2007 (Knee Surgery!)
Has emergency surgery on his knee and misses out on only three England internationals

December 2007 (Battered Bones!)

Breaks three bones in his feet during the match against Arsenal. This sees him miss out on the England captaincy in Fabio Capello's first game

May 2008 (Dislocated Elbow!)

JT bashes his elbow but the ambulance medic pops it back into place. He watches the second half back at the ground

Amazing Facts of Bojan Krkic

Bojan Krkic is held to have a killer instinct in front of goal and, despite his youth and slight stature, is more than able to handle experienced defenders. He can show a devastating turn of speed, mature positional awareness and is extremely skillful on the ball

Full Name : Bojan Krkic Perez

Birthplace : Linyola, Spain

Date of Birth : 28th August 1990

Position : Forward

1. Bojan joined Barça in 1999 and has had one of the fastest moves through the ranks. He played in Alevi A (2001-2), Infantil B (2002-3), Infantil A (2003-4) and Cadet B (2004-5) He joined the Cadet A squad in 2005-6 but then moved straight up to Juvenil A before moving into the Barça B team in 2006-7

2. In the first half of his season with Barça B he scored 10 goals and became the team’s top scorer

3. During his time in the Barcelona youth set up the player scored 961 goals in seven years breaking all youth goal scoring records

4. Bojan played his first match for the Spanish Under 21 team at the young age of 16

5. He has won the European Under 21 Championship with Spain (2007) and was a runner up in the 2007 Under 17 World Cup where he was voted third best player and won the Bronze Ball

6. Bojan made his Champions League debut as a sub for Messi and became the youngest player to play in a Champions League game

UEFA European Under 17 Championships

A quick striker, with quite notable dribbling skills, Bojan shot to prominence at the UEFA European Under 17 Championships in Luxembourg in May 2006 when he was joint top-scorer. He achieved this despite being a year younger than most of the other players in the tournament and only playing 45 minutes in four out of five of Spain Under-17s matches

He scored a hat-trick against Luxembourg before inspiring his side to a 3-0 victory over the eventual champions Russia, with all of the goals of the game being scored with him on the pitch as a second half sub. In the third match of the tournament, he scored a penalty after once again being introduced at half time

He started the semi-final against the Czech Republic but after his team mate Roberto Garcaa was sent off, Spain struggled and lost 2-0 in a shock result. In the third-place play-off Bojan was once again a second half sub and scored the opener on 53 minutes. When the match went to penalties, he scored and his side won 5-4 to finish third

23 Facts About David Beckham

Full Name : David Robert Joseph Beckham

Birthday : 2nd May 1975

Place of Birth : Leytonstone, London, England

Position : Midfielder

1. 10-year old David immediately knew he wanted to attend the famous Bobby Charlton Football Academy when he was he saw a commercial for it while watching children's favorite Blue Peter

2. At the age of 11, David won the Bobby Charlton skills award and won a two week trip to train with Barcelona F.C

3. When David was 12, he was made Manchester United's team mascot for a game against Ham

4. Art was David's favorite class at secondary school

5. David's personal sponsors include Adidas, Police Sunglasses, Castrol, TBC, Marks and Spencer, Tsubasa Systems, Meiji, Upper Deck, Pepsi, and Vodafone

6. In April 2007, David revealed a new tattoo of a guardian angel engulfed in flames. The tattoo includes words from a Roman poem. Translated, they read: Let them hate as long as they fear

7. He has the number 7 written in Roman numerals VII, on his right forearm. This represents the shirt number he wore when he played for Manchester United

8. In 2007, David insured himself for $250 million - one of the most expensive policies in the world. The policy covers David for injury on the field, serious illness and disfigurement

9. David wears a new pair of soccer shoes for every game he plays in

10. With his goal against Ecuador in World Cup 06, David became the first English player to score in three different World Cups

11. David first signed for Manchester United on 8th July 1991, but he didn't make his debut until 1992

12. David’s first number with Manchester United was 10. He switched to #7 after Eric Cantona left the team

13. Playing for Manchester United since the 8th of July 1991, David had received many trophies. 7 League titles (93, 94, 96, 97, 99, 00, 01) 3 FA Cups (94, 96, 99), 1 League Cup (92), 1 Champions League (99), 1 European Supercup (99) and 1 Intercontinental Cup (99)

14. David made 394 appearances and scored 85 goals at Manchester United

15. David has twice finished second in voting for the World Footballer of the Year, in 2000 and 2001

16. David was traded from Manchester United to Real Madrid for 23 million euros in the year 2003

17. David signed with US Major League Soccer's 'Los Angeles Galaxy' in 2007 for an estimated $128 million

18. More than a quarter-million Beckham Galaxy jerseys were sold before David joined the team in July of 2007

19. Ford Escort was David's first car

20. David named his third son Cruz because he was born in Spain

21. David is known for his impeccable sense of style, and has been called one of England's "best dressed" in various polls

22. Said to be one of the largest grassroots sports initiatives in the UK, David's soccer academy is part of the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Dome site on the Greenwich Peninsula

23. David was Google's top searched sports topic in both 2003 and 2004

7 Facts About Cristiano Ronaldo

Full Name : Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Birthday : 5th February 1985

Place of Birth : Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Position : Winger/Striker

1. Ronaldo was nicknamed "cry-baby" as a child. His mother Dolores Aveiro said, "When he got home from school I'd tell him to do homework but he'd say he didn't have any. I'd be making dinner and he would jump out of the window and run off until late. He used to cry when he passed and his friends didn't score. People called him 'cry-baby' and 'little bee' because nobody could catch him"

2. He was an amazing player even at 11 years old. Paulo Cardoso, his first coach at Sporting Lisbon, said: "When he got the ball he went past two or three players. At the end of the game the players gathered around him, they knew he was a special kid"

3. Jose Mourinho likened Ronaldo to Marco van Basten, the former Holland striker. Mourinho said: "I remember the first time I saw him play. It was for Sporting youth. I told my assistant, 'There goes Van Basten's son.' He had great technique. He stood out"

4. As a teenager Ronaldo would train in the gym using weights on either foot and then dribbling with the ball. He thought it would improve his technique because without weights he would be even faster

5. Liverpool decided Ronaldo wasn't good enough a year before he signed for United for £12.2 m from Sporting in 2003. After the winger played against United in a friendly Sir Alex Ferguson said: "At half-time I knew I had to sign this boy. He was sensational"

6. There is only one Cristiano Ronaldo but there are two Ronaldos. As coach of Brazil, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who worked with the other Ronaldo, said: "I hoped Cristiano would be as good one day. He just doesn't stop, no matter how much you demand of him"

7. Ferguson had no hesitation in handing Ronaldo the No 7 shirt. He said: "We've had some fantastic No 7s, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, some wouldn't want that jersey but his confidence was high even at 18. When he made his debut as substitute against Bolton he took the place by storm"