zidane

Zinedine Zidane was born June 23, 1972, in Marseille, France. Zidane got his start in football (known as soccer in North America) at an early age, when he joined the US Saint-Henri club.

He moved on to Septemes Sports Olympiques after the coach convinced the director of the club to sign him. After leaving Septemes at the age of 14, Zidane participated in the first year junior selection for the league championship, the same year he was discovered.

His beginning with Bordeaux was hard on 24-year-old Zidane, as it forced him to adapt, but once he did, he did so with flying colours. Not only did Bordeaux qualify every year that Zidane played with the team, but Bordeaux also qualified for the UEFA Cup through Intertoto and went to the final in 95-96, Zidane's last year with the team.

At the same time, Juventus sought out Zidane, and after his four crucial seasons with Bordeaux, he moved to Torino. Again, Zidane was forced to adapt to the Italian way of playing as well as to the lifestyle, but after his first year, he was a bona fide star.

In 2000 France added the European Championship to their achievements. His further honours include European Footballer of the Year (1998) and FIFA World Footballer of the Year (1998, 2000, 2003). In 2001 he signed for Spanish club Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of ₤47·2 million, and his annual income is estimated at around ₤5 million.

In 2004, Zidane was named best European football player of the past 50 years by the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and was included in the FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballers. In 2006, he was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He retired after the finals that year

Bergkamp

Dennis BergkampDennis Bergkamp was part of a particular group of strikers: those guys that seem harmless 85 minutes of the match, only to blast the other team into oblivion for the remaining 5. Bergkamp will probably remain known in the history book of soccer by three things: his fear of flight that didn't allow him to join overseas matches, his incredible goals (fewer than many other strikers, but definitely more artful) and his loyalty for English side Arsenal London, for whom Bergkamp played for 11 seasons.

Dennis Bergkamp was born on May 10th 1969 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He was named after the famous Manchester United's player Denis Law. For years, his parents would take him and his brothers to England on holiday, and his love for English football developed during his childhood years. His family were Manchester United fans, but Dennis admired Tottenham Hotspur's Glenn Hoddle the most. "Maybe I was . . . maybe I am, a little different from other players. They will tell you that Pele, Maradona, Cruyff are their idols and I will say Glenn Hoddle." Bergkamp said.

Dennis joined the Ajax youth team when he was 12. "The normal things for professional players now, I already did when I was 12 years old. I didn't have time to go out. If we had a game on Saturday, I would stay in on Friday night. I didn't smoke, I didn't drink. I stayed in on Saturday nights and Sunday to do my homework so I could train two or three times a week." He explained. But even the hard work was not enough to please the coaches at Ajax, they thought young Bergkamp was too lightweight, and not physically strong enough to be a soccer player. For years, he struggled in the youth team.

However when Johan Cryuff returned to Ajax as Manager, he discovered Bergkamp's talent and brought him into the first team. Bergkamp made his Ajax debut at the age of 17 and he soon secured his place. His position in Ajax was behind two forwards, he created chances for his teammates, but was also able to score himself. Bergkamp set a record in the Dutch league by scoring in ten consecutive matches. He won many medals with Ajax.


His success at the club earned him his first cap. Bergkamp made his first international appearance against Italy in September, 90, and two months later he scored his first goal for his country againt Greece. In 1992, Holland went to Sweden as a favorite to win the European Championship. Bergkamp played along side with his superstar teammates such as Gullit, van Basten, Rijkaard, and Koeman. Bergkamp played well and he scored 3 goals before Holland lost to Denmark in penalty shootout.

His excellent performance in Euro 92 attracted attention from some of the most famous clubs in Europe. In the summer of 1993, Dennis Bergkamp joined Inter Milan. Johan Cruyff disapproved it beacause he felt that Bergkamp would not play well in the denfesive style of Inter. But Bergkamp wanted a challenge, and he chose Inter over clubs like AC Milan and Bacelona, where football was played more similar to the attacking ajax system.

Van basten

Marco Van Basten
Although no one can reach Johan Cruyff's throne as the most important Holland soccer star of all time, van Basten came close enough and definitely closer than anyone else could. His tremendous career at Ajax and AC Milan as well as his goals for the Holland national soccer

team made a lot of people see Cruyff's successor in van Basten. Unfortunately, after several successful seasons with AC Milan and winning the European Championship with his home country in 1988, van Basten suffered a career-ending injury at one of his ankles, when he was just age 30.

Marco van Basten was born on the 31 October 1964 in the Dutch city of Utrecht, where he started his football career at the age of seven. Marco's first club was a local team, UVV. After spending there ten years, he then moved to an other club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk. However, his professional career began in 1981, when seventeen-year-old Marco was spotted by Ajax's scouts. Being aware of great prospects lying ahead, Van Basten agreed to join the famous football club from Amsterdam. Marco's great potential was immediately recognised by Ajax coaches and physiologists. As for a great striker, in his debut (April 3, 1982) Van Basten scored a goal. What's more, in that match he substituted the famous Dutch footballer - Cruyff.

During the next season Marco placed the ball in the net nine times. However, the most important event in 1983 was his debut in the Dutch national team, on the 7th of September, in a match against Iceland. Van Basten scored his first goal for Oranjes only three weeks later, in a very prestigious match against the immemorial opponents, Belgium.

Marco was unrivalled in the Dutch Eredivisie, unstoppable to the defenders and lethal to the goalies. Being four times the top scorer in domestic league, Van Basten also won the Golden Boot Award in 1986 with 37 goals in only 26 matches! During his rip-roaring stay in Ajax Marco scored 151 goals, appearing in 172 games and that outstanding performance was sealed with the victory in the Cup Winner's Cup. As befits for a champion, he found the way to the net in the final itself as well.

Leaving Ajax Amsterdam was now just a question of time. There were plenty of great clubs lining up to sign a deal with Van Basten, including FC Barcelona but Marco decided to move to AC Milan, which was being rebuilt by Italian mogul, Silvio Berlusconi. The transfer was a dream-deal for Via Turati club which paid only 800 000 dollars for the 22-year-old Oranje megastar. In the end, two other Dutch superstars, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard also became Rossoneri. At that time nobody could expect the trio would rule the European football for the next five years.

Although The Flying Dutchman scored a goal in his debut against Pisa (13.09.1987), the first season was far from a dream-one. Marco appeard in only 11 matches, scored just 3 goals and spent most of the season recovering from an ankle injury. The same injury turned out to be lethal to his career a few years later. The club, however, succeded winning for the first time since 1979 the Italian Championship. The Rossoneri also suceeded in the Italian Super Cup.

rijkaard

Frank Rijkaard
Together with Gullit and van Basten, Rijkaard formed an internationally renowned midfield triangle for both his club, AC Milan and his national side. Based on this triangle, AC Milan had a tremendously successful period, winning the European Cup (today's Champions League) twice and the Serie A championship on two editions. The same success soon came on at national level as well, as Holland won the 1988 European Championship with a team based on the three magnificent players. Although Frank Rijkaard didn't stand out as much as Ruud Gullit or van Basten, since he had a more defensive role in the squad, but playing alongside his two "side-kicks" he would form an unstoppable midfield for any team.

Frank Rijkaard (born September 30, 1962 in Amsterdam) is a former Dutch football player. He has been the manager of FC Barcelona since 2003. In one of his less glorious moments Frank spat at Rudi Völler during the match with Germany at the World cup1990.

Frank Rijkaard, was born in Amsterdam, and broke into the Ajax senior squad in 1980, at the tender age of 17.He under coach Leo Beenhakker in the season 1980-81, immediately scoring for his team in the 4-2 victory over Go Ahead Eagles. He would play another 23 games for Ajax in his first season netting a total of 4 goals. In 1982 he would win his first National Championship with Ajax, and would defend that title a year later. In 1987, what would have been Rijkaard's fouth year under Dutch football legend Johan Cruijff as head coach, Rijkaard stormed off the training field and vowed never to play under him again. He was signed by Sporting Lisbon, but just too late and he was ineligible to play in any games. He was immediately loaned out to Spanish team Real Zaragoza and upon completing his first season after leaving Ajax was signed by Italian side AC Milan.

Ruud gullit

Ruud Gullit
Gullit was one of the most important Holland soccer stars during the 80s and 90s and he was amongst the first to define the "complete midfielder". That meant that he could play almost any position in midfield his coach would place him in, from a defensive role to a supporting playmaker or an attacking midfielder. Together with Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, he succeeded in bringing Holland their first international cup ever, winning the 1988 European Championship.

Ruud Gullit (born September 1, 1962) was a Dutch star football player of the 80s and 90s. He was European Footballer of the Year in 1987, and World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989.

He was born in Amsterdam and his career started with Haarlem before moving to Feyenoord and then PSV Eindhoven. He was taken to Italy by Silvio Berlusconi, who paid the then record fee of £6 million for him. Playing for the great A.C. Milan team of the late 1980s, which starred, among others, fellow countrymen Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, Italian world class players Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, he helped Milan capture three Serie A titles and two European Cups (1989, 1990) during Milan's amazing five year reign from 1988-1992. He was well known for his heading and jumping ability, among his other creative talents as an outstanding offensive midfielder. Widely agreed to be one of the best and most creative players from the Netherlands, he was also one of the core group of players that led the Netherlands to the {{Ec|88}} title, to date, the only international title the Netherlands has achieved.

He was appointed manager of Newcastle United in 1998 where success was initially promised, with an FA Cup Final appearance in his first season. The following season, however, results and fans began to turn against him, and a well-publicised contretemps with star striker and local hero Alan Shearer did his survival prospects no favours. He also fell out with Newcastle captain Robert Lee. Ruud Gullit resigned as manager of Newcastle United only 5 games into the 1999-2000 season, following a home defeat to local rivals Sunderland. Popular opinion had it that he resigned as manager before he was pushed out. He spent several years limited to occasional football punditry. Gullit became manager of Feyenoord before the start of the 2004/2005 season.

Cryuff

Johan Cruyff
Cruyff is considered THE most important Dutch soccer player of all times and he gained legendary status wherever he played, be it for Ajax Amsterdam, FC Barcelona or even Feyenoord. Cruyff is also considered third in a list of the best all times soccer players, following Pele and Maradona closely (some even say he was over Maradona, as Maradona had feats of brilliance combined with poor games, whereas Cruyff kept a high standard for himself all throughout his career). He redefined modern soccer as we know it with his game style and vision on the pitch and many football specialists agree that Johan Cruyff was one of the smartest and most calculated players ever to feel the grass of a soccer stadium.

Same as with most young boys born in Amsterdam, the Ajax youth academies were Johan Cruyff's first choice and he started playing for the club in 1957, at age 10. He played for 7 years throughout Ajax's youth systems, standing out as one of the best players of his generation (and that's not an easily obtainable performance, when you're part of the best youth club system in the World).


In 1964, he was taken to the first team and had his debut in the Dutch first division short after, even managing to score on his first game for Ajax (Ajax lost to GVAV 3-1 though). Despite this, he didn't have a first team place until the 1965-66 season, when he started catching the eyes of the press, and even the national squad staff. He scored 25 goals in 23 games that season and emerged surprisingly high in the Dutch top scorer competition, considering his young age.

But his best season at Ajax would be the 1966-1967 one, when Cruyff would score 33 goals becoming top goalscorer and helping Ajax to an amazing league-cup double. He would repeat this feat in the 1969-1970 season, but unfortunately 1970 also brought him a serious injury that kept him off the pitch for some time. All in all, in his first 9 years with the Dutch club, Johan Cruyff managed to win 6 league titles, 4 Dutch cups and 3 European Cups (today's Champions League equivalent).

He was also named European Footballer of the Year twice while here, namely in 1971 and 1973. But in the summer of 1973, after winning almost everything he could have won with Ajax, Johan Cruijff decided it's time for a move and accepted FC Barcelona's offer, who was trying to get him for the past 3 years.

pele

Pele's family of origin is a poor Brazilian family, descended from African and Portuguese ancestors with little or no formal education or qualifications. They lived in an extended family situation and were Roman Catholic. In 1940 they lived in a Favela (an area of poor housing with little or no running water, electricity) in the town of Tres Coracoes, in the state of Minas Gerais on the southeastern area of Brazil. That Pele has held a Government post, and visited over 88 countries, has met with ten kings, five Emperors, seventy Presidents and 40 other Heads of States including 2 Popes, holds a University qualification and has been voted to be the Sports Person of the Century is remarkable. As an African Portuguese descendant, growing up in Brazil, it would be significant enough to be able to read and write. Brazil's society has and still excludes these people from rising above their poverty through the large numbers that still cannot read, write or share in the countries wealth.
Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele climbed a steep mountain from living his youth in a poor Brazilian family, to becoming one of the most beloved figures in the modern history of sports. His father was a footballer himself, playing for Fluminense in the Brazilian league and it was only natural that young Pele would follow his father's footsteps in the game.
He wasn't always known as Pele though. Rumor has it that this nickname was given to him in primary school, as he kept misspelling the name of one of his favorite players at that time, Vasco Da Gama's goalkeeper Bile.
His schoolmates gave him this new nickname and mostly made fun of him, so he obviously disliked it; so much that he punched the fellow classmate that coined the nicknamed. However, in time, he gradually became used to it and even started liking it and it wasn't long before everyone knew the soccer wonderkid as Pele.
Living in poverty, he couldn't afford soccer equipment, nor a soccer ball. He shined shoes for an extra coin that would help him and his friends stitch up a newspaper-filled sock to use as a football. He formed a team with his neighbors from the Sete de Setembro street and even participated in a youth tournament, where the team earned the nickname "the shoeless ones" because none of the kids could afford to waste their walking shoes (if any) on playing soccer.
A few years later, each member of the team worked hard for the extra money to get a proper pair of shoes and renamed their team to Ameriquinha. Participating in numerous youth tournaments with Ameriquinha, Pele made a name for himself at a tender age for his prowess in front of goal, becoming top scorer in almost all of these tournaments.
At the tender age of 15, he caught the eyes of one of the biggest teams in Brazil, FC Santos, who offered him a contract and by 16 he was already a member of the senior squad. He spent almost his entire career at Santos, since European transfers weren't that popular back, although the final 2 years of his career were spent at New York Cosmos, before Pele finally hanged his boots.
Pele made his debut in the Brazilian soccer team in the same year he debuted at Santos' senior squad, when he was just 16 years old. Amazingly, he was taken on to the 1958 World Cup squad, at age 17, becoming the youngest player in the competition. He even scored a crucial goal in the quarterfinals against Wales, a goal which took Brazil past that stage and into the semis.
But Pele was saving the best for the final: meeting Sweden, he scored a magnificent goal, lobbing the ball past a defender and volleying it into the net, eventually winning the final for Brazil. After the match ended, the effort and the joy bundled up and the 17-year old Pele couldn't take it, passing out on the field and needing medical attention.
As a soccer player, Pele attended 3 more World Cups, between 1962 and 1970, winning the first and latter. He was the first player ever to score in 4 different World Cups and in 1970 he achieved a unique performance that boosted him to the heights of international soccer: he scored 1,000 official goals for club and country.
Although many dispute this record or try to bring it down, saying that soccer wasn't as defensive or tactical back than as it is today (which is partially true), his merit of being a major stand pole on the international soccer stage between the mid 50s all the way to the late 70s should not be undermined. Named best soccer player in the World and athlete of the 20th century, Pele now acts as an ambassador for soccer and fair play.