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Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká, is a Brazilian football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team.

He also holds an Italian passport, which enables him to play as an EU player. He started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of fifteen that he chose to focus on football.

In 2003 he joined A.C. Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of $89 million, smashing the previous record of Zidane, $75 million. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the United Nations’ World Food Programme.

- Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite was born in Brasília to Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite (a civil engineer) and Simone dos Santos (an elementary school teacher). He had a financially secure upbringing that allowed him to focus on both school and football at the same time. His younger brother Rodrigo (best known as Digão) and cousin Eduardo Delani are also professional footballers.

When he was seven, his family moved to São Paulo. His school had arranged him in a local youth club called “Alphaville,” who qualified to the final in a local tournament. There he was discovered by hometown club São Paulo FC, who offered an assignment.

At the age of 18, Kaká suffered a career-threatening and possibly paralysis-inducing spinal fracture as a result of a swimming pool accident, but remarkably made a full recovery. He attributes his recovery to God and has since tithed his income to his church.

São Paulo: Kaká began his career with São Paulo at the age of eight. He signed a contract at fifteen and led the São Paulo youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. He made his senior side debut in January 2001 and scored 12 goals in 27 appearances, in addition to leading São Paulo to its first and only Torneio Rio-São Paulo championship, in which he scored two goals in two minutes as a substitute against Botafogo in the final, which São Paulo won 2–1.

He scored 10 goals in 22 matches the following season, and by this time his performance was soon attracting attention from European clubs. Kaká made a total of 58 appearances for São Paulo, scoring 23 times.

AC Milan: The steady European interest in Kaká culminated in his signing with Italian club AC Milan in 2003 for a fee of €8.5 million, described in retrospect as “peanuts” by club owner Silvio Berlusconi. Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, and his Serie A debut was in a 2–0 win over Ancona. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, as Milan won the Scudetto and the UEFA Super Cup.

Kaká was a part of the five-man midfield in the 2004–05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored seven goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up in the Scudetto race. Despite Milan losing the 2004–05 Champions League final to Liverpool on penalties, he was nonetheless was voted the best midfielder of the tournament.

2005–06 saw Kaká score his first hat-tricks in domestic competition. On 9 April 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo; all three goals were scored in the second half. The following season, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4–1 group stage win over the Belgian side Anderlecht.

Andriy Shevchenko’s departure to Chelsea for the 2006–07 season allowed Kaká to become the focal point of Milan’s offense as he alternated between the midfield and striker positions. He finished as the top scorer in the 2006–07 Champions League campaign with ten goals. One of them helped the Rossoneri eliminate Celtic in the quarter-finals on a 1–0 aggregate, and three others proved fatal for Manchester United in the semi-finals, despite Milan losing the first leg.

Kaká added the Champions League title to his trophy case for the first time when Milan defeated Liverpool on 23 May 2007. Though he went scoreless, he won a free kick that led to the first of Filippo Inzaghi’s two goals, and provided the assist for the second. For his stellar play throughout the competition, he was voted the Vodafone Fans’ Player of the Season in a poll of over 100,000 UEFA.com visitors. On 30 August, Kaká was named by UEFA as both the top forward of the 2006–07 Champions League season and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

He played his 200th career match with Milan in a 1–1 home draw with Catania on 30 September, and on 5 October, he was named the 2006–07 FIFPro World Player of the Year. On 2 December 2007, Kaká became the eighth Milan player to win the Ballon d’Or, as he finished with a decisive 444 votes, long ahead of runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo. He signed a contract extension through 2013 with Milan on February 29, 2008.

Due to his contributions on and off the pitch, Time magazine named Kaká in the Time 100, a list of the world’s 100 most influential people, on 2 May. On 14 October, he cast his footprints into the Estádio do Maracanã’s sidewalk of fame, in a section dedicated to the memory of the country’s top players. He won the honor again in 2009.

BBC reported on 13 January 2009 that Manchester City made a bid for Kaká for over £100 million. Milan director Umberto Gandini replied that Milan would only discuss the matter if Kaká and Manchester City agreed to personal terms. Kaká initially responded by telling reporters he wanted to “grow old” at Milan and dreamed of captaining the club one day, but later said, “If Milan want to sell me, I’ll sit down and talk. I can say that as long as the club don’t want to sell me, I’ll definitely stay.” On 19 January, Silvio Berlusconi announced that Manchester City had officially ended their bid after a discussion between the clubs, and that Kaká would remain with Milan. Milan supporters had protested outside the club headquarters earlier that evening, and later chanted outside Kaká’s home, where he saluted them by flashing his jersey outside a window.

Real Madrid: On 3 June 2009, Football Italia reported that newly-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez had offered Milan a €68.5 million deal for Kaká, two days after the player had left for international duty with Brazil. Milan vice president Adriano Galliani did not deny the reports, and confirmed that he and Kaká’s father, Bosco Leite, had traveled to Mexico to meet with La Volpe. “We had lunch and spoke about Kaká. I don’t deny it.

Negotiations exist, but a deal has yet to be done.” On 4 June, Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport that financial reasons were his motive for the talks with La Volpe. “We cannot allow -Milan- to lose €70 million The reasons behind Kaká’s departure would be economic.” On 8 June, Milan and Real Madrid confirmed Kaká has moved to the Bernabéu on a six-year deal.

Kaká made his unofficial debut in a friendly against Toronto FC, and scored his first goal for Madrid during a preseason match against Borussia Dortmund, which Madrid won 5-0. He scored his first official goal for Real Madrid on week 5 against Villareal from a penalty kick. On 5 August 2010, Real Madrid announced that Kaká had undergone successful surgery on a long-standing left knee injury and will face up to four months on the sidelines.

Mesut Özil (born 15 October 1988) is a German footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team.

Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, when he debuted for first professional league season and a member of the German national team since 2009.

He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award which is awarded to the tournament’s best player. Following his breakout performance at the World Cup, he was transferred to Real Madrid in August 2010.

His nicknames include “der neue Diego” – the new Diego – in reference to the Brazilian playmaker whose role he inherited at Werder Bremen and “German Messi” for his remarkable playmaking and ball control resembling Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi’s. Özil is a third-generation Turkish-German, who, in reference to his game, concludes, “My technique and feeling for the ball is the Turkish side to my game. The discipline, attitude and always-give-your-all is the German part.”

Mesut Ozil Freekick 2-0 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid 2-0 – Goals & Highlights – 07/11/2010 Video

Real Madrid: Due to his performances in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he ensured his place among Europe’s top young talents, with Real Madrid wasting little time in signing him ahead of the 2010-11 season. On 17 August 2010 Werder Bremen announced that they had reached an agreement with Real Madrid. The transfer fee is believed to be in the region of €15m. He made his debut on 22 August in a friendly match against Hércules, which Real Madrid won 3-1.

He then made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid as a substitute for Ángel di María in the 62nd minute against Mallorca, which Real Madrid drew 0–0. Özil made his season debut in Champions League on 15 September. He got his first assist with Real Madrid in the 74th minute against Ajax after he crossed in the ball, resulting in a Higuaín goal. Özil’s performances for Real Madrid have been praised by media, fans and players.

He walked off the pitch as a second half substitute to standing ovations in his first two games as a starter at the Santiago Bernabéu. His first goal came in a league match against Deportivo La Coruña on 3 October 2010, in a 6–1 victory. Özil’s first Champions League goal with Real came in the 14th minute against Milan on 19 October 2010. He scored two other goals in the league matches, one against Racing de Santander, and another from a wonderfully struck free kick which the Atlético Madrid keeper could do nothing about.

International career: In September 2006, Özil was called up for the Germany U-17 team. Özil has been a member of the German U-21 team since 2007. On 29 June 2009, Özil was the catalyst in a 4–0 win over England during the U-21 European Championship final.

He made his debut for the Germany national football team during a friendly match against Norway on 11 February 2009. He scored his first goal for the senior team in his third appearance, another friendly, against South Africa on 5 September in Leverkusen.

2010 World Cup: He was selected for the Germany national squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, starting in the team’s first four games. He scored a left-footed half-volley from the edge of the 18 yard box against Ghana in the final group game, ensuring Germany progressed to the second round as group winners. On 27 June 2010, he played in Germany’s win over England in the last 16 match, setting up the fourth goal with a cross to Thomas Müller as Germany triumphed 4–1. During the quarter-final match against Argentina he assisted the second goal for Miroslav Klose with a low cross to make it 4-0 to the Germans. Germany went on to win the match 4–0. FIFA announced him as one of the ten nominations for the Golden Ball.

Biography

The hard-working England international midfielder arrived at White Hart Lane from Newcastle United in August 2005.

Since then, Jermaine’s consistent performances has become an integral part of the Spurs engine room.

In his maiden campaign, ‘JJ’ was a key member of the side that earned a top five Premier League finish, scoring seven goals along the way.

Another eight goals during 2006-07 proved that Jermaine was one of our main goalscoring threats from midfield.

But arguably his best season to date was the 2007-08 campaign, when his six goals in 45 appearances played a key role in our run to the Carling Cup Final at Wembley in February 2008, where we defeated Chelsea to claim our first trophy in nine years.

Two of those goals came in each leg of the memorable semi-final against North London rivals Arsenal, during which Jermaine was the outstanding player.

In July 2008, he signed a new five-year contract at the Club, and continued to impress with four goals in 39 appearances during the 2008-09 season.

Jermaine made his name at hometown club Nottingham Forest, whom he captained at 17, before a high-profile switch to Premier League Newcastle in February 2002, aged just 18. He made 149 appearances for the Toon, scoring 12 goals.

He was first capped at senior level by England as a 19-year-old in a friendly defeat against Australia at Upton Park. Despite only coming on as a half-time substitute, he was still awarded the Man of the Match award.

Jermaine has since gone on to win over 20 caps for his country, without ever really being a regular at international level – much due to the staunch competition he faces from messrs Gerrard and Lampard in his position.

He did, however, score the first goal of Fabio Capello’s reign as Head Coach in a friendly win over Switzerland at Wembley in February 2008 and regained his place in the Three Lions fold after a year out of the frame, playing 90 minutes in a friendly defeat against Brazil in November 2009.

A combination of injuries and the form of Tom Huddlestone, Wilson Palacios and later Luka Modric in central midfield restricted JJ to 23 appearances including 13 starts in all competitions in 2009-10.
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Biography

The lightning England international winger was in the form of his life before his 2009-10 campaign was cut short by injury.

‘Azza’ was flying in the first half of the season. He scored back-to-back winners against Birmingham and West Ham and bagged a number of assists as he started 18 of our first 20 matches.

However, a groin problem then got the better of him in late December and he didn’t return to action until April 24 as a substitute at Old Trafford.

He started the final two matches of the season but his form over the campaign was enough for inclusion into Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad – his second World Cup Finals at the age of 23.

Aaron joined us as an 18-year-old from hometown club Leeds United in July 2005 and burst onto the scene during his maiden campaign.

He scored two goals in 29 games before earning a shock call-up to the Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England squad for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.

Aaron went on to bolster his Premier League experience in 2006-07 with 24 appearances in all competitions, netting five goals including a famous winner against Chelsea at the Lane in November, 2006.

He was part of the side that won the Carling Cup at Wembley in February 2008, and has now played nearly 200 games for the Club.

Aaron was named the supporters’ Player of the Season for 2008-09 as he terrorised left-backs up and down the country during his 47 games in all competition, earning a new five-year contract at the Club in March 2009 as well as a recall to the England senior squad the same week.

Before joining Spurs, Aaron had already made history at White Hart Lane by becoming the youngest Premier League player ever after coming off the bench for Leeds against us in August 2003 for his senior debut aged 16 years and 129 days old.
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Biography

The stylish midfielder has earned the reputation as one of the country’s best young players since joining us as an 18-year-old from Derby County in July 2005.

In November 2009, Tom won his first senior England cap when he represented the Three Lions in a friendly with Brazil held in Doha, Qatar.

The call-up came on the back of an impressive start to the 2009-10 campaign, in which Tom started every single Premier League game, mainly in the heart of midfield but also at centre-half when needed, right up until Boxing Day!

In the end, he started more Premier League games than anyone else (33/38) and made more starts (41/50) in all competitions than anyone apart from goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who made 42.

Tom also played a key role as we finished fourth in the Premier League, partnering Luka Modric in central midfield in those huge wins against Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton and Manchester City – not forgetting his wonderful strike to beat Bolton 1-0 at the Lane on May 1.

His form earned a call into Fabio Capello’s provisional 30-man World Cup squad, but he was unfortunately cut from the final 23.

Having played only 31 games in all competitions during the previous season, the statistics go to show the effort the big man has made to become one of Harry Redknapp’s most important players.

A product of Derby County’s youth academy, Tom made his senior debut aged just 16 in August 2003, and went on to make 95 appearances for the Rams before arriving in N17.

During the early part of his Spurs career, Tom was loaned out to Wolverhampton Wanderers for further Championship experience, where he made 13 appearances and scored one goal – ironically against Derby at Pride Park, for whom he never found the net in two seasons!

Tom returned from Molineux to make his Spurs first team debut in a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham in January 2006.

During the following campaign, the England Under-21 international established himself in the first team at The Lane, scoring three goals in 35 games.

Still only 20 years of age at the beginning of the 2007-08 campaign, Tom still had to work hard to prove himself as a first-choice central midfielder at the highest level.

But as the season progressed, Tom made the most of every opportunity given to him, and ended the campaign with his best return of both goals and games for the Club to date – four in 43.

He was a member of the side that won the Carling Cup at Wembley in February 2008, and it soon led to England Head Coach Fabio Capello first showing an interest in Tom.

In May 2008, he was called up to the senior England squad for the first time for end-of-season friendlies with USA and Trinidad & Tobago.

Although Tom did not get on the pitch over the two games, he would eventually get his chance to perform on the biggest stage.

The arrival of Redknapp as Spurs manager in October 2008 saw Tom’s career kick on another level, and he was even given the captain’s armband for the first time in a UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie with Shakhtar Donetsk in February 2009.

Before gaining his first senior honours, Tom had been a regular England youth international, representing his country at Under-15 level through to Under-21s, where he won over 30 caps.
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Biography

The England international midfielder joined from Blackburn Rovers in July 2008 in what the local lad described as a dream move.

And David had soon written himself into Spurs folklore with one of the best goals ever seen in a North London derby – a 40-yard volley in the memorable 4-4 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates in October 2008.

‘Bents’ played 35 games during his first season at Spurs, scoring twice, while also netting two goals in two Reserve games.

The form of Aaron Lennon on the right-hand side of Harry Redknapp’s midfield continued to restrict David’s first-team opportunities into the 2009-10 campaign but injury to ‘Azza’ in December opened the door and David started 10 of 16 games in the winger’s absence.

He made 133 appearances for previous club Blackburn – scoring 21 goals – after initially joining on loan from Arsenal in August 2005, the move being made permanent in January 2006.

David is a product of the academy at Arsenal and made nine first-team appearances for the Gunners, spending a season on-loan at Norwich City during his time there.

The 23-year-old has now won six senior England caps after previously representing his country at B, Under-21 and Under-20 level.
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Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American soccer player who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS. He plays usually as a withdrawn forward, and can also be used as an attacking midfielder on either wing.

A member of the inaugural class of the U.S. Soccer residency program in Bradenton, Florida, Donovan was declared player of the tournament for his role in the national U-17 team that finished fourth in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship, before signing for Bayer Leverkusen. After six years with the club, the majority of which was spent on loan at the San Jose Earthquakes, Donovan moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005, though he returned to the Bundesliga for a three-month spell at the start of 2009 on loan to Bayern Munich.

For the United States national team, Donovan is the all-time leader in scoring and assists, and has the most caps of all active players. He is a three-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year award (including the only male to win in consecutive years), as well as the only six-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award.
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Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, (born 5 February 1985) commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after being transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest paid football player in the world.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo’s precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.
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Adrian Mutu (born 8 January 1979) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina.

Club career: Argeş Piteşti: 41 (11) / Dinamo Bucureşti: 33 (22) / Internazionale: 10 (0) / Verona: 57 (16) / Parma: 31 (18) / Chelsea: 28 (10) / Juventus: 41 (8) / Fiorentina: 92 (54)

Argeş Piteşti: Mutu began his professional career with his home club Argeş Piteşti. He made his debut on 15 March 1997 against Oţelul Galaţi and went on to score 11 goals in 41 games before sealing a transfer to Dinamo Bucureşti.

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Joseph John “Joe” Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English footballer who joined Liverpool, subject to medical examination, in July 2010. He played for West Ham United from 1998 to 2003 before joining Chelsea. He is also a member of the England national team. He started his career with West Ham United where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003. He won a number of trophies with Chelsea, including three Premier League titles and two FA Cups before leaving on a free transfer in Summer 2010.

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