Raul Gonzalez

Full name: Raúl González Blanco
Date of birth: 27 June 1977
Place of birth: Madrid, Spain
Height: 1.82 m
Playing position: Striker
Club Career: San Cristóbal de los Ángeles / Atlético Madrid / Real Madrid (Youth career) / 1994–2010 – Real Madrid – 550 – (228) / Schalke 04

Real Madrid: Although he started out with cross-town rivals Atlético Madrid, he began the 1994-95 season in Madrid’s C-team, but was promoted…

…to first team status by coach Jorge Valdano after impressing with sixteen goals in nine games. He became the youngest player (seventeen years and four months) ever to play for the senior side, scoring in his second senior game against derby rivals Atlético Madrid. In all, Raúl registered nine goals in 28 appearances to help Real Madrid win the 1994-95 league championship in his first season. Over the next eight seasons, he won several honours, including another three La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues. For most of this time, Raúl struck up a prolific scoring partnership with Fernando Morientes (and later, Ronaldo). Raúl took over the captaincy of Real Madrid when Fernando Hierro was transferred in 2003, a responsibility he held until leaving the club in 2010. Unusually for such a successful and long-serving player, and despite appearing in two finals, 2002 (in which he scored) and 2004, Raúl has never won the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup).

The club confirmed on 25th July 2010 that Raúl would be leaving the club, a day after Guti confirmed he too would be leaving the club after 25 years.

International career: Raúl began his rise in the international scene with the youth teams and was chosen to represent Spain at the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring 2 goals. He has scored a national record 44 goals in 102 caps for Spain. He is also second in terms of caps won for Spain, with 102. The former captain has made more international appearances for Spain than any other outfield player. Raúl was not chosen for Euro 1996 and had to wait until October 1996 to earn his first senior cap against the Czech Republic. He participated in three World Cups from 1998 to 2006, along with Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, scoring at least one goal in each of the three World Cup competitions. Raúl took over the team captaincy following the retirement of Fernando Hierro in 2002, but has not been chosen for the national team since September 2006, following a shock 3-2 defeat against Northern Ireland in Belfast (a game in which Raúl hit the post late on). In addition, he was not selected for the UEFA Euro 2008 final tournament (which Spain eventually won) as Luis Aragonés preferred Fernando Torres and David Villa. His clubmate and goalkeeper Iker Casillas succeeded him as captain.

Of his 44 international goals, Raúl scored 25 goals in competitive games, 6 of which were in the finals of major tournaments. In a Euro 2000 qualifier, on 27 March 1999, Raúl scored one of only two international hat-tricks during Spain’s 9-0 rout of Austria. Interestingly, another international hat-trick was scored 4 days later, against San Marino during the same qualifying tournament.

His nickname is derived from the portuguese translation of Dopey dwarf from Snow White tale, and was given to him by an uncle due to his short height.

Full name: Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri
Date of birth: October 31, 1963
Place of birth: Ijuí, Brazil
Height: 1.76 m
Playing position: Defensive midfielder
Club career: Internacional / Corinthians / Santos / Vasco da Gama / Pisa / Fiorentina / Pescara / Stuttgart / Júbilo Iwata / Internacional

Playing career: At the club level, Dunga played for Internacional (1980–84, 1999–2000), Corinthians (1984–85), Santos (1985–87), Vasco da Gama (1987), Pisa (1987–88), Fiorentina (1988–92), Pescara (1992–93), VfB Stuttgart (1993–95), and Jubilo Iwata (1995–98).

Internationally, Dunga played 91 times for Brazil, scoring six goals. His international career began in 1983 at the u-20 World Cup. Dunga captained the young Brazilian squad, winning the tournament against Argentina in the final. A year later, he helped Brazil to win a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Dunga then started to get calls for Brazil’s main squad, winning the 1989 Copa América by defeating Uruguay at the Maracanã Stadium.

In 1990, he was a starter for Brazil at the World Cup 1990. After a lackluster tournament and the subsequent elimination in the second round by arch rivals Argentina, Dunga was held responsible more so than his teammates for the worst campaign at a World Cup since 1966. In the following years, he would be consistently targeted by Brazilian press due to his supposedly thuggish style of playing. This period in Brazil’s football history was called “Era Dunga,” as according to fans and journalists he symbolized the less than thrilling, slow, and defensive style of the team. In spite of that, Brazil’s new coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept Dunga as one of the starting XI throughout the 1994 World Cup Qualifiers and Finals.

Raí actually started the 1994 World Cup as Brazilian captain but after a series of poor performances, he was dropped altogether for Mazinho. Dunga took the captaincy and went on to lift the trophy.

Four years later, although playing in the lower standard J. League in Japan, he captained Brazil once more to the final where they lost to France.

Dunga played the anchor role in midfield extremely effectively. Many other players in this position lunged into tackles and put themselves about, but Dunga rarely went to ground to make a tackle, instead using his anticipation and timing.

In 1994, he often served as the captain of the team. Dunga scored the third penalty kick in the finals against Italy. He assumed the captain role for the next four years until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 1998 tournament was notable for the lack of teamwork. It was often visible as Dunga got into a fight with teammate Bebeto in the first round match against Morocco, forcing the rest of the team to break them up. Dunga also scored in the fourth penalty kick in the shootout eventually won by Brazil against the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Management: Dunga was one of those considered to replace Vanderlei Luxemburgo in 2000 as the Brazilian national coach. Dunga refused the offer because he disliked the way in which the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was organized and managed its affairs.

On July 24, 2006, Dunga was named as the new national coach of the Brazilian national team as a replacement for Carlos Alberto Parreira, even though he has no prior coaching experience at professional level. However, he made an impressive start with Brazil, winning four of his first five matches. Zagallo has recently declared Dunga’s work as the head coach of the Brazilian national team is very satisfactory.Dunga has shown that he is a manager in the style of great Brazilian managers such as Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager during the 2002 FIFA World Cup victorious squad.

His first match in charge was against Norway which was played in Oslo on August 16; the game ended in a 1–1 draw. His second match was held against arch rivals Argentina on 3 September in Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium in London, in which Brazil defeated Argentina by a 3–0 scoreline. On September 5, they defeated Wales 2–0 at Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane ground. They later defeated Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait 4–0, Ecuador 2–1, and Switzerland 2–1.

Dunga did not just look for players on popular clubs, such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and AC Milan but looked at the whole scope of Europe, finding individual talents such as Daniel Carvalho, Vágner Love, and Dudu Cearense of Russian club CSKA Moscow. He also looks for players from local Brazilian clubs such as Corinthians, Flamengo, and São Paulo FC. Of the former “Magic Quartet,” Ronaldinho and Kaká were the only players who had a place in the Brazilian national side on those matches, until the next year when Adriano was called back in the squad for a friendly against Portugal, which Brazil lost 0–2. Dunga is yet to select the last member of the Magic Quartet, Ronaldo. In 2007, Dunga managed Brazil to their second straight Copa América title by beating arch-rivals Argentina in the final 3–0, who were heavily favored to win against a weaker Brazil squad. Dunga’s squad also won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa on June 28, 2009. The team came back from a 2–0 deficit against the United States to emerge victorious from a Lúcio header in the 84th minute that made the score 3–2.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Brazil made it to the quarter finals where they suffered a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands after having led the game 1–0. After Brazil’s exit from the competition, Dunga announced he would stand down as coach, but ended up being dismissed by CBF on July 4, 2010.

Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne (a suburb of Paris) where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Serie A defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.

Full name: Thierry Daniel Henry
Date of birth: 17 August 1977
Place of birth: Les Ulis, Essonne, France
Height: 1.88 m
Playing position: Striker/Winger
Club career: CO Les Ulis / US Palaiseau / Viry-Châtillon / Clairefontaine / Monaco / Juventus / Arsenal / Barcelona / New York Red Bulls
National team: France U20 – 5 – (5) / France – 123 – (51) (1997 – 2010)

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, he emerged as Arsenal’s top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year twice, was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to Barcelona for a fee of €24 million. His first honours with the Catalan club came in 2009 when they won the league, cup and Champions League treble. He went on to achieve an unprecedented sextuple by also winning the Spanish Supercup, the UEFA Supercup and the Club World Cup. In total, Henry has been named in the UEFA Team of the Year five times. He joined MLS side New York Red Bulls in 2010.

Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini’s record to become France’s top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. He married English model Nicole Merry in 2003 and had a daughter with her, but they divorced in 2007. Henry is also one of the top commercially marketed footballers; he was ranked ninth in the world in 2006.

International career: Henry has had a successful career with the France national team. His international career began in June 1997, when his good form for Monaco was rewarded with a call-up to the Under-20 French national team, where he played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trézéguet. Within four months, France head coach Aimé Jacquet called Henry up to the senior team. The 20-year-old made his senior international debut on 11 October 1997 in a 2–1 win against South Africa. Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that he took him to the 1998 World Cup. Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level, he ended the tournament as France’s top scorer with three goals. He was scheduled to appear as a substitute in the final, where France beat Brazil 3–0, but Marcel Desailly’s sending off forced a defensive change instead. In 1998, he was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest decoration.

Henry was a member of France’s Euro 2000 championship squad, again scoring three goals in the tournament, including the equalizer against Portugal in the semi-final, and finishing as the country’s top scorer.France later won the game in extra time following a converted penalty kick by Zinédine Zidane. France went on to defeat Italy in extra time in the final, earning Henry his second major international medal. During the tournament, Henry was voted man-of-the-match in three games, including the final against Italy.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup featured a stunning early exit for both Henry and France as the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage after failing to score a goal in all three games.France lost their first match in group play and Henry was red carded for a dangerous sliding challenge in their next match against Uruguay. In that game, France played to a 0–0 draw, but Henry was forced to miss the final match due to suspension; France lost 2–0 to Denmark.

Henry returned to form for his country at the 2003 Confederations Cup. Despite playing without team stalwarts Zidane and Patrick Vieira, France won, in large part owing to Henry’s outstanding play, for which he was named Man of the Match by FIFA’s Technical Study Group in three of France’s five matches. In the final, he scored the golden goal in extra time to lift the title for the host country after a 1–0 victory over Cameroon. Henry was awarded both the adidas Golden Ball as the outstanding player of the competition and the adidas Golden Shoe as the tournament’s top goal-scorer with four goals.

In Euro 2004, Henry played in all of France’s matches and scored two goals.France beat England in the group stages but lost to the eventual winners Greece 1–0 in the quarter-finals.During the 2006 FIFA World Cup Henry remained as one of the automatic starters in the squad. He played as a lone striker, but despite an indifferent start to the tournament, became one of the top players of the World Cup. He scored three goals, including the winning goal from Zidane’s free kick against defending champions Brazil. However, France subsequently lost to Italy on penalties (5–3) in the final. Henry did not take part in the penalty shootout, having been substituted in extra time after his legs had cramped. Henry was one of 10 nominees for the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament, an award which was ultimately presented to his teammate, Zidane and was named a starting striker on the 2006 FIFPro World XI team.

On 13 October 2007, Henry scored his 41st goal against the Faroe Islands, joining Michel Platini as the country’s top goal-scorer of all time. Four days later at the Stade de la Beaujoire, he scored a late double against Lithuania, thereby setting a new record as France’s top goal-scorer. On 3 June 2008, Henry made his 100th appearance for national team in match against Colombia, becoming the sixth French player ever to reach that milestone.

Henry missed the opening game of France’s short-lived Euro 2008 campaign, where they were eliminated in the group stages after being grouped together with Italy, the Netherlands and Romania. He scored France’s only goal in the competition in a 4–1 loss to the Netherlands.

The French team struggled during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and finished second in their group behind Serbia. During the playoffs against Ireland, Henry was involved in a controversy in the second leg of the game at the Stade de France on 18 November 2009. With the aggregate score tied at 1–1 and the game in extra time, he used his hand twice to control the ball before delivering a cross to William Gallas who scored the winner. This sparked a barrage of criticism against the Frenchman, while national team coach Raymond Domenech and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger defended him.The Football Association of Ireland lodged a formal complaint with FIFA, seeking a replay of the game, which FIFA declined.Henry said that he contemplated retiring from international football after the reactions to the incident,but maintained that he was not a “cheat”; hours after FIFA had ruled out a replay, he stated that “the fairest solution would be to replay the game”.FIFA President Sepp Blatter described the incident as “blatant unfair play” and announced an inquiry into how such incidents could be avoided in future, and added that the incident would be investigated by the Disciplinary Committee.Blatter also said Henry told him that his family had been threatened in the aftermath of the incident.In January 2010, FIFA announced that there was no legal basis to sanction Henry.

Henry did not feature in the starting line-up for France at the 2010 World Cup. France drew in their first game against Uruguay, and lost 2–0 in their second against Mexico. The team was thrown into disarray when Nicolas Anelka was expelled from the team, and captain Patrice Evra led a team protest by refusing to train.In the final group game against host-nation South Africa in which Henry came on as a second-half substitute, France lost 2–1 and were eliminated from the tournament. He then announced his retirement from international football, having won 123 caps and scored 51 goals for Les Bleus.

Thierry Henry: Henry had quit the National Team

French striker Thierry Henry has left the national team...

Contract with Barcelona after the end of the New York Red Bulls of the U.S. team was transferred to Henry, attended the press conference before the new form, leaving the national team said. France’s 1998 World Cup, European Championship winning team in 2000 in Henry, outside Barcelona, Monaco, Juventus and Arsenal played.

Henry, who played 124 times at the French national team, scored 51 goals the most in the national team players have won the title.

Thierry Henry joins the New York Red Bulls Video

Thierry Henry – France vs Ireland Handball Goal Video

Thierry Henry Legend All Arsenal Goals

Full name: Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Date of birth: 21 March 1980
Place of birth: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height: 1.82 m
Playing position: Winger / Attacking midfielder
Club career: Grêmio – Paris Saint-Germain – Barcelona – AC Milan

Ronaldinho, Portuguese for “Little Ronaldo,” is known in Brazil by the nickname “Gaúcho,” in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called “Ronaldinho” in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the “Gaúcho” and remain simply as Ronaldinho.

Prior to his move to Milan, he played for Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, with whom he won his first Champions League in 2006 and he won the Ballon d’Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.

International career: Ronaldinho is one of few Brazilian players to have played at every international age level. He was part of the first Brazilian team to win the FIFA U-17 World Championship in 1997, in which his first goal was a penalty against Austria in the first group match, which Brazil won 7–0. Ronaldinho finished with two goals and was awarded the Bronze Ball award as Brazil scored a total of twenty-one goals while only conceding two.

1999 was a busy year for Ronaldinho in terms of international play. He took part in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring his first goal in Brazil’s last group match. In the round of sixteen, he scored two first-half goals in a 4–0 win over Croatia, and finished with three goals as Brazil were eliminated by Uruguay in the quarterfinals. On 26 June, three days before the start of the 1999 Copa América, he earned his first cap for Brazil in a 3–0 win over Latvia, and he scored one goal during Brazil’s victorious Copa América campaign. One week after the conclusion of the Copa América, he was called up for the 1999 Confederations Cup, in which he scored in every match except the final, including a hat-trick in an 8–2 semifinal rout of Saudi Arabia. Ronaldinho did not score in the final, which Brazil lost 4–3 to Mexico. He won the Golden Ball award for the best player in tournament as well as the Golden Boot award for the tournament top-scorer.

In 2000, Ronaldinho participated in Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia with Brazil U-23 team. Earlier that year, Ronaldinho led Brazil to win the Pre-Olympic Tournament, scoring nine goals in seven matches. However in the Olympics, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinal by Cameroon, who later won the gold medal. Ronaldinho appeared four times and scored only one goal, which came in the quarterfinal defeat by Cameroon.

Ronaldinho participated in his first World Cup in 2002, as part of a formidable offensive unit with Ronaldo and Rivaldo, who were also on the 1999 Copa América winning squad. He appeared in five matches and scored two goals. The first goal came in the group stage match against China, which Brazil won 4–0. The second goal was a match-winning goal in the quarterfinal against England on 21 June. In the 50th minute, Ronaldinho took a free-kick from 35 metres, beating England goalkeeper David Seaman to give Brazil a 2–1 lead. However, seven minutes later, he was sent-off for a foul on England defender Danny Mills. He was suspended for the semifinal, but returned to Brazil’s starting lineup for the 2–0 victory over Germany in the final as Brazil won the World Cup for the fifth time.

Ronaldinho’s next international tournament was 2003 Confederations Cup. However, Ronaldinho did not manage to score any goals during the tournament as Brazil performed poorly and was eliminated in the group stage. The following year, he was left out from Brazil’s 2004 Copa América squad, as coach Carlos Alberto Parreira decided to rest his stars and used a largely reserve squad.

He was the capitain of Brazil to its second Confederations Cup title in 2005, and was named Man of the Match in a 4–1 victory over archrivals Argentina in the final on 29 June. Ronaldinho scored three goals in the tournament and is tied with Cuauhtémoc Blanco as the tournament’s all-time scorer with nine goals.

Ronaldinho Video

Ronaldinho started in all five of Brazil’s 2006 World Cup finals matches as part of a much-publicized “magic quartet” of offensive players, alongside Adriano, Ronaldo, and Kaká. However, the foursome finished with only five goals as Brazil disappointed as a whole in the tournament. Ronaldinho turned in his worst collective performance in his international career, going scoreless with only one assist, which was for Gilberto’s goal in a 4–1 group stage victory over Japan. He was a non-factor as Brazil was eliminated by France 1–0 in the quarter-finals, in which Brazil had only one shot on goal for the entire match. The team was harshly criticized by Brazilian fans and media following their return home. On 3 July, two days after Brazil’s elimination, vandals immolated and destroyed a 7.5-meter (23-foot) tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in Chapecó.The statue had been erected in 2004 to celebrate his first FIFA World Player of the Year award. That same day, Ronaldinho, joined by Adriano, returned to Barcelona and held a party at his home, which was continued into the early morning hours at a nightclub. This aggravated the hard feelings of many Brazilian fans, who believed that they were betrayed by the lack of effort from the squad.

Ronaldinho Goal Top 10 Video

On 24 March 2007, he scored twice in a 4–0 win over Chile, which marked his first goal since the 2005 Confederations Cup final and thus ended a scoreless streak that lasted nearly two years. He was not called up for the 2007 Copa América after asking to be excused from the tournament due to tiredness. On 18 October, he was controversially benched by Barcelona after he was late returning to Spain following Brazil’s 5–0 friendly win over Ecuador. He and several Brazil players celebrated the win by partying through the night at a posh Rio de Janeiro nightclub. Ronaldinho left at 11 a.m. the next morning, allegedly in the trunk of a car in order to avoid the media.

On 7 July 2008, Ronaldinho was named to Brazil’s 2008 Summer Olympics squad as one of the over-age players. Barcelona initially blocked the move because of his then-upcoming Champions League commitments with the club, but the decision was later nullified following Ronaldinho’s transfer to Milan, who in turn permitted him to make the trip to Beijing. Ronaldinho scored his only two goals in a decisive 5–0 victory over New Zealand before Brazil were beaten by Argentina in the semifinal. Brazil finished with the bronze medal after defeating Belgium 3–0 in the bronze medal match.

Despite having returned to good form and being named as a member of the 30-man provisional squad that was submitted to FIFA on 11 May 2010, he was not named in Coach Dunga’s final squad of 23 for the Brazilian squad in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup despite his deep desire to do so. Critics have claimed that the exclusion of players such as Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato, Adriano and Ronaldo signals a move away from the classic Brazilian attacking “Joga Bonito” style of play.

Lothar Matthäus (Germany), five times (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998)

Antonio Carbajal (Mexico), five times (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966)

Uwe Seeler (Germany) four times (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970)

Wladislaw Zmuda (Poland) four times (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986)

Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (Germany) four times (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970)

Pele (Brazil) four times (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970)

Djalma Santos (Brazil) four times (1954, 1958, 1962, 1966)

Gianni Rivera (Italy) four times (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974)

Pedro Rocha (Uruguay) four times (1962, 1966, 1970, 1974)

Diego Maradona (Argentina) four times (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994)

Giuseppe Bergomi (Italy) four times (1982, 1986, 1990, 1998)

Andoni Zubizarreta (Spain) four times (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998)

Enzo Scifo (Belgium), four times (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998)

Frankie van der Elst (Belgium), four times (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998)

Paolo Maldini (Italy) four times (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)

Cafu (Brazil) four times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)

Sami Al-Jaber (Saudi Arabia) four times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)

Of the SOLID TOURNAMENT MOST COUNTRIES: Brazil 18 / Italy 16 / Germany 16 / Argentina 14 / Mexico 13 / England 12 / France 12 / Spain 12 / Belgium 11 / Sweden 11 / Serbia – Yugoslavia 10

MOST SEMI-FINAL, FINAL CHAMPIONS AND SEE THE COUNTRIES:

CHAMPIONSHIP: Brazil (5) / Italy (4) / Germany (3) / Argentina (2) / Uruguay (2) / France (1) / England (1)

FINAL: Brazil (7) / Italy (6) / Germany (7) / Argentina (4) / Uruguay (2) / France (2) / England (1) / Netherlands (2) / Czechoslovakia – Czech Republic (2) / Hungary (2) / Swedish (1)

SEMI FINAL: Brazil (10) / Italy (8) / Germany (11) / Argentina (4) / Uruguay (4) / France (5) / England (2) / Netherlands (3) / Czechoslovakia – Czech Republic (2) / Hungary (2) / Swedish (4) / Poland (2) / Yugoslavia / Serbia (2) / Austria (2) / Portugal (2) / Belgium (1) / Chile (1) / USSR – Russia (1) / Spain (1) / United States (1) / Bulgaria (1) / Croatia (1) / Turkey (1) / South Korea (1)

FIRST RECORD AND WITH RESPECT TO THE COUNTRY AND PLAYERS:

The oldest footballer to play in World Cup history: 42 years of age 39 days last Cameroonian Roger Milla.

The youngest footballer to play in World Cup history: Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside. Whiteside, 1982, in Yugoslavia, came out the match just 17 years old.

Multiple trophies on those wearing the uniform of the country: Luis Monti (Argentina in 1930 and Italy 1934), Ferenc Puskás (Hungary in 1954 and Spain 1962), Jose Santamaria (Uruguay in 1954 and Spain 1962), Mazola (Brazil in 1958 and Italy 1962), Robert Prosinečki – Robert Jarni (Croatia, Yugoslavia in 1990 and 1998 ), the shortest World Cup career: Tunisian Khemais Labidi (1978 – 2 minutes against Mexico), Argentine Marcelo Trobbiani (1986 – 2 minutes against West Germany)

The first substitution: Anatoli Pusatch (USSR – in 1970 Mexico entered the game later in the game. The World Cup until the year 1970 was not a substitute)

Substitutions at the earliest: the Italian national team in 1998 with Alessandro Nesta’yı Giuseppe Bergomi, 2006, England, Michael Owen, Peter Crouch has changed in the fourth minute.

The oldest referee: English referee George Reader. Reader, 1950 Brazil-Uruguay final 236 days past the age of 53 he was managing.

The youngest coach Argentina’s national team coach, Juan Jose Tramutola. Argentina National Team at the helm of the Tramutola 1930, 27 years old.

The oldest coach: Gaston Barreau 70-year-old coach of France.

World Cup History – Statistics and Notes

Francesco Totti

Full name: Francesco Totti
Date of birth: 27 September 1976
Place of birth: Rome, Italy
Height: 1.80 m
Playing position: Striker / Attacking midfielder
Youth career: Fortitudo / Smit Trastevere / Lodigiani / Roma
Club career: AS Roma (1992 – ….)

Francesco Totti Top Ten Goals Video

…soonnn…..

Totti has won several awards in Italy during his career including a record five Italian Footballer of the Year awards and two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards.He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Totti is currently the top active Serie A goalscorer, and sixth all-time in league history with 192 goals.

International: Totti first came into international prominence while playing in the UEFA youth tournaments and won the UEFA under-21 championships in 1996. After starring with the Azzurrini in Italy’s Under-19 and Under-21 sides, he earned his first cap for Italy during a Euro 2000 qualifying victory against Switzerland on 10 October 1998.

Euro 2000: Italy went to Euro 2000 with Totti and he was in excellent form. He scored 2 goals during the tournament. The first goal against co-host nation Belgium in the first round and the second goal against Romania in the quarter-finals. Though Italy lost to France in the final, Totti was named the man of the match and he was selected for the 22-man Team of the Tournament.

2002 World Cup: Disappointment followed at the 2002 World Cup, with Totti failing to make a significant impact and then being sent off during Italy’s second-round loss to South Korea after being handed a controversial second yellow card by Byron Moreno for an alleged dive in the penalty area.

Euro 2004: Totti acquired a measure of infamy at Euro 2004 after he spat at Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen in a goalless draw on 14 June 2004. He was subsequently banned until the semifinals, but never made it back to action and finished the competition scoreless due to Italy’s elimination in the first round.

2006 World Cup: Though Totti recovered in time to join the national team for the 2006 World Cup, he was not completely in game shape after three months on the sidelines following his injury against Empoli, and played with metal plates in his ankle that had yet to be removed. He nonetheless was a regular fixture in the Marcello Lippi’s side. During the tournament he played behind the lone striker Luca Toni rather than as a pairing, notably scoring the controversial goal via a penalty in Italy’s 1–0 win over Australia on 26 June, and starting in the final against France until being substituted in the 61st minute. Italy went on to win the World Cup, and Totti was selected for the 23-man All-Star Team.

Retirement: Totti intended to retire from the Azzurri after the end of the World Cup, but reneged on his decision and remained undecided on his future for over a year and was never called up in the meantime. He made his retirement official on 20 July 2007, at the beginning of the 2007–08 Serie A season in order to focus solely on club play with Roma. The current Italy coach, Roberto Donadoni, attempted to get Totti to change his mind for the remaining Euro 2008 qualifiers but was not successful.

After the national team reunited with Marcello Lippi, Totti announced that he would like to play in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa if he got called up, however, no official statement release from both Totti and Lippi about possible comeback. In the event, Totti was not named in the final squad, and Italy was subsequently eliminated as a bottom place in their group, their worst ever group stage results in the history of the World Cup. Diego Maradona and former national teammates Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon commented one of the reasons for Italy’s early exit is that the Azzurri lack creative players like Totti.

Cafu was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He is best known for his tireless overlapping runs.

Club Career: São Paulo / Juventude / Zaragoza / Palmeiras / Roma / AC Milan

Full name: Marcos Evangelista de Moraes
Date of birth: June 7, 1970
Place of birth: São Paulo, Brazil
Height: 1.76 m
Playing position: Right back

International Career: Cafu is the most-capped Brazilian player of all time with 143, including 21 World Cup finals appearances. He has won two World Cups in 1994 and 2002, and is one of the few players that have participated in four consecutive tournaments, as well as being the first and to this day the only player to participate in three consecutive WC final matches. He earned his first cap in a friendly against Spain on 12 September 1990, and played sparingly for Brazil in the early 90s, making the 1994 World Cup roster as a substitute. He appeared in the final against Italy, following an injury to Jorginho in the 22nd minute. After that, Cafu was soon a regular in the starting eleven as Brazil won the Copa América in 1997 and 1999, and reached the 1998 FIFA World Cup final.

Brazil endured a rocky qualification for the 2002 tournament, during which Cafu came under heavy criticism from coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, who stripped him of the team captaincy after he was sent off in a qualifier against Paraguay. Shortly after that, though, Luxemburgo was out of a job, and replacement Luiz Felipe Scolari made Emerson his new choice for captain. However, Emerson missed the cut after he dislocated his shoulder in training, which allowed Cafu to regain the armband. After Brazil defeated Germany 2–0 in the final match, he stood on the victory podium during the postmatch celebration and, as he raised the trophy, shouted to his wife, “Regina, eu te amo!” (“Regina, I love you!”).

Cafu and Brazil fell short of high expectations placed on the squad four years later in 2006, as the Seleção meekly exited in the quarterfinals after a 1–0 defeat by France. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was criticized for featuring fading veterans, most notably the 36-year-old Cafu and 33-year-old Roberto Carlos, in the starting eleven in lieu of younger players. Cafu was one of only a few Brazil players who spoke to the press in the midst of a hailstorm of criticism from Brazilian fans and media alike following the team’s return home. He nonetheless expressed interest in participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he would be 40 years old. However, he has since retired from football altogether.

Cafu was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Cafu Video

Maldini’s father, Cesare formerly played for and captained Milan and is a successful national U-21 coach.

Full name: Paolo Cesare Maldini
Date of birth: 26 June 1968
Place of birth: Milan, Italy
Height: 1.86 m
Playing position: Left back / Centre back

Club Career: AC Milan (1978–1985)

International Career: In 1986, Maldini was called up by his father Cesare to the Italian U-21 side, where he earned twelve caps and scored five goals in two years. He made his Azzurri debut at the age of nineteen on 31 March 1988, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Yugoslavia, and made one appearance for Italy at the 1988 Olympics. Maldini featured in all four of Italy’s games at Euro 1988, and participated in his first World Cup in 1990, where Italy lost to Argentina in the semifinals on penalties.

Maldini’s first international goal came in his 44th career match, in a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico on 20 January 1993. He captained Italy at the start of the 1994 World Cup, losing to Brazil in the final on penalties. He was named in the Team of the Tournament, 32 years after his father received the same honor at the 1962 World Cup. Euro 1996 would see Italy eliminated in the group stage, and the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup. Italy did reach the final of Euro 2000, but lost to France in extra time.

After Italy were eliminated in the 2002 World Cup round of sixteen, Maldini retired trophyless from international competition as Italy’s most capped player. He scored seven international goals, all coming in home games. He spent over half of his 16 years as an international as team captain, wearing the armband a record 74 times.

In February 2009, Italian head coach Marcello Lippi declared his support for a testimonial match for Maldini, stating that it would give him a chance to play for the Azzurri for a final time. Italian Football Federation offered him a place in the line-up in a friendly match against Northern Ireland. However, Paolo Maldini rejected the offer, saying that he wanted to part with football in an “official” match.

Paolo Maldini Compilation Video

A defensive midfielder, he played mainly with Club Brugge, being regarded as a legend there, and briefly coaching the team in the 2000′s. Also, he was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers, in March 2004.

Date of birth: April 30, 1961
Place of birth: Ninove, Belgium
Height: 1.84 m
Playing position: Midfielder

Club Career: Molenbeek / Club Brugge (1978 – 1999)

UEFA: Beker Club Brugge – Borussia Dortmund 87-88 Video

La Louviéroise’de football began at the age of 14 RSC Anderlecht’e Scifo was transferred yet. In 1984 he won the gold shoes in Belgium. RSC Anderlecht’ten active career in another AS Monaco, Auxerre and Internazionale also played.

Left football in 2000.

Full name: Vincenzo Daniele Scifo
Date of birth: February 19, 1966
Place of birth: Haine-Saint-Paul, Belgium
Height: 1.78 m
Playing position: Attacking Midfielder

Club Career: Anderlecht / Internazionale / Bordeaux / Auxerre / Torino / Monaco / Anderlecht / Charleroi (1983 – 2001)

Enzo Scifo al INTER (1987-1988) Video