Biography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC

Zlatan Ibrahimovic born October 3, 1981 is a Swedish football player of Bosniak and Croatian descent. He plays as a striker. He currently plays for Inter Milan, in Italy, and for the Sweden national football team.
Ibrahimović was born in Sweden as the son of immigrants from former Great Serbia. His father was born in Bijeljina (Republika Srpska) and his mother in Knin (Krajina). His parents met in Sweden and Zlatan grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighborhood known for its immigrant communities, where he also successfully completed junior high school (ninth grade). Although, thereafter admitted to Borgarskolan in Malmö, he soon discontinued high school in order to focus on his football career. Ibrahimović began playing football at the age of ten. His initial local club was called FK Beli Orlovi, whose participants unsurprisingly were Serbian and Somalian immigrants of the Rosengård neighborhood. In 1995 he joined Malmö FF.
Other than Wenger, Leo Beenhakker also showed interest in Ibrahimović after observing him practicing in La Manga, Spain. Watching Ibrahimović score an amazing goal in a training game against Norwegian side Moss, Beenhakker became convinced of his talent. He went back to Amsterdam and on March 22, 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Zlatan's transfer to Amsterdam was announced and in July of the same year, he joined Ajax for record-breaking €7.8 million. The deal is by far the most lucrative any Swedish side has struck.
Ibrahimović received little playing time under manager Co Adriaanse, but when Adriaanse was sacked on November 29, 2001, new coach Ronald Koeman inserted Ibrahimović into the starting lineup as Ajax won the 2001-02 Eredivisie title. The next season, Ibrahimović scored twice in a 2-1 victory over perennial French champions Olympique Lyonnais in his first career Champions League match on September 17, 2002. He scored four CL goals overall for Ajax, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals by A.C. Milan.
Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for a €19 million transfer fee. He made it rather quickly in to the starting eleven. This was due in part to the fact that the team's top scorer, David Trézéguet was injured, in part to Zlatan being one of coach Fabio Capello's favorite players (Capello had tried to get him already at Roma), but mostly thanks to Ibrahimović's fine performances. He scored 16 goals, and this was in a league that is considered to be very hard for strikers to score in (especially for a foreign striker).
Ibrahimović made his debut in the Swedish national team in a goal-less friendly match against Faroe Islands January 31, 2001. The match only featured players from the Scandinavian Leagues. The first competitive game he played in for the national team was the World Cup qualifying game against Azerbaijan in October 7 the same year. Ibrahimović was included in Sweden's 2002 World Cup squad that managed to go through to the finals despite playing in the Group of Death against Argentina, England and Nigeria. He only played for 45 minutes but nearly made the telling contribution in Sweden's eventual Golden Goal defeat at the hands of Senegal.
Ibrahimović contributed heavily to Sweden's successful attempt to qualify to the 2006 World Cup. Both Sweden and Ibrahimović were thought to under-achieve in the tournament, though. He was substituted at half time in one game, against Paraguay, and did not participate in another, against England, due to a groin injury. How much his performances in the other games were affected by this is hard to know. Sweden was knocked out in the 2nd round by Germany.
Mellberg and Wilhelmsson grudgingly accepted the punishment, but Ibrahimović felt that it was unjust. Thus, he refused to take part in the following games against Iceland and Spain. Sweden went on to win these matches without Ibrahimović. He also refused to take part in a friendly match against Egypt on February 7, but it has been reported lately that Ibrahimović agreed to return to Swedish national team. On March 28th, 2007, in a European Championship Qualifier game, Zlatan made his return. In the last match against Denmark Ibrahimović, responded to his critics, mesmerizing the audience with brilliant football, earning standing ovations as well as the Man of the Match award.
Ibrahimović is 192 cm tall and powerfully built, and thus physical strength is one of his greatest assets. Since his arrival in Italy, he has become even stronger, since coach Fabio Capello, who is known to prefer physically strong players, ordered him to undergo a gym training program. It has been suggested by Ibrahimović himself that he might have added a couple of kilos too much, and that this contributed to the poor form in the spring of 2006.

Biography Of Alessandro Nesta

ALESSANDRO NESTA

Alessandro Nesta was born in 1976 in Rome, Italy.
His first love was the SS Lazio football, in which he defended the shirt of the club for 10 years.
Was progressing through the youth ranks, reaching the first team in the 1995-1996 season, where he was captain and led the blue team to get the Cup Winners Cup in 1999.
In August 2002, Alessandro was transferred to AC Milan for the large sum of 30.2 million euros.
On arrival at the Rossoneri, Nesta formed an excellent defensive pairing with compatriot Paolo Maldini, being a really great defense.
Those two were the team leaders to get the Italian Cup.
Also won the Champions League by UEFA, through penalties, in the final by defeating the mighty Juventus.
Was convened for the first time the Italian team in 1996, playing for the under-21.
With the largest made its debut at Euro 2000, where Italy was runner-up.
He played in the World Cup Korea-Japan 2002 and Euro 2004, and although the World Cup in Germany in 2006 did not play due to injury, just as Italy was champion.

Biography Of Mario Ballotelli

MARIO BALLOTELLI

Mario was born in Palermo on August 12th, 1990. In 1992, at the age of two, he begins living with his new Italian family, in Brescia, the Balotellis. Right away his new mum, dad, and older brothers and sister, give him the love and attention a son or brother deserves.
FIRST STEPS He is only five years old when he shows his desire to play football. Therefore he begins playing with a small team in his neighbourhood and later in Mompiano's parish (Brescia). Due to his exceptional technical skills he moves very soon to the Youth Team.
In 2001 he joins Lumezzane AC, a local football club. When he's 15 years old he gains his first cup with the ProTeam (Padova-Lumezzane, Stadium Euganeo, 2nd April 2006). His promotion to the senior side of the Lumezzane club is made possible by a special permission from the C-League, as in order to play with the Pros one must be at least 16 years of age. Mario is the youngest player in C-League history.
DEALS FOR HIS CONTRACT In the summer of 2006 teams from both the A and B leagues fight to get this extraordinary young talent, with terrific dribbling and acrobatic skills, as well as an extraordinary play vision and a superb right kick. Lumezzane AC signs with Fiorentina and seems unwilling to deal with anyone else. In the meantime Mario spends five days in Barcelona for a trial. FC Barcelona's managers, people with great experience of talented youth players, are positively enthusiastic about this great young player. At Camp Nou, Mario scores eight goals and gains some unforgettable memories.
His brothers, Corrado and Giovanni, owners of an export consultant company, start long and difficult deals aiming to find the most suitable team. Their objective is to find a team where Mario may continue his studies and, at the same time, grow as a complete, professional football player.
Problems arise during negotiations with foreign clubs due to Mario’s citizenship. According to the Italian law, he must wait until after his 18th birthday in order to request the Italian citizenship. He is not yet an Italian citizen, although he was born in Italy and has never left the country.
FC INTERNAZIONALE On the last valid day for contract signing, Internazionale FC offers Mario a serious project of personal and professional growth. Therefore, on 31st August 2006, Mario moves to the Moratti's team.
He plays with the Under 16 Team and becomes the unofficial leader. Creating terror for the opposite defenders, he scores an average of 19 goals in 20 plays. After four months with the Allievi Nazionali he moves to the youth team (Under-20 Primavera) and again, he cannot stop! He scores 8 goals in 11 plays! These are important scores. On 28th April 2007, playing against Genoa, he scores two goals and Internazionale pass into the quarter final (see video). On may 2007, he scores with no fear the penalty kick (on the 90 minute) in the Youth League Final in Bressanone against Sampdoria, giving FC Internazionale the "Scudetto" (see video).
DEBUT At 17 years old Mario made his First Team debut on December 17, 2007, stepping onto the field 2 minutes before the end of the Series A League Cagliari-FC Internazionale football match. It is only an appearance. The chance for playing arrives shortly thereafter on December 19, 2007, in Reggina-FC Internazionale at the Reggio Calabria’s stadium (see video).
Mario plays for 90 minutes and scores two goals. During the Christmas holidays Mario flies to Brazil, being hosted by the Mata Escura-Mata Atlantica Project in Salvador de Bahia. Immediately he makes friends, organizing football games with the kids of the Project. From the favelas of Brazil where he has spent New Year’s Eve, Mario goes to Dubai in the Emirates with the First Team of FC Internazionale. There he plays in the Dubai Cup.
ITALIAN TIM CUP With the new year, other opportunities to play in important football matches with the Series A League soon arise. In the Italian Cup, Mario plays first at San Siro stadium (FC Internazionale-Reggina), then at the Olimpico in Turin (Juventus-FC Internazionale). It is with the latter match (January 30, 2008) that the overall Italian nation discovers Mario, who scores two beautiful goals against Juventus, the second one being decisive for victory. He makes the headlines: the media talk about Mario as a 17 years old "phenomenon".
CHAMPIONSHIP Mario's contribution to the First League team becomes more and more important in the last matches of the Championship. He's the author of the winning goal in Atalanta-FC Internazionale (April 6, 0-2) and FC Internazionale-Fiorentina (April 13, 2-0). The goal he scores in Bergamo is his first in the Serie A Championship (see video), after those he scored in the Italian Cup against Reggina and Juventus. One week later, in San Siro, he celebrates with another goal in his first match as titular (see video).
Also, in Torino-FC Internazionale (April 20, 0-1) and in FC Internazionale-Cagliari (April 27, 2-1) Mario plays the titular, working for the team as a veteran football player. In the derby Milan-FC Internazionale (May 4) he steps onto the field only 25 minutes before the end of the match when the final result not looking good for his team (2-0). Then he plays titular in FC Internazionale-Siena (May 11, 2-2) where he scores the second goal with a header. In addition to the goal all the penalties and free kicks are credited to Mario (see video). On May 18th, in Parma-FC Internazionale (2-0), Mario becomes champion of Italy at 17 years old. The match is played in a heavy rainstorm, but FC Internazionale gains the "Scudetto". As usual Mario receives credit for all the free kicks and penalties which he performes superbly and professionally.

Biography Of Javier Hernandez

JAVIER HERNANDEZ

Javier Hernandez Balcazar is a Mexican footballer who is also called the popularly as Chicharito or by his name Javier Hernandez. He currently plays for English Premier League side Manchester United. He is regarded as one of the exceptional talent to come from Mexico in recent years. Aged only 23, Javier Hernandez has already played in some of the most high-profile matches.
Javier Hernandez started out his career with Chivas Coras, which is a Mexican club that is quite popular across the world. He initially started out playing for the lower division team of Chivas and soon made the grade into the first team. His debut for Chivas came in the match against Necaxa in 2006, which Chivas managed to win quite handsomely. Javier Hernandez came on as a substitute during the match and ended up scoring Chivas’ fourth goal. Even though it was his first goal in more than seven appearances, his talent did not go unnoticed amongst the top scouts who were watching the game.
Javier Hernandez began appearing frequently for the first team of Chivas in the 2008 season. His performances improved dramatically in the 2009 season when he scored a lot of goals. These performances attracted the attention of some of the top clubs across Europe like Manchester United and Real Madrid. However, Manchester United decided to wait for another year before signing Javier Hernandez. The decision proved to be highly crucial in the development of the player, who again showed impressive performances in the 2010 season.
His major move to Europe came when C.D. Guadalajara officially accepted a bid from Manchester United. Even though the transfer fee was undisclosed at the time, it was later revealed that Javier Hernandez was signed for £8 million. Many questioned Manchester United’s decision to spend such a lot of money on a player who has been proven in the big stage. However, Manchester United’s faith in the player was richly rewarded in the 2010-2012 season. Javier Hernandez made his Manchester United debut in the FA Community Shield match against Chelsea, and scored in his first ever match for the club.
Javier Hernandez did not get first team opportunities straightaway due to the impressive performances of Dimitar Berbatov. However, as Berbatov’s form dropped during the middle stages of the Premier League season, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson kept his faith on Javier Hernandez to restore his club’s advantage in the title race. Javier Hernandez repaid that faith brilliantly by forming a great partnership with Wayne Rooney to help United coast to the title.
Javier Hernandez played a crucial role in Manchester United winning the title. He scored a total of 13 goals in 27 appearances in the League alone for the Red Devils. Overall, he made 45 appearances and scored 20 goals in the process. He made his debut for the national team in 2009, and has so far represented the team in 29 appearances. Even more impressive is the 21 goals that he has scored in these matches internationally.

Biography Of Dimitar Berbatov

DIMITAR BERBATOV

Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov was born on 30 January 1981 and is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United. He is captain of the Bulgarian national football team.
Berbatov was born in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. His father was a professional footballer with local outfit Pirin Blagoevgrad, and his mother Margarita was a professional handball player. As a youngster, Berbatov supported AC Milan and modelled himself on Marco van Basten until the 1996 UEFA European Championship in England, when the then fifteen year old discovered a new role model in Alan Shearer, formerly of Newcastle United, even sleeping in a Newcastle shirt. His mother later spoke of Dimitar's dream of playing for Newcastle one day. Outside of football, he lists his hobbies as drawing and basketball.
Berbatov's career began at the Pirin Blagoevgrad club, and continued until he was spotted by legendary scout and coach Dimitar Penev.
At the age of just 17, Berbatov moved to CSKA Sofia following in the footsteps of his father, Ivan, who also played for the club as a left winger and later as a defender. He played for CSKA in the Bulgarian A PFG between 1998 and January 2001 making his debut as an 18-year-old in the 1998–99 season.
A run of nine goals in 11 games in 2000–01 was enough to persuade Bayer Leverkusen to sign Berbatov in January 2001. Berbatov had a slow start to his Leverkusen career with just 16 goals in his first 67 appearances for the club.
In 2001–02 Leverkusen were runners-up in the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. During the 2002–03 Bundesliga season Berbatov established his place as the first-choice forward at Bayer Leverkusen but it was not until the 2003–04 season that he really began to shine scoring 16 goals in 24 starts. The following two seasons saw him go from strength to strength, netting another 46 goals including five in the Champions League 2004–05 raising awareness of his talent and generating interest from teams throughout Europe.
In May 2006, Berbatov joined Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of €16m, (£10.9 million) making him the most expensive Bulgarian player in history.
Due to his highly impressive displays, especially in the latter half of the season, he won the Tottenham Hotspur player of the season award in 2006–07. Berbatov was also included in the FA Premier League's PFA Team of the Season on 21 April 2007, one of only three players in the team not to play for league winners Manchester United.
After much speculation, Berbatov completed a move to Manchester United on 1 September 2008 for a fee of around £30.75 million, with Fraizer Campbell joining Tottenham on a season-long loan as part of the deal.

Biography Of Nicolas Anelka

NICOLAS ANELKA

Nicolas Sebastien Anelka is a French international footballer who plays in the Barclays Premier League for Chelsea FC. After conversion to Islam, Anelka changed his name to Abdul-Salam Bilal. Nicolas Anelka first broke through into the scene with Arsenal, who signed him from Paris St Germain. He began his youth career with Trappes Saint-Quentin and was famously part of the Clairefontaine academy before being involved in the Paris St Germain youth academy.
Arsene Wenger spotted the youngster, who was known for his exceptional pace. Arsenal decided to take the gamble in buying the youngster, but played a relatively low fee of just £500,000 in 1997. Anelka’s first goal came in the match against Manchester United, but he found first-team opportunities limited in his first season with Arsenal. However, an injury to first-team player Ian Wright provided Anelka with the opportunity to impress Arsene Wenger. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands, as he scored 17 goals from 35 appearances.
It brought him to the attention of Spanish side Real Madrid who decided to pay a whopping £22 million in 1999. This transfer fee also made Anelka a record signing for Real Madrid. Even though he started extremely well, he soon found opportunities limited and did not settle well in his new surroundings. As a result, Real Madrid decided to send him back to Paris St Germain in order to help his confidence. He spent two seasons with PSG, who had bought him for £20 million.
After failing to settle in France, Anelka was loaned to English Premier League club Liverpool. It proved to be a success for both club and player, but Liverpool did not show any interest in signing the player on a permanent deal. As a result, Anelka decided to leave for Manchester City in a £13 million deal. He spent three seasons with City, the most memorable of which came in 2003-04 when he scored 24 goals from 43 appearances.
After spending three seasons with City, Anelka was on the move once again, with Turkish club Fenerbahce deciding to sign the player for £7 million. However, he spent only one season with Fenerbahce before returning to Bolton for £8 million. This proved to be a major decision on the career of the player, but he stayed only for two more seasons with Bolton before moving to Chelsea in a £15 million deal.
So far, he has made the most appearances in his career for Chelsea – 125. In total, clubs have spent a whopping £90 million on Anelka, putting him at the top of the pile when it came to the total transfer fees paid.
Anelka made his international debut for France in 1998 and officially retired in 2010. He had made 69 appearances and scored 14 goals. Over the years, Anelka has won the Premier League and the Champions League in his club career, while the European championships is the most prominent trophy he has won internationally. Anelka has also won the Barclays Golden Boot in the 2008-09 season.

Biography Of Thierry Henry

THIERRY HENRY

Thierry Daniel Henry born on 17 August 1977 is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.
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.
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.