Ruud Gullit

Ruud GullitRuud Gullit (born as Ruud Dil, September 1, 1962 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch football manager and former player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1987 and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989. He was a versatile player, playing in numerous positions during his career. He last managed the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer after taking over in November 2007. Gullit is currently working to promote the Belgian-Dutch 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bid. Read the rest of this entry »

Gheorghe Hagi

HagiGheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad​͡ʒi]; born February 5, 1965 in Săcele), is a former Romanian football player, born in an Aromanian family. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s.

Nicknamed “The Maradona of the Carpathians”, he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country’s “Player of the Year” award six times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of the twentieth century.

He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, being ranked second after Dorinel Munteanu, and scored 35 goals, being ranked first. Read the rest of this entry »

Lothar Matthäus

Lothar MatthaeusLothar Herbert Matthäus German pronunciation: [ˈloːtaɐ̯ maˈtɛːʊs], (born 21 March 1961 in Erlangen, West Germany) is a German former football player and now manager, last managing Israeli club Maccabi Netanya.

Introduction

In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup. One year later, he was also named the first ever FIFA World Player of the Year. Read the rest of this entry »

Paolo Rossi

Paolo RossiPaolo Rossi (born 23 September 1956 in Prato) is an Italian former football striker. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot/top scorer honors, and the Golden Ball. Rossi is one of only two players to have won all three honours at a single tournament (the other is the Argentinian Mario Kempes, in 1978). Javier Saviola, Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Dominic Adiyiah accomplished this in junior teams, in the 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cups respectively. He is listed among Pelé’s 125 all-time greatest footballers.

Career

Early years

Rossi was born at Santa Lucia, in the province of Prato (Tuscany).

He made his debut in professional Italian football with Como, to which Juventus had sent him to gain experience after three operations on his knees, as a right wing, where his small build would not be a hindrance. Read the rest of this entry »

Romario Faria

RomarioRomário de Souza Faria (born January 29, 1966 in Rio de Janeiro), better known simply as Romário, was a Brazilian football striker who retired in 2009. He currently serves as general football manager in América. He helped the Brazil national team win the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was one of the most prolific strikers in the world.

He was selected the FIFA World Player of the Year and won the World Cup Golden Ball in 1994 and named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebration. He is also known as one of the very few strikers to surpass the mark of 1.000 goals.

Club career

Overview

From very humble origins, Romário was spotted in childhood when playing for Olaria AC, a small club from the Rio de Janeiro suburb. He was taken to the junior team of Vasco da Gama where he won two state leagues (1987/88) and earned his first call-ups to the national team. Romário came to international attention when he became the top scorer at the 1988 Olympic football tournament.

Shortly after he moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Dutch League in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Romário moved to Spain’s FC Barcelona for the 1993-1994 season, in which, along with players like Hristo Stoichkov, José Mari Bakero, Josep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman, he helped the club win the League, while becoming the season’s top goalscorer with 30 goals in 33 matches. Read the rest of this entry »