Ali Daei

Ali DaeiAli Daei (Persian: علی دایی, pronounced [ʔæliː-je dɑːjiː]; nicknamed Shahriar [ʃæhrijɑːr], meaning the King; born 21 March 1969 in Ardabil, Iran) is a former Iranian football player and coach. He is a former captain of the Iran national football team, and is the world’s all-time leading goalscorer in international matches. Daei as of June 2007 is also a member of the FIFA Football Committee. At the moment, Daei is the manager of the popular Iranian team Persepolis F.C. and signed a 18 month contract with the club in late December 2009.

Club career

Early years

Daei graduated from Sharif University of Technology in Materials Engineering (Metallurgical) with a B.Sc. degree. Born in Ardabil, he played for his hometown club, Esteqlal Ardabil, when he was 19. Read the rest of this entry »

Javier Zanetti

Javier ZanettiJavier Adelmar Zanetti (born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Serie A club Internazionale. Javier Zanetti has played for Inter since 1995, taking the captain’s armband in 1999. Known for his versatility, he is adept on both the left and right wing, having played on both flanks as a fullback as well as a winger. He slots into several midfield positions with ease, particularly as a defensive or central midfielder. Internationally, he holds the record of the most capped player in the history of the Argentine national team and has played in the 1996 Olympic tournament and in two World Cups, in 1998 and 2002.

Known as “Pupi” in Argentina, Zanetti was born in Buenos Aires, picking up the nickname “Il Trattore” (The Tractor) soon after his move to Italy where his strength, resilience, stamina, and his ability to run past opposing defenders when joining the attack from his right back position earned him notoriety. More recently, he plays in the right midfield. He ended a 4-year goal drought when he scored on 5 November 2006. In the national team, he is deployed as a right back but is able to switch between defense and attack easily. Read the rest of this entry »

Ian Rush

Ian RushHector Ian James Rush, MBE, (born 20 October 1961) is a retired football player from Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic, and made 73 appearances for the Welsh national football team. Since retiring as a player in 1999, Rush has had a stint as manager of Chester City (2004–5), and has worked as a television football pundit.

Biography

Chester: 1978–1980

After leaving St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, Flint, in 1978, Rush began his playing career at Football League Third Division side Chester. Read the rest of this entry »

Roberto Carlos

Roberto CarlosRoberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973 in Garça, São Paulo, Brazil) commonly known as simply Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian footballer. He was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups, helping the team reach the final in 1998 and win the 2002 tournament. He is also known for his trademark free kicks, explosive running speed and powerful curling banana trajectory shot.

Roberto Carlos plays for Corinthians in Brazil. Previously he played for Spanish club Real Madrid for 11 years, winning four leagues, three UEFA Champions League trophies, and two Intercontinental Cups. He is also one of only six players to have played more than 100 matches in the Champions League, as of February 2008.[3] He finished second to countryman Ronaldo in the 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year award poll and was named as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers by Pelé in March 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica heralds Roberto Carlos as “an excellent exponent of the wing back position.” Read the rest of this entry »

Jurgen Klinsmann

jurgen klinsmann Jurgen KlinsmannJürgen Klinsmann (born 30 July 1964 in Göppingen) is a German football manager and former football player, who played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship. He was one of West Germany’s/Germany’s premier strikers during the 90s.

He managed the German national team to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup.

On 12 July 2006, Klinsmann officially announced that he would step down as Germany’s coach after two years in charge and be replaced by assistant coach Joachim Löw. He took over as coach of Bayern Munich in July 2008, when Ottmar Hitzfeld stepped down to take over as the head coach of the Swiss National Team. He was fired from this position on 27 April 2009 despite winning five of his last seven matches. Read the rest of this entry »