Saturday, 30 July 2011

Rivaldo

Rivaldo biography

Rivaldo is one of the best football team players to emerge from Brazil. Rivaldo rose from days of harsh poverty to the riches, with his hard work and dedication to football. Rivaldo was the FIFA world player of the year as well as the European football player of the year in 1999.He played a significant role in the 2002 world cup winning Brazilian team. Rivaldo is an attacking midfielder, who can score goals. He prefers to play as a playmaker. He is currently playing for Bundyodkor club in Uzbek league.

Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira was born on 19^th April 1972 at Recife in Brazil. Following the death of his dad, Rivaldo did find difficult to continue his football dream. However, luck came by his side when Paulista club signed him up in 1990 at the age of 17. However, Paulista found him too fragile for professional football. Therefore, in 1991, they sold him to Santa Cruz football club. In 1992, Mogi Mirim EC signed Rivaldo from Santa Cruz. He scored 10 goals for Mirim during that season. While playing for Mirim, he scored a spectacular goal through a lob, beating goalkeeper right from circle in the midfield. His performances impressed Brazilian Serie A club Corinthians. They signed Rivaldo in 1993.Rivaldo scored 17 goals for Corinthians in 40 matches. He moved to Palmeiras in 1994.He scored 53 goals for Palmeiras in 126 matches .He won Brazilian Serie A with Palmeiras. He won Sao Paulo State championship in 1994 and 1996 with them. He won the Euro-American cup in 1996 with Palmeiras. He won the Brazilian Bola de Prata award in 1993 as well as 1994.

Rivaldo moved to Europe and joined Spanish La Liga club Deportivo La Coruna in 1996.He became an instant hit at Deportivo. He scored 21 goals for Deportivo in 41 matches. Spanish giant ,Barcelona bought Rivaldo for $26 million in 1997.His first season with Barcelona turned out to be glorious one as they went on to win La Liga as well as Copa del Rey. He won European super cup during that season. He scored 19 goals for Barcelona that season. In 1999, Barcelona retained the La liga. In 1999/2000 season, he scored 10 goals to inspire Barcelona to the semi-finals of UEFA champions’ league. He finished as the second highest goal scorer of the season. In 2000/2001, he again finished as the second highest goal scorer of the season. He helped them to qualify for Champions league. In 2002, Barcelona released Rivaldo on the insistence of Coach Van Gaal, who returned to the club. Rivaldo scored 86 goals for Barcelona in 157 matches.

He moved to Italy and joined AC Milan in 2002.He went on to win UEFA champions league, Copa Italia, as well as European Super cup in 2003, though his role was limited. He scored five goals for them in 22 matches. He left Milan in 2003.He had a brief stint with Cruzeiro during 2004.He returned to Europe and joined Greek club Olympiacos. He went on to win three consecutive Greek league titles with Olympiacos, from 2005-2007.He also won two Greek cups with Olympiacos. He scored 43 goals for Olympiacos in 81 matches. He joined AEK Athens in 2007.He scored 12 goals for them in 29 matches. He left AEK for Uzbek club Bunyodkor, who offered him 10.2 million Euros worth contract. He won Uzbek league as well as Uzbek cup in 2008 with Bunyodkor. He has scored 25 goals for them and he is currently with them.

Rivaldo started playing for Brazil in 1993 and he last played for them in 2003. Rivaldo won confederations cup with Brazil in 1997. In 1998 world cup, he helped Brazil to reach final, where they lost to France. He was instrumental in Brazil’s success in 1999 Copa America. He was the top scorer and player of the tournament. He won the 2002 world cup with Brazil. Rivaldo scored goals as well as set up goals for his co-players. He scored 34 goals for them in 74 matches.

Rivaldo

Rivaldo bicycle kick

Rivaldo Bicycle Kick

Bebeto

Bebeto Biogrhapy
Bebeto started his career in 1983 with Vitória and would go on to play for Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Cruzeiro and Botafogo in Brazil, Deportivo La Coruña and Sevilla in Spain, Toros Neza in Mexico, Kashima Antlers in Japan, and Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, finally retiring in 2002.

For Brazil, Bebeto scored 39 goals in 75 caps after making his debut in 1985. He played in three World Cups: 1990, 1994, and 1998. In 1994, he was one of the best players of the tournament, scoring three goals for the eventual champions, and then repeated the feat four years later as Brazil finished second.

Bebeto became a household name for his goal celebration in the 1994 World Cup. His wife had delivered their third child just days before a quarter-final match against Holland. After the striker pumped the go-ahead goal into the back of the net Bebeto ran to the sideline, brought his arms together and began rocking an imaginary baby. Teammates Romário and Mazinho quickly joined in.

In 1993-94 Deportivo had the chance to win their first ever La Liga title by beating Valencia in the last match of the season. In a very evenly matched contest Deportivo had a golden opportunity to seal the victory and thus the league title. They were given a penalty kick just minutes from the end. The official penalty taker all season had been Bebeto (after Donato, who wasn't in the field), who this time, refused to take the penalty. Eventually, Miroslav Đukić took the penalty and failed, effectively handing Barcelona the title.

Bebeto

Bebeto - World Cup 94 Brazil vs Netherlands

Bebeto - World Cup 98 Brazil vs Denmark

Zico

Zico biographyArthur Antunes Coimbra (pronounced [ax?tux ???t?nis ko??br?]; born 3 March 1953 in Rio de Janeiro), better known as Zico (pronounced /['zi.ku]/, is a former Brazilian footballer and coach. Often called the White Pel�, he is commonly considered one of the most skilled dribblers and finishers ever and possibly the world's best player of the early 80's[2]. He was also known as one of history's greatest free kick specialists, able to bend the ball with pace and accuracy as well as having an extremely powerful shot. The gifted midfielder was named by Pel� as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Also according to Pel�, generally considered the best footballer ever, "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico"[3]. Zico scored 66 goals in 88 international matches for Brazil, and represented them in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. They didn�t win any of those tournaments, even though the 1982 squad is considered one of the greatest Brazilian national squads ever [4] - along with the one that won the 1970 World Cup. Zico is often considered one of the best players in football history not to have been on a World Cup winning squad. He was chosen 1983 Player of the Year. Zico has coached the Japanese national team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and winning the Asian Cup 2004, and Fenerbahce, who were a quarter-finalist in 2007-08 in the Champions League under his command. He was announced as the head coach of CSKA Moscow in January 2009.

Zico

Zico goals

Zico Legend

Friday, 29 July 2011

Ronaldo

Ronaldo BiographyCristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5, 1985, in Madeira, Portugal to Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro and José Diniz Aveiro. Cristiano has an elder brother, Hugo and two elder sisters, Elma and Liliana Cátia. His name was inspired by the former US-president, Ronald Reagan, whom his father was influenced by.

The island of Madeira was also the place where Cristiano first learned to master his skills as a soccer player. He spent his early years playing for his local team, Nacional, and by the time he turned 12 years old, he already made his name for himself as one of Madeira's top soccer player. It wasn't long before he started to catch the attention of other big Portuguese clubs. Among them were Porto and Boavista, however he eventually chose to play for Sporting which was a team he followed while growing up.

He was then spotted by former Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier at the age of sixteen but Liverpool had no intentions to sign him at that time because they thought he was too young and he needed more time to develop his skills. However, in the summer of 2003, when Sporting played against Manchester United and defeated them, Cristiano caught the attention of Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ronaldo became Manchester United's first-ever Portuguese player. Initially, he requested for the number 28 as his jersey number because he didn't feel that he could live up to the pressure of previous players such as George Best and David Beckham who wore the number 7 jersey.

The year 2006 to 2008 proved to be a rather controversial year for the star. In the 2006 World Cup, Cristiano faced accusations regarding his sportsmanship. In a quarter-final match against England, he was heavily criticized for sending of his club team mate, Wayne Rooney who was playing for the England team. It wasn't too long until fans started accepting Cristiano again. In 2007, he won PFA Young Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, PFA Fans' Player of the Year, Portuguese Footballer of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year and Manchester United's Players' Player of the Year. The year 2008 also saw him taking back the PFA Player Of The Year Award for the second time running. That same year, Ronaldo also had to deal with controversies regarding his club transfer to Spanish giants, Real Madrid. He eventually chose to stay with Manchester United and stressed to the public that he had no intentions of leaving the club.

Cristiano now lives with his cousin, Nuno and his brother in law Ze. When he is not on the field, he is a very family oriented person. Growing up, when he was about to choose soccer as his career, he said that it was very difficult for him as that would mean lesser time with his family, especially his mother, whom he says play a major role in his life.

During his free time, Cristiano enjoys cooking. He mentioned in an interview that he usually cooks before he leaves for his soccer practice. Because he is constantly training, Cristiano rarely has time to watch TV. If he does get the time to watch, he says he loves watching one of the local Portuguese game show which is mostly about trivia questions. Cristiano is an avid learner and he takes interest in learning new things everyday. Among Cristiano's biggest pet peeves are smoking, people who don't make an effort and dishonesty.

When the tsunami hit South East Asia, Cristiano flew to Indonesia to help those in need. He auctioned off a few stuff to help raise funds for charity. He hopes to get involved in more charity projects in the future because he believes his star status will help him reach out to others for help.

Ronaldo

Ronaldo all 15 World Cup goals

Pele

Pele Biography
Athlete, professional soccer player. Born Edson Arantes de Nascimento on October 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. Although he was poor, Pelé grew up to be an international sports superstar. Throughout his childhood, he played soccer whenever and wherever he could, sometimes using a stuffed sock for a ball. He joined his first soccer team at the age of 12.
Pelé started playing professional soccer while in his teens. In 1958, he helped Brazil win its first World Cup victory. His performance in the finals, including scoring two goals, made him an international sensation. He also played for the professional Brazilian team Santos from 1956 to 1974 and scored more than 1,000 goals during his time with the club. He retired from Santos in 1974, but was lured back to the game with an offer from a team in the United States the next year. He joined the New York Cosmos, a part of the North American Soccer League. As a member of the Cosmos, Pelé became a household name in the United States and fans flocked to see him play.
Retiring for the second time after the 1977 season, Pelé has pursued his own business opportunities, such as a coffee company and a sports and marketing firm. Along with his ventures, he has served as a spokesman for numerous international companies. Pelé does a lot of charity work, especially for children's organizations.
In 2007, Pelé shared his experiences with fans in My Life and the Beautiful Game: The Autobiography of Soccer's Greatest Star. He continues to speak out about the game so close to his heart. In 2009, Pelé recommended that salary caps be instituted for soccer teams worldwide. He is also a delegate for his native country's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.