Pavel "Furia Ceca" Nedvěd

Pavel Nedvěd was one of the best midfielders in Europe during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Nedved is one of the all time great Czech Republic players.

Born 30 August 1972 in the town of Cheb, Pavel Nedvěd took up soccer early on and become a football fanatic ever since he was 5 years old. In 1977, Nedved began playing for his home team, Tatran Skalna. He then moved on to Rudá Hvězda Cheb in 1985, playing just one season there, before playing for 5 years with Skoda Plzen. In 1990, Nedved initially signed for Dukla Prague, but played only one season with the club and then joined with the more prestigious Sparta Prague. During his 4 seasons with Sparta, he helped the team won 3 titles and a Cup.

In 1996, Pavel Nedvěd transferred from Sparta Prague to an Italian Serie A giant, Lazio. He rapidly became an integral part of the Lazio side. Nedved has helped Lazio won Coppa Italia (1998 and 2000), Supercoppa Italianas in 1998 as well as 2000, won the last ever UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1999, UEFA Super Cup 1999, and Italian Serie A title in 2000. Totally Pavel Nedvěd has scored 54 goals in 204 matches with Lazio.

After spent 5 seasons with Lazio, in 2001 Pavel Nedvěd moved to Juventus in a deal worth €41 million. Replacing Zinedine Zidane as a playmaker, he helped Juventus to win Italian Serie A in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. But Italian football authorities stripped Juventus off their last two titles over Calciopoli scandal, and demoted them to Serie B. Despite a lot of clubs persuade to use his service but he stick with Juventus and helped it to win Serie B and earn promotion back to Serie A. Nedved has played 338 matches and scored 65 goals for Juventus. He also won two Supercoppa Italianas with Juventus.  

Pavel Nedvěd who was nicknamed Furia Ceca by Juventus fans, retired in 2009 after 19 years as a professional. He played 664 club games, scoring 146 goals, and was capped 91 times for the Czech Republic, scoring 18 times. Nedved received the prestigious Ballon d'Or in 2003 and the 2nd Golden Foot award in 2004. 

Pavel Nedvěd Pictures and Wallpapers

Jaap Stam

Jakob "Jaap" Stam (born 17 July 1972 in Kampen) is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League.

Jaap Stam started his career with local amateur football club DOS Kampen. On 15 August 1992, Stam made his professional debut for FC Zwolle in a 1–1 draw against SC Heracles in the Eerste Divisie. He became a first team regular right away and moved to Eredivisie side Cambuur Leeuwarden for the following season, but relegated in his first season which brought him back into the Eerste Divisie. Two seasons at Cambuur earned him a transfer to Eredivisie side Willem II. At Willem II he impressed at the Eredivisie level straight away, which meant his final breakthrough. A shock 1–0 home victory over Ajax led to Stam's transfer to PSV Eindhoven in the same season in which they eventually won the KNVB Cup, his first professional trophy.

Jaap Stam was a key player for PSV in the 1996–97 season, as the team won the Eredivisie Championship and the Johan Cruijff-schaal (the Dutch Super Cup); Stam won the VVCS Footballer of the Year award. In 1998, Stam became the then most expensive Dutch football player in history and the most expensive defender in history, when Manchester United bought him for £10.6 million.

Jaap Stam spent three seasons at Manchester United, during which time United won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He scored his only goal for the club in a 6-2 away victory against Leicester City.

Early in the 2001–02 season, Jaap Stam was controversially sold to Lazio in Italy, after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly furious with allegations Stam had made in his autobiography Head to Head about himself and the club. Stam made numerous statements in the book about his views on opposing players, and notoriously alleged that Ferguson's approach to buy him was done without the permission of PSV Eindhoven. Laurent Blanc was signed as his replacement.

During his time with Lazio, Jaap Stam was found guilty of having the banned steroid nandrolone in his system following a Serie A game, and received a five-month ban, which was eventually reduced by a month after appeals. In his last season at the club, he won the Coppa d'Italia with Lazio.

Jaap Stam joined A.C. Milan after Euro 2004. He reached his second Champions League final with the Italian team in 2005, but was a runner-up after being defeated by Liverpool. On 30 January 2006, it was announced that he would return to the Eredivisie and play for Ajax, where he signed a two-year contract for €2.5 million transfer fee. Jaap Stam was named team captain upon his arrival in Amsterdam. In his first season, he won both the Johan Cruijff-schaal and the KNVB Cup, and another Johan Cruijff-schaal was added at the start of the 2007–08 season.

Jaap Stam made his debut for the Netherlands on 24 April 1996, in the 1–0 defeat to Germany. He was also an important player in the Dutch team that finished fourth in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Stam reached his third semi finals in an international competition with his nation during Euro 2004 in Portugal and retired from international football after the tournament. The reason for his international retirement was that he wanted to focus on his new team AC Milan and his family. In total he played 67 matches for the Netherlands, scoring 3 goals. [source : Jaap Stam]

Jaap Stam Pictures and Wallpapers

 

Alessandro Nesta

Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI (born March 19, 1976 in Rome), is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club AC Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.

Nesta was raised in the Cinecittà area of Rome. He attended the Margherita Bosco primary school where he first started playing football. His older brother, Fernando, was advised to play a sport because of a back problem and enrolled at the local football club. Alessandro threw a tantrum until his father gave in and enrolled him as well, thus marking the beginning of his career.

Nesta's talent was first discovered by Francesco Rocca, then a scout for Roma, but Nesta's father, a Lazio fan, turned down the offer. In 1985, he joined Lazio's youth academy, where he rose through the ranks playing in various positions, including playing as a striker and midfielder, before settling in defence. His international career first showed signs of growth when he played for Italy's under-15 and under-16 sides. He was promoted to Lazio's senior squad in 1993, and first came to the attention of fans for being involved in a training ground accident that broke teammate Paul Gascoigne's leg.

He assumed the team captaincy in 1997, and helped Lazio win the 1998 Coppa Italia after beating Milan in the final, in which he scored the winning goal. This was followed by a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup in 1999, and a rare Scudetto and Coppa Italia double in the 1999–00 season, in addition to two Italian Super Cups.

Just before the 2002–03 Serie A campaign, financial woes forced Lazio to sell many of their best players. Nesta was transferred to Milan for approximately €30 million paid over three years, after being valued at over £50 million by Boudi just a year earlier. In his first season with the Rossoneri, Nesta won the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League and the third Coppa Italia of his career. The next season, he won his second European Super Cup and second career Scudetto. Despite missing most of the 2006–07 season due to a shoulder injury, Nesta nonetheless played a vital part in Milan's return to the 2006–07 Champions League final, where Milan defeated Liverpool 2–1. He (and Milan) also won another European SuperCup in August 2007. Nesta signed a contract extension that will keep him at Milan until 2011.

Nesta scored his first goal for Milan since April 2006 in a 1–1 draw with Siena on 15 September 2007. One of his most important goals for Milan came in the 4–2 victory over Boca Juniors in the final of the Club World Cup in December 2007.

Nesta was a member of the Under-21 squad that won the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, in which he was named the top defender of the competition. He earned his first cap for the Azzurri against Moldova on October 5, 1996. He has been capped 78 times for Italy, and participated in Euro 1996, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, and the 2006 World Cup. He usually partnered captain Fabio Cannavaro in the heart of the defense.

 During the 2006 World Cup, he suffered an injury in Italy's group match against the Czech Republic, and was forced to leave the match early. This made it three times unlucky for Nesta; he previously ruptured a knee ligament against Austria during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and missed Italy's final game in the 2002 FIFA World Cup with an injured foot.

After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nesta's continuous injuries forced him to retire from the international team. Coach Roberto Donadoni unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to come out of retirement for Euro 2008.

More recently, a number of serious back injuries forced 33-year-old Nesta out of action for the whole 2008–09 season, raising concerns about his chance to make a comeback into active football. Fortunately he fully recovered from his injuries and came on as 77th minute substitute in Milan's final away game to Fiorentina on 31 May 2009 for his first competitive appearance of the season. On 25 October 2009 Nesta scored a brace to help Milan to a 2–1 victory over Chievo Verona in the Serie A. This was the first time he had ever scored two goals in a game. He became a starter and was one of Milan's most consistent players throughout the entire 2009-10 season without showing any signs of rust. [source : Alessandro Nesta]