Josep "Pep" Guardiola

Josep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala (born 18 January 1971 in Santpedor, Barcelona, Catalonia), is a Catalonian football manager and former player. Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career with FC Barcelona, whom he currently manages. 

Pep Guardiola was part of Johan Cruyff's dream team that won Barcelona's first European Cup. Guardiola also played for Brescia Calcio, A.S. Roma, Al-Ahli and Dorados de Sinaloa. As an international, he played for Spain and Catalonia.

After retiring as a player, Guardiola became coach of FC Barcelona B. On 8 May 2008, Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced that Guardiola would succeed Frank Rijkaard as the first team manager. He signed his contract on 5 June 2008. In his first season as manager, Barcelona won the treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. In doing so, Guardiola became the youngest UEFA Champions League winning manager ever. 

The following season, Guardiola and Barcelona won the Supercopa de España against Athletic Club Bilbao, the UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk, and the FIFA Club World Cup against Estudiantes, bringing the manager's tally to the maximum of six trophies in six competitions in one year, thus completing the first ever sextuple. [source : Pep Guardiola]

Pep Guardiola Pictures and Wallpapers

Gary Lineker

Gary Winston Lineker (pronounced lee-na-ka:), OBE (born 30 November 1960) is a retired English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC and Eredivisie Live. He remains England's top scorer in the FIFA World Cup finals, with 10 goals.

Lineker began his football career at Leicester City and became known as a prolific goalscorer; despite failing to score in his first ten games, he finished as the First Division's joint top goalscorer in 1984–85 and earning his first England cap. He moved to Everton where he remained a clinical finisher, scoring 38 goals in 52 games. His first team honours came at Barcelona, where he won the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. He returned to England in 1989, joining Tottenham Hotspur, and over three seasons he scored 67 goals in 105 games and won the FA Cup. Lineker's final club was Nagoya Grampus Eight and he retired in 1994 after two seasons at the Japanese side.

Gary Lineker made his England debut in 1984 and over the following eight years earned 80 caps and scored 48 goals, finishing as England's all-time second highest scorer behind Bobby Charlton. His international goals-to-games ratio remains one of the best for the country and he is regarded as one of the all-time best English strikers. He was top scorer in the 1986 World Cup and received the Golden Shoe, the only time an Englishman has achieved this feat. He is also the only player to have won the English golden boot with 3 different clubs (Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur). Lineker is noted for never having been cautioned or sent off by a referee during his professional career.

After his retirement from football he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. He moved in to broadcasting, working at the BBC, firstly working as a pundit on Match of the Day before he went on to present the flagship show. Lineker also worked on other programmes at the BBC. He led a consortium that invested in his old club Leicester, saving it from bankruptcy, and was appointed honorary vice-president. Since 1994, Lineker has featured in several television commercials for Walkers Crisps. He has four sons with his ex-wife Michelle and is now married to model Danielle Lineker.

In 2009, Leicester City fans voted him as the club's greatest ever player in a poll by Sky Sports. He received 37% of votes; more than double that of his closest competitor, legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks. [source : Lineker]

Gary Lineker's Pictures

Johann Cruyff : The Dutch Meister

Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (born  April 25, 1947, in Amsterdam), is a Dutch football legend. He won the Ballon d'Or three times—in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Cruyff was the most famous exponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

After his retirement from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona; he remains an influential advisor to both clubs. His son Jordi has also gone on to play football professionally.

In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the IFFHS, and came second behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll. He came third in a vote organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century.

On November 2, 2009, Cruyff was named as manager of the Catalonian national team in place of Pere Gratacòs. This is his first coaching job in thirteen years. [source : Cruyff]

Johann Cruyff's Pictures