Nílton "The Encyclopedia" Santos: The Best Left Wingback In The Football History

Nílton Reis dos Santos (born May 16, 1925) is a Brazilian former football defender. He was born in Rio de Janeiro. He was a pioneering left back being one of 1st full backs to participate in the offensive game.

Nílton Santos was called The Encyclopedia because of his knowledge of the sport of football. He was world class both at defending and attacking. Nílton was a key player in defence during the 1954, 1958 and 1962 World Cup finals (he was also in the Brazilian squad for the 1950 finals, but made no appearances) and became famous for scoring a magnificent goal in the 1958 tournament when Brazil played Austria. Dribbling his way through the whole field, he finished with a superb shot, driving his coach Vicente Feola crazy (he kept on insisting for Nílton to retreat to the defensive field, but was ignored until the goal was scored).

Nílton Santos played for only 2 teams in his professional career; Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas and the Brazilian national team collecting 75 caps and scoring 3 goals; he is regarded as the best left wingback in the history of the game. [source : Nílton Santos]

Nilton Santos Pictures

Rogério Ceni: The Goalkeepers Top Scorer

Rogério Mücke Ceni (born January 22, 1973 in Pato Branco, Paraná) is a Brazilian goalkeeper. He has been a member of the Brazilian Série A club São Paulo since September 7, 1990, playing more than 950 matches and winning 2 Copa Libertadores trophies and two World Club Championship with them. He is notable for his foot skills with the ball, having scored numerous goals during his career, taking free kicks and penalty kicks and is also the first ever goalkeeper to score a goal in a competition organized by FIFA. He is officially recognized by FIFA and the IFFHS as the goalkeeper to have scored the most goals in the history of football.

Despite his position, Rogério Ceni has established a reputation as a goalscorer, similar to Paraguay's José Luis Chilavert, Germany's Hans-Jörg Butt, Bulgaria's Dimitar Ivankov, Mexico's Jorge Campos, and Colombia's René Higuita. He has often taken penalties for São Paulo as well. On August 20, 2006, he scored his 63rd goal by netting a free kick against Cruzeiro in the Brazilian League, a few minutes after denying a penalty kick for Cruzeiro that would take the match to a 0-3 score. Later on in the same match, he scored a penalty kick and reached 64 goals - 21 from penalties and 43 from free kicks, a goal that tied the match 2-2. This record put Ceni on top, over Chilavert (2nd), two goals under the record of Brazilian goalkeeper. He has scored 100 goals in 950 appearances - from 43 penalties and 53 free kicks so far (February 13, 2011).

On July 14, 2005, Rogério Ceni was São Paulo's captain as the team won the 2005 Copa Libertadores for the third time. Two weeks later, in a match against Atlético Mineiro, he broke the record for most appearances for the São Paulo club, with 618 matches played. He wore a special commemorative jersey that had the number "618" printed on the back. In December 2005, he was named Man of the Match for his outstanding performance during the 1-0 victory against Liverpool FC in the FIFA Club World Cup final match and also awarded by FIFA as the Best Player of the tournament. On July 25, 2006 he scored a penalty kick winner against Mexican side Chivas, becoming São Paulo's Copa Libertadores all-time leading scorer.

On October 29, 2006, Rogério Ceni made his 700th appearance for São Paulo against Figueirense in a 2-0 victory. But some of the gloss was taken off the occasion when Rogerio - who captained the team that won the Libertadores Cup and Club World championship last year - was ordered to change his bright yellow jersey, because it clashed with the referee's, so he played with the reserve goalkeeper's shirt. In the same year, on November 19, Ceni won his first (and São Paulo's fourth) Campeonato Brasileiro title. In the following year, Ceni won the same title, being elected by CBF as the Best Player in 2007's Campeonato Brasileiro.

On March 27, 2011, Rógerio made history by scoring his 100th goal - which also turned out to be the winning goal - in a 2-1 win over rivals Corinthians from a free-kick hit about 20 yards from goal.

Rogério Ceni has earned 17 caps for the Brazilian national team, and was the third-choice goalkeeper on the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. He was selected by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira to the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad as second choice goalkeeper. His only playing time in the tournament were the last ten minutes of the second half of Brazil's 4-1 group stage victory over Japan as a substitute for Dida. [source : Rogério Ceni]

Rogério Ceni Pictures and Wallpapers

Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira or popularly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho was born on the 21st of March, 1980 in Porto Alegre, capital of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Ronaldinho's name was given in order to differentiate between himself and Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, also better known to the world as Ronaldo. Ronaldo himself was known as Ronaldinho when Ronaldo Guiaro was called Ronaldo, and at that time Ronaldinho also had the word Gaucho attached to his name. Ronaldinho is Portuguese for ''little Ronaldo''.

Roberto Assis, Ronaldinho's elder brother was a pretty good footballer himself. He played for Gremio under Luiz Felipe Scolari before injuries forced him out of the game at an early age. With his father, who had died when Ronaldinho was 8, having been a supporter of Gremio as well, it was but natural that Ronaldinho joined the club. He starred in Brazil's first ever win at the U-17 Championships, held in Egypt in 1997. Ronaldinho made his first senior appearance for Gremio at the Copa Libertadores in 1998.

Ronaldinho's greatest assets have been his ball control, agility and trickery. He can dribble and pass like few people can, and defenders can feel like utter fools when they are up against him. He slowly made a name for himself at Gremio, and was inducted into the Brazilian team in 1999. He made his international debut against Latvia in June 1999, and was part of the Brazilian team which won the Copa America in the same year. He won both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot at the 1999 Confederations Cup. He scored in every game Brazil played, and missed the final due to injury, where they lost to Mexico.

As the 21st century started, news of Ronaldinho's abilities spread far and wide. Despite interest from England, he decided to move to France to join Paris St.Germain at the end of the 2001 season.  The 2002 World Cup firmly established Ronaldinho as a man destined for great things. His goal knocked England out at the quarterfinal stage - a freekick from the right which was completely misjudged by opposition goalkeeper David Seaman. Brazil went on to beat Germany in the final, and clubs started queueing up for the playmaker. With PSG not winning trophies in Europe, he had to make a move to further his career. Although Manchester United and FC Barcelona were both interested in his services, he transferred to the Catalans for a fee of £21 million.

 

Ronaldinho first played in a Barca jersey against AC Milan in America, scoring the second goal for the Catalans. He helped Barcelona to a second place in the league in the 2003-2004 season, despite being injured for most part of the first half. Ronaldinho epitomises the way the beautiful game should be played. Along with Deco, Samuel Etoo, Ludovic Giuly and Lionel Messi, he transformed Barcelona into a supremely gifted attacking side.

There is probably no limit to Ronaldinho's skills. The ability to play comes to him naturally, and the ball looks alive when at his feet- something similar to magic for extremely gifted magicians, you could say. He virtually conjured a goal out of nowhere, toe punting the goal past a stunned Chelsea defence and Petr Cech in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. To toe punt is an extremely difficult thing to do, and requires extreme accuracy. It was therefore no surprise that when Ronaldinho made his move, the rest of the players just stood where they were and watched awestruck.

Barcelona won the La Liga twice in a row, in 2005 and 2006. They also won the Spanish cup in those two years, and also added the Champions League to their trophy cabinet by beating Arsenal in May 2006. Ronaldinho had a part in everything good that happened at the club. Although the 2006 World Cup campaign was a disappointment for him and the national side, there is no doubt that Ronaldinho will want to have another shot in the next edition to be held in South Africa.

From winning the FIFA World Player twice, Ronaldinho had to be content with a fifth placed finish in 2007. He was not called  up for for the 2007 Copa America by new coach Dunga, which Brazil won by beating Argentina.

In April 2008, Ronaldinho tore a muscle in his right leg and missed the rest of Barcelona's season, including their Champions League semifinal against Manchester United. Rumours flew thick and fast about his future, and Manchester City, Inter Milan and A.C.Milan were among the clubs interested. He was eventually sold to AC Milan for 21 million euros, and took the No.80 jersey as Clarence Seedorf already had the No.10 jersey at the San Siro.

He has shown glimpses of his former abilities at Milan, and scored his first goal for the Rossoneri in the city derby against Inter in September 2008.

Apart from his individual abilities, his mere presence on the field instills a new level of confidence in his teammates, and the opposition mentally loses the game even before it has started. It is amazing what one man can do, and words are not enough to describe the man that Ronnie is. He is part of Pele's list of ''125 Greatest living footballers''. In a survey conducted by a Brazilian magazine, he was also inducted into the Gremio all time favourite team. [source : Ronaldinho]

Ronaldinho Pictures and Wallpapers

 

Kaká

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite or commonly known as Kaká, was born at Brasilia, Brazil on April 22, 1982.

Kaka is arguably one of the greatest footballers in this era. Kaka is a playmaker who can create chances aswell as score goals. In 2007, Kaka won the European footballer of the year aswell as FIFA world player of the year awards. Kaka has remarkable dribbling aswell as passing abilities.

Kaka started his football journey with a Brazilian youth club, Alphaville. Sao Paulo found him and inducted him into their youth system in 1990.When he was 18, he survived a spine fracture, which could have left him in paralysis. Kaka helped Sao Paulo youth team to win Copa Sao Paulo de Juniores, in 2000.Kaka made it to the senior side of Sao Paulo in 2001.He helped Sao Paulo senior team to win Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo, in 2001. Kaka scored 30 goals in 75 appearances for Sao Paulo.

In 2003, Kaka moved to Italy and joined European giants AC Milan in a transfer deal worth 8.5 million Euros. He made his Serie A debut for AC Milan while playing against Ancona, in 2003.Kaka helped AC Milan to win the Italian Serie A in 2004.He played a role in the AC Milan’s dream run in UEFA Cup, which they won in same year. He helped them to lift Italian Super cup aswell as European super cup at the start of 2004/2005 season. Kaka was influential for Milan during 2004/2005 season. Milan finished as runner up in Italian Serie A aswell as UEFA Champions League. Kaka scored two hat tricks for Milan during 2005/2006 season, while playing against Chievo and Anderlecht respectively. Kaka was the driving force behind the AC Milan’s UEFA Champions league triumph, in 2007.He was the top scorer in that tournament, with 10 goals. He helped Milan to win UEFA Super cup aswell as FIFA Club World cup, in 2007.Kaka scored 19 and 16 goals in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons respectively. Kaka turned down a 100 million pounds transfer bid from Manchester City in January 2009. Kaka was the Serie A footballer of the year in 2004 aswell as 2007.He made it to the UEFA team of the year in 2006 and 2007. He won the Toyota Award aswell as Ballon d’ Or, in 2007. Kaka scored 95 goals for AC Milan in 270 appearances.

In June 2009, Kaka joined Real Madrid for a then World record transfer deal worth 56 million pounds to be a part of new Galacticos era. He played his first match for Real Madrid while playing against Canadian club Toronto Fiche scored from penalty spot against German club Borussia Dortmund to open his Real Madrid goal account.

Kaka played his first International match for Brazil against Bolivia in 2002.He scored his first goal for Brazil against Iceland. He was part of the Brazilian squad, which won the 2002 world cup. He helped Brazil to qualify for the 2006 world cup. Kaka played well in Brazil’s run at 2006 World cup, which ended in quarterfinal stage. Kaka helped Brazil to win FIFA Confederations cup in 2005 as well, as 2009.Kaka is the current playmaker of the Brazilian team. He won the FIFA Confederations cup golden ball, in 2009. Kaka made it to the FIFA team of the year in 2008.kaka is the driving force behind the Brazil’s 2010 World cup qualification campaign. [source : Kaka]

Kaká's Pictures and Wallpaper

Roberto Carlos

Roberto 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. 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." [source : Roberto Carlos]

 

Roberto Carlos Wallpaper

Memorable Roberto Carlos' Free Kick

Zico : The White Pelé

Arthur Antunes Coimbra (born 3 March 1953 in Rio de Janeiro), better known as Zico ([ˈziku]), is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. Often called the "White Pelé", 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. 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 Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Also according to Pelé, generally considered the best footballer ever, "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico".

Zico with Maradona

Zico scored 52 goals in 72 international matches for Brazil, and represented them in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. They did not win any of those tournaments, even though the 1982 squad is considered one of the greatest Brazilian national squads ever. 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. On September 16, 2009, Zico was signed by Greek side Olympiacos F.C. for a two-year contract after the club's previous coach, Temuri Ketsbaia, was sacked. He was fired four months later, on January 19, 2010. On May 30th of 2010, Zico announced that he would become the new Soccer Executive/Director for Flamengo, coming back to the team where he won his most important honors after 25 years. One of his demands is that his salary won't be paid by the club. Instead, it will be paid by Flamengo's sponsors such as Olympikus and BMG. His contract is for four years. [source : Zico]

Zico's Pictures

Ronaldo : The Phenomenon

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima born September 22, 1976, commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Corinthians. 

Ronaldo was one of the most prolific scorers in the world in the 1990s and the early 2000s. He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 and again won the award in 2002. Additionally, he is one of only two men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane. In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé. 

In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's 'Player of the Decade' in an online poll, gathering 43.63% of all votes and was also included as Centre Forward in the 'Team of the Decade'. On February 23, 2010, Ronaldo announced that he will retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time .

Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 97 international matches, amassing 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994, and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14.

[source : Ronaldo]

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