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

Xavi Hernández

Xavier Hernández Creus, commonly known as Xavi (born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia) is a Spanish football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona.

Widely considered among the finest play-makers in the world, Xavi was named the official Man of the match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their third Champions League-title. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008. In all he has been capped 98 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is regularly cited as one of the best midfielders currently playing.

 

Xavi is a product of Barcelona's youth system and has been a regular at Camp Nou since the age of 11. He quickly made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Jordi Gonzalvo's FC Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Second Division.

His progression through the teams earned him a first team debut on 18 August 1998 in the Super Cup final, in which he scored against RCD Mallorca. His début in La Liga came against Valencia CF on 3 October 1998 in a 3–1 victory for Barcelona. Initially featuring intermittently both for the reserve and senior teams, Xavi scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Real Valladolid when Barcelona were 10^th in the league, sparking a renaissance in form for the club. Sustained impressive performances quickly meant he become a key member of Louis van Gaal's title winning team. An injury to Pep Guardiola in the following La Liga 1999-00 season meant that Xavi became Barcelona's principal playmaker, a position he has retained ever since.

The 2008–09 season was Xavi's best season so far, by performances and achievements. He was a main part of Barcelona's treble, performing with excellence in all three competitions: he scored the 4th goal in the 4–1 win in the Copa del Rey 2008–09 final against Athletic Bilbao, with a free kick.

In La Liga, among many fine performances, perhaps the most significant one is the 6–2 El Clásico victory vs Real Madrid on 2 May. He assisted 4 out of 6 goals (once to Puyol, once to Henry and twice to Messi), and this performance and this win definitively led to Barcelona winning the 2009 title.

Finally, Xavi helped Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League Final versus Manchester United, which ended 2–0, assisting the second goal by passing the ball to Lionel Messi's header after 69 minutes and also nearly scored as his shot from just outside the penalty box hit the post. Xavi was voted "UEFA Champions League best midfielder" for his contribution during Barcelona's victorious 2008-09 UEFA Champions League campaign. Xavi was La Liga's highest assisting player with 20 assists. He was also the highest assisting player in the champions league with 7 assists.

Xavi equaled Carles Rexach in the all-time appearances list for Barcelona when he made his 452nd appearance in his 11th season at the club on 14 February 2009. He is now second only to Migueli, who made 548 appearances. He currently tops the La Liga assists table.

Xavi Hernandez's abilities on the football pitch have led his teams to numerous titles and placed him among the most decorated footballers of all time. The playmaker has won major international titles with Spain and FC Barcelona in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA World Cup.

His successes on the European stage are no less estimable, with his having won the UEFA European Football Championship and complementing this achievement by twice winning the UEFA Champions League. These combined achievements have made him a winner of Europe's major titles at both international and club level. Xavi is also a 5 time Liga BBVA Champion and was a prolific star player of the Barcelona side that won the famed unprecedented Spanndish treble, which culminated in a record 6 trophies, the sextuple, in one calendar year. [source : Xavi]

Xavi Hernandez Pictures and Wallpapers

Hidetoshi Nakata

Hidetoshi Nakata, Cavaliere OSSI (中田 英寿, Nakata Hidetoshi^?, born January 22, 1977 in Yamanashi Prefecture), is a retired Japanese football player. He was one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation.

Nakata began his professional career at age 18 in 1995, with J. League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare). He represented Japan at the 1996 Olympics, where Japan upset Brazil. Nakata also appeared in the 2000 Olympics.

After the World Cup in France, he moved to Perugia in Italy's Serie A.

In January 2000, after one and a half seasons at Perugia, Nakata moved to Roma for 42 Billion ITL, whom he helped to win the scudetto. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came on May 6, 2001 in the Serie A match against Juventus F.C. at Stadio Delle Alpi. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0-2, Nakata netted with a 30-yard screamer beyond Juventus goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's reach. Nakata then set up another goal when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who duly equalised for Roma. The match ended with a 2-2 draw and Roma maintained a six-point margin atop the league table.

In the summer of 2001, he joined Parma where he played for two and a half seasons.

In January 2004, Nakata joined Bologna where he played the remainder of the 2003–04 season before moving to Fiorentina, where he played the following season. In August 2005, Nakata moved to English Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on loan. During his season at Bolton he scored once in the league, in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

He made his senior national team debut in May 1997 against South Korea and was a key member of the Japanese side that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, setting up all three Japanese goals in the qualification play-off against Iran.

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nakata played in all three matches for Japan, losing to Australia and Brazil, and drawing with Croatia. His performance against Croatia earned him a Man of the Match award.

On July 3, 2006, Nakata announced his retirement from professional football and the Japanese national team on his personal website "I decided half a year ago that I would retire from the world of professional football... after the World Cup in Germany." Nakata wrote, "I will never again stand on the pitch as a professional player. But I will never give up football." On June 9, 2007, he made an appearance on the pitch again for the first time in public after his retirement when he played at Luís Figo's charity match.

Nakata has cited the popular manga and anime series, Captain Tsubasa, as his primary inspiration in choosing football as a career. [source : Nakata]

 

Nakata's Pictures and Wallpapers

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh footballer who has played for Manchester United for his entire professional career. He established himself as a left-winger during the 1990s and continued in this position well into the 2000s, but he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his later years.

Giggs holds a host of football records, including that of being the most decorated player in English football history. On 16 May 2009, he became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to have played and scored in every single season of the Premier League since its inception.

Giggs has had a long-lasting domestic and continental career and is the first player in UEFA Champions League history to have scored in 11 successive seasons, on top of being elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the English Premier League Team of the Decade, in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs is also the only United player to have played in all 11 Premier League winning teams and the first three League Cup-winning teams. At the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, held on 21 May 2008, Giggs surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the club's all-time leader in appearances.

At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country. As well as the many honours Giggs has received within football such as being named in the Football League 100 Legends (the last active player in the list), he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005, for his services to English Football. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. [source : Ryan Giggs]

Ryan Giggs Wallpaper

Abedi Pele

Abedi Ayew, known professionally as Abedi Pele (born 5 November 1964) is a former Ghana International football player and captain. Having been given the nickname "Pelé" in recognition of his superior ability that evoked comparisons to Brazilian great Pelé, he found fame in France's Ligue 1 with Lille OSC and Olympique Marseille and was named African Footballer of the Year in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He was named as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Two of his sons, Ibrahim and André became also Internationals for Ghana and were selected for the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Abedi Pele was one of the pioneers of African football in Europe. One of the first great African players to make an impact on European club football, he played for teams in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and most famously France where he was very instrumental in Marseille's prominence in the European Champions League during the early 1990s. Amongst his international accolades, he was often included in FIFA "All-star" selections and captained the African all-stars in their victory over their European counterparts in the Meridian Cup of 1997.

He was the captain of Ghana's national football team for 6 years (1992–1998) and was one of the first African football players to finish highly in FIFA World Player of the Year lists in 1991 and 1992. He is arguably Africa's most decorated and honored football player ever, winning the France Football Magazine African player of the year award 3 times, the BBC sports person of the year, and the Confederation of African Football version twice. He was also awarded the golden ball award for being the best player at the 1992 African Cup of Nations, and was the "man of the match" in Marseille's historic European Champions League final win over Milan in 1993.

Abedi Pele played for Ghana 73 times and is considered the greatest football player in his country's history, and among the best in Africa. He is the top goal scorer for Ghana's Black Stars in its 50 year footballing history with 33 goals. He was a fixture in the African Championships of the 1980s and 90s with his national team, and a member of Ghana's victorious team in the 1982 African Cup of Nations, but he never had an opportunity to play in the FIFA World Cup, as the Black Stars failed to qualify for the competition during his career. However, he was arguably the most dominant figure on the African football scene for nearly a decade. His stunning performance earned him the added nickname of "The African Maradona". [source : Abedi Pele]

Sir Bobby Charlton

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE (born 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland) is an English former professional football player who won the World Cup and was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1966. He played almost all of his club football at Manchester United, where he became renowned for his attacking instincts from midfield and his ferocious long-range shot. His elder brother Jack, who was also in the World Cup-winning team, was a former defender for Leeds United and coach.

He began to play for United's first team in 1956, and over the next two seasons gained a regular place in the team, during which time he survived the Munich air disaster of 1958. After helping United to win the Football League in 1965, he won a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and another Football League title with United the following year. In 1968, he captained the Manchester United team that won the European Cup, scoring two goals in the final to help his team be the first English side to win the competition. He has scored more goals for England and United than any other player. He had made more appearances for Manchester United than any other player (758), a record superseded by Ryan Giggs at the Champions League Final in Moscow on 21 May 2008. However, Charlton still owns the club record for most league appearances with 606, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest English players of all time.

At the time of his retirement from the England team in 1970, he was the nation's most capped player, having turned out 106 times at the highest level. This record has since been eclipsed by Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and then David Beckham.

He left Manchester United in 1973, becoming player-manager of Preston North End, but decided management was not for him and left after one season. After assuming the post of the director at Wigan Athletic for some time, he became a member of Manchester United's board of directors in 1984 and remains one as of May 2010. He set goalscoring records for both the England team and Manchester United, with both records remaining intact some 35 years after the end of his playing career. He was knighted in 1994.  [source : Bobby Charlton]

Bobby Charlton's Pictures

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