Lionel Messi

Name in native country: Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccitini 
Date of birth: 24.06.1987 
Place of birth: Rosario
Country: Argentina 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward
Foot: left 

Messi is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation, Messi received several Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009and 2010. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his “successor”. Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina’s senior international team. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team. At international level Messi has scored 17 goals in 62 games

Cristiano Ronaldo

Name in native country: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro 
Date of birth: 05.02.1985 
Place of birth: Funchal 
Country: Portugal 
Position: Striker - Left Wing 
Foot: both 

Ronaldo became the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he was to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, made him the highest-paid football player in the world at the time, and his buyout clause was valued at €1 billion as per his contract. On 15 May 2011, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in a season in the history of Real Madrid with 51 goals, surpassing the club’s previous high of 49 by Ferenc Puskás. He would later finish the season with a total of 53 goals, making him the first Real Madrid player to ever reach and surpass 50 goals in a season. Six days later, Ronaldo broke the record of most goals ever scored in a season in La Liga with 40, surpassing Telmo Zarra’s mark established in 1951 and Hugo Sanchez’s mark matched in 1990

Xavi

Name in native country: Xavier Hernández Creus 
Date of birth: 25.01.1980 
Place of birth: Terrassa 
Country: Spain 
Position: Midfield - Central Midfield 
Foot: right 

He has been capped 103 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008. He was one of the three finalists for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or, alongside Barcelona teammates Messi and Andres Iniesta, he finished third on the vote behind Messi and Iniesta.He narrowly defeated Lionel Messi to win World Soccer’s Player of the year. On 2 January 2011, in a league match against Levante UD, Xavi made his 549th appearance for the club in all competitions, matching the record held by Migueli. Following this match Xavi is the player with most appearances with Barcelona of all time

Andres Iniesta

Name in native country: Andrés Iniesta Luján 
Date of birth: 11.05.1984 
Place of birth: Fuentealbilla
Country: Spain 
Position: Midfield - Central Midfield
Foot: right

Iniesta played for Spain at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, before making his international debut in 2006. He was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, playing one game, as Spain went out in the second round. He helped Spain qualify for Euro 2008, and played an important role in the side as they went on to win the competition, playing every game and being selected in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Iniesta was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was a key member of the victorious Spanish side; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, also being named Man of the Match, and was selected in the tournament’s All-Star Team. He was also the Man of the Match for two other World Cup games.

Wayne Rooney

Name in native country: Wayne Mark Rooney 
Date of birth: 24.10.1985 
Place of birth: Liverpool 
Country: England 
Position: Striker - Secondary Striker
Foot: right 

Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League four times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups. He also holds two runner-up medals from both the Premier League and the Champions League. In August of the 2011–12 season Rooney scored his 150th goal, becoming United’s highest goalscorer since the inception of the Premier League. In 2009–10, Rooney was awarded the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year. Rooney has won the Premier League ‘Goal of the Season’ award by the BBC’sMatch of the Day poll on three occasions. As of 2011, he is the third highest-paid footballer in the world after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with an annual income of €20.7m (£18m) including sponsorship deals

Wesley Sneijder

Name in native country: Wesley Benjamin Sneijder 
Date of birth: 09.06.1984 
Place of birth: Utrecht
Country: Netherlands 
Position: Midfield - Attacking Midfield 
Foot: both 

Wesley Sneijder is a Dutch footballer playing as an attacking midfielder for Internazionale.He was named UEFA midfielder of the season as well as one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA. Due to his impeccable placement and confirmed ability to score from free kicks, Sneijder earned the reputation as a dead-ball specialist.With short stature, he is quick, strong on the ball, and his passing range is enhanced by his ambidexterity. A product of the Ajax Academy, he previously played for AFC Ajax with whom he won six trophies and during which time he was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award (for best young player in Holland) in 2004. He was later sold to Real Madrid for €27 million in 2007, winning La Liga in his first season with the club and later being sold to Internazionale for €15 million

David Villa

Name in native country: David Villa Sánchez 
Date of birth: 03.12.1981 
Place of birth: Tuilla 
Country: Spain 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward 
Foot: both 

Despite sustaining a serious injury as a child, he started his professional career with Sporting de Gijón. He moved to Real Zaragoza after two seasons, where he made his La Liga début, winning his first senior honours—the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España. He joined Valencia CF in 2005 for a transfer fee of €12 million and was part of the Valencia team that won the Copa del Rey in the 2007–08 season. In 2010 he moved to FC Barcelona for €40 million where he won his first La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles

Carlos Tevez

Name in native country: Carlos Alberto Tévez 
Date of birth: 05.22.1984 
Place of birth: Ciudadela 
Country: Argentina 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward 
Foot: both 

Carlos Tevez uses his body better than any forward in the world and his technique and work rate means that he can play on his own up front, or as a support striker. He has scored 51 goals in his Manchester City career, which, impressive a stat as it is, also ignores all the hard work he does off the ball

Didier Drogba

Name in native country: Didier Yves Drogba Tébily 

Date of birth: 11.03.1978 

Place of birth: Abidjan 

Country: Cote d'Ivoire 

Position: Striker - Centre Forward 

Foot: right 

Didier Drogba is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d’Ivoire national football team. He has scored more goals for Chelsea than any other foreign player and is currently Chelsea’s sixth highest goal scorer of all time. His key attributes include his physical strength, ability in the air, and his power to retain possession of the ball. Drogba moved to Chelsea the following season for a record breaking fee of £24 million, making him the most expensive Ivoirian player in history

Diego Forlan

Name in native country: Diego Martín Forlán Corazo 
Date of birth: 19.05.1979 
Place of birth: Montevideo 
Country: Uruguay 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward
Foot: both 

Diego Forlan is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a striker for Internazionale and the Uruguayan national team. He is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe, and also received the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2010 World Cup. In his first season in Spanish football, Forlán scored 25 league goals and won the Pichichi Trophy. After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid, where he once again became the league’s top scorer, and became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo achieved this feat in 2003–04

Zinedine Zidane

Name in native country: Zinəddin Lyazid Zidan 
Date of birth: 23.06.1972 
Place of birth: Marseille 
Country: France 
Position: Midfield - Attacking Midfield 
Foot: both 

Popularly nicknamed Zizou, he is a French former football midfielder. His career accomplishments include winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, in addition to the 2002 UEFA Champions League. He is also one of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners. Zidane won the Golden Ball as the MVP in the World Cups of 1998 and 2006. Zidane played his first professional First Division game for Cannes and quickly rose through the professional ranks. He sealed his reputation by scoring two goals in the World Cup finals of 1998, helping France defeat Brazil to claim its first-ever World Cup championship. Extremely passionate and a leader by example, he came first in an online poll conducted by UEFA.

Diego Maradona

Name in native country: Diego Armando Maradona Franco 
Date of birth: 30.10.1960 
Place of birth: Lanús 
Country: Argentina 
Position: Midfield - Attacking Midfield 
Foot: left 

Maradona is an icon in Argentina. As a soccer player, he took his team to new heights and became a hero to sports fans – many of whom referred to him as “San Diego.” He also took sports paychecks to new heights, claiming unheard of salaries in trade after trade. Maradona was plagued by cocaine addiction, though, and his career came to an early end. His performance included two memorable goals against England, one scored with his hand (the referee mistakenly thought the ball struck his head) and now remembered as the “Hand of God,” and another that saw him dribble through a pack of defenders.

Franz Beckenbauer

Name in native country: Franz Anton Beckenbauer 
Date of birth: 11.09.1945 
Place of birth: München
Country: Germany 
Position: Defence - Sweeper 
Foot: right 

German football (soccer) player. He is credited with inventing the modern attacking sweeper position. Nicknamed “Der Kaiser,” Beckenbauer is the only man to both captain and manage World Cup-winning teams (1974 and 1990, respectively). He spent most of his career with Bayern Munich, leading the team to three European Cup championships and four national titles. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1972 and 1976. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and also as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game

Johann Cruyff

Name in native country: Johan Cruijff 
Date of birth: 25.04.1947 
Place of birth: Amsterdam 
Country: Netherlands 
Position: Midfield - Attacking Midfield 
Foot: right 

Cruyff is a former Dutch football player and manager/coach. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times. 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. Cruyff was known for his technical ability, speed and acceleration, but his greatest quality was vision, based on an acute sense of his team-mates’ positions as an attack unfolded. He is believed Cruyff superior to any previous player in his ability to extract the most from others

Gerd Müller

Name in native country: Gerhard Müller 
Date of birth: 03.11.1945 
Place of birth: Nördlingen 
Country: Germany 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward 
Foot: right 

Müller was short, squat, awkward-looking and not notably fast; he never fit the conventional idea of a great footballer, but he had lethal acceleration over short distances, a remarkable aerial game, and uncanny goalscoring instincts. He could turn quickly and with perfect balance in small spaces at speeds that would cause other players to fall over. He also had a knack of scoring in unlikely situations. With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was by far the most successful striker of his day.

Ronaldo

Name in native country: Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima 
Date of birth: 22.09.1976 
Place of birth: Rio de Janeiro 
Country: Brazil 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward 
Foot: both 

A brilliant and fluid forward, Ronaldo became one of international soccer’s great stars of the 1990s and Brazil’s biggest soccer hero since Pele. Nicknamed “The Phenomenon,” the talented forward has played for Cruzeiro, Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan, amassing numerous records, championships, and cups. An international superstar, Ronaldo has been on the Brazilian national team since 1994 and was part of World Cup–winning teams in 1998 and in 2002, when he was the tournament’s top scorer

Michel Platini

Name in native country: Michel François Platini 
Date of birth: 21.06.1955 
Place of birth: Jœuf 
Country: France 
Position: Midfield - Attacking Midfield 
Foot: right 

Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was voted the best player and top goalscorer. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the “carré magique” (magic square), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French national team throughout the 1980s. He is also widely regarded as one the best passers in football history as well as one of history’s greatest free kick specialists and finishers. He holds the record for most goals scored in European Championship final

Raul Gonzalez

Name in native country: Raúl González Blanco 
Date of birth: 27.06.1977 
Place of birth: Madrid 
Country: Spain 
Position: Striker - Secondary Striker 
Foot: both 

Called the ‘Angel of Madrid’ and simply known as Raúl, he is a Spanish football striker who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid. Also the three-time winner of the UEFA Champions League and is the second all-time leading scorer in official UEFA competitions after Filippo Inzaghi with 64 goals. He took over the captaincy of Real Madrid when Fernando Hierro departed in 2003, and has since shown himself to be a natural and respected leader

Luis Figo

Name in native country: Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo 
Date of birth: 04.11.1972 
Place of birth: Almada 
Country: Portugal 
Position: Midfield - Right Wing 
Foot: right 

Figo is a football hero who began his professional career in Portugal, his native land, then made his name in Spain playing for powerhouse teams FC Barcelona and Real Madrid before switching to Inter Milan in 2005. With his deft stop-and-go dribbling and aggressive style, the midfielder is known more as a playmaker than as a pure scorer. His breakthrough year was 2000, when he led Portugal to the semifinals of Euro 2000 and was named European Footballer of the Year. The same year he moved from FC Barcelona to rival Real Madrid for a then-record fee of $56 million

Ronald Koeman

Name in native country: Ronald Koeman
Date of birth: 21.03.1963 
Place of birth: Zaandam 
Country: Netherlands 
Position: Defence - Sweeper 
Foot: right 

Besides being a defender at the centre back position, Koeman was also known for his powerful right-footed free kicks and dead ball ability where he scored many vital goals for the team, and it was from a free-kick that he scored FC Barcelona’s winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final. Ronald Koeman scored 193 league goals in 503 matches (ahead of Daniel Passarella who netted 182 goals in 556 matches) during his career, more than any other defender in the history of football

Pele

Name in native country: Edison Arantes do Nascimento 
Date of birth: 23.10.1940 
Place of birth: Três Corações 
Country: Brazil 
Position: Striker - Centre Forward 
Foot: both 

Pele – called “the Black Pearl,” was the greatest soccer player in the history of the game. With a career total of 1280 goals, he may have been the world’s most popular athlete after he was named Athlete of the Century by the world’s combined National Olympic Committees in 1999, though he never played in the Olympics himself. In March of 2002, the jersey Pelé wore in the 1970 World Cup final sold at auction for $220,850. Pelé became Brazil’s minister of sports in 1995, serving until 1998

Zico

Name in native country: Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Date of birth: 03.03.1953 
Place of birth: Rio de Janeiro 
Country: Brazil 
Position: Midfield - Attacking Midfield 
Foot: right 

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.

Oliver Kahn

Name in native country: Oliver Rolf Kahn 
Date of birth: 15.06.1969 
Place of birth: Karlsruhe 
Country: Germany 
Position: Goalkeeper 
Foot: right

One of the most successful German players in recent history, having won eight German championships, six German cups, the UEFA Cup (1996), the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (both 2001). His individual contributions have earned him four consecutive UEFA Best European Goalkeeper awards, three IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper of the Year awards and two German “Footballer of the Year” trophies

David Beckham

Name in native country: David Robert Joseph Beckham 
Date of birth: 02.05.1975 
Place of birth: London
Country: England 
Position: Midfield - Central Midfield 
Foot: right 

David Beckham is a leading English footballer whose popularity extends beyond the field and into international celebrity. Beckham was already a crowd-pleasing star for Manchester United when he married Spice Girls star Victoria Adams in July of 1999; the combination proved irresistible to the press and public, and they became one of Britain’s most famous couples. As a player Beckham is particularly known for his free kick expertise and spectacular long-range shots while his right foot is the national treasure of England

Roberto Carlos

Name in native country: Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha 
Date of birth: 10.04.1973 
Place of birth: Garça 
Country: Brazil 
Position: Defence - Left-Back 
Foot: left 

He has played for Spanish club Real Madrid for eleven 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 one hundred matches in the Champions League. He is especially famous for a free kick against France on June 3, 1997, where he shot from 35 m (110 ft) from the centre-right channel, and scored.

Lillian Thuram

Name in native country: Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien 
Date of birth: 01.01.1972 
Place of birth: Pointe-à-Pitre 
Country: France 
Position: Defence - Right-Back 
Foot: right 

One of the best defenders of all time from France, he is famous for his 2 goals in the 1998 world cup semi final against Croatia when France came from behind to win 2-1. France eventually won the world cup beating Brazil 3-0. At club level, he has played in AS Monaco, Juventus and FC Barcelona